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Breweries and Games! Special: Are Events Bad for Games?



It seems like another lifetime ago for me. Logging onto miniclip.com at my high school to play runescape anytime I thought I could get away with it. I would find that MMO's are as addicting as they are time consuming but before I would finally break free of their grasp I would be introduced to the holiday event.

Runescape had annual events around Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. They usually involved a short, easy quest after which you'd get a thing as a reward. But this thing was no mere item. It was a holiday item. A holiday item unique to that year.

This meant that you exactly one chance to get that item in all of time. If you missed out that was it. There would be no getting it another time no matter how cool it was.  Even after I was no longer playing on a regular basis I would mark my calendar to make sure I didn't miss getting the holiday item.

These days even the most specifically single player game will have some kind of online element. Xbox live, PlayStation network, and a good old internet connection all play a part in the modern game. Maybe it's no surprise then that the holiday event has migrated out of the MMO and into new genres.

Overwatch, the Division, Splatoon these are just a few of the games that are doing special events now in a way not unlike past MMO's. Special items, equipment, or game modes are only available for a short duration. A fun way to celebrate a holiday, mix up gameplay, or add something new to a game.

But is this actually good for games?

Anyone who comes later to these game will have these items or game modes locked away from them, often forever. For people looking for 100% completion this is a deal breaker.  Add to to it that some of these events have items or achievements that are only available for a limited amount of time but are difficult to get. The player is on a time limit.

So what’re the benefits of special events?  Well like I mention above it's a way for new content to be introduced. Not that many games these days don't have DLC but tying it into a holiday rather than simply releasing it X days after release adds a bit of fun to it. Like a holiday season, an event can have its own “feel” that can make it exciting.

What about the downsides?  For people who miss an event, a feeling that they’re not getting everything from the game they bought can develop. Also, if the special items released can affect the gameplay of others then special event items can become outright unfair to those players.

In a big way, it comes down to the individual.  Many gamers out there are completionists and seeing certain unlocks or achievements forever beyond their grasp can turn them off from a game. Conversely, knowing there's a Halloween event coming up can add some extra fun for a more casual gamer. The most important thing for an event is the same as in any game, that it's fun.  As long as it adds to the fun of the game then I don't think special events are that bad.

Thoughts?  Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!

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