Hello everyone, and I'm animelover1 back with a thread that I've just recently thought about. Do you take the play time in a video game serious? You guys are probably confused so let me explain. When you play video games, most of them have play time. You can put hours into it. Do you try to beat a game within a certain amount of hours on the game while also giving it your best shot at the game?

I for one try my best to beat a game within 24 hours of video game play time. Especially Pokémon games. The reason Pokémon games are a definite is because I have been playing it for so long and I at least think I should be a veteran by now. Play time is really essential to me because it could show how much you're dedicated to that game, or at least that's how I look at it.

I use play time in 2 different ways. My first way is to try to beat a game with at least 24 hours or lower while giving it all I've got on the game. Then after I beat it, I want to stack my hours up to show how dedicated to the game and how much I want to accomplish. The point of this thread is to ask you all. How do you feel about play time in video games, or do any of you feel the same as me. Let me know in the comments below . See you all, and until next time.

Good question.

I don't care about how long it takes me to finish a game really, but I do use the play time as a way to gauge how engaging a game is. Any decent game can pull me in for a little while, but only a good game can hold me for, say, ten hours. And only a truly great game can hold me for twenty plus hours. I love being able to see how much time I put into a game, but I don't gauge my gameplay against a clock because in most cases I don't care about speed. Also my play style is one of exploration and investigating every tiny detail, and as you would guess, that doesn't exactly mesh well with speeding through a game. Lol

Pardon my stealing but I love being able to see how much time I put into a game. I love ot when a game is good enough to get 20 hours or more from me, even if it's just from grinding or whatever because ot means it was worth it, then you have a couple massive games that can get dozens of hours, and those are the kinds of games I love. I'd rather spend 40 hours playing an RPG than 4 hours.

zanderlex : Nice to see others opinions. What you said would be great to me and heck, it is. When I said beating the game quickly, I meant after I beat the game multiple times. I challenge myself to try and beat play time records. Like one that we all love maybe. Pokémon .

I don't really care play time all that much, although it is interesting to see how long I've played a game since I got it. I just like playing games the way they are, I don't really do speedruns or anything like that.

Other than when I replay the game to see if I can beat my previous time, I never really care about how long the game takes. Plus, at least until the 32-bit ear there were not that many games that calculated how long it took you to beat the game.

animelover1 :   For certain games, I take into consideration the play time.  Like Resident Evil 2, if you beat it within four hours six times I believe, you unlock a hidden character you can play a different scenario with.  A block of tofu with a knife if I remember correctly.  And then there are the Final Fantasy games where the time ends at 99:99 hours.  I have gone past the limit on those many times, especially number six.  I like to do everything possible in those games before I beat them.  If it has an achievement or an unlockable, then yes, I pay attention to the play time and do everything I can to make sure it is beaten within that limit.  If not, then I just sit back and enjoy my time with the game.

I don't know why but for me, play time is usually the first thing I try and find within the statistics of the game and is usually saddened when it's not visible. Recently I have started to time games to see how long it would take me to beat them.

Though despite all of that, I go with my own pace and don't usually care how long I should put into a game unless there's a specific reward behind it, (Trophy related or unlocking the unlimited rocket launcher in Resident Evil 5 for example). Also I do look at my play time to show how much I was engaged with the game I was playing. Still put 400 hours into Project Diva despite the games being beatable in 2 and a half hours.

I personally am more concerned with completion percentage than time played.
If there is a time restriction, I think there is a chance you will missing something.

lordbelial669 : Wow, really? I think that the most I have spent was like, 50 hours for Final Fantasy VIII. Were you trying to get EVERY SINGLE thing possible? Getting everyone to level 99?

janus : I passed the 99:99 play time in Final Fantasy 3 ( 6 ), and yes, I got everything possible and got everyone close to 99 before it just got so boring fighting those dinosaurs over and over again.  I am the type of person who wants every advantage before I crush the end boss.  I got all the ultimate weapons in Final Fantasy 7 and 8, as well as all the limit breaks for both.  Even for Aerith before she dies because, if you have a goddess fighting for you, you might as well get her full potential.  The draw system for Final Fantasy 8 is a pain sometimes, but I like my stats to be maxed out, and the card game is the only way to get some of the best weapons.  That takes forever to beat some of the players later in the game if you get the random card draw style.

lordbelial669 : at least for Final Fantasy VIII there are shortcuts to obtain magic (refining, mostly). Also the Island Closest to Heaven / Hell have draw points that regenerate quickly, in addition to having insanely strong monsters for levelling up.

As for wanting every advantage: it depends on your "opportunity cost." I do not think I can spend THAT much time leveling up and getting everything there is to get. Besides, final bosses are usually not that tough; Ultemecia can not stand Squall's repeated limit break, Kefka is rather easy to defeat with Sabin, the Atma weapon equipped, Cyan, Edgar and Setzer

janus :   The islands closest to heaven / hell were also where you get some of the final items for the ultimate weapons in final fantasy 8, so that was always an optimal place to farm both items and experience.  As for final fantasy 6, my set up was Sabin, Terra, Edgar and either Celes or Gogo.  I would always give Sabin and Edgar the earring pair since their skills are magic based. If I used Celes, she would get the genji glove and offering relics with the Illumina and Ragnarok swords.  Terra can always morph, so she is just a bada$$ with weapons or magic.  Always a good character in any situation.  Gogo was just a filler with whatever other relics and weapons I end up having to spare, but his ability to use ANY skill is awesome, even though it is not as strong.  I couldn't name them since it has been a while since I played it.  Sabin's bum rush does 9999, so there is no reason to waste a good weapon on him other than his claws unless you go the genji glove / offering route, and if you do the espers right, you have max stats anyway, so they all can smash face

Game time is pretty important. I only try to complete one with a time limit if I'm doing a challenge run, but beyond that it's a good gauge of how much depth (or in negative cases, pointless sidequests) there is in a game. Mass Effect, for example; that series probably stole at least 100 hours of my time in all three games. Even my best speedrun took me at least five hours to complete. (Though that could just be me sucking at speedruns...)

I honestly believe that there's no point in beating video games within a set of time because a majority of them aren't made to do that. The only game series that encourages you to beat the game within a certain time is the Sonic games but I'm ware that no matter how many loops Sonic goes through he is moving at the same speed in the game until a force is applied. Only the most challenging games should be timed because they're made for that. I for one take my time whenever I play a game and try to find Easter eggs.

Unless it is a Speedrun, it doesn't matter how long it takes me to complete something. I like to play video games as long as possible when not speedrunning,  so that's what I feel about my play time.

18mlivingston :

I pretty much only use game time to judge how long the game kept me entertained. If I have to spend $50 - $60 on a game, I at least want an hour of fun per $5 spent. Like many others, I like taking my time and exploring every nook and cranny I can find, which doesn't blend well with gauging game time. RPG's are probably my favorite genre since they keep you playing for hours and hours on end with a lot of content to see.