Even other FPS games? Cause the genre has pretty standard controls on console
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Is Conan O'Brien indicative of the average person’s experience with modern gaming?
- Thread starter Sage
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For a gamepad coming with 2 analog sticks, 1 d-pad, 10 buttons plus 2 menu-function buttons, it is just hard to use.
And it is just hard to enjoy games if you don't invest your time to learn how to it.
He clearly doesn't have time and bother to learn it
When xbox elite controller came out, I struggled to fully use the back paddles for nearly a month. I didn't enjoy my gaming time during that period
And it is just hard to enjoy games if you don't invest your time to learn how to it.
He clearly doesn't have time and bother to learn it
When xbox elite controller came out, I struggled to fully use the back paddles for nearly a month. I didn't enjoy my gaming time during that period
My partner who has played through the entirety of TLOU and Detroit a few months ago still has almost no muscle memory when it comes to the face buttons or triggers. That memorisation just doesn't click with some people — even if they intuit the dual-sticks well.
Like if its an FPS he'll get used to itpretty quick but we tried Fortnite one time and he was stumped. Its bizarre.
The average person but who doesn't play video games, sure. When dual analog came onto the scene, it took some getting used to even for gamers.
well for what it's worth i've been gaming all my life and couldn't control FPSs like Halo and such up until i was 30 or so
i mean, i could marginally "play" them but i was like wtf how is this 'fun'. so i can see how dad or uncle carl can put down x game that isn't pac man or galaga after 5 minutes
i mean, i could marginally "play" them but i was like wtf how is this 'fun'. so i can see how dad or uncle carl can put down x game that isn't pac man or galaga after 5 minutes
Tbf to your dad building in Fortnite can be complicated even for seasoned game players. But I'm assuming you mean just basic controls
I mean witness any competitive FPS in a tier below what the top 10% are in and you'd swear they're playing with their feet. Your average person is clueless when a large part of people who actually are playing the game in a competitive manner are awful themselves, lol.
Yeah he didn't even touch the building. He's a goofy dude considering how hard he goes in CoD.
Lol, well at least he can play CoD! My parents could never manage anything beyond Guitar Hero
I teach a video game music class at a university and non gamers consistently have difficulty using analogue sticks.
Everyone I've introduced the 2nd analog stick is the biggest hurdle. Concept of controling a camera doesn't come naturally to many as it has this abstractness to it since you don't see it you see through it. The other half that got the concept had the multitasking problem. They would slow down or stop moving all together move the camera then go back to playing.
People don't realize a lot of AAA games don't really cater to the casual crowd in terms of being friendly to the user.
It's a reason why games like Animal Crossing or Mario Kart sell a fuck ton because they are accessible. There are certainly a huge crowd that aren't targeted by the general consumer.
It's a reason why games like Animal Crossing or Mario Kart sell a fuck ton because they are accessible. There are certainly a huge crowd that aren't targeted by the general consumer.
Oh, I totally see your point now. I've seen people do that many times. Stop, turn, start moving again.
Conan exaggerates for comedic effect, but there's definitely a high barrier to entry for people who don't play games. Not only a lot of people can't wrap their heads around the dual analogue setup, there's also decades of design choices and tropes we take for granted that will seem completely unintuitive or even non sensical for non-gamers.
There's a pretty good series of videos that delve into this topic and I highly suggest you watch it if you haven't before.
There's a pretty good series of videos that delve into this topic and I highly suggest you watch it if you haven't before.
I play lots of games and I still can't navigate in first person at all except in some rare cases. Mirror's Edge was okay, oddly, but everything else makes me sick and I can't make the camera go where I want it to. For people who don't play lots of games and don't have interest in them, I can only imagine it's much worse. My dad has eyes that point in opposite directions; I don't think he could even look at a screen for any length of time.
Dara Ó Briain once said that it's not possible to be bad at watching a movie or listening to an album, but it is possible to be bad at video-games, and video-games uniquely punish you by stopping your progress until you improve. "No book will stop and ask you about it's themes in order to obtain the next chapter".
Which is why we finish a movie and "beat" a game.
Which is why we finish a movie and "beat" a game.
This will be generational to some extent, and may disappear more and more as time goes on. But moderns controls are ABSOLUTELY an impendiment to people who didn't grow up with them.
When I use a controller, I do not have to think about where the buttons are; my fingers just flow to the places they need to go as it's muscle memory. Hand my wife a controller (Someone who likes games but did not grow up playing them), and especially on an Xbox controller, she finds herself pressing the wrong button fairly frequently, or looking down at the pad to make sure she's pushing the right face button. Pair that with dual sticks which are such an abstraction for movement that no one can be expected to just "get it" without practice. (It's very obvious watching the screen of someone who is practiced with a controller vs someone who isn't used to it when they move around an environment.) When games require that you not make mistakes like around this, and presume you'll have no difficulty executing some combination of button presses and movements or you fail, they quickly become impenetrable for someone who doesn't have the layout and movement memorized.
Conan plays things up, but people take so much of their gaming experience for granted. It's what I think of every time I see people bemoaning an easy mode being added to a game. People just can't see beyond their own experience.
When I use a controller, I do not have to think about where the buttons are; my fingers just flow to the places they need to go as it's muscle memory. Hand my wife a controller (Someone who likes games but did not grow up playing them), and especially on an Xbox controller, she finds herself pressing the wrong button fairly frequently, or looking down at the pad to make sure she's pushing the right face button. Pair that with dual sticks which are such an abstraction for movement that no one can be expected to just "get it" without practice. (It's very obvious watching the screen of someone who is practiced with a controller vs someone who isn't used to it when they move around an environment.) When games require that you not make mistakes like around this, and presume you'll have no difficulty executing some combination of button presses and movements or you fail, they quickly become impenetrable for someone who doesn't have the layout and movement memorized.
Conan plays things up, but people take so much of their gaming experience for granted. It's what I think of every time I see people bemoaning an easy mode being added to a game. People just can't see beyond their own experience.
I imagine using one analog stick to look and one to move can be extremely difficult the first time you try it. there were times during brothers where I would get tripped up in my head trying to control the characters simultaneously and I'm a lifelong gamer
Have you given a controller to anyone that has never played a FPS before ?
Enjoy looking at the floor and sky followed by jerky motions and sliding alongside walls.
It takes hours, maybe even days, to "get it".
Enjoy looking at the floor and sky followed by jerky motions and sliding alongside walls.
It takes hours, maybe even days, to "get it".
This reminds me of a time in high school. A girl I was dating at the time had gotten some shitty Pac Man 3D adventure game on the PSX. She didn't really game, but her and her mom had decided to play this together, but they got stuck 5 minutes in. They asked if I had played it and I said no, I didn't even own a PSX at the time, lol. But anyways, they were stuck at a broken bridge and within 10 seconds I had figured out Pac Man could Sonic dash across and they were convinced I was lying and had played the game before.
I think most who play games really underestimate how much mechanics just become instinctual because pretty much every game just riffs ideas from one another. That sort of thing is lost on people who don't play much.
I think most who play games really underestimate how much mechanics just become instinctual because pretty much every game just riffs ideas from one another. That sort of thing is lost on people who don't play much.
My brothers grew up playing video games (both stopped during the PS1 era), one still plays retro games to this day, neither one is able to play any game that requires the use of analog sticks. Now, if they were to sit down for a couple of hours and REALLY give a game a shot I am certain they would pick it up, but they are definitely incapable of just jumping into a modern game at the moment.
Analog sticks feel completely obvious to us now, but they aren't so intuitive that you can just jump in and understand them instantly. So Conan is probably exaggerating for comedic effect, but he is probably closer to representative of the average non-gamer than some here seem to believe.
Analog sticks feel completely obvious to us now, but they aren't so intuitive that you can just jump in and understand them instantly. So Conan is probably exaggerating for comedic effect, but he is probably closer to representative of the average non-gamer than some here seem to believe.
I think the poll really shows how a lot of people don't understand how hard dual analog is for a TON of people.
I'm not sure that people get that this has been Conan's schtick for like 25 years. In the Late Night days he loved playing up the "pompous ass" angle in a self-referential context.
The guy is a legitimate comedy writer and creative-type. If he legitimately has any problem with video games as a medium I'm sure it's from a purely academic perspective.
He hams it up for Clueless Gamer. Straight up.
Also despite his success Conan is pretty damn far from a household name and really doesn't represent the mainstream perspective on anything.
I think anytime I've ever handed a dual analog controller to someone who doesn't play games they've had serious issues using it. Trying to use two analog sticks simultaneously to move around in a 3D environment is definitely a big barrier if you didn't grow up playing games. Let alone also hitting the right buttons while you're struggling and trying not to just stare straight up at the sky or down at the floor. It's harder than we realize since we're so used to it.
Conan? That is a comedy bit. He has no personal interest in video games. He just hams it up and does his thing. It's funny. That's all there is to it.
Conan? That is a comedy bit. He has no personal interest in video games. He just hams it up and does his thing. It's funny. That's all there is to it.
"A short while" is still putting in hours upon hours of playtime before you really get somewhat competent with a modern controller. That is a big investment for someone who is struggling to just make the character move around the environment.
Well, it's an active hobby after all. I'm not going to learn how to perfectly ice skate or go fishing in a few hours. Anything that's new to you takes time and effort. Your body needs to develop a feel to it.
You'd think that, but I've tried multiple times with my dad who is in his early 70s now. Just can't grasp it no matter what.
My parents played a few games (my dad even played a few classic FPS games, so "core gamer" games), but occasionally they get interested in something I'm playing that involves dual analog controls and it's HARD for them to get it. My mother cannot control the camera and the character at the same, but she does pretty fine in 2D or even fixed camera stuff.
Depends. Guys 35, maybe 40 and under, no biggie. Girls under that is hit or miss. Over that age range and you've got problems regardless of gender.
It basically maps onto how long dual analogue sticks have been around since 95ish. Mainstream dev and console utilisation by 2000. People were between 5 years old and 15ish.
It basically maps onto how long dual analogue sticks have been around since 95ish. Mainstream dev and console utilisation by 2000. People were between 5 years old and 15ish.
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It should be true for most people if they are capable of playing games.
Give someone a pencil and tell them to draw a 3 dimensional object like a car and you will see that they struggle to even get straight lines right. Yet they used their hand to write and scribble all their life. Lots of things you do for the first time are not easy to grasp. But I assure you anyone is able to draw a fine car with practice.
I met Conan in the Seattle area maybe one year after Clueless Gamer launched. I tried to briefly say "hi sorry to bother big fan" and leave him be, but he was *incredibly* kind, pulled me aside, and took real interest in getting to know me. Thus, we talked about my writing career, which led to him talking about how he guided Clueless Gamer with very, very mild gaming awareness (mostly thanks to playing games with his kids). It began as an extension of how he chides Aaron in an angry-old-man way behind the scenes, channeling that into a video series, and then it expanded with celebs as the foil.
The median age in America is a 38-year-old millennial. I think there are a huge number of people like Conan, but I'd guess the average person is probably not as "clueless" about videogames.
People understand buttons, but dual sticks are hard without experience. Often they will only be able to manipulate one at a time.
People can learn quick though so it's not the biggest issue.
People can learn quick though so it's not the biggest issue.
Random person on the street who doesn't play games at all will struggle with dual analog controls 100%.
I had an ex-girlfriend who mostly gamed on PCs this being comfortable playing work mouse and keyboard.
When she tried playing with a controller she couldn't get it right to use the right stick to look around. She wasn't able to use both sticks simultaneously.
Very interesting to watch because I have been playing for my entire life and never understood why you would have problems with the controls.
When she tried playing with a controller she couldn't get it right to use the right stick to look around. She wasn't able to use both sticks simultaneously.
Very interesting to watch because I have been playing for my entire life and never understood why you would have problems with the controls.
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing that. Seems like pretty much every person that encounters Conan always has a good interaction. He is a solid human being.