Choke points, why do you exist?

Here it is. The start of a wonderful relationship between you and your next obsession [insert game title here]. You pop it in, go through the ropes of what hopefully is a competent tutorial only to inevitably be shut down by a choke point. Better known as the “fuck us over with an unseen ridiculous ramp up in difficulty”.

So, what would bring this sort of thing up from the clutches of Will’s (hey that’s me) thoughts. Referring to myself in third person, that’s what. No, really it’s the GTA IV mission Three Leaf Clover. What a cluster fuck of frustration. Whoever the fuck thought this mission up needs to have a serious phyc evaluation. In hindsight, Three Leaf Clover is brilliant in so many ways. It’s in the trailer’s so there no real spoiler here. This bank robbery is better than almost the entirety of that of which is Kane & Lynch.

It’s a pivotal mission by all accounts as it starts you on the ramp up towards some pretty key parts of the story. Then again, this is the sort of thing that will keep lots of impatient people from finishing an already long game like this. Repeating things over and over isn’t exactly any-ones call for a good time. So why do game designer’s continue to put them in their games? Do they not want anyone not hardcore enough to make it to the end credits of their game. You see, this what mostly continues the divide between every other entertainment medium and videogames.

Is it so much to ask for some love? Creating artificial stop gaps in the middle of your game is troubling. No wonder so many people just don’t even bother trying to play a game when all they can see is that first point when they get stuck. And yes I know this is a much more complicated issue than what I’m making it out to be, but that’s the whole point. The consumer isn’t thinking about things the way myself and others like me think. What do you think “Joe Blow” is thinking when they get frustrated. Yes, there just going to do something else. Do you call that a job well done?

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