An Interview With 2old2play's Doodi

vinnie2k writes "This is an interesting interview with the founder of 2old2play.com. In it he discusses the future of gaming for older people, why we need communities like 2old2play, and how the gaming industry needs to refocus its efforts on the games it makes. Cool insight and worth the read for any older gamers."

not too old

[hb253]

I'm 41 and play Counter Strike Source on a daily basis. I am not too old to play.

Re:On getting a life

[Mr2001]

Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates [puzzlepirates.com] attracts gamers of all ages without resorting to those tactics.

Play time is unlimited, however, the doubloon system allows players to essentially trade money for time. There are two currencies: pieces of eight, which flow freely from NPCs and admin-sponsored tournaments, and doubloons, which only enter the economy when they're purchased with real dollars. The prices for most items are set in both POE and doubloons, the doubloons disappear from the economy as soon as they're spent, and POE can be traded for doubloons on an open market. So if you want to buy that fancy sword, you can either play for a couple weeks to save up POE and trade some of them for doubloons, or spend a couple bucks for a handful of doubloons and trade some of them for POE. The players with money but no time subsidize the ones with time but no money.

Neither POE nor doubloons are finite, but they exit the system regularly, and inflation hasn't been a problem. The economy stays balanced by changing tax rates, changing spawn rates for raw commodities, and providing plenty of opportunities for money to be lost/spent and leave the economy.

Paying to play is entirely optional, at least on doubloon servers (there are also servers where monthly subscriptions replace doubloons). If you don't have the time or money to get doubloons, many parts of the game are closed off to you, but you can still have fun.

Linux is supported, and mentioned on the box, because the game's written in Java. (You can even run it on a Mac and play a special bonus game, "watch the colorful spinning beachball", that isn't available on either Linux or Windows!)

Of course, another big factor that attracts older players is the gameplay itself. You don't need the quick reflexes or hand-eye coordination of someone who grew up playing Nintendo, because everything is a puzzle game, from sailing to swordfighting. If you can play Bejeweled, you can help run a ship.

Re:I don't play games

[titzandkunt]

"... If my kids spent half the time that they play games on learning a computer language, then they would be pulling down six figure salaries..."

If you love your kids, then for God's sake don't be saying shit like that around them!

When your dog bites someone and has to be destroyed, you tell your kid that it's gone to live on a farm where it can chase rabbits all day without getting in trouble.

Say your kid catches you downing your first stiff scotch of the day at 08:30. You tell them its "special medicine" for grownups.

Your wife boots you out, so you tell the kid that mommy and daddy are going to spend a little time apart so they don't yell at each other so much.

- These are all inconsequential, harmless, miniscule white lies compared to the black, satanic, evil untruth that software development is a desirable and highly-paid profession.

T&K.

Re:On getting a life

[cheezitmike]

Of course, another big factor that attracts older players is the gameplay itself. You don't need the quick reflexes or hand-eye coordination of someone who grew up playing Nintendo, because everything is a puzzle game, from sailing to swordfighting. If you can play Bejeweled, you can help run a ship.

I'm 31, and Puzzle Pirates is the only multiplayer on-line game that I've enjoyed in years. The fact that the gameplay doesn't require twitchy-reflexes or level-grinding is the most significant reason. There's plenty to do when I log on and I feel like I'm accomplishing something in the game, even if I can only play 2 hours in a given week. I can climb the social and economic ladder in the game without devoting my life to it. Your character is as skilled as you are at the puzzles... if you can master the "swordfighting" puzzle in 30 minutes (perhaps because you grew up on a steady diet of puzzle games like tetris and minesweeper), you're on par with the 13 year old who played 40 hours a week to get that good. In other games, he'd be level 80 and I'd be level 10, and I'd stand no chance in a fight because of all the level-based stats and special bonus items he'd have time to accumulate.