This is a weird thought but I’m just curious if anyone else feels this way. I’m 39 and grew up playing games all the way back to the original Atari and I just feel weird about the term “beat” when it comes to finishing games. I don’t know why, but I just feel like it’s weird to say nowadays. I’m talking specifically about story based games, not puzzlers and such. It’s more like playing interactive movies nowadays and saying you beat it feels just …off to me. A game podcast I listen to, they tend to say they “rolled credits” on the game or finished it. I just feel like a lot of games nowadays it’s not about “beating” so much as finishing an experience. I dunno, maybe I’m just weird, but I am curious if it’s just me.
In my household beating the game has the same meaning as “rolling credits” - largely based on Backloggery’s distinction between beaten and completed games. I’ve started focusing on actually beating games/rolling credits in the past ~3 years and while there’s still a few games I’ve started and put down unfinished for various reasons, I beat 25 games in 2022 and 14 so far in 2023.
I’d be interested to know what the difference in language means for you - would “beat” apply only to games that don’t have post-credits gameplay?
I’m with you. I feel like it has the same meaning. Really I was just curious others thoughts on the term. I completely understand why we say it still. It just feels weird to me. When I finished GOW or TLOU, I don’t feel like I “beat” it, I feel like I completed an epic story. I don’t really feel like I need to apply different terms. It’s just something that stands out to me when I hear it and I can’t help but think about it.