(04-22-2013, 10:27 PM)Funderbunk Wrote: As someone who has done QA testing for games, I can objectively state that gamers have the worst perspective of gaming on the planet - they accept terrible designs just because they've learned how to deal with them through years of experience. They get stuck in a skinner box grind and they keep going for 90 levels without caring if they're actually having fun, as long as they get to hear the "ding" at the end of the leveling bar.
I think you're preaching to the wrong choir. While that may be true for other areas of gaming, it certainly isn't in this case. We aren't talking about a game with tiers or unlocking new guns. We're talking about Amnesia. Also, just because there is a large number of people who'll do anything if it results in heightened Gamerscore, doesn't mean that
everyone, or even most, who play games are like that. Yes we have to judge quality based on mechanics. That isn't the only thing we take into consideration, but it is a part of it. Why? Because it affects the experience of the gamer.
So know what I can say about that bad song with the good guitar? That it's a bad song with a good guitar. If I were a reviewer who understood these things(gamer), then I could specifically address
why everything in the song sucked but the guitar.
If I were a reviewer who didn't understand these things(not gamer), then I may say, "Nope, I didn't like it. That thing with the strings, you know? That you strum? That was kinda cool."