What do you think of the game's length?

[Thomas]

A major negative point in reviews have been the game's length of 6 - 10 hours, which some consider too short. I have written a longer post about it here:
http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2010...ength.html

What are your thoughts on this? Please answer the poll and tell us what you think (here or in blog).

Please also state how long you estimate that you played the game. And if you did not like the length, tell us what would have been optimal.

[marzy]

I'm in between choice 2 and 3 here. I voted "Long enough. But only considering the $20 price" but that seems a little bit unfair. The game was a good length for the money. I took my time and it took me around 11 hours. Any longer and the game would of dragged I think. Maybe 1 or 2 more 'hub' areas would of been perfect length if money was out of the question

[Yuhaney]

For being $20, it's better than perfect. (I completed it in 10 hours)
But I still voted for #2, but in my case, you can forget the "only" word.

You're small company. Setting the price to bit lower than normal $50 game is a smart move.
Since people wouldn't, most likely, buy from company that they have never heard of before for a full price and even if reviews say lenght was too short for their taste, it would make buyers to overlook the game.
But on the other hand, I think you can set the price bit higher since you give modding tools away for free too...

[Mephisto]

Voted [2].
I wished it was a little longer, one chapter maybe.And the ending a bit more elaborated.
I'd happily payed 50% more then.

[Tinus]

Coming from a music composition background, I've been taught that your piece should always be long enough to convey your ideas, but no longer than that. The deeper and more important your thoughts, the longer you will have to take. I think 6-10 hours is plenty to explore what you have to say in this case. If you spread it out over 40 hours you risk watering the experience down.

Game reviewers that still value games solely by how many hours their play-through took have no clue what games are. Period.

[The Sombrero Kid]

Personally i think the length was perfect but that a little more time could've been spent polishing the ending which was weaker than the rest of the game and made it end slightly flat, this might be what people were responding to when they thought it was the length, these same people probably didn't comment on the exact same time/money value proposition that was portal because the end felt suitably final.

[Sajber]

It took about 9 hours for me to complete, sure it could have been longer, but for that price it was very much value per buck. It was an intense 9 hours and that's what I wanted.

[nofsky]

The game took me 10 hours to complete, and then I took my time thoroughly exploring each area etc. I think that was a good length... in fact I was expecting it to end sooner than it did. I really liked how each area has its own look too, that really makes the game feel longer. To be honest, I wouldn't mind some filler areas because I love exploring, but I wouldn't say the game needs it.

Voted Perfect, btw.

[Jimmychims]

It was perfect for the price. And even though i voted "perfect" all around I cant help feeling (after paying 50$ for metro 2033) that the length of the game warranted the price alone.

Now that that is out of the way, I felt the game itself, regardless of the length, was well worth more than that.

I do feel, however, that there could have been some more reprieve from the horror in the early parts of the game, something that would have added in a bit more time on the clock. I finished both Penumbra O/BP each in 1 gaming session, something i couldnt do with amnesia due to the intensity and frequency of the scenes. But this has to do with pacing... I felt that the slow buildup of the penumbra series, the alluding to the horrors long before you see them was absent in Amnesia.

For me, Penumbra still reigns supreme in the execution of the story and the slow buildup of the tension, and when the tension escalates it slowly dies down into a more relaxing atmosphere. I began to rely on those little Cylindrical statues that served as the save points as points where i could catch my breath and relax. There was nothing of the sort in Amnesia except for the machinery and water level puzzles, and those seemed slightly out of place within the story.

But for pure horror value, the first few hours of Amnesia were so intense for me that i had to physically reassert myself (after having moaned in fear, then screamed F*CK While running from a grunt that snuck up on me) that I was still playing a game. An experience well worth 20 dollars, let alone 50. I will probably buy this game for a few friends of mine, just to support one of my favorite game devs.

If i could donate directly I would.

Personally i think the length was perfect but that a little more time could've been spent polishing the ending which was weaker than the rest of the game and made it end slightly flat, this might be what people were responding to when they thought it was the length, these same people probably didn't comment on the exact same time/money value proposition that was portal because the end felt suitably final.

I thought the ending was very lovecraftian; as in, even after all the horrors and atrocities the characters partake in, they are still human and still able to be destroyed. And in a sense, pathetic.

Spoiler below!

I pitied Alexander in the last scene, pitied the mental struggle he had endured to become the monster you learn to hate. The same mental struggle that Daniel goes through before he downs the Amnesia Potion.

[lobban]

It could've been longer but I really enjoyed the ride so much!

Long enough but wouldn't have hurt if it were a bit longer. Also more physics puzzles <3