Context:
these are just some thoughts and feelings I have towards the game. It’s not meant to be positive or negative, and please don’t consider this a complaint as it’s not why I’m writing.
Lately, I find myself with a great deal of spare time and I’ve been playing the game quite regurlarly and much to my dismay it seems that the more I practise and try to understand the game, the more I’m frustrated.
Something has been agitating me of late but I think I’ve resolved it.
When ever I get to enjoy a good session in sim ground, map missions mostly being battle, it highlights all the parts of war thunder I love which is mainly the simulation element. Most of the user interface is stripped away and the game feels quite immersive.
When I get back to Realistic which I mostly play, the noise and clutter on the screen seems at times unbearable. The teammates spamming machineguns, the massive traffic jam at the beginning of each map, the radio chatter and callouts. Going from SIM back to RB is a brutal reminder of how the ‘video game’ elements are developed independently from the nuts and bolts of the vehicle combat as opposed to a harmonious coexistence.
I’m beginning to conceptualise the Gameplay War Thunder as an animal with a massive tapeworm:
- The vehicle combat, the research, the mechanical simulation being the host animal
- The RP grind, The Ingame Purchase Incentives (I won’t say microtransactions, half the premium vehicles are valued the same as full price games) Battle Pass and Grind Events are all parasites.
It would be good if Uncle J Wick would compile some of his forum posts into a blog, as they are quite insightful when it comes to game development, player/consumer psychology and how they intersect in War Thunder. In many ways it is only in comparison to other more successful ‘coherent’ video games, that I notice the failings of War Thunder. In defence of War Thunder its existence and success is a testiment to its quality as a game. It feels infinitely more fair and rewarding than World of Tanks, far more accessible than any flight sim I’ve ever played and by virtue of hours alone, more compelling than any game I’ve owned rivalled only by Fallout New Vegas whos mods rather than the original game itself keeps me engaged until this day.
In the section above, the Cap Points, the daily mission objectives, and the grind all have a detrimental effect on player experience. To qualify the previous experience I am assuming that a good portion of people, especially those who frequently discuss the state of the game are stuck in the mind frame of ‘playing to grind’ and at the very least players who aren’t grinding themselves are being influenced by players who are. This takes the form of grind optimisations, looking for methods to abuse and exploit certain vehicles or strategies. As opposed to simply choosing vehicles to play based on stylistic preferences. I love the cromwells but never play the due to them being Rank II and are wholly unsuitable for grinding.
However from a business and economic perspective the relationship is more simbiotic, in terms of labour and financial investment, I’m sure it is more balanced in that the game provides income and profit and the developers in turn reinvest a portion of that revenue back into the game.
Having played the game for nearly if not 10 years now, I doubt it would have gripped me the way it has if it weren’t for the carrot on the stick that is new vehicles and nations to grind. However as my tastes and perspectives change, the gameplay no longer nourishes me the way it used to. In part I believe it is because my desired mastery of the game eludes me, I after years of practise am only an above average at best tanker and a lousy pilot. Perhaps were I was once content to roll into a match a enjoy the thrill of the vehicles, I am now sour and resentful and only enjoy the game when I’m winning or vanquishing the enemy. Perhaps its the frequency in which I play, and I have become dull to War Thunder in my over indulgence.
To the degree that I can, I’m going to endeavour to ‘do without striving’, which is for me:
- To play for the fun of enjoying the tank or plane as opposed to playing for the tank or plane I wish to obtain.
- Try to ignore the daily tasks and not play past the point of enjoyment simply to finish a Special Task.