Some games can be finished, completed, defeated or beaten. They have an end-point, even though they might be replayable. Others have the potential to go on forever. Whatever the case, there always comes a point when you’re done with a game, and it might be long before the credits roll, or it might be after that one update that breaks a habit that has lasted for years. Why do we stop playing?
Let s get one potential answer out of the way: when we stop having fun . While there s definitely something to that idea, it doesn t take into account temporary frustration caused by difficulty spikes, or the satisfaction – a related cousin of fun – from seeing a narrative through to its end. It s a sentiment that might work for multiplayer games, but I m not convinced it can be applied more broadly than that. With a look at Shadow of War, Spelunky and Caveblazers among others, here are some thoughts on the end of play.