GOG responds to backlash following release of Hitman | Hacker News Reader

GOG responds to backlash following release of Hitman

gamesindustry.biz

23 pointsNicoJuicy9 comments

> Hitman's main campaign and bonus missions can be played offline, but content including Elusive Targets, Escalation missions (bonus levels and challenges made by developer IO Interactive) and user-generated Contract missions require an online connection to play.

I think this article misses one of the major issues here. While yes you can play the entire campaign offline, you do not get access to the progression system. Sure you can beat the game with the very basics, but that isn't really the core of the game imo. Replaying levels with different strategies(weapons, tools, outfits, starting locations) is the real meat of the game.

Yup, that's a huge huge part of it. It's absolutely ridiculous to me that this is completely barred behind the online-only section. There's zero reason for it except to either curb piracy or punish those that play offline.

Likewise with the elusive targets or escalation missions. Those could have easily been 'free DLC' that was released, similar to how Witcher released all that free DLC over time.

Even worse, if you have progression online but lose internet or go offline for whatever reason you get shoved back into the non-progression mode.

I absolutely dislike when single player games introduce online elements. It completely breaks the immersion for me as I now have to keep in mind that my actions in the game can have consequences in the real world.

IMO it's fine only if it's optional and doesn't negatively impact the experience if you don't play online, like in No Man's Sky.

And what consequences in the "real world" are these?

In the main single player campaign of Assassin's Creed Unity you earn points throughout the game to upgrade your weapons, similarly to many RPGs. I distinctly remember selecting an upgrade once and a popup appearing asking me to pay real money for the upgrade.

It completely threw me off guard as I thought I was playing an offline sandboxed game. This popup killed the game for me as it broke the immersion, reminding me that I am not taking part in the French revolution, just a guy with a controller in his hands and a credit card in his wallet. I stopped playing after that.

I am not arguing against micro-transactions, I am arguing against the blurred line between offline and online.

This has been one of my big issues with microtransactions. There is no reason, in the abstract, that they must be more expensive than buying a game one-off and they could (theoretically) be more fair by amortizing cost across your playtime (and thereby allowing you to pay less if you get less).

My two big issues are that I find microtransactions to be mentally wearying. I play games to get away from life's responsibilities. Microtransactions, by requiring financial decision making, drag me back into the very thing from which I am taking a break.

The other issue is that most microtransactions create a perverse incentive for the game developer. If the consumable bypasses a grindy part of the game, then the developer is incentivized to create a grindy (i.e. boring) game. If it is cosmetic, they are incentivized to create a somewhat bland game. There are other variations, but they all seem to rely on creating a game that is inferior so that I will 'upgrade' it. I'd much prefer that the game creator's interests be aligned to mine.

You lose the entire progression system, the ability to acquire new equipment, and achievements.

There is no requirement for any of that to require online mode.

I can understand the frustration of the users. They did the same thing with Heroes of Hammerwatch. I was super excited to get the second game, after enjoying the first Hammerwatch. They advertised it without DRM, but it required their GOG Galaxy software to work. They also hassled me about a refund, and eventually gave me store credit, and said they would never do so again. It was a bad customer experience, and I feel they deceived me. I haven't done further business with them since. It isn't about the DRM, so much as the false advertising. While I love DRM free, and that's why I was shopping at GOG, the deception wasn't right. I buy a lot of games on Steam, which has DRM, but at least they are upfront about it.

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