Vampire Survivors & other Jack Me Into the Device And Turn My Brain Off-lites

No RPG elements? It probably goes here!
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WhiteShark
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Post by WhiteShark »

Dang, I'm ashamed I didn't think of that. Seems fitting, although 'enemy hell' doesn't quite have the euphony of 'bullet hell'.
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agentorange
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Post by agentorange »

Considering that shmups are some of the most difficult and skill/attention demanding games, it would be a horrible misnomer to call these games something similar. These really are just cookie clicker/progress quest games but with slightly more bells and whistles and decorations to make them look more like a real game. From what I've seen a lot of gatcha games have game layers that are similar to this, with the "game" being basically on auto-pilot with huge numbers popping up constantly.
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WhiteShark
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Post by WhiteShark »

Are there any exceptions within this genre that are challenging? I haven't played a single JMItDaTMBO-lite.
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agentorange
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Post by agentorange »

WhiteShark wrote: March 14th, 2023, 10:55
Are there any exceptions within this genre that are challenging? I haven't played a single JMItDaTMBO-lite.
Crimsonland, which has been around forever as a browser game before getting a Steam release, is pretty challenging. Although I feel like when game like this becomes challenging enough and has some real skill mechanics behind it, then it sort of passes over into being a twin stick shooter or shootemup or some other genre. What distinguishes a JMItDaTMBO-lite is how brainless, automated and unchallenging they are and how they encourage addiction by presenting the player with a constant stream of unlocks, loot drops, and lots of big numbers and flashy effects.

Edit: Writing the last part really made me think about how much I miss when developers tried to make a game have lasting appeal by simply focusing on making a good game with deep underlying mechanics and systems , rather than filling the game full of progression mechanics like perks and upgrades. So sick of this shit.
Last edited by agentorange on March 14th, 2023, 11:14, edited 1 time in total.
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rusty_shackleford
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Post by rusty_shackleford »

I remember asking about games sorta like this, then the monkey's paw curled. I wanted sports sim-style management smooshed together with RPG where you manage teams of adventurers, and instead this becomes popular. :(
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Acrux
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Post by Acrux »

I found this one recently. Not much different than the others, but it does have missions for the map.

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Fargus
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Post by Fargus »

This fucking braindead (its fun tho, not gonna lie) game spawned many opportunitstic impersonators that want to nibble some gibs out of VS popularity. I wouldn't give the time of the day to most of them but i kinda like how this one looks, and its 93% positive on steam.
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rusty_shackleford
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Post by rusty_shackleford »

How come all the new "genres" suck so much? When was the last time we got one that wasn't shit?
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Suissant
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Post by Suissant »

I remember 20 years ago (15?) these games being the hot potatoes of XBLIG.
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Dead
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Post by Dead »

I blame mobile games and estrogenic substances in the food supply.
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KnightoftheWind
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Post by KnightoftheWind »

rusty_shackleford wrote: July 14th, 2023, 04:25
How come all the new "genres" suck so much? When was the last time we got one that wasn't shit?
The rate of innovation plateaued years ago, I don't think we'll ever see new genres again. This Vampire Survivors crap is really just a spin on Diablo-type games, in fact I'm sure I played something very similar on an old Flash site years ago. It's an old idea that just "happened" to get popular, maybe because zoomers have awful taste in games.

Despite the lack of new genres, the old ones still have yet to reach their full potential I think. We have yet to see a truly next-generation RPG, one that leverages A.I and crafts a more dynamic world with NPCs that actually have things to say. It's one of the few things that I'm excited about when it comes to A.I tech, and there isn't a whole lot.
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Ranselknulf
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Post by Ranselknulf »

I gave vampire survivors multiplayer a shot. It actually adds to the difficulty of the gameplay by restricting you to 4 weapons and making it take longer to get your evolutions because of how the level up mechanics work in multiplayer.

Now you can be autists with friends.
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Ranselknulf
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Post by Ranselknulf »

As long as they model the show on the format of "The Walking Dead", I think it will be good! :eyebrows:
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Boontaker
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Post by Boontaker »

rusty_shackleford wrote: March 14th, 2023, 11:14
I remember asking about games sorta like this, then the monkey's paw curled. I wanted sports sim-style management smooshed together with RPG where you manage teams of adventurers, and instead this becomes popular. :(
Didn't there used to be an old ROM game name something like Gladiator where you had a slowly growing group of dudes walking around a map full of enemies. Leveling up, getting new skills, recruiting new team members? You had a basic fighter who was a dude in a horned spartan helmet, an archer chick, halfings, mages. Played the shit out of that game while waiting for the bus at my grandparents house. The enemies had the same classes as you just in different colors.
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Acrux
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Post by Acrux »

That almost sounds like Gauntlet as described by someone who never played Gauntlet.
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Norfleet
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Post by Norfleet »

KnightoftheWind wrote: July 14th, 2023, 05:14
The rate of innovation plateaued years ago, I don't think we'll ever see new genres again. This Vampire Survivors crap is really just a spin on Diablo-type games, in fact I'm sure I played something very similar on an old Flash site years ago. It's an old idea that just "happened" to get popular, maybe because zoomers have awful taste in games.
They "got popular" because Flash died and thus the barriers to posting this kind of schlock have become much higher, reducing its available supply.

Meanwhile, I can think of entire genres that don't, apparently, have any modern representation anymore.
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