Re-learning controls as deterrent

[Pyperkub]

I wanted to fire up an old game over the weekend, but I was frozen by the idea that I'd have to relearn the controls - mostly xBox games, such as RDR, Witcher 3, Quantum Break, Rise of the Tomb Raider, etc. Mostly games I haven't played in months, if not years and never finished, and I just got frozen by the idea of having to re-learn the controls partway through the story/game.

Anyone else have this gamer backlog paralysis?

Sometimes it seems easier to just buy a new game and start off the learning curve clean, rather than pick up where I left off.

[Smoove_B]

Yes, sometimes that's a thing for me as well. It's a big reason I always try to finish what I start -or-write it off forever. However, since I've also been playing games on easy mode, I've found that jumping back in after a break usually isn't as severe as I imagine it will be.

[coopasonic]

Yup I get the same feeling and if I *really* want to get back to it I will start over. God of War and RDR2 sit unfinished partly because of this.

[MonkeyFinger]

Same. If I come back to something that I've been away from for a while and I'm not all that far along, I'll restart.

[Lorini]

I have no memory so I always restart. Makes the game last longer as well, since every time I restart I don't remember hardly anything from the game!

[LawBeefaroni]

All the time. I'll either replay the tutorial or just not get back to the game.

What games should do is have a sandbox or control tutorial accessible from the keymapping page. So you can run through the controls in-game but don't have to sit through cutscenes or campaign intro gameplay just to be told how to zoom while aiming and select grenades and what not.

[Blackhawk]

Controls? No. Something similar has made me not go back to (or abandon) multiple games, though. System complexity. This is especially true in RPGs. Plot, which quests are which, which areas I've been to, character abilities, what all the stuff in my inventory does, how I was building the character, what I was working on, how the secondary systems (reputation/crafting/etc) work, the strategies required for mid-game combat success. There is just such a huge wall of info there that would have to be reabsorbed from scratch that I often avoid the game entirely. For example, I've played half of The Witcher 3 three times now.

[Daveman]

While I've mostly been a PC gamer we've been a Nintendo family since the Gamecube. I had an NES back in the day but skipped a few generations for SEGA in between. A few months ago my son bought a PS4 and while I've been intrigued by some of the games on it, notably Red Dead Redemption 2, I can't seem to get used to the control scheme. I keep backing out of menus when I think I'm selecting something and it's infuriating. Whereas I can pickup Zelda that I haven't played in months and I'm perfectly fine.

I know it's just a matter of time but when I do sit down thinking I'll play something on the PS4 I just get annoyed and stop.

[coopasonic]

While I've mostly been a PC gamer we've been a Nintendo family since the Gamecube. I had an NES back in the day but skipped a few generations for SEGA in between. A few months ago my son bought a PS4 and while I've been intrigued by some of the games on it, notably Red Dead Redemption 2, I can't seem to get used to the control scheme. I keep backing out of menus when I think I'm selecting something and it's infuriating. Whereas I can pickup Zelda that I haven't played in months and I'm perfectly fine.

I know it's just a matter of time but when I do sit down thinking I'll play something on the PS4 I just get annoyed and stop.

...and I have the same issue playing on the switch. xbox and PS4 (and by extension PC) have agreed which buttons do what (different labels, but same positions) and nintendo takes the xbox button labels, moves them around and mixes up their use.

I'll also agree with Blackhawk's system complexity thing. I will never finish Divinity Original 2. I've started it three times and I have to restart when I come back. Just mentioning it makes me want to pick it up again, but as of Thursday evening I will be busy with something else so it will have to wait!

[hitbyambulance]

this is why i stick with coin-op arcade games

[gameoverman]

My issue with controls is not re-learning them. It's not with learning controls for a new game either. My issue is when a game designer, or a designer for any software, decides to reinvent the wheel for no reason. If a certain button is always the jump button in an action game, and I try to play a new action game where the default jump button is a key on the other side of the keyboard, that pisses me off. Being able to remap the keys does not make up for the stupidity of not defaulting the 'I" key for inventory, or the "M" key for map if that's what all other games of that type use.

If I'm a game designer and want to default inventory to "S" for stash, how is that better than calling it inventory? What's the improvement to the game player? There is none.

[Rumpy]

There are certain older games that that I never got to the first time around that I'll probably never get into due to complexity of their controls, like Freespace 2 for instance. I tried it out for a bit as I got it for free via GOG, and I think I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like those type of games, particularly when I have to learn so many keys and use them and remember to use them while in combat. It's just not all that particularly fun to me.