As a child I was able to plow through the original Legend of Zelda within 2 hours. I never thought this was too long or too short. At the time I was just happy I could finish the game. Now years later I find myself obsessed with game times. I constantly ask developers how it takes to finish their games, or if it’s a handheld game I want to know how long it takes before I can put the game down. At times I don’t think about the question and for the most part game makers had no problem answering the question. Yet I’m starting to find the question a little offensive.

For the most part, games average about 10 hours of gameplay. This may sound short to some, but right now gamers are a little more casual. A 10 hour game could be spread out over the course of a few days. In some cases gamers play so rarely that one of these average titles might seem longer since you’re only playing it for a half hour at a time. In the case of Role Playing Games you might be in front of your screen for over 100 hours, but at no time would a gamer say this is too long. Yet, if a game is too short it’s a different story. Plus if you add on the multiplayer aspect of the game the time-frame could it be considered endless.

However, for this situation gamers are complaining that the story is too short. This may be the case on paper, but to argue that the time-frame of the game is too short takes away from the story. A story in a game isn’t written to appease the player looking for a long game. The writing is trying to convey a point or message. In the case of the Call of Duty series that message is something gamers except. If a writer stopped and thought “hey I have to draw this out a little for the player” gamers would cry that the story is long winded.

Complaining that a game’s story isn’t long enough is a double edged sword. On one hand you’re taking a jab at the writer by saying you’re not doing enough. Yet you’re also complementing the writer by saying you want more of what they’re doing. Either way you should simply be happy with what you get.

If you stay away from a game just because of its length you’re just hurting yourself. If you jump on a game where you have a great singleplayer and great multiplayer, a long story could be skipped to get to the multiplayer faster. So don’t think that a 4 hour action game is better or worse than a 100+ hour RPG. If the story is good it doesn’t matter if its 2 minutes or 20 hours. So play your game and have fun. If it’s short and you like it enough to cry for more, play it twice.