look i’m not a ICE apologist or antyhing (these apply to EVs as well) but it’s not hard to figure out why car games are more popular. Also I’m not saying these are universal rules, i’m sure some disagree. But I think it’s safe to say these apply to most in the gamer market.
more power and speed = more fun.
Games are as close as most people will come to driving an expensive car like a BMW, let alone a Ferrari, or even actual racing cars.
Even if you argue people are just not culturally conditioned to aesthetically enjoy bicycles, could you even really appreciate them in the same way in a video game? you’d barely see them.
Cars are much more complex machines and that leads to each having a more unique character than bicycles, and that allows a greater variety of gameplay. For example, mid/front engine, ICE/EV, NA/turbo/super, FWD/RWD/AWD, etc. And usually in games there’s a progression from lower performance cars to higher performance cars.
Instead of leveling up your vehicle, you level up the infrastructure as you progress the game. By the end, you’re just taking the public transit system to the finish line.
I don’t know, bikes are incredibly diverse vehicles too. A tricycle is nothing like a cargo bike, a full suspension mountain bike, a road bike, a time trial bike, a BMX, a fixed gear etc. and they all feel very different to ride.
And while there might not be as many moving parts as on a car, a lot of engineering goes into the design of high end bicycles. If you’re into bikes, it’s very easy to appreciate the beauty and functional design of a well designed bicycle.
The fact that they are at their core simple machines which basic function hasn’t changed since the invention of the safety bicycle in the 1880s, yet have been innovated on ever since to arrive at the bikes we have today is what makes them fascinating imo.
Some people enjoy cars and some people enjoy bikes, but there isn’t really anything that makes one more inherently interesting.
Generation Zero has bicycles as the main “silent” vehicle to get around, so you don’t alert the machines.
Parcel Corps (I played the demo a while back, I don’t know if it’s fully released) is about bicycle couriers, in a cool vibrant city. It kinda reminds me of JSRF in a couple ways, as you ride around on your bike and do all sorts of cool tricks, and there’s a funky soundtrack (from what I remember).
Eta: holy shit I forgot about, imo, the GOAT of bike gameplay: Bully. I remember trying so hard to get all the way through Shop class to get one of the best bikes in the game, and doing the paperboy side quest as much as I could just to experience that feeling, and earn tons of money. I ended up getting really good at it too.
Just tried this out recently. It's good fun. I do wish it explained itself a little better at the start - I had no idea that it was essentially a roguelite - but it gets that feeling of momentum at the edge of wiping out just right
I saw something within the past year or so that looked like a new version of Paperboy and I got excited but then it turned out it wasn’t and I was disappointed.
Everyone reacts to different media differently so I don’t have trouble seeing this as in earnest. MGS3 has very strong moments IMO. For me it’s the likes of FFX that gets me still 25 years later, and there are others to be sure. Oh boy, Undertale though.
I haven‘t played it but it‘s arguably the least discussed Metal Gear Solid game. At least people talk about 4 and 5. 3 literally just sits in the middle and sort of… exists.
COD suffered two deaths. The first was when it just became boring and familiar, which differs for everyone, but for me it was after MW3. Same shit every year.
The second was when it tried to chase the Fortnite/hero shooter trend, and lost its identity entirely. There is no theme anymore, it’s just a bunch of “operators” (celebrities and shit) fighting each other without any context on random maps. Nicki Minaj being a playable character pretty much sums up what the franchise has become. A completely unserious pile of slop.
I'm old. vCOD, UO, and CoD2 were my shit. Cod4 was the transition, but still good. Blackops lost the theme and killed any competitive scene opportunities for the game, and as you said, it's been Ctrl+c/Ctrl+v ever since, yet also worse every time.
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