Can you be a fan of a franchise without ever playing a game of that franchise? Or is it impossible to not play at least one game of that franchise?
A big fan without ever playing a game of a franchise
- Thread starter Vanessa28
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I’d say no. There’s a difference between playing a game and knowing about the things in a game. You can read about a game or watch playthroughs all you want, but until you play it for yourself you haven’t experienced it as a game in the intended way. At that point I’d say you’re a fan of the concept of the game and not a fan of the game itself.
I love the world and characters of TF2, for example, but I’d never call myself a fan of the game itself. How could I? I barely know a thing about the game underneath the world.
I love the world and characters of TF2, for example, but I’d never call myself a fan of the game itself. How could I? I barely know a thing about the game underneath the world.
While I do not think its impossible to like a franchise without playing, its unlikely. Playing the game will connect you more with the story and characters.
Turo602
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As someone who grew up watching my older brother play through games like Resident Evil and The Legend of Zelda, I say yes. I was a fan long before I ever picked up and played the games for myself. A similar thing happened to me with the Metal Gear Solid series. I've always known of it and understood the big deal it was, but when Ground Zeroes was revealed, I became kind of obsessed with it. My curiosity of the series had grown so much over the years and this was the one that pushed me into a lore deep dive and eventually playing the games.
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Imo if you have a love for a game or series you're a fan, regardless of whether you've played it or not. For example, my dad loves video games and has played many games that I haven't. A lot of these I've watched him play and gained an appreciation for. I can talk at length about the plots and gameplay styles of Metroid or MegaMan despite not having much experience playing either. I have a genuine interest in them.
That’s fair, I mean there are probably people who are fans of Final Fantasy cuz of movies and shows, and watching the games on YouTube.
I would think that if you like what you see in a game or series that you would call yourself a fan, it'd make sense to play at least one game in it, or at least have the intention to
it's admittedly gatekeepy to say otherwise, but games are an interactive medium where the experience is in playing them, so I just feel it's tricky to say you're a fan of the game if it turned out that you don't like the act of actually playing it once you do
it's admittedly gatekeepy to say otherwise, but games are an interactive medium where the experience is in playing them, so I just feel it's tricky to say you're a fan of the game if it turned out that you don't like the act of actually playing it once you do
Some people though struggle playing games of any kind, but they like the story and characters. Thankfully in regards to Zelda, there are mangas.
Turo602
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Metal Gear Solid has gameplay I'm not particularly thrilled about and I vastly prefer the stealth mechanics and gameplay of a Splinter Cell over it. I wouldn't necessarily call any of the Metal Gear Solid titles, at least of the ones I've played, a favorite of mine simply because I find the gameplay experience lacking, but I'd still consider myself a fan of the series simply because I find the story, characters, and quirks very appealing.
The Splinter Cell games were ones I never played but really enjoyed the show like RedvsBlue that X-Play (G4) use to feature.
Mikey the Gengar
if I had a nickel for every time I ran out of spac
I consider myself an earthbound fan. I was afraid to play earthbound for a long time because I wanted to like it, and my experience with certain games "inspired by earthbound" made me worried that I wouldn't like the game because the games it inspired were all so terrible. So I think I was a fan in a loose sense back then, because I liked earthbound the whole time. I'm just a bigger fan now
I think it's definitely possible. I watch a lot of video game content on Youtube, and some games are more fun to watch than play for me. I think this situation would happen more often to kids who are too young to purchase games on their own and their parents or guardians won't buy them for them.
but you had played the games still, and for some games the story is more of a pull where even if you're not into the gameplay, you're still into the overall experience
to each their own, I just think back to myself where I watched playthroughs of both GameCube Star Fox games before I played any of the games, and as much I was interested in them, I don't think I would've called myself a "fan" b/c despite being familiar w/ the story and gameplay structure, I still haven't actually played it myself