How long should games be?
Well I just had a game that lasted 12 minutes, was enjoyable and quite close and ended in a 3k with the last guy escaping through the gates, then one of the other survivors was complaining that everyone but them was trash, the other survivors and the killer, because 'No game should ever last more than 7 minutes, it just shows that you're a pathetic and wasting my time'. They had the lowest score out of everyone too oddly enough.
So the reason that I'm making this discussion is to get a sense of the general consensus on whether a longer game is/can be more fun than a shorter game or if I'm in the minority on that.
Comments
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I think a perfect game should last around 10 min more or less take it or leave it.
That is the reason why people hate forever builds because if it lasts way too long there won't be any more pallets etc.
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15-20
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Literally my tactic. I run Thanatophobia to start a slow down early, Dying Light to keep the game slowed throughout the middle stage with about 3-5 tokens and a grinding halt with 6+ tokens in the late stage, Pop Goes the Weasel because each hit takes off 20 seconds from the victory timer but with Thanatophobia and DL it's actually closer to 30 seconds due to the percent increase relative to time, and Overcharge as an alarm.
Overcharge is easily beaten by people who run DS because they're used to hitting hard checks but by the end of the game they're usually so burned out they just whiff them all. The problem is that if I don't run this build specifically then games are done in like six minutes and I maybe get one or two hooks after eating a dozen pallets and probably a DS or four.
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I honestly don't know. I've never stopped time before, but ideally a game should last about 10 or 15 minutes.
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I like games that last around 10 minutes, keeps the match from getting boring while also not being too fast.
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I think is 10-15. If it lasts less than 10 minutes, it means someting goes wrong and unfun. Maybe survivors made gens way too fast ignoring healing and saving teammates. Maybe survivors was swarming the killer and allow him instantly slug all team. Maybe someone gives up on first hook and made a game much easier for killer. Again, 10-15 minutes for a perfect match, it is just my opinion.
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I pretty much agree though I'd extend the times out a bit on both ends
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i think a game should be at least 50% longer than the average queue time. waiting 10 minutes for a 5 minute game is unacceptable. 7 minutes on a 5 minute queue is ok to good.
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Also if match lasts more than 15 minutes it means something go wrong. Maybe remaining survivors got extremely immersive and hiding all match (I find this type of gameplay boring for both sides). Maybe survivors 3-gen themselves. Or maybe everyone go play farming simulator.
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Yeah had around a 20 minute game once where we got 3 genned. about 3 quarters of the entire match was with 1 gen left.
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15min seems like a pretty fair time to aim for.
Enough time for a lot of fun interactions without it getting drug on too long.
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15 seems like a good amount, you get your bp and your exp.
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I'd be really curious to see some current stats on average game lengths by rank.
I'd wager they are much shorter than 15min.
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There should be no perfect length. I'm extremely content with long or short matches as long as I get to use the skills I've honed as killer and survivor to kill/survive.
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10-12 minutes is the sweet spot for me as both killer and survivor... I've had some games where our team was stuck in a 3 gen situation last for 30+ minutes and it just gets boring and exhausting.
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I would say at least 15 minutes to be satisfying, get a good score and well fought for outcome. A 7 minute game for either side would feel like there was some unfair advantage at play. Like red rank SWF laying waste to a inexperienced killer or a high ranked killer owning baby survs. I want longer more challenging matches, especially with current queue times.
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10 minutes and above starts getting boring.
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Agreed. Around 10+/- minutes is what I usually consider enjoyable.
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10-15 minutes. Any less and it's just awful and frantic. Anything more and it stretches on way too long. Plus, with m1 killers you kind of need deadzones, and you aren't going to create any in less than 10 minutes.
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10 to 20 mins. Less than that someone got stomped. Longer than that starts to feel tedious and boring. 15 mins is a pretty good length.
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Probably not the answer you're looking for, but as long as they need to be. If the killer is struggling and not able to catch someone all match, I would rather that match be quick and over with ASAP (~5 minutes) so everyone can move on to a closer match.
If it's a close match, I find 10 minutes is a sweet spot. 10 minute close matches are intense and have a lot of action, rarely a dull moment or downtime. You're always in a chase, downed, hooked, doing a gen or going for a save. The killer is in a chase pretty much the whole time.
Longer matches can be okay sometimes too, but at some point I want to get off Mr. Bones' Wild Ride.
But in any case, I don't think there's a single magic number that's best for every match.
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Basically this to me as well. If a match starts getting around 15+ minutes its starting to get into "hostage games". This is mostly on survivors not wanting the game to be over and hiding. Or at the very least people would rather drag the game out in a vain hope of winning over just ending a lost game. Killers can also do this but its usually through slugging and that has a finite duration through bleeding out.
But yeah after 12-15 min it starts going downhill, and shorter than 7-8min its usually a stomp and I want the game to be over.
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Preferably 15-20 min
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The flaw is that (this is a generalization) when there are some optimal survivors that fly through gens and then leave a couple close to finished. They then proceed to BM the killer endlessly. A lot of killers (again a generalization) who fly through killing tend to hook and move on to the next game.
if killers could simply open the door at anytime (within limits) prior to the last gen getting done then your idea of having a bad game be over ASAP would be fine. Survivors can suicide on hook, killers need something akin to that.
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That seems to be pointing out the huge flaws with the gen regress mechanic more than anything inherently negative about long games that are longer because of other reasons.
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I'd say 10 to 12 minutes is probably ideal. 8 or 7 minutes is starts way too quick and frustrating, and 15+ minutes feels like a drag.
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Yes, there are quick games where the killer is in trouble. I believe I read that you are currently thinking about solving this with an Early Game Collapse concept. Proof that in reality, you are not fatalistic and are looking for solutions in order to standardize the duration of the games as well as possible.
But there are also other too fast games where most of the survivors are never in chase, downed, hooked, or going for a save and where the killer is almost never in chase...
When do you also plan to think and bring a real solution to the camping, or should the survivors expect always worse with this Early Game Collapse, and already have worse with a new Hex perk that does not help at all? Do you also prefer that the camped survivor makes sure to shorten his sad game as much as possible, without disconnecting of course, in order to get a more interesting one?
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Approx 5 minutes is the ideal time for experience/shard gain.
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Had a 20+ minute match against a ebony mori surveillance freddy that I will never forget. Plunderers became my favorite perk that day.
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Thats honestly just impressive
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10 minutes. I make the bulk of my BP in this time and would rather just move on. Ask me a couple years ago and I might have said 15, but these days I'd rather just make my BP and bounce.
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Depends on if things are getting done (people trading places in a chase while gens/unhooking/healing gets done, etc) or if it's a hopeless situation for one side and pepole are either crawling around slugged and lost or survs are dealing with a 3gen and refusing to give up. I think the match should go on as long as stuff is happening, but one minute of just sitting there is one minute too many ;-;
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5 minutes is the best i can get
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About 5 - 10 minutes is ideal, in my opinion. Corrupt helps with the first 2 minutes.
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Yeah.. We were up against a Trapper with POP... middle gen was the shack which he had trapped up.
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Of course there can´t be a general answer, but the most fun I normaly have in 10-15 minutes matches. It also helps everyone to get a lot of bloodpoints an pips.
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the best games i played were very close, and were about 15-20 minutes. I dont like games under 10 minutes, because most of the time the games are so short because one side if dominant by far.
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Given the number of variables in a game, it is impossible to quantify. The game lasts as long as it is going to last. I did a Spooky Myers on Midwich the other day and killed everyone in 3-4 minutes.
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Hard to eat 4 DS with only one or two hooks 😜
This is not meant toxic but rather ironic XD
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As long as it takes for me to cap my bp in most categories. After that point free escape for everybody.
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Dude that has to be a joke right? Or am I not understanding your comment right?
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The problem with game length is that games are usually decided in the first 2 minutes. Killer didn't get a down within a minute? 3 gens pop and the game ends in 5 min, and everyone gets low BP. Same goes if the killer rocks it and has 2 short chases right off the bat. It's all up to how the killer does in those first few minutes.
It's kinda the main flaw with this game. There's very little either side can do to comeback from a bad start. (But especially Killer) It makes playing out losing matches unfun for both sides.
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5-10 minutes tops. Anything longer is boring
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well 5-10 minutes yes it's the best, that's why i hate stealth and 3 gens because the game are 10-20 minute, even more sometime, with those strat and it's super boring
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"As long as it needs to be" indeed misses the point of the question. It seems to be "How long should a game last?", but in reality it is "How long is a game where survivors and killer are well-matched?". And the answer to this is, usually, 10-15 minutes.
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That sounds awful :,(
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As killer, my matches can last anywhere from 5-30 minutes depending on the survivors. (Yes I have had a 30 minute match before and it was because the last two survivors were hiding really well on the Yamaoka Estate map and refused to touch a gen.)
As survivor, my matches are exactly where I want them to be: 10-15 minutes.
10-15 minutes should be how every match goes for both killer and survivor. Anything below that is just boring and usually results in everyone getting lower points. But anything above 15 just drags on and becomes exhausting.
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5-8 minutes. Survivors aren't doing gens if it's taking longer. Even if they're getting downed immediately, 7 minutes is still realistic.
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Typically I'd say 10-15 minutes; that being said, one of the most fun games I've played literally lasted about 45 minutes... Tons of back and forth momentum for both sides while I tried introducing a friend to the game
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