Every once and a while I'd pick up a new videogame, play it for a few weeks, beat it, then put it down after it was over. That is the general pattern of gamers this day in age, where developers make a game with hopes that the player will get a good 7-8 hours of fun, then leave it satisfied and thirsty for more.
Then I heard about a game called Kerbal space program in 2012. I watched the trailers and a few gameplay vids, and thought that this looks interesting enough to try out, maybe I'll get a weeks worth of gameplay out of it... oh boy was I wrong.
KSP is an example of how a videogame can change the way you see videogames forever. It is revolutionary, it is inspiring, and it is educational; and it doesn't even have an objective! The player is given an entire solar system to explore via the utilization of their very own space program.
It literally is 'Build, Fly , Dream.'
No videogame seems to have figured out that the best way to keep a person engaged is to provide them with their OWN goals and the tools to reach them. You start KSP with no instructions, only a small tutorial on how KSP basically works. Then the game lets you do whatever you want. So what do players do? They invent a new challenge for themselves, like to make it into orbit.
So the player keeps designing, building, testing and crashing, until they reach their goal. And OH BOY is it satisfying! You feel accomplished, like you've done something unique in your life and want to share it with the world. Then you see the Mun in the background and you say to yourself... "I wanna go there next!" So the player builds, tests, fails, retests etc until they get to their goal. This goes on for the rest of your gaming career in KSP.
Wanna build a space shuttle? Go ahead! Wanna build a car? Go ahead. Wanna build an elevator? Go ahead. Wanna build ANYTHING you want that actually WORKS via physics, this game lets you. It is the ultimate expression of engineering, creativity and the human spirit.
I cannot sing this games praises enough. I picked it up in summer of 2012 and have played it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY since then. And if the stock game becomes too easy... why not try some of the communities mods? Everytime you download a new mod, you basically get a new game with more toys to build and design with.
I don't need any other game other than this one. Thank you Squad for reinvigorating my hope in videogames!
10/10 and it's not even finished yet!