This text expands on my thoughts in this previous German article.
Iremember the times when no game was too long for me. I even remember dismissing the notion of a game, a good game, ever being called "too long" absurd. How can something good ever outstay its welcome? I remember playing for days, for weeks, weekends and evenings disappearing into maws of games like Civilization, Fallout, the Ultimas, the Final Fantasies.
I was a kid back then. I remember when I was reliant on pocket money and games journalists with their ratings to help me decide where my 50 bucks would go this month: Would I spend them on books, records and movies - or a single game? If I was to shell them out for a game, it had better offer some serious playing time.
Because, you know, while, as a kid, I was always short on money, there was one thing I definitely wasn't short on: time.