It's been a crazy few weeks for me lately, I am in the process of moving on top of taking on full-time hours at my job so sadly I haven't yet been able to keep up with my resolution to post more often here. That doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about gaming on the regular though! Playing games is another story at the moment. It's been weeks since I've played a game other than Sims 3 and it's been days since I've played that! Bah, boo moving!...Anyway. I have been in the car way more lately than I like to be and have been thinking a lot about the state of gaming and video game development in the last few years. I won't go too crazy ranting here... yet... but I wanted to introduce a new topic for discussion which is: What the fuck has happened to gamers' expectations?
I mean really. Maybe I just don't get the genres of games that sell in numbers today, but everything just seems so... dumbed down. The top games that get the best review scores and the widest demand just seem so... similar. All of them. You watch pretty cutscenes, you run around with one analog stick and control your camera with the other, and you hit a variety of buttons to kill stuff or blow stuff up. Different enemies, different weapons, different map textures, higher resolution... this is what is touted as depth in games today it seems like. I can be impressed by more advanced AI that games use to ramp up the challenge, but ultimately there is just nothing to video games anymore past shiny graphics, shooting control schemes and item/weapon collection. Now and then a game with a great plot comes out that manages to sell but for the most part the plotlines and story of popular games are just... not important it seems.
I've already gone farther than I meant to right now but I would be really interested in what anyone (anyone? Bueller?) might think about this topic. I know franchises like Halo and Call of Duty have hordes of followers that are happy to defend them but I'm just saddened by the way smaller, deeper, BETTER games just aren't getting made anymore. And when they are, no one buys them!
Future more specific topics on this theme will include:
- What Ever Happened To Adventure Games?
- Just Because I Don't Have A Dick Doesn't Mean I Want Games About Babyz and Ponyz*
- Why Video Games Are Not A Good Replacement For Socializing With Friends In Person
- The Lack Of Puzzles That Make You Think At All
- Don't Make Movie-based Games, Make Movie-LIKE Games!
...and more. Don't touch that dial! But in the meantime if you read this blog and have an opinion on the matter please elaborate in the comments.
*Note: I might actually enjoy a game about Ponyz. But definitely, definitely not Babyz.
Posts
2 comments:
My take on this is that as gaming becomes more mainstream, the entrenched in the industry will make games that have proven will sell. They have teams of researchers, usability experts and marketers to make sure that a game is appealing to as wide of the demographic as possible... meanwhile, indie gamers will continue to push the envelope in creativity... all the while, earning a meager success and maybe scraping by a profit.
While I enjoy the experiences that the call of duty/ halo franchises give me, I'm happier when I find something new.
I think that most game companies (with some exceptions) are more about consumption than creativity, because all too often, creativity goes unappreciated, under funded and when recognized, gets homogenized and "auto-tuned" into something that's more recognizable.
To paraphrase Phillip J Fry in Futurama, people don't want new, they want the same thing they've already seen... and this continues to be true in games.
I totally agree about the consumption vs creativity. I get that ultimately it's the financial bottom line that matters, I just wish the mainstream population of game consumers weren't so... stupid? Hahah I don't quite mean that but I wish more people wanted the high standards of video game challenge that I want. Though really I am resigned that my gaming preferences represent like 1% of gamers out there. Silly me for wanting thinking puzzles and compelling storylines over more pixels and online multiplayer...
Post a Comment