Vuk
01-04-2011, 18:21
Is the problem with the gaming industry. Fear.
It seems that game producers only want to copy the most recent hit games, and are not willing to stick to the core of older franchises, or to try new things. Then when a game breaks the mold and does, it becomes the new hit and everyone takes to copying it.
Problem Case: Thief 3, Deus Ex 2-3.
The Thief and Deus Ex franchises both had their heydays in the wee years of computer gaming when there was a really negative stigma associated with gaming and only hardcore gamers played such computer games. Since then computer games have become something for the masses. Many recent games that have come out have tried to appeal more to the LCD of gaming, those who are not good at it, have no interest in becoming so, and have the attention span of gnats. These people want an impressive cinematic experience, and want to think that they are really cool. To this end, the player loses much control, and the program starts automatically doing things that normally would be up to the player (ie. the fab kill scenes of Assassin's Creed, auto-aim, 3rd person cover systems, etc), but which the LCD gamers out there could not do correctly and would not understand, and the player feels really bad@$$ because 'they' just did this really awesome move.
Such games play off of the ego and stupidity of those playing them, and require no real skill, knowledge, or technique. More importantly, rather than learning anything from them and coming away feeling enriched, you end up just as mud-dumb as before, but feeling really good about yourself.
These adolescent (usually), ignorant, easily entertained sheep are also impulse buyers, and therefore the gaming industry of the last decade has catered almost exclusively toward them. Everyone wants some of the cattle's money, and is not willing to risk catering to a different audience. I guess it has never occurred to game developers that the reason that such games dominate the industry is because they are all that is made, and that a lot of the people who buy and play them may long for a more enriching, real experience. Maybe they are not all such stupid sheep, but are only playing what is available.
Rather than tapping into the roots of Thief and DX, and having faith that what made them appeal to those hardcore gamers in the 90s would make them appeal a much larger audience today, they decided to simply make an imitation of the games that were popular at the time, and call them Thief and DX. I hate to clue the DX3 devs, but they will never do a better Assassin's Creed than the AC developers. They may take a little money from their audience, but they will never be able to seriously compete. They had a chance to carve out their own audience, who would be looking for a uniquely DX experience and could be quite profitable, but they were too afraid to take the risk, and instead hoped that DX's name would bring the DX fans, and that AC gameplay would bring the AC fans.
Guess what, even if games like that do not flop (like the disaster that is DX2...that they seem to have not learned from), they will never sell well. They will never be able to compete with other games.
Solution Case: Half-Life 2.
Here we had something done right. Valve, owned by the developers actually had faith in what makes their franchise unique, and rather than jumping on-board the disaster train that everyone else is, they decided to stick true to their franchise and hope that what made the first game appeal to its humble fan base would make the second game appeal to many more. They made a near clone of the first game, gameplay-wise, and added an exciting continuation of the storyline. Guess what? They now control a part of the market that no one can compete with them for. No one out there does a better Half-Life game than they do. Sure, they don't have the CoD fans, or the Kingdom Hearts fans, or the AC fans, but they have the Half-Life fans, and they are worth having.
The video game industry has to stop being afraid, and realize that there was something to those early games that made them appeal to human beings, and that will do so again. Stop trying to appeal to the fickled LCD out there! Have some faith in the franchises that you are making sequels for. If you do not, then step away and let someone who does have faith take it over. Go make your own game!
It seems that game producers only want to copy the most recent hit games, and are not willing to stick to the core of older franchises, or to try new things. Then when a game breaks the mold and does, it becomes the new hit and everyone takes to copying it.
Problem Case: Thief 3, Deus Ex 2-3.
The Thief and Deus Ex franchises both had their heydays in the wee years of computer gaming when there was a really negative stigma associated with gaming and only hardcore gamers played such computer games. Since then computer games have become something for the masses. Many recent games that have come out have tried to appeal more to the LCD of gaming, those who are not good at it, have no interest in becoming so, and have the attention span of gnats. These people want an impressive cinematic experience, and want to think that they are really cool. To this end, the player loses much control, and the program starts automatically doing things that normally would be up to the player (ie. the fab kill scenes of Assassin's Creed, auto-aim, 3rd person cover systems, etc), but which the LCD gamers out there could not do correctly and would not understand, and the player feels really bad@$$ because 'they' just did this really awesome move.
Such games play off of the ego and stupidity of those playing them, and require no real skill, knowledge, or technique. More importantly, rather than learning anything from them and coming away feeling enriched, you end up just as mud-dumb as before, but feeling really good about yourself.
These adolescent (usually), ignorant, easily entertained sheep are also impulse buyers, and therefore the gaming industry of the last decade has catered almost exclusively toward them. Everyone wants some of the cattle's money, and is not willing to risk catering to a different audience. I guess it has never occurred to game developers that the reason that such games dominate the industry is because they are all that is made, and that a lot of the people who buy and play them may long for a more enriching, real experience. Maybe they are not all such stupid sheep, but are only playing what is available.
Rather than tapping into the roots of Thief and DX, and having faith that what made them appeal to those hardcore gamers in the 90s would make them appeal a much larger audience today, they decided to simply make an imitation of the games that were popular at the time, and call them Thief and DX. I hate to clue the DX3 devs, but they will never do a better Assassin's Creed than the AC developers. They may take a little money from their audience, but they will never be able to seriously compete. They had a chance to carve out their own audience, who would be looking for a uniquely DX experience and could be quite profitable, but they were too afraid to take the risk, and instead hoped that DX's name would bring the DX fans, and that AC gameplay would bring the AC fans.
Guess what, even if games like that do not flop (like the disaster that is DX2...that they seem to have not learned from), they will never sell well. They will never be able to compete with other games.
Solution Case: Half-Life 2.
Here we had something done right. Valve, owned by the developers actually had faith in what makes their franchise unique, and rather than jumping on-board the disaster train that everyone else is, they decided to stick true to their franchise and hope that what made the first game appeal to its humble fan base would make the second game appeal to many more. They made a near clone of the first game, gameplay-wise, and added an exciting continuation of the storyline. Guess what? They now control a part of the market that no one can compete with them for. No one out there does a better Half-Life game than they do. Sure, they don't have the CoD fans, or the Kingdom Hearts fans, or the AC fans, but they have the Half-Life fans, and they are worth having.
The video game industry has to stop being afraid, and realize that there was something to those early games that made them appeal to human beings, and that will do so again. Stop trying to appeal to the fickled LCD out there! Have some faith in the franchises that you are making sequels for. If you do not, then step away and let someone who does have faith take it over. Go make your own game!