Are games getting dumber?

[YuriyD]

Well it depends what you mean by dumbed down but yeah. There are still games that require cunning and intellect to get through well but many are just made simple.
Try:
-The Orange Box
-Battlefield 2 (lots of strategy and tactics, especially if played with a clan competitively)

If you want more intelligent games, try a few RTSs or a good RPG or two.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I'm not saying all old games are brilliant, I'm simply mentioning the fact that older games tended to have a stronger focus on story and design, rather than gameplay.

Bull.

There was no great, grand story in X-Wing or Flight Simulator or Test Drive, nor were they extensively superdesigned. In your nostalgia for a golden PC gaming age that never was, you're forgetting the old titles that were no better (or worse, really) than their modern equivalents while still being riotously fun. I'd very much like it if I could shock some of the nostalgists out of their denial.

-- Steve

 

[Baby Tea]

I really have to agree with the OP. I mean, there are games now that still can have a great story and characters, but they are getting fewer and farther between.

I grew up on King's Quest, Space Quest, Practically every Lucas Arts adventure game, etc. Granted that those are all 'adventure' games, but I encountered other fantastic story driven games, like Baldur's Gate (Both of them) and Planescape Torment! And the Half-life series is a fantastic example of a 'smart' FPS!

I like a good mindless game as much as the next guy (Perfect for just unwinding and relaxing), but I haven't played a deep RPG since Baldur's Gate or a deep FPS since Half-life 2 Episode: 2 (I know, that was fairly recent...but still).

 

[Kabutos]

Games are being dumbed down because the majority of gamers are now dumber. I recently had a conversation with one of the typical frat boy gamers. One of the worst conversations in my life.

EDIT:

I haven't played a deep RPG since Baldur's Gate

Have you played the first two Fallouts? In my opinion those are pretty deep.

 

[laikenf]

I think you're playing the wrong games my friend. I'll give you a hint: stop playing FPS's man, I know those are the games that are "in" nowadays, but there are TONS of games out there, RPG's RTS's, Puzzlers, Adventure, everything is out there (even genres we never thought would exist) for you're enjoyment, and there are a lot of good ones too (and, like always, bad ones as well). I don't know, but I don't really think that games have gotten worse lately, there is a lot of stuff out there but, like it always has been, we are only exposed to mainstream titles (and you know where that leads to: hype- dissapointment) but that's nothing new, and as a matter of fact we have never had such a wide variety of games/ consoles to choose from. There are a lot of good developers out there putting out great games of all shapes and sizes, it's just that they are so many that it is very easy to get lost in the vastness.

 

[John Tacos]

Its well known that developers are going to run out of ideas someday. Granted, that will be the day I play "Legend of The Arse-Monkeys: The Search for a Wagon of Bailouts..." I thought Gears 1 and 2 had a good story, but I'd much rather worry about playability. You want a good story with puzzles and twists? Two words: "Soul Reaver"

 

[Zeldadudes]

Unfortunately the games are getting worse, but it's nothing we can really change. And as many people have pointed out they are fun so why change it?

Games aren't getting worse, nostalgia is just bitting your ear.
You know what's getting worse? Companies desire for money.

This guy is a genius.
QUICK THOUGHT:
Braid? Wasn't that a real arse-kicker because it made you use your brain, as well as Portal...?

 

[PsykoDragon]

But yeah, the fact is that there are some games with an artistic feel to them, & a great story that made me want to trudge on & find out what's next, & when done right, the gameplay is actually fun in a sense, if you think of it as doing art instead of doing kill.

I don't mind the dumbed-down games as long as they're fun, but when I play a great game, & I mean GREAT, I just get this pure sense of beauty. Too bad I can't remember any of these games for some reason :S

 

[JediMB]

While these games can be undeniably fun, what happened to the games that [...] prioritised story higher than gameplay [...]?

...I'm sorry, what?

Gameplay should always, always be the best it can be, regardless of genre. The day you ask for a game with less gameplay is the day you should go watch a movie instead.

 

[ThePlasmatizer]

I think I found a flaw in your arguement:

You're basing the standard of intelligence of games on just fpses.

Despite being ridiculous and off the wall game I've found the Phoenix Wright games to be the most cerebral games I've played recently, although it's never serious it definitely makes you think.

 

[AuntyEthel]

Are you maybe just pissed off that companies dont seem to make point-n-click adventures anymore (I am btw)?

 

[J-Man]

I think you're playing the wrong games my friend. I'll give you a hint: stop playing FPS's man, I know those are the games that are "in" nowadays, but there are TONS of games out there, RPG's RTS's, Puzzlers, Adventure, everything is out there (even genres we never thought would exist) for you're enjoyment, and there are a lot of good ones too (and, like always, bad ones as well). I don't know, but I don't really think that games have gotten worse lately, there is a lot of stuff out there but, like it always has been, we are only exposed to mainstream titles (and you know where that leads to: hype- dissapointment) but that's nothing new, and as a matter of fact we have never had such a wide variety of games/ consoles to choose from. There are a lot of good developers out there putting out great games of all shapes and sizes, it's just that they are so many that it is very easy to get lost in the vastness.

I would like to play these, but at heart I'm an action gamer. That doesn't mean I like FPSs, but it's the genre that really gets my andrenalin pumping. My question is, why hasn't there been a game like Deus Ex recently? An FPS that combines brilliant action with a great background and storyline.

Secondly, I'm not a nostalgist, I just like some of the old games, as SOME of them (not all), and by 'some' I mean a fraction, proportion or percentage of the old games had a stronger focus on story and design. SOME. Not all.
e.g. Monkey Island, Deus Ex, Psychonauts, Portal (yeah, not old, but the kind of game we need more of, and I would like more games to be at that same level of imaginative story mixed with fun).

 

[Good morning blues]

I don't think there's a big difference, but I also wish there were more intelligent, thoughtful stories in games out there. I've seen a couple of games recently that at least made vague attempts at political and social criticism (Bioshock at least called free-market capitalism into question even if it didn't do so in an especially sophisticated manner, and everybody tells me that I'd be into Call of Duty 4 because it's not 100% rah-rah pro-US-military propaganda), but I would definitely like to see more games with these elements making these same points more forcefully. Unfortunately I think that the video game industry is even more adverse to taking that sort of risk than Hollywood, so I guess we're mostly going to have to rely on the indie scene.

 

[Cinder Block of Oppression]

There's always going to be more dumb game then good ones. They're easier to make. But there's not a lack of of smart games either.

 

[B4D 9R4MM3R]

In a simple response: Yes.

In a more complicated, but more truthful, response: Yes, but not all of them.

 

[sequio]

I'm not sure game companies could get away with constantly releasing provocative games. Also, social/political "schticks" during an immersing game would make me vomit. i.e. I'm not going to play condemned if the game keeps reminding every few seconds of how videos games will instill violent behaviors in me. Or if microsoft logos were all over halo maps.

 

[thiosk]

Games ARE getting dumber, but not in sense you imply.

Lets look at pong, not exactly mentally stimulating. Compare that to crysis, you'll probably think a lot more than when playing pong. I chose the worst example here to make the general point. Games are dumber now because they hold your hand, they give you ad nauseum tutorials, half of most games are tutorials, including some of the best games in recent memory (portal is a giant tutorial for the final like 2 levels. insert rabid comments about how much the cake lies here) Remember Star Control II? That game did not hold your hand, if you did the wrong thing, OOPS, game over, and they would be happy to let you play for weeks without telling you that you had already lost. But now, try not holding peoples hands, and you'll have screaming and hate on interweb forums.

Moving ahead from pong several years, lets look at some immortal games:

1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Space Invaders
3. Galaga
4. Super Ghouls and Ghosts

1. Jump on things, minimal thinking, mostly skill.
2. Flying from the left to the write shooting an infinite number of ships. Timing and skill.
3. Same as above.
4. Absolutely the hardest game ever made, only skill.

But we chose the games we wanted to make our points about. If you want your shooters to be intellectual, good luck. Enjoy the few and far between you get-- your deus exes-- and get over it because its not going to happen very frequently. Proof? Dead Space as an intellectual story shooter? Shock horror at best. If you want highly intellectual or crazy long stories, theres places to look. Gal Civ. Civilization. Total War. Europa Universalis. Sins of a solar empire maybe. Baldur's Gate 2. But if in depth strategy, and tactics, and learning the entire dungeons and dragons rule book on the fly isn't what you want, and you want to use in depth strategy and tactics while executing perfectly timed boom headshots, you may be dissapointed yet, though theres options out there.

And one little pet peev: if you want a great story, seriously, read a book, because the best storyline games often don't compare to average movies. We are biased towards games because we are gamers, and overlook the glaring issues. Proof? I love resident evil. And beautiful dialog they have not.

 

[MintyFreshBreathGuy]

I like your thinking. Though I disagree with L4D only because its multilayer is focused on and it doesn't try to give some half-@$$ed explanation as to why there are zombies (which is why I don't like the RE series and a little more). It's mindless shooting with friends, and that's why I like it. Anyway here is my answer. Yes they have gotten dumber. I frequently see cliches and repeated themes over and over and over again. As for your comment on gameplay, I personally feel that there should be new types of gameplay or we should experiment with new forms, like Mirror's Edge idea or Alone In The Dark's inventory (WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUT IN A GOOD GAME). And I think we need more games that play like Criminal Origins and maybe soemthing like a new Indigo Prophecy (y'know I can see that being an FMV game). But in a nutshell I agree with you. Games have gotten stupider and they need changes, which is why I'm looking forward to Eat Lead: Return of Matt Hazard.