Are games going in the right direction?

[Low Frost]

they aren't. sure there are some games, but there isn't that spark anymore that we used to have back in the day of like the SNES. developers were imaginative, creative, and pushed the limits of the console constantly. it was to the point where almost every time a game was released by a notable developer (squaresoft, nintendo, sega as examples) it would almost reinvent the genre of that game. games such as super mario world, sonic the hedgehog 2, seiken densetsu 3, secret of mana, link to the past were always redefining everything. what do we have now? the best games according to people now are like killzone and MGS4 where they don't just borrow aspects of some games, the almost rip off games. even games by big game developers aren't always good anymore. look what happened to sonic and donkey kong.

Sonic's not a victim of gaming evolving he's a victim of a development studio who don't know when to stop and are oblivious to the requests of the fans.
Also as I said before games not being as fresh and new today isn't because developers have no imagination it's because so much has now already been done, look at music or film, new genres aren't being created on a daily basis there either.

That, and things that are original recieve medicre sales, compared to the next sure-fire hit sequel. I really wish game devs would stop thinking that a game need sell 1mil+ copies to be a hit.Look at the Yakuza series, for example.

Unfortunatly they kind of do, games today are so expensive to develop that they really do have to sell well for the devs to make any kind of profit, what you're saying is true though,
I thought LittleBigPlanet was one of the freshest ideas of last year yet it didn't sell as well as many thought it would, whereas tried and true formulas such as COD:WaW sold like hot cakes, doesn't really give developers much incentive to take a risk and try something new.

Yea, LBP made the kid in me smile. I pushed it on my nephew a little while back. Every kid needs to play a good platformer.

 

[Signa]

You will get a resounding "NO!" from me for the original question. I really can't place what exactly is wrong with games today, but I do know that I've been popping in old games (~10+ years old) and they have been AMAZING. Yahtzee's review of Thief spurred me to play it again, and I think that stealth games haven't been done right since. Whatever they were doing 10 years ago, they really were doing it right.


Honestly, I think the overall feel of games has become dumber. Even one of the few recent games that I loved, Bioshock, was dumb. It had a really though provoking storyline/environment, but the gameplay was really overly simple. Some one once pointed out on another forum that it's the original Xbox's fault. All the best games were released up until that thing came out, and after that, all the best devs moved to making games that ran on 10 or so buttons. I'll see later if I can dig up that post. It really was a strong indicator that the games industry was fucked by MS moving to consoles.

Edit: Wow! Found it!

1998 - Starcraft, Unreal, Half Life, Tribes, Fallout 2, Grim Fandango, Thief, Baldur's Gate
1999 - Planescape Torment, System Shock 2, Homeworld, Baldur's Gate Expansion, Alpha Centauri, Counter Strike, Unreal Tournament, Quake 3 Arena, The Longest Journey -- XBox announced
2000 - Deus Ex, Diablo 2, Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate 2, Red Alert 2, Homeworld Expansion, Thief 2
2001 - Civ 3, Serious Sam, Max Payne -- Xbox and Halo come out.
2002 - Morrowind(cross-platform), Warcraft 3, Neverwinter Nights
2003 - Battlefield 1942, Call of Duty, Homeworld 2, Max Payne 2

This is mainly off of memory, but you can see the XBox effect here. Games that were in development before the XBox announcement finished development in 2000 and came out(with a few exceptions). After that there's this long period of nothing much but FPSes and one or two high quality games in other genres hitting PCs. Entire genres all but died off as MS cannibalized PC gaming to prop up their console. We went from a golden era to the wilderness almost overnight. Some series were utterly ruined as they were "dumbed down for the console tards", like Deus Ex. MS also charges you for things that were always free on the PC, so it's a wonder why there's resentment.

 

[SmilingKitsune]

You will get a resounding "NO!" from me for the original question. I really can't place what exactly is wrong with games today, but I do know that I've been popping in old games (~10+ years old) and they have been AMAZING. Yahtzee's review of Thief spurred me to play it again, and I think that stealth games haven't been done right since. Whatever they were doing 10 years ago, they really were doing it right.


Honestly, I think the overall feel of games has become dumber. Even one of the few recent games that I loved, Bioshock, was dumb. It had a really though provoking storyline/environment, but the gameplay was really overly simple. Some one once pointed out on another forum that it's the original Xbox's fault. All the best games were released up until that thing came out, and after that, all the best devs moved to making games that ran on 10 or so buttons. I'll see later if I can dig up that post. It really was a strong indicator that the games industry was fucked by MS moving to consoles.

I don't think you can just blame Microsoft although it's true that games are becoming a bit dumbed down for the consoles, because over the past few years they have become more popular than the PC, you could blame Sony and Nintendo just as much for that.

 

[oliveira8]

We need more wacky fun games like Earthworm Jim...

MAD WORLD. Really, that game is just hillarious.

I dont know...Earthworm Jim is so silly..I mean you play a Worm in a robotic suit that battles evil...

"The storyline involves many colorful characters. Jim himself (a character designed by Doug TenNapel) was at first an ordinary Earth earthworm who did very earthworm-like things such as flee from crows and eat dirt. One day, in the space above Earth, the evil Psy-Crow had cornered a rebel spaceship pilot who had stolen an "Ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit" built by Professor Monkey-For-A-Head. The suit had been commissioned by the evil Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt so that she could further conquer the galaxy. In the ensuing space fight, the suit was dropped to Earth, and fell on Jim. By a stroke of luck, Jim managed to land within the collar of the suit, and it ended up mutating him into the large and intelligent (at least by earthworm standards) superhero he is today.

Jim overhears Psy-Crow talking to Queen Slug-for-a-Butt about the scorch marks left by the suit and her plans for her sister, Princess What's-Her-Name. Jim thus sets out to rescue the princess, fighting many enemies along the way, such as Major Mucus, Chuck and Fifi, Evil the Cat and Bob the Killer Goldfish, although none of this is apparent throughout the game."

From wikipedia.

Not to mention you fight robot trash cans that shoot anvils...and business men with very mean briefcases...

 

[SmilingKitsune]

We need more wacky fun games like Earthworm Jim...

MAD WORLD. Really, that game is just hillarious.

I dont know...Earthworm Jim is so silly..I mean you play a Worm in a robotic suit that battles evil...

"The storyline involves many colorful characters. Jim himself (a character designed by Doug TenNapel) was at first an ordinary Earth earthworm who did very earthworm-like things such as flee from crows and eat dirt. One day, in the space above Earth, the evil Psy-Crow had cornered a rebel spaceship pilot who had stolen an "Ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit" built by Professor Monkey-For-A-Head. The suit had been commissioned by the evil Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt so that she could further conquer the galaxy. In the ensuing space fight, the suit was dropped to Earth, and fell on Jim. By a stroke of luck, Jim managed to land within the collar of the suit, and it ended up mutating him into the large and intelligent (at least by earthworm standards) superhero he is today.

Jim overhears Psy-Crow talking to Queen Slug-for-a-Butt about the scorch marks left by the suit and her plans for her sister, Princess What's-Her-Name. Jim thus sets out to rescue the princess, fighting many enemies along the way, such as Major Mucus, Chuck and Fifi, Evil the Cat and Bob the Killer Goldfish, although none of this is apparent throughout the game."

From wikipedia.

Not to mention you fight robot trash cans that shoot anvils...and business men with very mean briefcases...

What happened to Eartworm Jim? I think I remember hearing something about the series being stuck in development limbo or something like that.

 

[laikenf]

We need more wacky fun games like Earthworm Jim...

MAD WORLD. Really, that game is just hillarious.

I dont know...Earthworm Jim is so silly..I mean you play a Worm in a robotic suit that battles evil...

"The storyline involves many colorful characters. Jim himself (a character designed by Doug TenNapel) was at first an ordinary Earth earthworm who did very earthworm-like things such as flee from crows and eat dirt. One day, in the space above Earth, the evil Psy-Crow had cornered a rebel spaceship pilot who had stolen an "Ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit" built by Professor Monkey-For-A-Head. The suit had been commissioned by the evil Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt so that she could further conquer the galaxy. In the ensuing space fight, the suit was dropped to Earth, and fell on Jim. By a stroke of luck, Jim managed to land within the collar of the suit, and it ended up mutating him into the large and intelligent (at least by earthworm standards) superhero he is today.

Jim overhears Psy-Crow talking to Queen Slug-for-a-Butt about the scorch marks left by the suit and her plans for her sister, Princess What's-Her-Name. Jim thus sets out to rescue the princess, fighting many enemies along the way, such as Major Mucus, Chuck and Fifi, Evil the Cat and Bob the Killer Goldfish, although none of this is apparent throughout the game."

From wikipedia.

Not to mention you fight robot trash cans that shoot anvils...and business men with very mean briefcases...

You're right, that game was total crazyness. I played through that one a lot 'cause I couldn't get enough of that wackyness. The music and sound design in general where fenomenal too. Love the bungy jumping stage.

 

[Signa]

You will get a resounding "NO!" from me for the original question. I really can't place what exactly is wrong with games today, but I do know that I've been popping in old games (~10+ years old) and they have been AMAZING. Yahtzee's review of Thief spurred me to play it again, and I think that stealth games haven't been done right since. Whatever they were doing 10 years ago, they really were doing it right.


Honestly, I think the overall feel of games has become dumber. Even one of the few recent games that I loved, Bioshock, was dumb. It had a really though provoking storyline/environment, but the gameplay was really overly simple. Some one once pointed out on another forum that it's the original Xbox's fault. All the best games were released up until that thing came out, and after that, all the best devs moved to making games that ran on 10 or so buttons. I'll see later if I can dig up that post. It really was a strong indicator that the games industry was fucked by MS moving to consoles.

I don't think you can just blame Microsoft although it's true that games are becoming a bit dumbed down for the consoles, because over the past few years they have become more popular than the PC, you could blame Sony and Nintendo just as much for that.

Did you get your comment in before I got my edit in? I'm not exactly saying that it is all MS's fault, but both Sony and Nintendo were already in the console business and it wasn't harming the quality of PC games. I know the evidence against MS is completely circumstantial, but another example of MS stealing the game industry would be the loss of the Sidewinder brand. I REALLY enjoyed MS's controllers, and they stopped making the when the original Xbox hit.

Who knows. MS entered in the console race right when consoles started really competing with PCs, so it just might be bad timing. There is a lot of good things to be said for consoles, from both players and devs. My point is that games don't seem to be going in the right direction any more because something changed around that point in time. We still are getting some good games, but very few, if any, are games I could count among my all-time favorites.

 

[Ace of Spades]

Yes. I like Call of Duty 4 much more than Super Mario Brothers Deluxe.

 

[oliveira8]

We need more wacky fun games like Earthworm Jim...

MAD WORLD. Really, that game is just hillarious.

*snip*

What happened to Eartworm Jim? I think I remember hearing something about the series being stuck in development limbo or something like that.

Earthworm Jim 4 started development last year. No news if its actually coming out. Think Interplay is the developer.

Also Earthworm Jim got picked up again for a TV show or animatedmovie, also no news when this actually coming out.

 

[SmilingKitsune]

You will get a resounding "NO!" from me for the original question. I really can't place what exactly is wrong with games today, but I do know that I've been popping in old games (~10+ years old) and they have been AMAZING. Yahtzee's review of Thief spurred me to play it again, and I think that stealth games haven't been done right since. Whatever they were doing 10 years ago, they really were doing it right.


Honestly, I think the overall feel of games has become dumber. Even one of the few recent games that I loved, Bioshock, was dumb. It had a really though provoking storyline/environment, but the gameplay was really overly simple. Some one once pointed out on another forum that it's the original Xbox's fault. All the best games were released up until that thing came out, and after that, all the best devs moved to making games that ran on 10 or so buttons. I'll see later if I can dig up that post. It really was a strong indicator that the games industry was fucked by MS moving to consoles.

I don't think you can just blame Microsoft although it's true that games are becoming a bit dumbed down for the consoles, because over the past few years they have become more popular than the PC, you could blame Sony and Nintendo just as much for that.

Did you get your comment in before I got my edit in? I'm not exactly saying that it is all MS's fault, but both Sony and Nintendo were already in the console business and it wasn't harming the quality of PC games. I know the evidence against MS is completely circumstantial, but another example of MS stealing the game industry would be the loss of the Sidewinder brand. I REALLY enjoyed MS's controllers, and they stopped making the when the original Xbox hit.

Who knows. MS entered in the console race right when consoles started really competing with PCs, so it just might be bad timing. There is a lot of good things to be said for consoles, from both players and devs. My point is that games don't seem to be going in the right direction any more because something changed around that point in time. We still are getting some good games, but very few, if any, are games I could count among my all-time favorites.

Well I suppose Microsoft may have pressured some developers to support their new console but I think it's mostly coincidence.

 

[quiet empire]

Remember a wlile ago when the trend for FPS' was nazis and Aliens? Did not get that.

It's actually pleasing to know the RTS genre is still going strong with Empire: Total War and DoW II, iven if it has declined from the years of Red Alert 2.

I mean sure, Westwood got bought out by those idiots at EA, but Relic and Activision are still here, right?

 

[Shycte]

Yes, not porno games xD

 

[Hexadecimal16]

I cannot stand games with 'gritty realism'. It's boring. Boring boring boring. Reality is boring. That's why we play games.

This is true.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

You will get a resounding "NO!" from me for the original question. I really can't place what exactly is wrong with games today, but I do know that I've been popping in old games (~10+ years old) and they have been AMAZING. Yahtzee's review of Thief spurred me to play it again, and I think that stealth games haven't been done right since. Whatever they were doing 10 years ago, they really were doing it right.

Welcome to 10 years ago.

http://www.ttlg.com/articles/lgsclosing.asp

Games like Thief may have made money and been excellent but boring companies that make simplified games for boring corporations tend to stay in business longer. Edit: or at least they hope they will... giving up liberty for security and all that.

 

[Pimppeter2]

We need to start putting Bullshit into games, levels that are extremely hard and frustrating, but leave you with a sense of satisfaction

 

[More Fun To Compute]

We need to start putting Bullshit into games, levels that are extremely hard and frustrating, but leave you with a sense of satisfaction

Spelunky, my friend, play Spelunky.

 

[NeverAiling]

I ^&*&% 90% of the games I 'own'.

So I would suggest that, though I do not approve of the directions games are taking, you obviously do, as it's not my money that has financed them all these years.

 

[SmilingKitsune]

I ^&*&% 90% of the games I 'own'.

So I would suggest that, though I do not approve of the directions games are taking, you obviously do, as it's not my money that has financed them all these years.

You 'what' 90% of the games you own?

 

[More Fun To Compute]

You 'what' 90% of the games you own?

I believe he is saying that he downloads cars then steals any games that were hidden under the seats. I can't be sure, I don't know how these criminals operate.

 

[SmilingKitsune]

You 'what' 90% of the games you own?

I believe he is saying that he downloads cars then steals any games that were hidden under the seats. I can't be sure, I don't know how these criminals operate.

So he's saying he pirates almost all his games? Gotcha'.