Are games today really that bad?

[dtgenshiken7]

I've been reading through lots of forum posts, and other things, and everything i read hit home one subject. nostalgia.

From one thread to another, I soon had all the materials for a shirt made of the stuff. but i was wondering. Are the new games really all that terrible?

I'm not saying ALL of them, God no, but i do believe SOME of them at least deserve a chance to prove themselves, but all we do today is look at them, sigh and turn back to things like pokemon yellow, or things along those lines. personally, i had a lot of fun with games like InFamous, Infamous 2, Halo:reach, and so on and so forth.

But i was looking for a general opinion. What do you think? Are the games of today really doomed, and developers should pack up and worship the basics? Or are there still original ideas out there, and the later games are the better. Be as controversial as you like, I'm not gonna stop you.

 

[distortedreality]

Each gaming generation has it's hits and misses, same as music, movies, books etc.

Now is no different.

I would actually argue that with the rise of indie developers, more gamers, more competition for sales etc, gaming is now at it's strongest.

 

[Indecipherable]

I'm a little disappointed as of late with the direction of RPGs. The broad, open ended RPGs that were predominantly isometric (Fallout 1 & 2, Arcanum, early D&D RPGS) seem to have fallen to the wayside for a more cinematic experience. They are fun and have their own reasons for being great, but they are not the same.

Partly I would blame the huge development costs now in making games. Graphics has become all important, and this cost has probably increased astronomically compared to the old sprite based games. Voice acting is another one there too. When these costs make up for so much of your budget (that, and marketing nowadays), how much is there to spend on 'true' RPG elements like we used to have? It's better to play it safe with a proven strategy of wowing people with great graphics than to try and wow people with awesome characters and dialogue. I can't imagine how hard it would be to sell a game like Fallout 1 nowadays with its graphics.

 

[DeadYorick]

Games are becoming more cinematic because people want to see big budget movies, just paying 60$ for them and playing them for 5 hours.

I'll just leave this right here

 

[Klagermeister]

I'd have to say gaming today is stronger than ever, with beautiful art and driven stories.
Just played through the new Assassin's Creed DLC and I must say it was beautiful. No complaints.

So no, they're really not bad. You just have to look at them with a different eye than you would with oldschool games.

 

[Condiments]

I'm a little disappointed as of late with the direction of RPGs. The broad, open ended RPGs that were predominantly isometric (Fallout 1 & 2, Arcanum, early D&D RPGS) seem to have fallen to the wayside for a more cinematic experience. They are fun and have their own reasons for being great, but they are not the same.

Partly I would blame the huge development costs now in making games. Graphics has become all important, and this cost has probably increased astronomically compared to the old sprite based games. Voice acting is another one there too. When these costs make up for so much of your budget (that, and marketing nowadays), how much is there to spend on 'true' RPG elements like we used to have? It's better to play it safe with a proven strategy of wowing people with great graphics than to try and wow people with awesome characters and dialogue. I can't imagine how hard it would be to sell a game like Fallout 1 nowadays with its graphics.

I agree. There are some directions I wish gaming didn't take this generation, but this stands out the most for me. We've seen a resurgence of old school rpg support in the past few years especially in the indie scene(Age of Decadence, Dead State, Wasteland 2, etc.) but the genre feels like a shadow of its former glory.

 

[The Madman]

Not at all, in fact for myself things have been looking up with the flourishing of 'indie' developers on the PC and now crowd-sourced development. For a while there I was starting to get worried the 'give it a try' sort of spirit was dying as far as games went. Gone it seemed were the days of developers like Looking Glass Studios, Ion Storm, Troika or Black Isle all of which were known for releasing sometimes quirky but always memorable experiences. Most developers and publishers alike just too scared of risk to try anything new...

Fortunately that proved not to be the case. True AAA games are still rarely what I'd call imaginative and tend to for the most part play things safe, but there's still plenty of innovation and cleverness out there if only you know where to look. Plus with digital distribution so widespread on the PC now, even some of the big company are giving some weirder ideas a shot.

Maybe I'm just an optimist but for PC at least things seem to be going up! I'm liking it!

 

[Zhukov]

Nah, games have only gotten better.

Graphics are better (duh).
Writing is getting better, gradually. (Very gradually.)
Level and gameplay design is better.
Interface design is miles better.

People look around and see that 90% of games are mediocre or crap and that there are Call of Duty imitations everywhere. But that's how it's always been. Twenty years ago 90% of games were mediocre or crap. The only difference was that we were knee-deep in 2D platformers instead of FPSs.

 

[Bostur]

There is a divide between new AAA games and new games from smaller developers. The former show a clear lack of innovation and motivation to do their best. The big well known publishers sell through marketing, while smaller publishers try to sell on price and quality.

The last few years has been nothing but the basics in the AAA titles, showing average design and a lot of expensive polish. Thats not to say they are bad or boring to play, just that they really could have done better.

I think it's also shameful to see that full priced games are lacking in basic features and design that used to be standard. Skyrim has an appaling UI that no self-respecting developer would have released in 2000. A lot of games have menus nested several layers deep that take forever to use, and are lacking basic graphics options.


There is another side to it though. Smaller publishers do exist that both innovate and refine. Paradox' newest title Crusader Kings II is one of their strongest games ever. Witcher 2 was a great example of a cinematic action RPG that did almost everything better than the competitors. We also have games like Terraria, Minecraft and Magicka that genuinely forge new gameplay. And with the momentum on the indy scene, lately with some very interesting kickstarter projects, chances are there will be more to come.

We need to get away from the design commitee work of the board rooms, and get more games designed by actual game creators. Those hard working people that know their craft needs to get back in charge, and it seems like it is slowly happening.

 

[Indecipherable]

Writing is getting better, gradually. (Very gradually.)

I'd disagree here, again on the quality of writing of the isometric RPGs. Stuff like Planescape Torment just absolutely rapes the face out of everything written in the last five years. Metaphorically, that is.

 

[Zhukov]

Writing is getting better, gradually. (Very gradually.)

I'd disagree here, again on the quality of writing of the isometric RPGs. Stuff like Planescape Torment just absolutely rapes the face out of everything written in the last five years. Metaphorically, that is.

That's one game. You can't point to one single game from the late 90s and say it's proof positive that games suck nowadays.

Besides, for all I hear about how wonderful PS:T's writing was, it certainly wasn't good enough to keep me interested.

 

[Indecipherable]

Writing is getting better, gradually. (Very gradually.)

I'd disagree here, again on the quality of writing of the isometric RPGs. Stuff like Planescape Torment just absolutely rapes the face out of everything written in the last five years. Metaphorically, that is.

That's one game. You can't point to one single game from the late 90s and say it's proof positive that games suck nowadays.

Besides, for all I hear about how wonderful PS:T's writing was, it certainly wasn't good enough to keep me interested.

I'm not saying they are sucking, I'm saying that I disagree that writing is getting better. It is entirely a matter of opinion for this. I would further add that the old D&D RPGs by Black Isle, as well as Fallout 1 & 2, pretty much blow away everything made in the last 5 years.

I have at least presented games (Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate, Arcanum) that I believe are superior in writing, I note you have not presented anything.

 

[distortedreality]

Writing is getting better, gradually. (Very gradually.)

I'd disagree here, again on the quality of writing of the isometric RPGs. Stuff like Planescape Torment just absolutely rapes the face out of everything written in the last five years. Metaphorically, that is.

That's one game. You can't point to one single game from the late 90s and say it's proof positive that games suck nowadays.

Besides, for all I hear about how wonderful PS:T's writing was, it certainly wasn't good enough to keep me interested.

I'm not saying they are sucking, I'm saying that I disagree that writing is getting better. It is entirely a matter of opinion for this. I would further add that the old D&D RPGs by Black Isle, as well as Fallout 1 & 2, pretty much blow away everything made in the last 5 years.

I have at least presented games (Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate, Arcanum) that I believe are superior in writing, I note you have not presented anything.

I'll chime with Mass Effect 1, the two Witcher games, The Old Republic, the HL2 games possibly.

Writing is hard to pin down though - I really liked the writing for Alpha Protocol, but that was more a good use of cliches I guess than anything else.

 

[Indecipherable]

Writing is getting better, gradually. (Very gradually.)

I'd disagree here, again on the quality of writing of the isometric RPGs. Stuff like Planescape Torment just absolutely rapes the face out of everything written in the last five years. Metaphorically, that is.

That's one game. You can't point to one single game from the late 90s and say it's proof positive that games suck nowadays.

Besides, for all I hear about how wonderful PS:T's writing was, it certainly wasn't good enough to keep me interested.

I'm not saying they are sucking, I'm saying that I disagree that writing is getting better. It is entirely a matter of opinion for this. I would further add that the old D&D RPGs by Black Isle, as well as Fallout 1 & 2, pretty much blow away everything made in the last 5 years.

I have at least presented games (Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate, Arcanum) that I believe are superior in writing, I note you have not presented anything.

I'll chime with Mass Effect 1, the two Witcher games, The Old Republic, the HL2 games possibly.

Writing is hard to pin down though - I really liked the writing for Alpha Protocol, but that was more a good use of cliches I guess than anything else.

I never played the Witcher games (well, I played the first for an hour but it didn't grab me).

The Old Republic is hard to pin down as to which one you mean.

KOTOR1 - the story is ultra-generic except for the one twist. HK-47 was very well done. But the story was basically about as deep as a child's cartoon.

KOTOR2 - fantastic story. Funnily enough, written by a lot of the people from the studios I mentioned earlier. This game is a contender to those I mentioned, but it's not a new game.

TOR - BLhehhhhh. Seriously awful writing. I'd blame the genre for it, trying to put a story into an MMO just didn't work. I felt massively let down. Companions were trite and contributed next to nothing.

 

[Zhukov]

Writing is getting better, gradually. (Very gradually.)

I'd disagree here, again on the quality of writing of the isometric RPGs. Stuff like Planescape Torment just absolutely rapes the face out of everything written in the last five years. Metaphorically, that is.

That's one game. You can't point to one single game from the late 90s and say it's proof positive that games suck nowadays.

Besides, for all I hear about how wonderful PS:T's writing was, it certainly wasn't good enough to keep me interested.

I'm not saying they are sucking, I'm saying that I disagree that writing is getting better. It is entirely a matter of opinion for this. I would further add that the old D&D RPGs by Black Isle, as well as Fallout 1 & 2, pretty much blow away everything made in the last 5 years.

I have at least presented games (Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate, Arcanum) that I believe are superior in writing, I note you have not presented anything.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Fallout 1 had good writing? Fallout 1 blows everything made in the last five years out of the water? Yeah... wow. Gotta say, I'm having trouble taking that statement seriously.

(I'm picking on that example because it's the one I most clearly remember. The rest are a highly forgettable blur.)

And if you want counter-examples, then here they are: Bioshock, Portal 1&2, Mass Effect 1,2 & 3, Half Life 2 Ep 2, Red Dead Redemption and Bastion.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

No, on the whole, the average game has increased in quality over the years.

People tend to wear giant nostalgia goggles and only remember the best games of the past. Most of the times, those games are also the first within their genre they played, worming their way into their subconscious as the default example on how to do it right. Not that those games weren't great and some of them still are, but many don't don't do all that well anymore when held up to modern standards. The exceptions are of course the real classics.

I remember a time when nostalgia was better. Funny thing.