"Game X was dumbed down for consoles"

[AyaReiko]

A great case of "dumbing down" something as a bad thing is Civ 5. Wow, talk about a game made for fragheads.

The best way to describe something as "dumbed down" is whenever a game's mechanics has been apparently simplified in excess because, as everyone knows, players are morons [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ViewersAreMorons].

 

[Netrigan]

Mass Effect 1 gave you infinite ammo and tons of skills. It's clearly intended to be primarily an RPG of the classic variety,with some shooter action. Wheras Mass Effect 2 featured (very) limited ammo,and few skills. It was primarily a Third Person Shooter with light RPG elements. Two entirely different demographics.

But it is odd that the first game has you micro-manage just about everything under the sun... except for the one resource that every shooter makes you manage. At times, it feels like they handed me a gun and said "we don't expect you to know how to use this, so here's infinite ammo".

 

[DSK-]

Hang on, hang on, hang on... I'm just trying to better myself by seeking understanding. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Anyway, I'll keep this relatively short. I'm not a PC gamer, or rather not enough of one to really qualify myself as such. I hear the term "[insert game here] was dumbed down" used quite a bit by PC gamers. Given that the stereotypical - please note the term right there: stereotypical - PC gamer is a high-and-mighty "I'm smarter than you because I can multitask better" type of person (and I greatly apologize for that image), this led me to believe that the term meant [insert aforementioned game here] was essentially a "Complete Idiots" version... "for Dummies". As a console gamer, I'm sure most can understand why I'd be upset. However, many people like to "kindly" inform me that my assertions are unfounded, downright incorrect even.

So, here's my question: WHAT THE FUCK DO PEOPLE MEAN WHEN THEY SAY SOMETHING WAS "DUMBED DOWN"?!

It isn't about assuming console players are "thick" and "stupid" as you say. There are many differences in terms of the platforms themselves and what they are capable of, including but not limited to the control schemes, accessibility inherent hardware and processing power and market demographics.

The elements that affect the "dumbing down" of games on consoles are accessibility and the control schemes. Case in point - I have on the 360 pad in my hand (I'm playing FIFA 09 btw) 11 buttons, 3 of those not used for the majority if not ever for actual gameplay, 2 analogue sticks and a D-pad.
On my PC I have a shit load of buttons on my keyboard as well as 3 on my mouse plus the scroll wheel.

However this is just a stupid comparison and I apologise for it.

In all honesty I believe that the "dumbing down" factor is simply the act of developers trying to do as much as they can with limits of the console platform. PC gamers such as myself have been spoiled in terms of the scope, technology and capability of the games we play that simply cannot compare to the experience you get on a console.

Jerry's DSK's Final Thought

I might be talking a load of complete bollocks, especially since I much prefer my PC to any console, but consoles for me take many concessions with lacklustre controls and relatively slow gameplay.

However I will also say that what developers are making for the consoles in this day and age (especially when it comes to FPS's) is that they play very well considering the limitations they have.

I apologise if I haven't explained myself (I don't think I have but at this exact moment in time I could care less because it's almost 4AM :S)

Much Love <3

 

[Zaik]

Not every person means the same thing when they say "dumbed down". You need to follow the time honored tradition of using !*CONTEXT*! to determine what a person actually means when they say something.

Like everyone rational has been doing since language has existed.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Lol I don't think so. Nanovision is just an easy-mode version of the binoculars from Crysis 1, not a real suit mode. And Power? Please, I'm about as strong as that IRL. The strength mode in Crysis 1 actually DID something. You could pick up heavy shit and throw it twenty feet. That mode is gone, regardless of whether it's claimed to be the "default suit mode" or not.

Yeah, I am sure you could punch an alien in a metal suit so hard that it would fly back. :\

And yeah, Nanovision is in fact a mode. It consumes energy and has the special purpose of being able to detect cloaked players. So....yeah.

Actually, you could pick up an enemy, choke him to death, and then throw him at another enemy so hard that it killed THAT enemy as well. The power mode in Crysis 2 is just plain weak given its limited uses.

Whoop-dee-doo, nanovision consumes energy! What doesn't in Crysis 2? Again, the Crysis 1 binoculars did the same damn thing and were just an extra bit of equipment that you had. They weren't part of the suit modes, and didn't drain energy. Nanovision was also another extra. So claiming those things to be a suit mode in Crysis 2 just means they're attempting to make up for the crap they removed. But they obviously haven't. Because it's still STUFF THEY REMOVED.

So they removed something completely useless.

Actually, most things in Crysis were completely useless. It really just boiled down to "shoot everything" in every difficulty setting. Maybe use speed or cloak mode every now and then.

Just because there are gameplay elements there that you don't use, doesn't mean they are useless. It's like saying a mage class in an RPG is useless because you play fighters only. Crysis 1 was groundbreaking in a ways, I don't see nano strength in many other FPS's, and it actually added new elements to approaching the shootout which you couldn't do in most FPS. Punching houses, tossing cars, cloaking behind trees and super jumping up to sniper posts, many games had these, but not all put together in the SAME GAME. And whether you like it or not, these were NOT present in Crysis 2, as were the huge environments.

BUT, I will give them credit for still implementing more than one method of approaching each scenario, with the binoculars showing various tactical options. That was a nice touch. So, I actually didn't consider this "dumbing down" as such, it's just taken a different path. Just like Far Cry 2 from Far Cry 1, I mean those games were so damn different they shouldn't even share the same name.