Is Gaming Dead?
- Thread starter retyopy
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We should, instead of get up at arms about someone who isn't content with the market, ask ourselves "Why not?" Some people maybe content with the industry, and we get it already: the 90's had one too many Vectorman or Earthworm Jim's. The huge difference between Halo 3 and Earthworm Jim, the creators didn't give one care about what anyone wanted. They created a game they thought was fun, engaging, and original.
No the industry is not dead. The industry is on hiatus.
Getting upset at those who are upset isn't really going to help with progress, it will in fact tell developers that the "milking the cash cow" approach is the way to garner your attention. People sometimes want to pop in a game and turn their brains off, and that's understandable. Not all games should be that simple trying to emulate God of War or Gears of War.
Although I didn't like Bayonetta my wife did, and I could see why she did because of how approachable the gameplay mechanics and style was compared to Devil May Cry.
No the industry is not dead. The industry is on hiatus.
Getting upset at those who are upset isn't really going to help with progress, it will in fact tell developers that the "milking the cash cow" approach is the way to garner your attention. People sometimes want to pop in a game and turn their brains off, and that's understandable. Not all games should be that simple trying to emulate God of War or Gears of War.
Although I didn't like Bayonetta my wife did, and I could see why she did because of how approachable the gameplay mechanics and style was compared to Devil May Cry.
No, just the AAA market. when people consider themselves "hardcore" and play only FPSs or sports titles, they're really not much better than casual gamers in my opinion. As long as we continue to get decent games (go indies woo!!) or half-decent AAA (I'm ok with the Nintendo "franchise" scene) then I think we'll be alright for at least another 5 years
Dead? Far from it. You need to broaden your horizons a bit more and look in more places if all you're seeing is clones. Sure, there are issues such as the big developers' fixation on safety at the moment, but things like Steam and other digital distributors are really helping indie games get their stuff out there.retyopy said:
This whole sequel/clone thing happens in all forms of entertainment. Most of the BIG movies we've seen this year are clones or remakes of previously existing franchises. Cars 2, Final Destination 5, Captain America, Green Lantern, Harry Potter 7 Part 2.
But those are the BIG movies. We've also had Super 8, Just Go With It, I am Number Four, Hall Pass, Rango, Hanna, Rio, Larry Crowne, Our Idiot Brother...and the year is barely half over. So just because a lot of sequels and safe films are in the mix, does that mean film is dead? Hell no.
And if you are going to talk about re-using ideas, look no further than books and television. Did you notice that as soon as Twilight hit it big, the shelves in bookstores were suddenly overflowing with samey, teen/romance books involving vampires and other mythical creatures? Have you seen all of the vampire and "creature of the night" related TV shows that have premiered in the last few years? V, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Being Human, The Gates...and many others.
Again, it all comes down to safety. In these economic times, studios are being more frugal about where they send their money. People aren't as willing to take risks at the theater as they once were. They are now only spending money to watch the movies they're fairly certain they're going to enjoy, and are perfectly willing to wait however many months to see ones they're sort of interested in on DVD. I think the 3D trend also shows this. I mean, you can't get that same kind of 3D at home in most cases. So I think the studios were using the 3D to try and lure people into the theater by offering them something they can't get anywhere else.
But having said that, that doesn't mean people have totally stopped creating things. There is more than one way to skin a cat, just as there is more than one way to make a movie, game, or book than through the major studios and publishers. You just need to open your eyes a bit more. You might be surprised by what you find.
Here's the list of games that I am looking forward to this year;
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - A revival of one of the most highly praised games of all time, said to be a faithful reboot to the series.
Resistance 3 - Admittedly, doesn't look unique on the surface, but for fans of the series they can look past the similar mechanics to find a very dark kind of game.
Dark Souls - The spiritual successor to a sleeper hit, I'd like to think I'm helping gaming by buying this.
Batman: Arkham City - The sequel to a kickass game, set to be even more kickass.
RAGE - An FPS made by famed developers; id. Looks to be a very polished experience.
Battlefield 3 - FPS poised to take CoD's place, and it will have been rightly earned.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Shooter continuing the
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - FP-Open World game, set to improve everything Oblivion did. Streamlined conversations, dynamic gameplay, world that changes on your decisions, all that good stuff.
Now, I can see where you're coming from, a lot of those games could easily be seen as generic shooters/FPSs. Only a couple of those games are not sequels to well-established franchises.
But, at the same time, these games are pushing the envelope, just in their own ways. Deus Ex looks to bring back, well, Deus Ex. Resistance brings an air or hopelessness to the game where the aliens have pretty much won. Dark Souls will never hold your hand and kick your ass over and over. Battlefield 3 is much more tactical and, well, smarter than CoD ever hopes to be.
These are big, healthy franchises coming out from the industry. But, I will admit, they don't exactly push the envelope especially hard.
So, no, I don't think that gaming is dead. It's quite alive, really. But is gaming losing footing in the sense that it's not trying as hard? Yeah, I can see that, to an extent.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - A revival of one of the most highly praised games of all time, said to be a faithful reboot to the series.
Resistance 3 - Admittedly, doesn't look unique on the surface, but for fans of the series they can look past the similar mechanics to find a very dark kind of game.
Dark Souls - The spiritual successor to a sleeper hit, I'd like to think I'm helping gaming by buying this.
Batman: Arkham City - The sequel to a kickass game, set to be even more kickass.
RAGE - An FPS made by famed developers; id. Looks to be a very polished experience.
Battlefield 3 - FPS poised to take CoD's place, and it will have been rightly earned.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Shooter continuing the
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - FP-Open World game, set to improve everything Oblivion did. Streamlined conversations, dynamic gameplay, world that changes on your decisions, all that good stuff.
Now, I can see where you're coming from, a lot of those games could easily be seen as generic shooters/FPSs. Only a couple of those games are not sequels to well-established franchises.
But, at the same time, these games are pushing the envelope, just in their own ways. Deus Ex looks to bring back, well, Deus Ex. Resistance brings an air or hopelessness to the game where the aliens have pretty much won. Dark Souls will never hold your hand and kick your ass over and over. Battlefield 3 is much more tactical and, well, smarter than CoD ever hopes to be.
These are big, healthy franchises coming out from the industry. But, I will admit, they don't exactly push the envelope especially hard.
So, no, I don't think that gaming is dead. It's quite alive, really. But is gaming losing footing in the sense that it's not trying as hard? Yeah, I can see that, to an extent.
Yes, just like Rock & Roll, orchestral music, novels, and cinema.
Oh wait, none of those things died; they just evolved.
Gaming is undergoing evolution. My prediction of it's future: AAA copycat titles stagnate to the point where no one buys them anymore (like Guitar Hero), while indie games will continue to produce unique experiences. Maybe we'll begin to see more "corporate" indie games, as in indie games with actual budgets.
Oh wait, none of those things died; they just evolved.
Gaming is undergoing evolution. My prediction of it's future: AAA copycat titles stagnate to the point where no one buys them anymore (like Guitar Hero), while indie games will continue to produce unique experiences. Maybe we'll begin to see more "corporate" indie games, as in indie games with actual budgets.
Newhouse said:Not really with all the crap deathcore and metalcore infesting the metal community now indays and raising idiots into thinking that crap is what metal is.Roybot said:Cuacuani said:At least the metal lives on...
Another conversation, another time.
Nah. Actually I think we're in a good position. The industry is making TONS of money off of AAA franchises (which aren't that bad! I just don't like when people act like they need them like fucking mother's milk) and I think with this extra cha-ching developers will be more willing to take chances and such with games that are more... games, and not just shooting galleries.
what industry isn't littered with clones? every fantasy can be categorized as a LotR clone if we look too broadly at it, which in itself is a clone of other mythologies. Certainly risk-taking is at an all time low and will likely get worse during the recession, but risk is typically met with mass criticism anyways. Look at final fantasy, they keep trying something new to add to the jrpg formula, in 13 they created a whole new battle system (which I loved) and people complained about it.
It's not the developers lack of creativity thats the problem, it's our unwillingness to accept anything that doesn't follow the formula we're used to. We as a community have to demand innovation through our purchase habits in order for big corporations to risk making something innovative, until then we will be stuck with another CoD, another Fast and the Furious, and another Twilight.
It's not the developers lack of creativity thats the problem, it's our unwillingness to accept anything that doesn't follow the formula we're used to. We as a community have to demand innovation through our purchase habits in order for big corporations to risk making something innovative, until then we will be stuck with another CoD, another Fast and the Furious, and another Twilight.
So... by your logic , if games are not original , then gaming is dead? If that's true then gaming is dead, buried , sent to hell and is dining with hitler. Only so many original ideas can be had. There were mario clones , tetris clones( inorite ? ) , Sonic clones and many more clones back in the day. Today is no different, imitation is the best form of flattery no ?retyopy said:
So two awesome games ( hopefully) is enough to save a dying industry ( if it is indeed dying.) ? I think not , but here's to hoping those games will be as good as we are all hype out it will be.Furioso said:
OT: Gaming is not dead, but there are less and less original games like OP said,but more money is generated by video games. For us who have been gaming for decades, games seem bland , and boring, because we have seen much, and have played much in our lifetime as gamers. For newcomers and casual gamers ( not a derogatory term ) most of these ideas seem new and fresh and awesome, as it should. Also people are comfortable with what they know, as they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it . But that logic is killing certain genres, like horror , RPGs and RTS. But we as a gaming society need to support original ideas, buy games that differ from the norm, and show developpers that, WE ARE INTERESTED IN SOMETHING DIFFERENT. That they WILL sell, and we WILL buy them . WE as gamers need to show that , we support innovation , even though it might not be perfect at first. Mirrors edge ( to name a game ) was quite original and different , i really liked how that was different , and would actually like to see a improved version of that game, it could lead to something new, but because alot of people dismissed it , we are not likely to see a Mirrors edge 2 . Tis a pity really.
Investors don't like risks.
Companies have investors.
Developers deppend on companies.
The majority of the american public can't stand to have a nipple show in a game. Australia is worse. Europe can't have any violence, Germany is worse.
Games become more bland because taking risks and then realizing that Australia banned your game isn't profitable as making a clone.
On the other hand, you can't always be pushing the envelope. When a mechanic works, it works - why not use it in your game?
Companies have investors.
Developers deppend on companies.
The majority of the american public can't stand to have a nipple show in a game. Australia is worse. Europe can't have any violence, Germany is worse.
Games become more bland because taking risks and then realizing that Australia banned your game isn't profitable as making a clone.
On the other hand, you can't always be pushing the envelope. When a mechanic works, it works - why not use it in your game?