Hey, am I the only one who seems to think that videogames these days seem to have lost a critical element? Perhaps its just my imagination, or perhaps I'm just getting old and feeble well before I'm due, but it seems to me that games these days just seem to have lost a lot of their depth.
I have trouble remembering when I last played a game that really spoke to me. By that I mean, I played, and when I finished, I left in a thoughtful frame of mind because I had learned something new, or saw something in a different light, or the world in a new perspective.
Perhaps I'm just looking at the games I've played with the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia on, but I'm sure that's not the only element. I've got a horrible suspicion that it has to do with the way designers and publishers are targeting their audience. I'm sure I'm not the first to say that there's been a noticeable shift in where game designers are focussing their attention. To throw out a few examples:
Guitar Hero
Counterstrike
Spore
Nothing wrong with these games per se, but they are prime examples of where the gaming market is going these days. Each of them are enjoyable in their own way, each were compelling and hugely successful at what they did, and each had an immediate pick-up-and-play level of accessibility. I will be the first to say that I enjoyed each of these games, but I also have to admit that although they were fun, I found myself quickly discarding them before I'd finished them (well, except for Counterstrike of course). They just didn't have enough depth to them that kept me interested.
What they all have in common of course is that they do one thing very well and have interesting and/or solid mechanics, and then stop. Unfortunately I'm somewhat odd when it comes to games. I like my games like I like my books. Filled with interesting characters and complex sub-plots. In short, I like a good story. But it seems this style of game is falling to the way-side. I'm hardly surprised. It's clear there is much more money to be had in making simple, quirky games which amuse for a while and appeal to the lowest common denominator. It's not surprising that game makers are trying to make their games appeal to as many people as possible. They are of course, looking for profit. Nothing wrong with that. It means they get to make more games.
Having said that, I can't help but feel somewhat betrayed. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Being a gamer, in the traditional sense, you know, in the days before Halo Frat parties and whatnot, meant being a socially ill-adjusted malcontent. It meant spending hours in front of a computer screen (or console, if you prefer, but generally computer screen for what I'm talking about) saving the universe from certain doom, exploring dungeons and being a hero in your own mind. Damn I miss those times. When other people where out in the sunshine (HISS!!!) playing sport and waxing lyrical about nothing important, we'd be at home playing games. It was what I did. It was what only a few of us did, back in the day.
We played complex games with interesting stories and crap graphics and lamented that nobody could see the glory in our achievements. So what if we defeated some pixelated monstrosity in a fictional universe? they scoffed. So what if your sidekick, your companion of many a well fought battle died? they laughed. We were the few. we were the chosen. The gaming industry got to where it is today on the backs and dollars of a generation or two of nerds. I am one of them. Pardon me if I feel a little betrayed when they don't make games for me and mine any more, but for the double digit IQ'd buttheads I used to go to school with, who sneered when I told them I liked Wizardry, or the Elder Scrolls, or Star Wars.
I'd like to preemptively respond to those who say that if that's what I'm looking for, I should stick to role playing games. To them I say, I do play RPGs, but even they, the genre that should embody the very spirit of the type of game I love, is wilting to nothing. Take some of the modern generation RPGs. Oblivion is a good one. A vast, sprawling game with massive potential, spoiled by a lacklustre story and one dimensional characters. Don't get me wrong, I played it to death because it was the best I could get at the time. But it left me feeling cold. The same happened with Fallout 3 to a lesser extent. I came into that game unbiased as I'd never played the previous fallouts (although I might try to do so now). I found a post apocalyptic Oblivion. It had a lot more tailored elements to try and correct the mistakes that Oblivion made, but it just wasn't enough. I didn't mind it, sure, but when it was over, all I felt was annoyed that by finishing the main quest in such a sprawling game, I couldn't go back and explore it to it's full potential. I didn't have the heart to start all over again.
I think it was the beginning of the end when game designers decided to spend more time focusing on graphics and physics engines, rather than writing compelling and interesting stories for their games. Don't get me wrong, I like good graphics and a decent game engine as much as the next gamer, but I'll gladly put it aside for a story that sucks me in. Take Neverwinter Nights 2 as an example. Ho hum graphics, and a pretty awful control system. To add insult to injury, the system requirements at the time the game was released were preposterous. But for some reason I kept playing. Even though the graphics were ordinary at best, and the controls were mediocre at best, I kept playing because it took me into the world and made me care about it's inhabitants. I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Probably my favorite game of all time is the original KOTOR on the Xbox. There was a game I played to death. It was set in a framework I loved. In the star wars universe, but not bound to the Luke Skywalker generation, and thus free to be itself. It was singularly fantasic. The twist at the climax was one of, if not THE best gaming moment I've ever had. If I met one of the game designers/writers in the street, I would take off my hat and stand in awe. Seldom have I played a game with such a wonderfully interesting array of gritty, flawed characters, thrown together to save the universe. Not to mention the player's own dark history...
I find myself trying to go BACK in time. instead of playing new releases, I potter around the bargain bins in Electronic Boutique and hunt the web for games of my own personal golden age. As an example, I played shadow of the colossus on the playstation 2, and I loved every second of it. For a videogame, it was a strangely moving experience that left me with a sense of melancholy I had not hitherto experienced, and if I could, I'd gladly go buy ICO, it's spiritual predecessor. I realise now that it was that element that appealed to me when I played Final Fantasy VIII. Many believe this to be the most controversial of the FF games, because Squall, the main character, was not a very likable fellow. Personally, I loved him because he was so objectionable. It's what made him interesting. And watching him develop through his relationships with the other characters was really enjoyable.
I suspect that this is what has also caused my interest in Dungeons and Dragons. I actually came to the party quite late, starting with the 3.5 edition (which I eventually bought most of), and now I DM a 4th edition game with some of my contemporaries. It fills the void. My players appreciate a complex world and story, and I give them a setting they can care about. Something they can sink their teeth into. Or at least I try.
As I said, with respect to my games, I seem to be going backward, not forward. I of course hold out hope that developers will one day come around to my way of thinking and start making games with soul again, but I get the feeling I'm setting myself up for a big fall. I suppose I just wish I could experience that sensation of heart ripping exhilaration as I finished a particularly smashing game, sit back from the keyboard, look around my empty room, and then with quiet dignity, raise a fist in the air and revel in my own private, unheralded glory.
Let the good times roll on...
I have trouble remembering when I last played a game that really spoke to me. By that I mean, I played, and when I finished, I left in a thoughtful frame of mind because I had learned something new, or saw something in a different light, or the world in a new perspective.
Perhaps I'm just looking at the games I've played with the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia on, but I'm sure that's not the only element. I've got a horrible suspicion that it has to do with the way designers and publishers are targeting their audience. I'm sure I'm not the first to say that there's been a noticeable shift in where game designers are focussing their attention. To throw out a few examples:
Guitar Hero
Counterstrike
Spore
Nothing wrong with these games per se, but they are prime examples of where the gaming market is going these days. Each of them are enjoyable in their own way, each were compelling and hugely successful at what they did, and each had an immediate pick-up-and-play level of accessibility. I will be the first to say that I enjoyed each of these games, but I also have to admit that although they were fun, I found myself quickly discarding them before I'd finished them (well, except for Counterstrike of course). They just didn't have enough depth to them that kept me interested.
What they all have in common of course is that they do one thing very well and have interesting and/or solid mechanics, and then stop. Unfortunately I'm somewhat odd when it comes to games. I like my games like I like my books. Filled with interesting characters and complex sub-plots. In short, I like a good story. But it seems this style of game is falling to the way-side. I'm hardly surprised. It's clear there is much more money to be had in making simple, quirky games which amuse for a while and appeal to the lowest common denominator. It's not surprising that game makers are trying to make their games appeal to as many people as possible. They are of course, looking for profit. Nothing wrong with that. It means they get to make more games.
Having said that, I can't help but feel somewhat betrayed. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Being a gamer, in the traditional sense, you know, in the days before Halo Frat parties and whatnot, meant being a socially ill-adjusted malcontent. It meant spending hours in front of a computer screen (or console, if you prefer, but generally computer screen for what I'm talking about) saving the universe from certain doom, exploring dungeons and being a hero in your own mind. Damn I miss those times. When other people where out in the sunshine (HISS!!!) playing sport and waxing lyrical about nothing important, we'd be at home playing games. It was what I did. It was what only a few of us did, back in the day.
We played complex games with interesting stories and crap graphics and lamented that nobody could see the glory in our achievements. So what if we defeated some pixelated monstrosity in a fictional universe? they scoffed. So what if your sidekick, your companion of many a well fought battle died? they laughed. We were the few. we were the chosen. The gaming industry got to where it is today on the backs and dollars of a generation or two of nerds. I am one of them. Pardon me if I feel a little betrayed when they don't make games for me and mine any more, but for the double digit IQ'd buttheads I used to go to school with, who sneered when I told them I liked Wizardry, or the Elder Scrolls, or Star Wars.
I'd like to preemptively respond to those who say that if that's what I'm looking for, I should stick to role playing games. To them I say, I do play RPGs, but even they, the genre that should embody the very spirit of the type of game I love, is wilting to nothing. Take some of the modern generation RPGs. Oblivion is a good one. A vast, sprawling game with massive potential, spoiled by a lacklustre story and one dimensional characters. Don't get me wrong, I played it to death because it was the best I could get at the time. But it left me feeling cold. The same happened with Fallout 3 to a lesser extent. I came into that game unbiased as I'd never played the previous fallouts (although I might try to do so now). I found a post apocalyptic Oblivion. It had a lot more tailored elements to try and correct the mistakes that Oblivion made, but it just wasn't enough. I didn't mind it, sure, but when it was over, all I felt was annoyed that by finishing the main quest in such a sprawling game, I couldn't go back and explore it to it's full potential. I didn't have the heart to start all over again.
I think it was the beginning of the end when game designers decided to spend more time focusing on graphics and physics engines, rather than writing compelling and interesting stories for their games. Don't get me wrong, I like good graphics and a decent game engine as much as the next gamer, but I'll gladly put it aside for a story that sucks me in. Take Neverwinter Nights 2 as an example. Ho hum graphics, and a pretty awful control system. To add insult to injury, the system requirements at the time the game was released were preposterous. But for some reason I kept playing. Even though the graphics were ordinary at best, and the controls were mediocre at best, I kept playing because it took me into the world and made me care about it's inhabitants. I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Probably my favorite game of all time is the original KOTOR on the Xbox. There was a game I played to death. It was set in a framework I loved. In the star wars universe, but not bound to the Luke Skywalker generation, and thus free to be itself. It was singularly fantasic. The twist at the climax was one of, if not THE best gaming moment I've ever had. If I met one of the game designers/writers in the street, I would take off my hat and stand in awe. Seldom have I played a game with such a wonderfully interesting array of gritty, flawed characters, thrown together to save the universe. Not to mention the player's own dark history...
I find myself trying to go BACK in time. instead of playing new releases, I potter around the bargain bins in Electronic Boutique and hunt the web for games of my own personal golden age. As an example, I played shadow of the colossus on the playstation 2, and I loved every second of it. For a videogame, it was a strangely moving experience that left me with a sense of melancholy I had not hitherto experienced, and if I could, I'd gladly go buy ICO, it's spiritual predecessor. I realise now that it was that element that appealed to me when I played Final Fantasy VIII. Many believe this to be the most controversial of the FF games, because Squall, the main character, was not a very likable fellow. Personally, I loved him because he was so objectionable. It's what made him interesting. And watching him develop through his relationships with the other characters was really enjoyable.
I suspect that this is what has also caused my interest in Dungeons and Dragons. I actually came to the party quite late, starting with the 3.5 edition (which I eventually bought most of), and now I DM a 4th edition game with some of my contemporaries. It fills the void. My players appreciate a complex world and story, and I give them a setting they can care about. Something they can sink their teeth into. Or at least I try.
As I said, with respect to my games, I seem to be going backward, not forward. I of course hold out hope that developers will one day come around to my way of thinking and start making games with soul again, but I get the feeling I'm setting myself up for a big fall. I suppose I just wish I could experience that sensation of heart ripping exhilaration as I finished a particularly smashing game, sit back from the keyboard, look around my empty room, and then with quiet dignity, raise a fist in the air and revel in my own private, unheralded glory.
Let the good times roll on...