No Right Answer: Most Uninteresting Game Genre

[Gorrath]

How do sports and racing games beat out genres like "God-awful real life job simulator 20XX" or "Something Mama" or any other genre where you have almost no actual game play and pretty much no way to lose?

Because those games prove video games can be something more than Ego builders.

You may find something like Harvest Moon boring but when such mechanics of a game are pulled into a game like Skyrim it actually makes Skyrim more immerse. And what about the person who doesn't want to be killed while playing the parts that have nothing to do with killing? Well there's always Harvest Moon.

I think you might mistake my point. I actually own three Harvest Moon games and have great fun with them. I find the planting/growing crops to be cathartic. There is a certain level of subjectivity to this of course, as someone who just finds sports boring isn't likely to enjoy playing Madden. However, I think one can make a good argument that, with all their expanded functionality, modern sports games are as a genre not the snorefest that say "Trash Truck Simulator 20XX" is. This is in no way a condemnation of people who like playing "Euro Bakery Delivery Van Day Job" or "Commercial Flight Simulator 1998", it's simply to point out the dubious claim that the sports genre is somehow more boring than these games tend to be, personal tastes not withstanding.

There are some genres of games out there that are barely games at all, and while I'd never begrudge someone having fun with them, I would think the overwhelming sales of many of the top sports games shows that a whole lot of people find the genre anything but boring.

 

[Greg Tito]

But ... I like sports games. And MarioKart is awesome. Both wrong!

Greg

 

[MorganL4]

Hey Dan they did the whole sport you can't actually play back in the old days (remember gamecube?) Yeah... This existed:



Also, I just checked ESPN is owned by Disney, and Marvel is owned by Disney.... SO what we could have is an ESPN football game where at halftime DocOc kidnaps the reff and then you suddenly have to do a mini game (as Peter Parker, who was of course selling pizza in the stands at the Jets game) to rescue the referee.

Come on Disney, you can make that happen combine your ESPN and Marvel franchises!!!

 

[TheMemoman]

First episode ever I've closed without finishing. You guys came off as very ignorant here. Sure, people are allowed to voice their opinion. But this was like me explaining to Richard Feynman why I don't like particle physics. Just embarrassing.

 

[Rituro]

Blood Bowl - American Football, with Orcs, Ogres, Zombies and Demons! In turn based! Near zero reality!

Bingo. This was the first thing that flew into my mind when Dan started ranting about unreal sports. I guarantee you that nobody is going to turn off (or stand up from, since, y'know, tabletop game and all) Blood Bowl, go outside and chainsaw a mutated rat to death.

That said, as soon as that happens, boom, I'm there.

My last point on sports games: Football Manager. I am addicted to it. I love that game to pieces. I'm not sure if that helps or hinders Dan's argument but hot damn, I could scour the dregs of England for decent players all day long.

 

[MorganL4]

Kyle loses because of Top Gear on the SNES and Burn Out Revenge on the 360.
Those are awesome games
And mind you, BO: R had great (and evnetually super difficult) racing in it, without the crashing of opponents.
And that STILL was fun!!!

Dude! you had me all excited for a moment there.... I thought they had taken the show Top Gear and made it a videogame.... then I read "SNES" and went OH.... its 20 years old. NVM.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

My family is a bunch of petrol heads, they would be flipping to see that racing was considered separate from sports in this debate, they're always correcting me.

Also, as others have pointed out, Blood Bowl, Twisted Metal, Wipeout and other games cure that itch about having something different in them.

 

[Elijah Newton]

I've always wondered why iterative racing games - like Forza, which I adore despite the franchise-killing threat of DLC - don't release even a halfway decent gun mod. Speaking from the almost pure innocence of someone who has no idea what's going on under the hood it seems like something which should be really easy to implement.

And not just guns, but all the James Bond-y / Car Wars bits. Oil slicks, caltrops, etc etc.

I understand why cut-rate racing games add these items in to give themselves some depth because they can't compete as straight racers, but man I'd love to see a solid racing engine go low brow.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

I think racing games are a bit more interesting for people who don't like racing than sports games are for people who don't like sports. But racing games have become pretty dam boring. Burnout was the best racing franchise till Paradise killed it.

 

[loa]

If you wanna play a sports game you can't play in reality.
Well,
play league of legends. Team fortress 2. Killing floor. Starcraft (2).
Or any other game ever made, really.

 

[Gorrath]

But ... I like sports games. And MarioKart is awesome. Both wrong!

Greg

Don't leave us hangin' Greg, what genre or two would YOU pick to be the most boringest thing ever?

 

[mrpollio]

Deathrow was a fantasy sports game on the original Xbox and was fantastic as well. Except facing the demon or ninja teams. Jerks.

Never got the credit it deserved.

 

[Firefilm]

But ... I like sports games. And MarioKart is awesome. Both wrong!

Greg

(Sheepishly) yes sir. Sorry sir.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Check out this game http://nextcargame.com/. There's your "car game" that isn't uninteresting

 

[Rad Party God]

Hmmm... I LOVE sports and racing games... BUT... I love the unrealistic ones.

I love F-Zero GX, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (actually better than any Mario Kart) and NBA Jam.

 

[Ticklefist]

I tend to burn out on racing games quickly. Within 10 hours and well before I've completed the game's basic set of races and challenges. However, on the rare occasion I buy a sports game, I easily get 100 or more hours out of it.

 

[Shjade]

That ending might have been the first time No Right Answer got me to actually laugh aloud. Oh Dan, you and your mixed up game titles.

 

[UNHchabo]

But racing games have become pretty dam boring. Burnout was the best racing franchise till Paradise killed it.

Have you looked at Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit? Developed by Criterion, and it became my new favorite racing game after playing it, taking the position from Burnout 3.

I understand why cut-rate racing games add these items in to give themselves some depth because they can't compete as straight racers, but man I'd love to see a solid racing engine go low brow.

Aside from NFS:HP, which I would recommend to you as well, there's NFS:Shift, which uses realistic racing physics, and there are no powerups or anything, but it takes Touring Car Racing as its inspiration, so it fully encourages you to play dirty. You get points for hitting your opponents, spinning them off the road, and so on.

On that note, check out Top Gear's tribute to Touring Car Racing:
http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/50-years-of-btcc

 

[Vivi22]

Sports game of a sport that doesn't exist? Why not combine it with driving?

 

[krogothwolf]

Mutant League Football
Mutant League Hockey

Greatest Sports Games Ever Created.