Originality in games... Not anymore
- Thread starter Camoman
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Lol, there were a LOT of those. You're right though, they completely slipped my mind until you mentioned them just then. Too much current generation stuff on my mind to think of the old yesteryear.Mizaki said:
All the people saying Bioshock is really original clearly have not played System Shock.
You will very rarely get original games released through the big publishers any more, its more indy stuff that brings the originality to the table.
You will very rarely get original games released through the big publishers any more, its more indy stuff that brings the originality to the table.
There ARE still original ideas out there. The problem is that there aren't enough to create an entire game out of them. So what people do now is take new ideas and combine them with successful game ideas that have been used before.
For instance, Braid is a platforming sprite-based game that allows you to control time. While none of these ideas sound unique, the presentation and combination of them creates a very unique experience.
Sometimes this doesn't work however. Mirror's Edge for instance, wanted to try and combine parkour (used in games like the Prince of Persia series) with a first-person perspective (I am NOT going to say every game that has used this. Just... No). Unfortunately, they wanted to lengthen the gameplay so they added combat in, which seemed to water down the free-running experience. Also, the FPS view, while making the game seem a little more immersive, made it harder to maintain the fluid motion so crucial for fun free-running games.
It's a tightrope now in game development combining some new ideas with successful older ideas to create a new experience. For some, this may sound like rehashing. But there ARE new ideas in there. My favorite example of an underutilised game concept is Rez, and it's synesthesia technique. if you have a 360, get the trial for Rez:HD, turn the rumble on, and enjoy. You'll be glad you did.
For instance, Braid is a platforming sprite-based game that allows you to control time. While none of these ideas sound unique, the presentation and combination of them creates a very unique experience.
Sometimes this doesn't work however. Mirror's Edge for instance, wanted to try and combine parkour (used in games like the Prince of Persia series) with a first-person perspective (I am NOT going to say every game that has used this. Just... No). Unfortunately, they wanted to lengthen the gameplay so they added combat in, which seemed to water down the free-running experience. Also, the FPS view, while making the game seem a little more immersive, made it harder to maintain the fluid motion so crucial for fun free-running games.
It's a tightrope now in game development combining some new ideas with successful older ideas to create a new experience. For some, this may sound like rehashing. But there ARE new ideas in there. My favorite example of an underutilised game concept is Rez, and it's synesthesia technique. if you have a 360, get the trial for Rez:HD, turn the rumble on, and enjoy. You'll be glad you did.
CAVE STORY
CAVE--- STORY
CAVE-- wait for it -- STORY
http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/
granted, it's old, but it's original, free and made by one single guy through a period of i think it was 5 years. you know how japanese swordsmiths work on a single special sword for years before completing it? this is the gaming equivalent of a japanese sword.
CAVE--- STORY
CAVE-- wait for it -- STORY
http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/
granted, it's old, but it's original, free and made by one single guy through a period of i think it was 5 years. you know how japanese swordsmiths work on a single special sword for years before completing it? this is the gaming equivalent of a japanese sword.
Well hopefully in about 10 years, when me and my peer group have managed to worm ourselves into some of the bigger game companies there will be some more interesting names on the shelves. currently the main problem is that there is no faith in the game industry, big companies aren't prepared to take risks with unproven titles.Camoman said:
I'm gonna have to go for the obviously choice with the original game and say LBP, but that is firmly rooted in the platform genre. There is a flash game I played a wile ago called shift, I remember that being fairly original.
I'm just stopped playing it, it really is cool.Lordshadow said:
But yeah, not so many games whit "originality" In them. I mean everything has been done over and over again, it's hard to come up whit an original idea at the moment.
Hate it as you will but it is we the gamer who stops the original games to come out. Game companies see that its the traditional games the ones we are and they are used to that is always selling. And with crap like the economic crisis companies don't want to take the bold chance to work on a game that is out of the ordinary and it not selling. And of course if a company were to do this the company would need to be some thing like EA or another big name in the gaming industries for we the consumers to even turn a curious eye to it.
How old can we go?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imogen_(game)
PC version: http://imogen.ovine.net/imogen-screenshots.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imogen_(game)
PC version: http://imogen.ovine.net/imogen-screenshots.php
Hmm...you want another good Zelda game for originality? That isn't working. Nintendo aren't the worst criminals in Unoriginality. Metroid Prime 3, while part of a series did really well being original due to the well worked controls. Wario Ware, a collection of mini-games was rather original thanks to a good graphical/art direction and interesting controls.stevetastic said:
I think that originality does exist but it needs to be found. And I agree with Haddi that we're running out of good ideas. For now. Soon though the Chosen One will create an original game. One that no-one but me will care about.
Edit:
Valkyria Chronicles (melding SRPGs with Third-Person shooters seamlessly). LittleBigPlanet thanks to the User-Content heavy aspect and cuteness. Mirrors Edge... need I explain? There are quite a few.Camoman said:
When it comes to originality and good games, they don't always go hand-in-hand. Would you like to know why? Because things get improved upon over time. You aren't necessarily going to get the concept just right the first time so it must be tried again, tweaking what needs to be tweaked and leaving in or improving upon what worked. This is how games evolve. Yes it means that good titles are frequently not original, but it means that good refined products can be made over time of trial and error and improving upon what worked. Some games its true are original and good, but if you look at their previous games you will frequently figure out that this is due to their building on concepts used in previous games they've made. Here are 2 games to prove that last point. Take Portal. Portal is a physics-based puzzle game. If you look at games such as Half-Life 2, you often had puzzles based on Valve's own physics engine. Portal is building on these concepts to create a game solely based on these kinds of puzzles. It worked well, its possible that it wouldn't have. Now take Shadow of the Colossus. Now Team Ico's previous game (Ico) was a fairly simple puzzle-platformer with this sliver of rich and beautiful world. Shadow of the Colossus is building on the successful concepts within Ico and taking them to a new level. Both games are 'original' games that were made by building on previous concepts.
