Evolution of Gaming

Posted Fri, 04/03/2009 - 16:15 by Dan

Today's generation is marked by a sense of nostalgia. Nostalgia towards days of the old Mario, Zelda looking for his way to save the world, and Gabriel Knight reveling the truth behind the paranormal.

What keeps us coming back to these games are a number of things. A sense of simplicity. Not saying that these games weren't complex. Because they all were in their own right. Nowadays games are filled with plenty of complexity but at times lack substance.

I remember adventuring in games like Monkey Island, Leisure Suit Larry, Quest For Glory, but these games don't hold a place in today's market. People want interactivity. They want to be able to log into a game with their guild, build social networks within the game. They want a hierarchy of order. This is all and well and fine. But there is much to be said about the ability to log into your own personal game. I think at times there is too much emphasis put on the concept of an ever changing world. A place where your actions can determine the world around you.

Now lets face it, concepts like this are always promised but never truly delivered to the extent that one wishes. The outcomes are still scripted to a certain extent. A great example of this is Mass Effect. A wonderful game from Bioware. A company that is notorious for creating games filled with multiple endings, plot twists, and the like. However these things are still scripted in a linear fashion.

Sadly I think the only game that comes close to what I'm talking about is Second Life. The drawbacks of Second Life are apparent enough as soon as you log on. It's a place where people pay you to sit in their store in order to generate numbers. It's based upon an economy that is lacking substance.

So I pose a question to you the reader. What will it take in gaming development to create something that is truly unique? Something that defines a new genre in the true sense of the word genre.

I yearn for the yesteryear approach in gaming. Where the technical limitations (not known at the time) were embraced in a way to create a truly magical game. Something filled with the traits that only an incredible novel might hold.

Perhaps I'm not fully appreciating what content is available to us at this time, but I still think it can be better. The constant strive for something new is what helps us progress I suppose.

Dan

Comments

My take on it is, depends on

by ylwfvr - 04/03/2009 - 21:32

My take on it is, depends on your age. I grew up in the 80s. I remember when Nintendo first came out with their first 8 bit system. It was a huge leap forward from Atari and the previous home console systems. I'll never forget the first time playing Super Mario Bros. Probably spent 2-3 hours just getting past the first few stages, until we figured out the "warp zone" to skip directly to level 8.

But my point is, games back then were fun to play. I call them "pick up and play" games. They don't have 30 minute intros, a bazillion button configurations, and super complex plot lines. I recently rented Fallout for xbox 360. Some may find this game fun. Personally, I hated it. It took too long to start playing the game. All this character development stuff should be left out of games. If I want character development, I'll go rent a movie like Matrix.

Oh, and can we stop already with all the FPS and War Games. How many COD games do we really need? We need more games like Contra, Streets of Rage, Final Fight, Super Mario 3, and the like. I was extremely excited recently with the release of Street Fighter IV. I loved this game for the SNES. I'll never forget going to Funcoland in 91/92, and paying $85.00 for it. They were the only ones who had it, and I had to have it, after dumping many quarters in the arcade machine at my local 7-11.

I think the industry needs to go back to the fundamentals of what video games were all about. Fun!