TheSlee said:
and this is a bad thing?? I love FPS and TPS games and obviously, most people around the world do as well. Companies develop games that are in demand, so obviously shooters are in demand. It would be silly to produce a game from a genre that isn't being demanded as much.
Yes it is and I'll tell you why. Contrary to popular belief...in contemporary society needs are manufactured. Corporations show you what you will be craving/ desiring. It's not like you are ordering food in a restaurant...you are being served this or that and your choice is: do I eat it or not? To buy or not to buy?
A whole new generation of kids is currently being conditioned into eating just burgers (playing shooters). How? Marketing, advertising and peer pressure. What gets the most attention? What is considered cool? And what is "ghey"...
They are the future cash cows for developers and publishers. They will be screaming for burgers...cuz that's what they know, that's what they like, that's what they grew up with...and the developers will gladly serve them again and again...as long as it's burgers...cuz it's easy to make em and they've more or less perfected the concept.
This becomes a problem when this downward spiral makes other genres less profitable (consumer base erosion over the years) and true innovation risky (remember...gaming is a business first). Result: more of the same crap over and over. And what is "infinite innovation" within the shooter genre? Slightly different cover mechanics? Different reload mechanics? Different weapons, enemies, vehicles? Bigger, prettier levels?
See past the damn forms...in substance it's all the same. Guns, ammo, countless opponents, area's to travel through, bosses to kill, saving the world/ the day, getting revenge...it's all conflict...it's all death and destruction. Gamers already don't need a story to go kill hordes of opponents..."they're evil cuz their eyes glow" is enough justification. Don't you see the fundamentally deplorable state the shooter is in? It's like a mental void...killing for the sake of killing...destruction for the sake of destruction "cuz it looks awesome woohoo" and "feel that adrenaline rush".
If this is a reflection of hormone fuelled teen spirit...then where are mature shooters? With believable characters that grow/ develop, deep stories that ask serious questions. Mass Effect 2? Don't make me laugh...if this is the best the industry can give...then we've got a long road ahead.
Why must the industry be stuck in some damn teen fantasy!