Modern Gamers don't want games to look like Video games

[ChipSandwich]

The problem with FPSes isn't that they're less story driven, it's that they take themselves more seriously than before. Look at DoomGuy/UnrealGuy/QuakeGuy vs GearsofWarGuy or BlackOpsDude. All of these games are pretty linear, although the older FPSes were less of a straight line and more of a "red key blue key backtrack yellow key" crooked line. All of them have fairly silly stories. However, more recent games just want to go for "HURR GRITTY" with the occasional melodrama and/or controversy. The upcoming Bulletstorm wants to avert this, but I have a feeling it might fall on its own sword of trying too hard to be a parody of the "realistic" trend.

Edit: Whoops, forgot that Gears of War is a TPS. Still, it fits the point.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

A lot of people play video games now, and I'll use FPSs as an example. IT seems that all modern First Person Shooters are become less story line driven, more multiplayer focused, less intellectually stimulating and more brown! Well wait a second, nerds love a good story, especially a well told one, we usually are socially awkward and some of us loathe the idea of forced interactions with other people (online matchmaking), and we love visually stimulating screens; why do you think WoW is such a huge nerd hit? Fantasy story elements, interacting with other people is purely optional ( unless on a PvP server ) and BRIGHT F*CKING COLORS!

That's wierd, I thought the games console responsible for the current explosion of everyday people getting interested in gaming was the Nintendo Wii - and the last time I checked Nintendo was being sued for unnecessary cruelty to primary colours. Nintendo has built it's massive audience of previously non-gamers from brightly coloured, non PVP party games - exactly the type of games you say non-gamers aren't playing.

Also:

idiotic normal people

you appear to have superiority issues.

C'mon dude, it's obvious you need to blow off some steam, but having a pop at the games industry for trying to make their games appeal to the widest audience isn't gonna get us as gamers taken seriously. Whether we like it or not games aren't a fringe interest any more, they're mainstream. What used to be a cottage industry is now big business, and that means of course companies are gonna target the biggest demographic out there - that's how they turn a profit.

 

[PunkRex]

Right let me state one thing "I love aesthetics" I think that the fact most people veiw it as mere packaging is a massive insult and I agree with alot of the things you said like WoW's bright colours and settings being a big factor in its popularity BUT grit is just another style, one that I see as an easy route to take, but when done well (Gears of War or Sin City for instance) can make a really interesting and intriguing look. Not to mention that going for a style with a large audience really helps people settle into new things. Im really into alot more Marvel and DC now (not the comics obviously, F that mess) and am loving alot of the cartoons because of the interest the new movies sparked.

Dont get me wrong though, Gritty really is the safe bet sometimes and ive really come to hate it over the last couple of years. The fact that the next Spiderman movie is going to be more gritty fills me with dread, more teenage angst, really?!

 

[Traun]

Video games are a staple of nerd culture, right? I think we can all agree on this.

No? Video games were more prevelant in nerd culture, but they weren't a major part of it. In the '70 and '80 being a nerd meant being smart, not playing Super Mario. Video games weren't even made for nerds(yes, in the US nerds enjoyed them the most, but that was the US). Hell, video games weren't even made for a niche american audience.

And since video games have been transformed into a multi-billion dollar industry, I think we can all assume that "nerd" culture is finally starting to become the norm right? Well I think I've found a reason as to why it's not.

Because video games and nerd culture aren't related?

Truth is, the modern person (using the broadest of possible definitions here) still doesn't like/appreciate nerd culture.
"But since video games/comic movies/ etc. are taking over pop culture, doesn't that mean it is winning over the majority of people?" you might hear someone say.
Yes, but more importantly, no! You see, the average audience only like things that are associated with nerd culture when it's being dressed up as something profoundly less nerdy.

Because nerds are a niche type of people?

A lot of people play video games now, and I'll use FPSs as an example. IT seems that all modern First Person Shooters are become less story line driven, more multiplayer focused, less intellectually stimulating and more brown! Well wait a second, nerds love a good story, especially a well told one, we usually are socially awkward and some of us loathe the idea of forced interactions with other people (online matchmaking), and we love visually stimulating screens; why do you think WoW is such a huge nerd hit? Fantasy story elements, interacting with other people is purely optional ( unless on a PvP server ) and BRIGHT F*CKING COLORS!

Doom had 5 pages of story, so did Heretic, so did Hexen, so did Quake. A single level of Bioshock has more story than those games combined.

"The average" gamers don't embrace nerd culture, they reject it.

How dare other people not forsake their own culture for ours!? HULK SMASH!!!!

They're trying to take something exclusively nerdy and strip away all the things we love in our media and dumb it down so that it's more accessible to more idiotic normal people to come and join and scream in my ear while playing CoD!!

There is no argument here, just blind hate.

Ok, that was a bit of a tangent, but it does reveal a disturbing pattern. Take comic books. The movies based off of them have been making money like crazy and have become very popular and dominating in the movie landscape. But compared to the actual comic books on which they're based, they're simple, blander, and even kinda dumb. As MovieBob is so quick to tell us "COMICS ARE WEEEEEEEIRD!" and it's their weirdness that nerd latched onto, and in fact, created. Multi-layered complex story lines, dense and weaving continuities, bright colorful outfits. Hell yeah nerds love comics.

Try reading a silver-age comic book.

Is this what nerds have to look forward to?

No, nerds have to look forward to uni.

Is everything we hold dear and consider corner stones of our culture eventually just going to be taken away from us and dumbed down for a broader more "normal" audience?

Isn't it nice that your understanding of nerd culture is completely bland? Comics, video games, board games and so forth were never a major part of nerd culture, the media made it seem so. Most nerds were too busy studying to waste time with this ****

 

[bader0]

Some games are not nerd culture, and most gamers are not members of the nerd culture, Like CoD and it's multiplayer participants. They're super wicked awesome people, bro.
The nerds of the gaming culture are the kind of people that go on internet forums to talk about the impact games have on society and the direction of industry as a medium.
Err...

and what is wrong with being a nerd, what is so wrong with being inherently nerdy i am nerdy and yet i socialize very well i have many friends and do things with said friends all the time. just because i like videogames and reading books doesn't make me a social outcast or a bad person. I think the reason this stereotype has come about is that some nerdy people simply don't interact with people and use the excuse "its because im a nerd no-one wants to talk to me" when the truth is you have to make an effort. also some people i know are think that everyone is going to want to talk about you're games if someone is not interested in playing videogames why would you bring it up in conversation?

Oh, nothing is wrong with nerdy-ness! I am just the same way, I was just saying that I don't think that Gamer is synonymous with outcast/nerd/whatever anymore. It is very much a social norm. And then there are people who love the medium like you, me, and our fellow escapists, who would be considered the gamer nerds because of our enthusiasm for the subject. Everything has it's own nerd following!

ahh thanks for clearing that up i thought you were having a go at nerds hehe my bad

 

[Fulachi898]

But you've also got to remember that a long time ago in the gaming industry there were games with absolutely no story at all, i.e. mario kart, street fighter etc.

 

[Trogdor1138]

Gaming has ALWAYS been mainstream, which is what a lot of people tend to forget now. It's easy to generalize all these small issues but the fact remains that every generation has pretty much had the same opinions on whatever was out at the time. I've been gaming all my life and I'm perfectly fine with how games are going, there's been a hell of a lot of evolving since the early days.

Actually, the only thing I would prefer is for FPS games to be more like Goldeneye/Perfect Dark/Timesplitters in terms of their content. I don't like the extra grittiness they seemed to inject sometime awhile back. My main problem is the fact they try to hold up the whole game with repetitive shooting rather than good variety in the gameplay and engaging missions. I got Killzone 2 recently and was very dissapointed in it after hearing it was one of the better shooters around now. FPS used to be my preffered genre but now I find them coming last place. Luckily it seems like some upcoming games will improve on this though. Games always have to have their phases and what's popular.

 

[DanDeFool]

The bright colors thing in OP really hit home for me.

Comparing two similar games, like Virtual On: MARZ and Armored Core 3, or Halo 3 and Gears of War, I usually prefer the former's visual style. Bright colors, vibrant effects, less grittiness.

Could this be because nerds prefer their escapisms to be more disconnected from reality, while non-nerds like to escape in worlds that appear closer to reality?

 

[Isla]

Everyone has to make money in some shape or form. So there is always going to be companies who create games for the masses in order to grab as much cash as they can.

But for every nerd of course there is another and there are companies out there who will hold onto this "culture" as you call it and create games that will only appeal to "nerds"

 

[Netrigan]

Sounds like the OP missed the Tournament wars of the late 90s when Epic and id completely gave up the pretext of single player stories and put out MP tournament shooters... while the Tribes guy put out a MP only team game.

About the only recent development are the six hour campaigns. That so many let shooters get away with such brief campaigns is why I wait until these games hit $20 before I buy them.

 

[evilbryan590]

Just putting my opinion out there - There are 3 types of people we generalize in the "video game industry"
Nerds - People who spend most of their time on gaming,
ex. WoW nerds who stay up all night grinding, or something to that effect.
Geeks - People who spend some time gaming, some time social networking,
ex. people who check out forums, tweet/post on games, and also play games.
Dorks - Socially awkward people, someone who is absorbed into one "universe",
ex. people who ONLY play one/two types of game like starwars games, wow, starcraft, diablo, etc. and don't differ to others.

Nerds can be dorks, nerds can be geeks, geeks can be dorks, and vice versa for all of them, just the outstanding factor determines your "main type"

Now back to the question. Games are a staple of the Nerd Culture. Nerds who play games usually play games that keep them entertained for months on end, with almost endless possibilities of what to do, like mmorpgs. As for FPS's like CoD, they are mainly instinct/connection based, where who shoots first wins. With this in mind, the average human can pick up a controller and press a trigger, where as what defines a nerd is the intellect to think about what will shoot/kill faster, and let me live at the end.

Therefor the nerd culture will always be there, where normal people don't want to spend $15/month on a game which doesn't interest them and they could be using on other things.
All it is is Capitalists wanting to make as much money as possible when spending the least amount to make it possible. Therefor by making a game which anyone can use (fps games are the main group), they make more money. And that money is why the video game industry has so much money. So in other words, nerds have not grew as much as you would think.

So IN CONCLUSION (about time), our nerd culture isn't dieing. Games like strategy games will always be included mainly in the nerd culture. However having a game which attracts people over to the nerd culture (CoD) can cause people to explore the nerd culture, as a stepping stone to other games. From there the nerd culture will grow until it becomes a socially dominant group.

PS. Nerdy cloths change over time. Glasses of today are the contacts of tomorrow. And since more normal people are joining our culture, cultural exchange happens and nerds start to wear normal peoples cloths. So the new normal might be being a nerd, who knows?

PS.S. Time for me to stop typing. I get carried away sometimes.

 

[Unspeakable]

I totally agree with you. Nerds should stop playing video games and cramping our culture.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I'm not convinced that "nerds" like stories and bright colours more than other people. That makes nerds sound like small children when in fact they are socially awkward adults and young adults who like things that seem bad to people who like to think of themselves as sophisticated or popular.

As others are pointing out, FPS are hugely more story driven now than they used to be. The Duty Calls parody made fun of this from a pretty nerdy perspective. If you look as something like Quake, nerdy as hell, lots of references to Cthulu mythos, grimy, huge emphasis on fast brutal gameplay over story. Nerds love competition. Why do you think that Chess club is such a nerdy activity?

But the fact is that saying that nerds like anything in particular is just some other way of typecasting a varied group of people.

There is nothing commercial that you can really cling to and call your own. Culturally you have to learn to be a vulture, scavenging what you can and crowding around the things left as corpses by the big predators of vapid mainstream culture. We can have a really good nerdy vulture party when we crowd around things that the bro, artfag and soccermom gamers would not understand as being good.

 

[Trolldor]

Video games are a staple of nerd culture, right? I think we can all agree on this. And since video games have been transformed into a multi-billion dollar industry, I think we can all assume that "nerd" culture is finally starting to become the norm right? Well I think I've found a reason as to why it's not.
Truth is, the modern person (using the broadest of possible definitions here) still doesn't like/appreciate nerd culture.
"But since video games/comic movies/ etc. are taking over pop culture, doesn't that mean it is winning over the majority of people?" you might hear someone say.
Yes, but more importantly, no! You see, the average audience only like things that are associated with nerd culture when it's being dressed up as something profoundly less nerdy. Let me provide an example.
A lot of people play video games now, and I'll use FPSs as an example. IT seems that all modern First Person Shooters are become less story line driven, more multiplayer focused, less intellectually stimulating and more brown! Well wait a second, nerds love a good story, especially a well told one, we usually are socially awkward and some of us loathe the idea of forced interactions with other people (online matchmaking), and we love visually stimulating screens; why do you think WoW is such a huge nerd hit? Fantasy story elements, interacting with other people is purely optional ( unless on a PvP server ) and BRIGHT F*CKING COLORS!
"The average" gamers don't embrace nerd culture, they reject it. They're trying to take something exclusively nerdy and strip away all the things we love in our media and dumb it down so that it's more accessible to more idiotic normal people to come and join and scream in my ear while playing CoD!!
Ok, that was a bit of a tangent, but it does reveal a disturbing pattern. Take comic books. The movies based off of them have been making money like crazy and have become very popular and dominating in the movie landscape. But compared to the actual comic books on which they're based, they're simple, blander, and even kinda dumb. As MovieBob is so quick to tell us "COMICS ARE WEEEEEEEIRD!" and it's their weirdness that nerd latched onto, and in fact, created. Multi-layered complex story lines, dense and weaving continuities, bright colorful outfits. Hell yeah nerds love comics.
Is this what nerds have to look forward to? Is everything we hold dear and consider corner stones of our culture eventually just going to be taken away from us and dumbed down for a broader more "normal" audience?

What the hell are you talking about?

Firstly, there are things you can do in graphic novels that you just can't do in films. Shit doesn't translate well. Then there's the fact that a movie adaptation has to be an abbridged version in order to qualify as a movie and not an epic slog through fanboydom.

Secondly, since when is the pleasure of a story specifically limited to nerds? I've always enjoyed a good story, most people do. That is why movies like 'The King's Speech' do so well commercially and critically, a well portrayed and told story captures the audience's imagination.

Video games are an entirely different medium, people are still getting used to developing it, and the rapid development of technology means that the possibel stories you could tell are branching out dramatically, because you can do things in cinematic cutscenes you couldn't do... five years ago. Look at LA Noire - real facial animations made digital, not rendered faces mimicking real facial animations.

You say that 'modern gamers' don't want video games to look like video games?
I call bullshit. I say modern gamers want to play video games that interest them. Nothing more.

 

[MassiveGeek]

Simpler doesn't necessarily mean dumber.

Complex doesn't necessarily mean smarter.

It's all dependant on the game in question - which audience are they going for, why are they making the game at all, how much can/want they invest in it, etc. And yes, I want to agree on that whole "aiming the games at the Joe's and Jane's thing more nowdays", but I don't think at all it's how it goes for the whole industry. Us nerds still have our Mass effect's, our Fallout 3's, Amnesia's, Half-Life's and etcetera of story heavy, atmospheric and odd games.

I haven't been into the whole nerd/gaming culture enough to really know how it's developed, but I don't think the differences are quite as big as we make them out to be.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Simpler doesn't necessarily mean dumber.

Complex doesn't necessarily mean smarter.

This is true, but if you draw a scatterplot then I'm pretty sure there would be a strong correlation.

 

[BENZOOKA]

No.

I don't think there's anything in the original post that makes sense. Just wrong assumptions after another. Move along.

 

[GiantRaven]

But compared to the actual comic books on which they're based, they're simple, blander, and even kinda dumb.

Care to elaborate on that a little further? I mean, sure, comic books can have some strange storyline lines and some have an intense focus on continuity (which personally I dislike immensely) but 'simple', 'bland' and 'dumb' are all insanely negatively charged terms that you should really substantiate further if you want to show that you're correct (which, of course, you aren't, as what you say cannot be applied to every comic that comes out).

edit: Ok. Urgh. I misread that immensely, I believed that you were stating the actual comic books themselves were simple, bland and dumb rather than the films. My apologies.

-_-

 

[Netrigan]

...First Person Shooters are become less story line driven, ...

I hope I don't crash while driving home tonight pondering that sentence.

I am also loving the contradictions.

Yup, Quake was a technicolour single player story based game, with a thought provoking plot. Now look at Halo. Look at those drab primary coloured enemies.

I love sarcasm, it's like the nectar of the gods.

I think what he meant was they are becoming less single player driven and yes, that's true. Even the top selling FPS's of today have campaigns that were 'called in'. Oh, they are pretty, but they are short, like a few hours long if you go straight through. Developers are putting all their hopes on it being enjoyed solely for the multiplayer, which is lazy developing in my opinion.

There's only a few franchises that can get away with phoning in the single player campaign. This has been true since Quake and remains true today. A franchise makes it's bones on the single player campaign. Id earned it with Doom, Epic earned it with Unreal, Bungie earned it with CE, IW earned it with CoD 1,2, & 4. Valve used their success with HL to help push Counterstrike and Team Fortress to the next level.

 

[Netrigan]

Stupid, stupid iPhone.

Anywho, any new IP from an unknown company that tries to skimp the single player campaign is in for a rude surprise. Bargain bins are filled with these failed attempts.