Poll: Back to basics in Video games

[krazykidd]

I'm wondering, if we lost a few things mainstream games, would we still play them? Lets say a new game came out tomorrow , with no Voice acting ( all text ) , no Epic soundtracks ( just some average 10 seconds melody loop ), no cinematics ( AT ALL ), none of the extras that we as gamers now take for granted , just good old gameplay and story and good 2011 graphics , would we, hardcore gamers and casuals alike , still buy it , knowing that that which i mentioned above has not been included in the game?

So my question is : would you buy/play a mainstream game ( think of any mainstream game you like ) that had no Voice acting , no epic soundtrack, and no cinematics?

 

[Proteus214]

Certainly, there are plenty of other ways that a game can hook a player. I would be a little disappointed missing a great soundtrack, but none of those elements are entirely necessary to make a decent game that is both deep and fun.

 

[aba1]

I would n wouldnt alot of the games I buy tend to be full of those things like saints row 2 without the cut scenes music and voice acting I just dont think I would enjoy it as much becasue all the personality would be gone which is one of my favurite parts

however if a game is made to have very litle of any of those it doesnt bother me I can still play my n64 n have a blash I was playing dk64 for a month last year

 

[Pyoro]

It can be fun, but I don't really take voice acting, epic soundtracks or cinematics for granted. I don't even really see what they have in common with video games.. other than it's a popular fashion at the moment (Borrowing from cinema). But then again I don't see myself as a 'hardcore gamer' or a 'casual' or any of those labels.

This generation will be remembered as the 'EPIC' gen. That about sums it up. I couldn't care less.
Publishers have done a 'great' job at fostering a new brand of content-hungry gamer that not only desires the EPIC, but expects it.

 

[Valkyrie101]

I honestly think that no voice acting would impair a game. There are games without cutscenes, or with few, and I probably wouldn't miss the soundtrack that much.

 

[Lazarus Long]

I think Minecraft answers your question rather eloquently with its 2 and a half million sales. And I would gladly buy my share of Steve Meretzky's lunch for a new Infocom-style text adventure, just to support the medium [http://wurb.com/if/].

 

[AdamRhodes]

Are we talking no soundtrack at all? Or just no sweeping orchestras? 'Cos I think the fellas at ocremix could hammer out an awesome soundtrack (and some of them already have) with just a laptop.

But yeah, I still play Ocarina of Time and Banjo-Kazooie and have a blast.

 

[Staskala]

Voice acting? Whatever, most voice jobs in the video games industry are pretty bad anyway, especially when it comes to localized games.

Cinematics? Sure, not every single game needs them, especially when the story is shit anyway.

Soundtrack? Now that's something I wouldn't want to miss. It doesn't need an entire orchestra obviously, but a few longer and more "sophisticated" tracks are something I simply expect from a video game.
Even in the 16bit era (there was pretty much no 8bit era in Europe) we had some pretty awesome pieces that weren't just 10 second loops.

 

[DEAD34345]

I play Roguelikes all the time, and they have no sound whatsoever (and essentially no graphics either). I certainly wouldn't suddenly let these things affect me just because the game in question is "mainstream". (I'm not that much of a hipster)

 

[Vivace-Vivian]

Um... Limbo anyone?

 

[Da Orky Man]

I'm wondering, if we lost a few things mainstream games, would we still play them? Lets say a new game came out tomorrow , with no Voice acting ( all text ) , no Epic soundtracks ( just some average 10 seconds melody loop ), no cinematics ( AT ALL ), none of the extras that we as gamers now take for granted , just good old gameplay and story and good 2011 graphics , would we, hardcore gamers and casuals alike , still buy it , knowing that that which i mentioned above has not been included in the game?

So my question is : would you buy/play a mainstream game ( think of any mainstream game you like ) that had no Voice acting , no epic soundtrack, and no cinematics?

Erm, how about Limbo? Massively popular, with no cinematics, voice work or soundtrack.

 

[Simeon Ivanov]

Well ... the game must be really awesome.
However if most of my favorite games had no music, voice acting or cinematic ... they'd be pretty lame ...

 

[Jakub324]

Hell no! Gears of War 2, a game for which I have immense respect, has a great soundtrack and great voice acting.

 

[Thunderhorse31]

Um... Limbo anyone?

I was just about to post this, plus if you ignore the incredibly beautiful music of Braid, it's in the same category (no cinematics, text-only, pure gameplay).

 

[UlytimateDestruction]

Soundtrack woudn't be a big deal... I usually play my own music when playing games anyway. Voice acting woudn't be a big deal either since my reading is superb. Then it doesn't matter about no cinematics, atleast we have the pleasure of blowing stuff up.

 

[Syphous]

Why not? Fun is still fun.

 

[ZeroMachine]

You're saying that the "good ol' days" didn't have epic soundtracks?

Surely, you never played Zelda games.

Or Chrono Trigger.

Or Final Fantasy VI.

Or Earthbound.

Or Super Mario RPG.

Or Star Fox.

Or any Kirby game.

Or... well, I think you get the idea.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Eh. I have this bizarre thing where if text isn't voice acted, I don't consider it important enough to read. You could write out an epic detailed analysis, and all I'll do is just look for the tag words or skip it and check the quest menu.

And soundtrack? It is preferred. Great music really helps to set the mood of the game.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

I certainly would if it was good, but I dont want every game to be like that. Those things can work well if they suit the game.

 

[twistedmic]

I could go with the lack of voice acting, and I wouldn't mind text only info ( I usually turn on the subtitles and read those when playing). I can also live without cinematics, they tend to annoy me by moving too slowly when I just want to get back to blowing shit up and shooting people in the face(plate).
The only problem I'd have is with an endlessly looping melody, and that's only because of the risk of the 'Tetris Effect'. As long as I have the option to turn of the music then I'd be fine with no soundtrack.