Poll: Have games changed?

[FallenTraveler]

Hi there fellow Escapists! I am new to the site, but I figured I've been reading these forums for such a long time that it was time to post one of my greatest questions/frustrations with the games developed for consoles (and lesser so for pc) these days.

Here's my problem:
I don't know what it is, but a lot of games nowadays don't seem to have the same "feel" to them. I just don't seem to have that great sense of exploration, or something new. I feel like games are kind of retreads of the games released six months ago. Now, I do love games this generation, don't get me wrong.But the last game I played that I really clung to, and was having a good time with was Deadly Premonition. I think that this was also because it felt like a forgotten dreamcast or ps2 game though. It was just amazing playing through that thing, a sense of mystery, item pickup, a clunky HUD. and I suppose Lost Planet 2 also held that same feeling for me, though it was beautifully rendered,and it was also kind of monster hunter with guns... I don't know what it is, but I simply don't get the same feel with newer games. Maybe I'm living in the past or something?

So what do you all think? Is there an issue with game design these days? do you prefer Older games to newer games? Shiny new graphics to muddier old ones?

 

[micky]

welcome! and yes i do think so. they didn't really take them selfs so seriously and made more funny games now its all brown. hope bulletstorm can change that.

 

[Mr. Grey]

Bananas are delicious.

As for your question... I haven't noticed anything different. I guess I sort of adapted to the change and just went along with it. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy an old game or two, I just can shift between them easily.

But if you're bringing up issues, there are always issues... there were issues even back then I'm sure. You're just noticing them more now because we're farther along and have a longer track record to look back at.

 

[Souplex]

Gaming took an inherent turn for the worse when the graphics/sound/actor budget of games started getting larger than the design budget.
This is not to say that modern games are bad, but I see the above as a fundamental problem.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

Yeah I know. One thing that anoys me is that games nowadays dont feel like games, they feel like simulators. They try too hard to be real. What happend to all the mile high jumping and machine guns that shoot hadokens and health bars?

P.s. welcome to the Escapist =)

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Yes. I think there are too many people who think they know exactly what a good game is and not enough who are able to just make a good game without too much hassle from people who think they know exactly what a good game is. That is my guess as to what is wrong with video game creation.

 

[Maverick Siragusa]

how can i trust a man who says bananas are delicious?

 

[DarthFennec]

Games have gotten easier and more realistic, which sucks. Back in the old days, you could do anything you ever wanted to while writing a game, but now it seems that everything has to be accurate or explainable, and you can't just throw stuff at gamers that doesn't make any sense. Like a flower that shoots fireballs, or a wizard that turns you into an eggplant. Nobody buys that stuff anymore unless it's classic, and I feel disturbed by that fact.

 

[FallenTraveler]

games nowadays dont feel like games, they feel like simulators. They try too hard to be real. What happend to all the mile high jumping and machine guns that shoot hadokens and health bars?

This post ftw I want want to play crackdown 2 now. Haha!!!!!

anyways! I am really happy some people agree with me, I guess that its true, about aiming for massive demographics.... and those massive budgets.... stupid realism.

 

[Mr. In-between]

Gaming took an inherent turn for the worse when the graphics/sound budget of games started getting larger than the design budget.
This is not to say that modern games are bad, but I see the above as a fundamental problem.

I can agree with this. I don't mean to sound like some smug elitist prick, but most people are too goddamn stupid to appreciate anything beyond shiny graphics and high quality sound.

 

[GodKlown]

Welcome to the club, and games have certainly changed since I started playing them back in the early 1980s. I didn't grow up with cutscenes or fancy cinematics, but I've certainly come to embrace them for their ability to enhance the ability to tell a story.
One thing I certainly miss is turn-based combat in RPGs. I finally got around to trying Final Fantasy 13, and the combat just puts me off from the game. It wasn't all that long ago they gave you a chance to plan a strategy during a game, not somehow develop one about five seconds before a battle starts.
I don't mind a decent shooter, but they are all starting to really just look alike anymore. They do little in the overly-popular Call of Duty franchise to make them much different these days. Aside from a few weapon or costume changes, there isn't much I can see between Modern Warfare 1 & 2. I gave up trying to play that game a long time ago, and haven't played the last three, but I've watched my brother trudge through it. The only real appeal of those games these days seems to be the online PvP aspect, and that never really appealed to me in the first place.
I still like the sandbox games like GTA and Saints Row or Prototype. Little has actually changed between these games, aside from customization options and slightly different weapons. There are a few things to seperate these games, obviously, by sheer design aspects, but the genre as a whole is what I am focusing on. I prefer the option to tackle challenges on my own or just mess around in the game world as I see fit. I prefer the freedom those games offer instead of sticking me on a linear path that just furthers to advance the storyline to which I have no real influence on aside from what the developers have already chosen for me by completing predetermined missions/adventures.

The retro scene that developers are trying to take these days is a nice throw-back to the old days... but I miss the originals that I grew up with. Flash game developers can give me more of a sense of satisfaction for the old days without making me spend $60 to revisit my younger days, and I really like that.
I found out this week that I am older than Pac-Man, and I wasn't sure if I should be excited or disappointed to know where I rank in digital history. I think it is more of which of us has aged better over time... so far, Pac-Man is winning!

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I agree that games feel different now then they did back when I first started. It isn't just the graphics, although that is a factor.

The reason games feel different to us is the fact we are no longer really the market. They are concentrating on the younger teenagers for sales. As the tastes of the younger generations change, so will the games.

 

[reyttm4]

Games really have changed, to the max. What I would give for A current game with awesome boss battles. The thing is, big ol' companies seem to be thinking that realism is the key to a gaming utopia. This is the reason why I like freeware/indie games so much. Not to say I don't like modern games.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

games nowadays dont feel like games, they feel like simulators. They try too hard to be real. What happend to all the mile high jumping and machine guns that shoot hadokens and health bars?

This post ftw I want want to play crackdown 2 now. Haha!!!!!

anyways! I am really happy some people agree with me, I guess that its true, about aiming for massive demographics.... and those massive budgets.... stupid realism.

Realistic games are good though, but today the industry is fit to bursting with them.
This is one reason I like HALO so much, it basicly boots realism out the window to make room for some whacky jumping around, bullet absorbing fun.

 

[V8 Ninja]

Yes but I'm not sure how to explain it. But I think the best way to do that is to give two different excerpts from two different games:

Excerpt from the instruction booklet of Mechwarrior 2:

"Also, you may set your combat variable options including invulnerability, unlimited ammo, and no collision damage from the options pull-down menu. However, you cannot progress through the missions because the Keshik deems altering your reality dishonorable."

Excerpt from the back of the box of Galactic Swarm:

"Unbelievable real-time anti-aliasing smooth edges across background images, dramatically increasing detail."

 

[Abedeus]

Games really have changed, to the max. What I would give for A current game with awesome boss battles. The thing is, big ol' companies seem to be thinking that realism is the key to a gaming utopia. This is the reason why I like freeware/indie games so much. Not to say I don't like modern games.

I think Persona games count as "modern", even if they were released on the PS2.

Every boss fight is an epic boss fight.


People cry about graphics over gameplay, but they don't realize it's been like this before.

First games have good gameplay/plot. Pre-3D era.
Then they make engines so good, you must have a graphic card. 3D fascination.

In-between, there were the small-game fascination, with 3 or 4 diskettes.
Then the CD-ROMs came... and people started making interactive games on 6-7 CD-ROMs. God.

Okay, so once people found out they can't really make awesome graphics anymore, they focused on plot. Half Life era, beginning of MMOs.
Then they again started making better graphics, with HUD and so on. Also, physics. Doom 3, Quake 4 and Half Life 2. MMORPGs get better and better, WoW comes out soon.
Again, graphics halt, other things move on. Uhm... I'm blank. Seriously, I don't recall many good games from 2005-2007. Jade Empire, Persona games on the PS2, Timesplitters. Beginnings of Wii and motion-control shovelware.
And today's times and the next year. HD, next-gel (hehe) consoles, almost photo-realistic graphics on the PC and PS3. Xbox 360 stays behind, sorry. BFBC2, Crysis 2, Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age 2.
Next we know, graphics will stop for another 2 years or so, give or take one year, for games like Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Half Life 2: Episode 3. Most of the games on the consoles, since they don't advance much in the terms of graphics. Also I guess Natal will count too, and the Sony thingie.

So stop panicking, and don't buy new parts for PC for now till you really need them for the great-looking games like BFBC2 and the likes of it.