With game engines getting so complex and detailed lately, it spurs consideration about some aspects that are lagging behind mere visual flourish. I just started Rise of the Tomb Raider and while it’s petty fun so far, I keep thinking about how much better the series could be if it had a more enhanced focus on platforming and puzzle solving. More dynamic environmental traversal is something that could use a big, evolutionary if not revolutionary step up in terms of gameplay mechanics. Imagine a character that can actually interact with complex environments like an actual human would vs a toy robot with a limited instruction set. We see bits and pieces of improvement, but I think a new Tomb Raider game next gen could really show off what might be capable, vs simply focusing on more story driven elements and leaving everything else an afterthought.
That’s the biggest thing with most AAA games in the last couple generations. I get that people like to be told a good story, but games have the advantage of being interactive, and I think the story should surround that aspect vs being the other way around. Too often it seems like gameplay suffers in story-driven games, where too much is scripted and ends up feeling shallow to actually play. It gets to the point where it deters a desire for repeated play through’s unless you were really invested in the story, which is rare seeing as how much the industry seems to struggle with actual quality storytelling. Ironic how so many studios put so much of their budget into something that serves movies more than actual games. It’s a disservice to the potential of the medium imo.
Basically I want to see enhanced and dynamic use of game mechanics - in particular environmental traversal personally - as the driving force next gen and not enhanced cinematic presentations. That’s nice to see, but it only serves a very one dimensional purpose in games, unless it’s melded with gameplay somehow to great effect.
That’s the biggest thing with most AAA games in the last couple generations. I get that people like to be told a good story, but games have the advantage of being interactive, and I think the story should surround that aspect vs being the other way around. Too often it seems like gameplay suffers in story-driven games, where too much is scripted and ends up feeling shallow to actually play. It gets to the point where it deters a desire for repeated play through’s unless you were really invested in the story, which is rare seeing as how much the industry seems to struggle with actual quality storytelling. Ironic how so many studios put so much of their budget into something that serves movies more than actual games. It’s a disservice to the potential of the medium imo.
Basically I want to see enhanced and dynamic use of game mechanics - in particular environmental traversal personally - as the driving force next gen and not enhanced cinematic presentations. That’s nice to see, but it only serves a very one dimensional purpose in games, unless it’s melded with gameplay somehow to great effect.
