I love video games and gaming. Always have. But there's a problem in gaming, and it feels like it's been going on for some time now.
The video game industry is a billion dollar one. It's experienced innovation after innovation, and these changes have contributed real entertainment value.
However, one must confess that most of the advances in video games have been on the hardware side. the software side (i.e. game design) still on the whole leaves much to be desired, especially when we look at triple A games.
Much like the Movie industry, the gaming industry has sort of become all about making a buck. Not entirely, but to a large degree (especially from the triple A publishers - there have been some really cool things happening on the indie scene).
We see the same trite things, changed only very slightly, delivered to us for the same price or more year after year. I mean just look at the Assassin's Creed franchise. Just. Fucking. Look. At. It.
My ideal game is something new, something I haven't seen before. It doesn't have to reinvent the wheel. I think a lot is possible even with the tools already available. It could a hell of a lot of fun, or a work of art, or anything in between.
But, yes, I especially want to see software changes. I want npc's to feel more real in the game world. I don't mean that each one has to act convincingly like a person, just that creatures and people within a game world should be more than just a cardboard cut out with a text-bubble/speaker attached.
Xenoblade Chronicles implemented a simple relationship system where you could see how accomplishing in world quests affected people's relationships with each other, and how fighting together affected members of the party's relationships with each other. Genius. Simple to implement. Is it really so much to ask? Apparently so.
Also, there should be consequences within the game world that the games can see and really feel. The most disappointing part of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was when you beat Ganon and go back to Hyrule, anxious to see if anything has changed. It hasn't. Especially upsetting was that the Zora's domain was still royally fucked over with ice. It was sort of a womp-womp ending to one of the greatest games of all time.
So what's my ideal game? It's one that takes risks, that moves the industry forward by saying 'look, this is what's possible.'
It's time for the gaming industry to stop playing it safe, and start rocking worlds. That's just this gamer's opinion.
Sunday, November 19th, 2017
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