Welcome to The Future
by Ian Smithers · in General Discussion · 03/01/2005 (5:58 am) · 30 replies
The more I read gaming news nowadays, the more depressing it is. It seems that all people can do, is increment the digit on the end of a titles name and then they are set for a new hit. We are in a world of sequels and addons, where are the new titles, the new IPs and worlds to explore? I remember aaaaages back, that most every game being released was new, interesting and unique. Each trying to forge new ground.
Games are getting dumber. I hate to pick on Ion Storm in light of their recent closure, but Deus Ex 2 was abysmal. Especially when considering people are trying to do the same version on multiple platforms, whenever this happens and one of those platforms is the PC, the game suffers. I watched my housemate spend days playing with Thief 3 .ini files trying to make the game HUD and shopping system, a little more bearable and friendlier to PC users.
So we get stuck with a swarm of average mass-market titles. Stupid games, for stupid people. The killer thing about it, is that these titles are still making money.
Just from today's gaming news we have:
EQ 2
SWAT 4
New Cossacks 2
Hidden Stroke 2
DOOM 3: RoE
Halo 3
Championship Manager 5
The Settlers 5
Dungeon Siege 2
Hearts of Iron 2
Sims 2: Uni
Tekken 5
Where are the original titles, the new IPs and how about a real sequel? What about a new Syndicate or Magic Carpet game? All I see here is "rehash/money... rehash/money... rehash/money..." and only a handful of those titles are worthy of a sequel, in my humble opinion at least.
I guess this is me just peeved with the state of the industry and ranting about it. I think the industry needs a new genre, something fresh to explore and new unproven groud with no prior milestones to beat. This won't solve sequalmania-syndrome, but it will serve as a nice distraction, and hopefully result in an influx of new original IPs.
Ian
P.S. Do you really think this guy should keep trying?
Games are getting dumber. I hate to pick on Ion Storm in light of their recent closure, but Deus Ex 2 was abysmal. Especially when considering people are trying to do the same version on multiple platforms, whenever this happens and one of those platforms is the PC, the game suffers. I watched my housemate spend days playing with Thief 3 .ini files trying to make the game HUD and shopping system, a little more bearable and friendlier to PC users.
So we get stuck with a swarm of average mass-market titles. Stupid games, for stupid people. The killer thing about it, is that these titles are still making money.
Just from today's gaming news we have:
EQ 2
SWAT 4
New Cossacks 2
Hidden Stroke 2
DOOM 3: RoE
Halo 3
Championship Manager 5
The Settlers 5
Dungeon Siege 2
Hearts of Iron 2
Sims 2: Uni
Tekken 5
Where are the original titles, the new IPs and how about a real sequel? What about a new Syndicate or Magic Carpet game? All I see here is "rehash/money... rehash/money... rehash/money..." and only a handful of those titles are worthy of a sequel, in my humble opinion at least.
I guess this is me just peeved with the state of the industry and ranting about it. I think the industry needs a new genre, something fresh to explore and new unproven groud with no prior milestones to beat. This won't solve sequalmania-syndrome, but it will serve as a nice distraction, and hopefully result in an influx of new original IPs.
Ian
P.S. Do you really think this guy should keep trying?
#22
I love hl2 and haven't made it to the ending because I want to update my computer BECAUSE of it. But it is the one true exception
03/05/2005 (4:52 pm)
I'm totally with Ian on this. I personally stopped playing games for along time because they made me feel blah. I miss the old days of 2D puzzle games like space quest and one of my all time favorites(which I don't know why, since i played it in my 20's) Willy Beamish.I love hl2 and haven't made it to the ending because I want to update my computer BECAUSE of it. But it is the one true exception
#23
Holy crap, for $22! Ok, I would not of thought it would be that much after so long lol. Maybe shop around. :p
Ian
03/05/2005 (5:02 pm)
Here ya go. They have a buyit link.Holy crap, for $22! Ok, I would not of thought it would be that much after so long lol. Maybe shop around. :p
Ian
#24
03/05/2005 (10:46 pm)
Steep for me right now. I read your profile, I'm a tester as well and in the same boat. I'll probably pick up a pc copy off ebay, unfortunately there's more "grain"station-2 copies up for sale. 
#26
Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with Jennifer Garner, but give me The Bourne Identity (or Supremacy) or Ronin any day. Ronin had probably one of the best car chases I ever saw in a movie, just out of intensity (because it wasn't packed with the most stunts or effects). Maybe I'll change my mind when that Alias movie comes out... ;)
Just to add my 2 cents, I think innovation and such needs to be weighed against what you want to accomplish. Way back when, there was a lot of innovation because game designers needed to create new forms of gameplay to make the game. Now it's less the case, with established methods out there. There's still plenty of innovation to be had, but it will take game designers that are looking to fit gameplay to story instead of fitting story to gameplay.
Everyone gets that "form follows function" lesson in art class in high school, but that just isn't the case anymore. Even car manufacturers are leaving that method behind, because technology gives us the power to design around what we want things to look like. Same thing goes for games. We have the technology right now to sit down and make gameplay fit our stories or situations, instead of fitting our stories and situations to the gameplay available. It's not at all easy, and many of us will fall flat on our faces trying new ideas, but that's how new genres and gameplay gets born.
As far as the big companies go, I don't know why people compare indies to them. We are not in competition with them, and currently, we cannot compete directly. It's a waste of energy, energy better spent innovating new things, and cloning old things ;)
03/06/2005 (6:33 am)
I like Ms PacMan, which is a sequel. My sister bought a joystick with that, Galaga, Xenious, and Pole Position on it for like $20, and we play it like every other day at least. Still makes me curse when a ghost gets me.Quote:TV series. Tell me that any of the spy movies that you've seen that were made in a recent decade are better than Alias.
Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with Jennifer Garner, but give me The Bourne Identity (or Supremacy) or Ronin any day. Ronin had probably one of the best car chases I ever saw in a movie, just out of intensity (because it wasn't packed with the most stunts or effects). Maybe I'll change my mind when that Alias movie comes out... ;)
Just to add my 2 cents, I think innovation and such needs to be weighed against what you want to accomplish. Way back when, there was a lot of innovation because game designers needed to create new forms of gameplay to make the game. Now it's less the case, with established methods out there. There's still plenty of innovation to be had, but it will take game designers that are looking to fit gameplay to story instead of fitting story to gameplay.
Everyone gets that "form follows function" lesson in art class in high school, but that just isn't the case anymore. Even car manufacturers are leaving that method behind, because technology gives us the power to design around what we want things to look like. Same thing goes for games. We have the technology right now to sit down and make gameplay fit our stories or situations, instead of fitting our stories and situations to the gameplay available. It's not at all easy, and many of us will fall flat on our faces trying new ideas, but that's how new genres and gameplay gets born.
As far as the big companies go, I don't know why people compare indies to them. We are not in competition with them, and currently, we cannot compete directly. It's a waste of energy, energy better spent innovating new things, and cloning old things ;)
#27
On occassion I see a remake and think its the original because the remake was oh so long ago. Once I discover this, I'll try to see the original and I'll admit the original is not always better.
Lets talk about Ronin! I usually watch it twice a year and have sat through the directors commentary twice. The shoot-out with Shamus was too hollywood. Everything else was near perfect, Frankenheimer did it. Although I usually want Sam to get the girl at the end.
03/06/2005 (3:09 pm)
As I'm not a supporter of movie remakes, especially if the original was good enough. I didn't see the remake of The Bourne Identity as I enjoyed the original that was released for tv.On occassion I see a remake and think its the original because the remake was oh so long ago. Once I discover this, I'll try to see the original and I'll admit the original is not always better.
Lets talk about Ronin! I usually watch it twice a year and have sat through the directors commentary twice. The shoot-out with Shamus was too hollywood. Everything else was near perfect, Frankenheimer did it. Although I usually want Sam to get the girl at the end.
#28
Sean Bean (Goldeneye)
Jonathan Pryce (Tomorrow Never Dies)
Michael Lonsdale (Moonraker)
03/06/2005 (4:17 pm)
There was actually three:Sean Bean (Goldeneye)
Jonathan Pryce (Tomorrow Never Dies)
Michael Lonsdale (Moonraker)
#29
I thought he did pretty good, though he always plays the bad guy, except for some commercial I saw him do right after the first LOTR came out ;)
03/07/2005 (5:53 pm)
Quote:I still laugh and cringe everytime I think of Sean Bean in that movie and then in the LOTR.
I thought he did pretty good, though he always plays the bad guy, except for some commercial I saw him do right after the first LOTR came out ;)
#30
03/07/2005 (11:12 pm)
There was a documentary (history channel, I think) about the samurai sword and I swore I recognized the narrators voice from somewhere. Turns out it was Sean Bean. 
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