Has the quality of new games gone downhill?
Discussion
Was in my local electrical goods retailer last night, thought I'd take a peek at new games releases.
Now when I was growing up, going through the 'console years', there were games like Grand Theft Auto, Worms, Gran Turismo, Hogs of War, Destruction Derby, FIFA, etc.
Now it just seems that the only really good games, in terms of decent graphics and really good gameplay are those that are installments of series that were started perhaps a decade ago?
Is this a shift in the way software houses operate, sticking with known titles because they are 'safe' bets in terms of re-occuring sales, or are games designers just not putting in the effort anymore?
Now when I was growing up, going through the 'console years', there were games like Grand Theft Auto, Worms, Gran Turismo, Hogs of War, Destruction Derby, FIFA, etc.
Now it just seems that the only really good games, in terms of decent graphics and really good gameplay are those that are installments of series that were started perhaps a decade ago?
Is this a shift in the way software houses operate, sticking with known titles because they are 'safe' bets in terms of re-occuring sales, or are games designers just not putting in the effort anymore?
Watch any of these as a funny poke at the games industry, but also a cold critique as to why most developers are retarded cash w
es that stifle originality.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-p...
Incidentally the producer of these videos is my hero and i want his babies. Watching them I laugh so hard my man bits fall off.
es that stifle originality.http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-p...
Incidentally the producer of these videos is my hero and i want his babies. Watching them I laugh so hard my man bits fall off.
spandexx said:
Watch any of these as a funny poke at the games industry, but also a cold critique as to why most developers are retarded cash wes that stifle originality.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-p...
Incidentally the producer of these videos is my hero and i want his babies. Watching them I laugh so hard my man bits fall off.
Thanks for the link, never knew about his work before but now I'm hooked es that stifle originality.http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-p...
Incidentally the producer of these videos is my hero and i want his babies. Watching them I laugh so hard my man bits fall off.
Halb said:
I still think Super MArio 2 is one of the best. Along with the SNES version of Zelda
I've been playing that Zelda recently, through a SNES emulator on my psp. Its a lot of fun. Stuck on the first boss in the dark world just now.I think nowadays it is much harder to make a good original game since people expect ground breaking graphics, not all that easy to get without a lot of time and people so no one will take a risk not knowning if their new inovative game will sell. Its a shame but there are still a few original games on the way. Team ICO's new one for the PS3 should be very good.
I think most games (and more importantly publishing) houses are now either directly or indirectly allied with film and/or music companies. I think that explains a lot of the mediocrity. Just look at the music and films they come up with, conservative doesn't even begin to describe it. Unfortunately, this becomes endemic because independents just don't feel they can take a chance. I worked for Team17 and they canned some really promising innovative projects because their publisher just wouldn't risk them. Basically they were only interested in selling another version of Worms.
Silverbullet767 said:
99.9% of wii games are ste. FACT! 
The only decent ones tend to be Nintendo made games.
im a ps3 fan boy and you sir are wrong the following are very goodte. FACT! The only decent ones tend to be Nintendo made games.
the conduit
mario kart
Bust-a-Move - Bash
Caranium Kabookii
Ghostbusters - The video game
House of The Dead 2 & 3 Returns
House of the dead - over kill
Indiana Jones - The Staff of Kings
Luxor 3
Overlord Dark Legend
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Brothers brawl
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn New World
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes
Tiger Woods 10
The Legend of Zelda - Twighligh Princess
Wii sports resort
Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros Treasure
and thats just a few
Depends what you mean by "quality". In terms of superficial quality, the production values of games have gone through the roof, as they're a big industry and now have serious financial backing. Take COD4, for example.
But the problem is that publishers ultimately seem to call the shots these days, and they're obviously looking to maximise sales. This means aiming at the largest audience, the "casual gamer", which I feel has caused a lack of quality in terms of depth/immersion. The majority of gamers (console owners, PS3/XBox) don't want complicated controls, in-depth stories and stat-heavy gameplay...they want quick, pick up and play games.
So we tend to get dumbed-down games, as they appeal to the masses. Simple supply and demand.
I'm a PC Gamer at heart, but also own a 360. I fondly remember games like Deux Ex and System Shock 2, absolute classic Action RPG's with the former having one of the best and most intelligent storylines of any game. The modern follow up? Bioshock. While the actual story itself was brilliantly intelligent (Utopia's slide into dystopia, based on Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophies) its implimentation was very poor, and most of the effort put into it was wasted as it clearly took a back seat to the action of endlessly, repetatively clubbing similar enemies. In all honesty, from a pure gameplay perspective, it was actually a distinctly average game (although the graphics, environment and atmosphere were fantastic).
But its the best example of gamings current slide towards monotony. Well, that and every developer seeming wanting to suckle from the teat of what must be a very dry cash cow.
Cost of entry, I reckon.
Take a look at the Spectrum days. Within the bounds of the hardware, possibly the most creative era in game development.
What did you need to develop a competitive game with top-notch graphics and sound back then? You, your 8-bit computer, and time. The attic industry days meant anybody with an idea, some technical nous and dedication could whip up a game of commercial quality.
These days just the content library for just an average game (music, 3D models, textures, dialogue...) represents several dozen man-years of effort on most top-line titles. You just can't make a game by getting your graphic designer mate to knock up some bitmaps and a friend who's handy with a synthesiser to throw together some music tracks any more.
Looking at freeware/open source games for the PC the "talented amateur" level is pretty impressive, but a standalone game you could box and sell on a shelf for full retail price is extremely rare.
I expect the investment required also leads the big studios to "play it safe" - they know how much money any given racing/sports/FPS/etc. game is going to bring in, whereas something odd that's never been tried before could be anywhere from blockbuster to filled-up remainders warehouse.
Take a look at the Spectrum days. Within the bounds of the hardware, possibly the most creative era in game development.
What did you need to develop a competitive game with top-notch graphics and sound back then? You, your 8-bit computer, and time. The attic industry days meant anybody with an idea, some technical nous and dedication could whip up a game of commercial quality.
These days just the content library for just an average game (music, 3D models, textures, dialogue...) represents several dozen man-years of effort on most top-line titles. You just can't make a game by getting your graphic designer mate to knock up some bitmaps and a friend who's handy with a synthesiser to throw together some music tracks any more.
Looking at freeware/open source games for the PC the "talented amateur" level is pretty impressive, but a standalone game you could box and sell on a shelf for full retail price is extremely rare.
I expect the investment required also leads the big studios to "play it safe" - they know how much money any given racing/sports/FPS/etc. game is going to bring in, whereas something odd that's never been tried before could be anywhere from blockbuster to filled-up remainders warehouse.
I have stopped buying 'new' titles, I stick to series which I have bought before (COD, GT, GTA etc). Its only very rarely that I will go for something I have never had before.
As has been said, I think the cost of developing for such an complex set of consoles has put strain on companies who want to try something new, they know that whatever they produce has to sell very well to recoup costs, or they are in a whole heap of problems. That said, the successful brands (like the ones I mentioned) are going from strength to strength as more people buy the game at a higher price, and they can release updates which cost extra.
I guess the end-game of this would be a hanful of excellent games, with nothing else on the market.
Of course, i'm most probably talking rubbish.
As has been said, I think the cost of developing for such an complex set of consoles has put strain on companies who want to try something new, they know that whatever they produce has to sell very well to recoup costs, or they are in a whole heap of problems. That said, the successful brands (like the ones I mentioned) are going from strength to strength as more people buy the game at a higher price, and they can release updates which cost extra.
I guess the end-game of this would be a hanful of excellent games, with nothing else on the market.
Of course, i'm most probably talking rubbish.
Norbury90 said:
I have stopped buying 'new' titles, I stick to series which I have bought before (COD, GT, GTA etc). Its only very rarely that I will go for something I have never had before.
Same here. Forza, COD, Pro Evo or Fifa, Tiger Woods etc. Enjoyed playing Fable but not bought Fable 2 as don't think I've got the time to invest in it.... The one game I've wanted since I bought my original 360 3 years ago is Alan Wake, it's been delayed soooo many times and is still 6 months away from release. From a finance point of view for the developer it must be a disaster... probably just easier to bang out 5-6 mediocre titles in the same time span.
The games are for more complex and graphically superior to those of days of old BUT sometimes I feel the gameplay just isn't there.
But, at the same time, I do wonder how much of this is simply nostalgia, and IF I actually got my commodore Amiga up and running and played a few of my fav games, would I think "well, that's s**t".....................
But, at the same time, I do wonder how much of this is simply nostalgia, and IF I actually got my commodore Amiga up and running and played a few of my fav games, would I think "well, that's s**t".....................
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