devesh38
Galvanizer
one of the best articles on IGN..............must read
10 Stale Ideas Holding Back Gaming - PC Feature at IGN
In the politicized and occasionally unseemly world of games development, all-too-often games producers are opting for the path of least resistance. Developers might have tremendous and ambitious concepts, but largely these are being ignored in favour of 'safe' options. This thinking must change before gamers begin to switch off – literally – and the market collapses under the weight of stale, me-too game design and bad practices.
Regenerative Health Systems
It's all Bungie's fault, really. By creating a system that was so innovative and logical, the whole shooter category ran to adopt the new standard. Regenerative health systems – be it an infinite shield that gradually recharges or a health bar that slowly refills – now dominate the whole shooter category, almost without exception these days. While the alternative (running around with a tiny sliver of health, searching for a health pack) might seem archaic, the current system can actually take the thrill out of a narrow victory just as easily. We'd love to see the 'next-big-concept' in health systems.
'Used' is the New 'New'
The game sales business model is in turmoil – and the impact is being felt at all levels of the development cycle. Retailers are ordering less stock to try and strong-arm consumers into paying for 'used' copies of returned games. That way, the retailer keeps the entire value of the resold stock, rather than the developer getting their cut. The issue is, these games are being sold, at times, at almost the same amount as new stock. It's price gouging. It also cuts into developer profits and that discourages everything from risk-taking in games design to pay rates – and it also encourages piracy. Enough!
That's a lot of returned GTA IVs. Not sure if Rockstar's too concerned about that though, honestly.
Motion Control = Gameplay
The meltdown we all knew was coming is still coming – but it won't be clear to everyone until Kinect, Wii and PlayStation Move are all in the marketplace together. At that point, when the consumer has three very viable motion control gaming options (or four, if you include iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch trio), games developers will no longer be able to get away with simply tacking motion control onto a game that really has no need for it. Simply adding motion control to a traditional gaming experience doesn't constitute satisfying gameplay; gamers will come to understand as much when there are enough quality products on all three platforms to really create a scale of good and bad motion control games.
The A.I. Question
You know what's ultimately going to move gaming forward? It isn't the complex physics simulation; it's not the multiple texture passes or volumetric fog. No. It's disguising the artifice of the characters that populate the game – be it players on a field, racers in a car or combatants in a shooter. If enough effort is poured into erasing the gaps in artificial intelligence rather than constantly beautifying the gaming world, suddenly gamers are challenged again – and the need for thought and skill (not just twitch-reflexes) returns to gaming. These days, it's all too easy to pick out how to exploit the AI in a game – and that really deflates the gaming experience.
Downloadable Content Goes Awry
Not every game needs to be designed from the outset to feature downloadable content. In fact, this kind of in-built revenue stream seems like a cynical cash-grab that denies players legitimate content that should be in the game at launch. Of course, that's certainly not the case with all games –and we've seen some great examples of DLC that really couldn't be included in the retail package, such as GTA IV 'Liberty City Stories' expansions. Let's see a return to fully-featured game packages – not just piecemeal or bare-bones ones that ask for significant investment post-purchase.
Music Games
Okay, we get it – music games are fun. We love them. We do. Everybody seems to. Your mum probably plays them – and that's cool. But it's not enough to simply repackage essentially the same content every year and call it a new experience. Iterative gaming is fine; SingStar does just fine with essentially the same hardware that it's had for the last 7 years. Let's put an end to constant wave of incremental updates and plastic peripherals that ultimately add little to the experience.
See? Not every music game is a cash-in! ...Wait-- what was that thing I was saying about 'unnecessary motion control'? Hmm.
Every Game Needs to be Epically-Epic-in-Every-Single-Epic-Way-Epic-Epic
Don't remake Gears of War. We have it already. Don't remake Halo. It's been done. Don't hire the same voice actor who starred in Action Game X because he's already known for that role. Move on. Get over it. Not every title needs to strive to build off the back of a formula that already exists –and likely has been done to death anyway. It's not a sin to tell a simple story. Likewise, it's not a crime to do a few things really well, rather than trying to spread yourself too thinly and please everyone.
Everything is a Franchise
Not every game needs a sequel. In fact, let the user decide if a game should be a franchise, rather than entering into an epic trilogy that nobody particularly wants. Why? Because if your game tanks – creatively, financially or otherwise – you risk ruining the reputations of the brands involved, souring your future releases and possibly toppling the entire company in the process. Doom and gloom? To an extent, sure – but it happens more often than you might think. Just look at the Too Human fiasco.
Every Game Needs Multiplayer
Knowing what your game is and isn't - and fighting the urge to overextend your team – seems like an easy enough thing to avoid, right? Sure – but then, why do we end up with multiplayer BioShock? Dead Space 2 has multiplayer now. Survival horror is not nearly as scary when you're playing with a buddy; just look at Resident Evil 5. When did solitary, atmospheric single-player experiences become passe? Sometimes a perfectly constructed single player experience can please just as many players as one that is tailored towards multiplayer. The industry needs a better balance to remind us of why we love both game styles.
"Casual" Means "Minigames"
Wii Sports pointed the way forward; Carnival Games trampled the concept to death. Yes, the dirge of minigames (generally made up of the same dozen quasi-competitive sports we've seen a hundred times before) has somehow become synonymous with 'casual gaming'. That's a little frightening – mostly because, hey – it ain't true. What makes a game compelling to the layman isn't the variation on table tennis or curling or beach volley ball – it's the gameplay itself. It needs to be simple, compelling and – above all – it needs to work well. A game like 'Limbo' is about as far removed from a minigame-fest as it comesâ€â€but the purity of gameplay makes it instantly approachable and digestible. We'd love to see more developers take some cues from this kind of game.
10 Stale Ideas Holding Back Gaming - PC Feature at IGN
