Maybe it's a generational thing, but I'm worred about gaming

[GKDAIR]

I think the younger crowd has forgotten what games are all about, fun.

Walking Dead: Survival Instinct came out yesterday, and I bought it. I'm a huge fan of the show, and even if this game blew chunks I knew I was going to make a purchase. But a lot of the games ideas and concepts intrigued me, and I was really interested in the title.

Happy to report, I think this game is great. It's a little rough around the edges, but I have a ton of fun playing it. That's what matters to me, fun. If I am not having fun, I don't like it.

Oddly enough, a lot of players seem to share my same exact thoughts about the game.

Reviews for this game are like "DER GRAKIFS SUK AND ITS NOT CALL OF DUTY 2 OUT OF 10" So naturally trolls are running wild and free blasting the game.

It makes me worried. I know plenty of games that are fun, but would not survive in todays world. Crazy Taxi is a blast, but has horrible driving physics. It would easily get less than a 5 from IGN if reviewed today. Shenmue got pretty mixed opinions, Deadly Premotion also got panned in reviews.


I play all of these triple A must have games gamers say I need to have, and I don't have fun with them. They are boring and grey. Lot's and lots of grey.

[ThyDarkAngel]

It's a serious, sad reality these days.
Most of my favourite games of this current generation were either received with very average reviews or completely trashed. I'm talking about truly fantastic titles like Nier or Knight's Contract and NeverDead.
It's not just about the fun factor.
The global media, be it so called professional or so called independent, yearn for high production values, commercial formulas and ultra polish, closing their shells for passion, charisma, charm and creativity if the games in question lack those elements.

[Crimson Ryan]

You both hit the nail on the head. I wouldn't say I'm "worried" about games. It's a useless hobby and if I'm not interested in something I'll drop it like a hot potato.

Doesn't stop me from enjoying a game if someone has a different opinion to me. I just enjoy it for what it is..

[ThyDarkAngel]

It is not an useless hobby.

We need flights of fancy in this grey post modern world.

[Crimson Ryan]

You've spent too much time with Dorian! These days I'm much more appreciative of pick up and play games. Admittedly, I did buy and play through a lot of Vice City but that was mostly nostalgia. The last game I played seriously were the pool and darts mini games with friends on Yakuza Dead Souls.

[ThyDarkAngel]

I did and I do; Dorian, you pervy voyeur you're the man!, but that has nothing to do with it.

I always felt that life would be that much duller without gaming.
Gaming allows you to experience things you would never be able to do in your daily life. Sure, it's just a sneak peak but it's worlds beyond nothing.
Gaming puts you closer to fantasy. It turn wishes a tad more truer.
Don't take the value and importance that fact holds.

[mrslig100]

Im sort of "The younger croud" and im stuck in the wrong era.
They may all appear to be idiots but some of us still prefer games from previous gens more than games today.
I preatty much grew up to now on the PS1 and I still love the PS1 more than any console in existence.

[CodingGenesis]

(Okay, now I am pissed. Was typing a comment for like five minutes, clicked on 'submit' and... my answer is gone in the depths of cyberspace. What the hell happened? Let me see if I can reproduce what I intended to post...)

Edit:
Well, fuck it. I am too pissed right now and I want to go to sleep. So maybe - if I'm in the mood - I will post my two cents on that tomorrow.

Edit 2:
Okay, quite unexpected, but I did manage to reproduce my input.

[Crimson Ryan]

That's a good point; if you enjoy it then why not continue?

For a while I've just looked at gaming as an expensive hobby. I'd rather not look back in years to one and only remember being sat in front of the TV all the time. I get as much enjoyment out of reading a book as I did playing games all the time when I was younger. I'm turning into Clint!

[ThyDarkAngel]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bqq38WZctA[/youtube]

[Bluecast]

I don't want to get into a back in my day thing right now.

Just my personal fave era is the 16 bit era with Genesis/SNES?TG16 followed by PSone/Saturn/N64.

Dreamcast is my fave system ever despite not being part of my fave gens.

Maybe most the AAA market is more Giant Man Cocks(guns) of War but plenty of great games in retail and downloadable that are more about fun and game play. It's just not the main selling point and focus like it used to be. Still plenty of it out there tho you just have to know where to look. Esp on Hand Helds.

I won't go on a list heavy post but one of my fave series this gen had a retro feel in modern visuals with Darksiders Series.
Lot's of style and art while colorful but also badass.

[CodingGenesis]

I've got the impression that today's generations of players value such "unimportant" stuff as graphics, soundtracks and lots of senseless killing much higher than what makes the actual game a fun experience, the gameplay. By no means I declare graphics and stuff really unimportant or unnecessary (hence the " "), but if the gameplay is broken, no shiny graphics and no badass soundtracks can save the game if it is just no fun to play. But if the gameplay shapes a solid foundation, only then can things as a GOOD (not overused or cliché) storyline, beautiful graphics and majestic sountdtracks add to the game as a whole. Then you can get fully immersed into the game. This won't happen if you get stuck or pissed off by the gameplay or the game's controls. First comes gameplay and controls, then the other stuff. You think controls are meaningless? You sure do have a favorite game, don't you? Your perfect game with nearly perfect controls. Got the picture? Now imagine playing that game with the world's most unexcusable controls. Still fun to play? I highly doubt it. In the history of video games there have been many titles which could have become really great games but were eventually killed by their controls. Just saying.

I have read "The Art Of Game Design" by Jesse Schell. This book opened my mind on so many levels. He shaped into words what I have been feeling all the time but couldn't describe. Ever since I read this book, I feel like my personal sense of what is a good game or not has hugely developed. Today when I play a game and I don't like it, I understand why and can pinpoint at what sucks and how it could be improved. When I play a good game I know why it feels so great and is so much fun to play and this makes the experience even greater to me.

Really, quality over quantity, that's the lesson, both this book is trying to teach, and what I have experienced and learned myself over the course of my life playing video games.

As I said at the beginning, this is just the impression I get. I know not all gamers are like this, and I know that there are many people who praise quality over quantity. But this impression in combination with what the industry throws at us, more and more bad games year after year, there clearly seems to be a tendency.

[Bluecast]

You can have Quality and Quantity at the same time. 16 bit era proved that.

[CodingGenesis]

Maybe so, but games for the 16-bit consoles were easier, cheaper and faster to develop than it is for today's consoles (and I mean consoles, this whole mobile market is another story).

[Bluecast]

I don't think it's a money issue but just bureaucracy and laziness. I see plenty of retail developers pumping out yearly games that are just awesome. Nintendo,Platinum Games,Suda. I name them since they are a yearly release basis and sometimes multiple releases yearly yet don't lose what makes people love them.