What went wrong with games?

[Oj0]

In the early to mid 90s my favourite games were Bio Menace, Doom, Prince of Persia, Commander Keen 1-4 and Duke Nukem (the first episodes, before it went 3D). I can fire up any one of those games today and have a bucket load of fun. Heck, two days ago I played through Bio Menace in one 50 minute sitting. 50 minutes of gameplay, that's all you got, yet 23 years after release I still play it. Fast forward to today and I can't tell you the last game I've finished 100 %, and there certainly isn't a game from the last decade that I go back to today. Skyrim might be an exception, but I honestly don't see myself ever finishing it. Unless I'm playing something current, my go-tos are Quake 3 Arena, Counter Strike 1.6, Age of Empires 2 and 3, and Half Life 1 and 2.

A little while ago I bought Fallout 4 and finally got around to installing it about a week ago. What. A. Disappointment. It's yet another generic open world RPG with a billion sidequests to hide the (in all likelihood) lame and short main story. What's all the hype about? I'm not far into the game and already completely over it.

Tomb Raider, Far Cry 4 and Assassins Creed: all the same gameplay with different characters, weapons and maps. Think about it - in all three you're liberating towers or watch posts to see your surroundings, nothing ever changes.

What happened to gaming? Why do we pay so much for such poor experiences?

 

[[AKO] MatthewGhost]

I have to agree, it's more about the eye candy now than the actual gameplay, played Fallout 4 for 2 hours and got over it, COD BO3 I didn't even finish the story line (and I'm a die hard COD fan I always finish the campaign). Saying that I just started playing BF4 MP again this evening which I am enjoying and played good old Half Life which is still an all time favorite for me.

My younger brother plays AC and I'm like bro they all the same?! Even Shadow of Mordor was basically AC with different characters too. But that I did enjoy for some reason, maybe because I am a LOTR addict, nonetheless I get your point.

And while we are at it has anyone played the new Need For Speed?

 

[Jitz04]

Dark Souls, wasn't really a big RPG fan before I started playing but these games are on another level. The game requires loads of time and patience, especially the first time you play, if not you will just end up being frustrated and raging. I'm positive that there's others on this forum that will back me up but read a few of these Darks Souls Steam Reviews.

On a side note, the go to multiplayer for my friends and I used to be Unreal 99'.

 

[saa044]

it depends what games you like I suppose.

 

[[AKO] MatthewGhost]

it depends what games you like I suppose.

And... How old you are

 

[saa044]

And... How old you are

37. I started with california games, 4D sports boxing and such. I was and am still into flight simulator games and space type exploration games, these days more open world MMO type things. The only shooter/MMO I like is Defiance, but a LOT of people does not like it. So I suppose that's why games like Battlefield, COD, Fallout etc does not bug me, since I don't play them. To me they all look the same anyways lol.

 

[Snipe]

I agree, nowadays they're all the same game just with different characters.

Must say I downloaded Journey on PS4, and that was definitely a bit different. Short game and I completed it, but went back a few days later and tried it again...

 

[vinodh]

Star Control and Monkey Island: Those were the days.

 

[dash09]

Dark souls ruined other games for me. When I played ds1 years ago I had not experienced a game like that before, progression isn't the monotonous go to place A to collect item B to unlock gate C back in place A all the while checkpoints keep you nice and safe, there was genuine dread when going long periods with large amounts of souls, risks came with rewards if you played smart, bosses were only difficult if you didn't think and plan. I have a large collection of games, but I've sunk the most hours into in the ds series because no other games keep me coming back for more

 

[xplodinfart]

Yeah I have to agree. The real first Tombraider took me about a month to complete and played every day for 2 or 3 hours. Wing Commander 4 with all of its 7 cds and differences outcomes I also enjoyed. I've bought a few new titles like far cry 4, far cry primal.The last to AC games all of them are still sealed cause they are basically the same stuff over and over again. Did play the new Tombraider though but that was more because I enjoyed the previous game

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[Oj0]

Yes that's another thing! Being handheld through objectives. These days there's an arrow on your compass telling you where the next objective is, any very often living is a case of "press X to not die" - eg mashing the WASD keys in the order the game tells you to when a crocodile attacks you in FC4.

Tomb Raider 2 and 3 had some levels that took me several days to finish as I was stuck and had absolutely no idea where to go. There was no map or even a hint as to what you need to do next or which direction you need to go. Even though the level design was completely linear, I feel the gameplay was a lot more interesting and challenging than today's open world maps with an arrow telling you what to do. Gaming has become about getting from point A (known) to point B (also known) - why not just turn it into a movie instead?

[MENTION=64]ShockG[/MENTION] normally has some interesting insight...

 

[WiZard]

Yes that's another thing! Being handheld through objectives. These days there's an arrow on your compass telling you where the next objective is, any very often living is a case of "press X to not die" - eg mashing the WASD keys in the order the game tells you to when a crocodile attacks you in FC4.

Tomb Raider 2 and 3 had some levels that took me several days to finish as I was stuck and had absolutely no idea where to go. There was no map or even a hint as to what you need to do next or which direction you need to go. Even though the level design was completely linear, I feel the gameplay was a lot more interesting and challenging than today's open world maps with an arrow telling you what to do. Gaming has become about getting from point A (known) to point B (also known) - why not just turn it into a movie instead?

You can probably watch it on youtube a week after release

 

[Nikkel]

... yep al the newer pc games I have are half played... Fire up my old PS2 and going on a slashing rant with Kratos usually does it for me... and some GT2.

 

[EliteOp]

There are the "dime a dozen"like Witcher 3, IMO. I loved the story line and the side quests are also engaging story wise.
I recently restarted Fallout 4 on Survival mode and it's a -lot- more rewarding.
I do agree that probably 90%-95% of games are just to make money and not build a fan base by delivering something engaging and fun...

 

[Petester]

Adventure Games were my staple diet back in the 80's and 90's .. The Monkey Island Series. First few Kings Quest, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Gabriel Knight series, Siberia, The Neverhood ( funniest game ever ). The list goes on .I'm getting nostalgic and nostalgia ain't a good feeling

 

[Gouhan]

Too many times people say that games these days focus on visuals. It isn't true.
Those that work on art, etc. have nothing to do with a poor narrative or game-play mechanics at all. The people doing the 3D modelling are not penning out the script as well. A great story remains so regardless of the graphics. The graphics can only enhance what is already there.

As for why games tend to be the same. It is an industry wide problem that is not isolated to games, but movies and music as well. The primary driver now is obscene profits above all else. Sure enough it was always about money, but the target was never to make $1BN USD while having invested only $100 MN USD into the game. I said it before in another thread that the tools are much exponentially better, there is more talent, bigger budgets, more powerful platforms, yet the quality of the releases are significantly worse. That goes along with the stories and levels of engagement in most triple A games.

There are developers still and franchises that are primarily driven by telling interesting stories and creating compelling worlds. These are rarely celebrated and in this modern era are viewed rather negatively by publishers. Believe it or not, there are a great many similarities between Quantic Dream, EIDOS Montreal, Vigil Games (Of Darksiders fame), Darkside Games (Bioshock Infitine etc), Yager (Spec Ops) and some Hollywood directors. These developers were shut down (the ones that were) simply because they made a profit, but it was not the profit the publishing/parent company had wanted. Not what their shareholders had envisioned (Home front sold over 2.6MN copies, making over $150Mn USD - well above it's development costs but was deemed a failure).

So as you can see for the most part, games have a very hard time justifying their existence to the publishers if they can't guarantee the massive profits north of $300 Million or more. The games that many of us speak fondly of that engaged, moved and truly changed or challenged our thoughts on many a subject are not lucrative to publishers. Look at Max Payne 3. Had it not been RockStar, no way a smaller dev would have been able to tell such a dark and violent story in that way. Take a chance and present a familiar mechanic in such a new way. SThat game saw moderate to above average sales and in a sensible world would be a success, but by today's standards it was a failure. Rockstar could stomach this as a publisher/developer themselves, but so many others didn't/don't have the option. It is precisely why the games are seemingly shallow with tons of reboots and sequels (If I must see another Assasin's Creed game again...) just like you are seeing now with movies in Hollywood.

 

[SantaMuerte]

To me personally there are plenty of masterpieces that has came out in the last 10 years.

The Uncharted series
The Last of Us
Tomb Raider 2012
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Beyond Two Souls
Heavy Rain
Final Fantasy XIII series

Those are just a few and all built around modern day development technology. Had those came out 20 years ago they just would not have been the same. The immersive sounds and surroundings play a big part in those. I can think of very little done in the above games that would have been possible in the 90's

 

[Oj0]

To me personally there are plenty of masterpieces that has came out in the last 10 years.

The Uncharted series
The Last of Us
Tomb Raider 2012
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Beyond Two Souls
Heavy Rain
Final Fantasy XIII series

Those are just a few and all built around modern day development technology. Had those came out 20 years ago they just would not have been the same. The immersive sounds and surroundings play a big part in those. I can think of very little done in the above games that would have been possible in the 90's

I wouldn't call seven "plenty" but regardless, how many of them will you play again ten years from now?

 

[Off-The-Chart]

everything these days is about how good it looks, so they seem to completely neglect every other part of the game

not to mention how futuristic every aspect of the games need to be, that they completely mess up the basic of basics

 

[Jodes]

And... How old you are

Indeed, age makes a difference. This was my first gaming experience... LMAO!

View attachment 47611

 

[SantaMuerte]

I wouldn't call seven "plenty" but regardless, how many of them will you play again ten years from now?

Hey I did say those are just a few

I will play all of those again and again. There's plenty of other titles as well aside from those. I've played Resident Evil 5 through more than 30 times since it's release and I will continue playing it again and again

 

[MSI1104]

Indeed, age makes a difference. This was my first gaming experience... LMAO!

View attachment 47611

Such a modern piece of equipment... 16k more ram and 14 more colours on screen that my old ZX Spectrum 48k.. I still have it somewhere in my moms garage btw.

 

[Snipe]

...16k more ram and 14 more colours on screen that my old ZX Spectrum 48k.. I still have it somewhere in my moms garage btw.

Man ... I would buy a ZX80, ZX81, ZX Spectrum, Commodore Vic 20, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga any time ... such good memories.

If you ever want to sell that ZX Spectrum, let me know. [emoji3]

 

[MSI1104]

Man ... I would buy a ZX80, ZX81, ZX Spectrum, Commodore Vic 20, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga any time ... such good memories.

If you ever want to sell that ZX Spectrum, let me know. [emoji3]

When I ever feel the need to torture myself looking for it. I will let u know. LOL

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[PancakesZA]

It's not all gloom and doom.

The last of us (I bought a ps 4 just to play it...sold the console and then bought 1 again to replay it)
Singularity (One of the best fps titles ever, I've played and finished it multiple times and will again)
DMC Devil May Cry (Finished it multiple times)
Alien Isolation
Mass Effect Series
Portal 1 + 2
Bioshock Infinite
GTA 3/4/5
Hitman series
Metro 2033
Metro Last Light
Dark Souls/Demon souls series

These were just off the top of my head....Definitely a ton more I can mention.

 

[saa044]

if you want a game that will keep you busy for years get star citizen. The game has been in development since 2013 I think and they still have a LOT to do. With every update new things get added. he final game might be released in 2017/2018. It takes them a long time to get things perfect, they are making the game physics wise and everything else as close to real life as possible, or well real life in the far distant future.

 

[Gouhan]

We tend to remember old platforms and games more fondly than what was the actual case. I for one remember captivating games in my younger days, but I recall most vividly and profoundly Deus Ex from 2000. Half loaf had an impact prior to that, along with Revenant but that's about it really as far as story driven games were concerend. All that older stuff I'm more than willing to not ever even think about. NES, Sinclair etc, I remember as far back as 1989 but do not care about. I was a child in the 3rd grade and significantly easier to please.

There are more games today by numbers that are impressive (The last of us etc) but in proportion to the size of the industry growth they have decreased.

Again, better technology allows you to draw better worlds and to build more immersive worlds. If this isn't being done it is not the fault of the tools but the ones scripting the games

 

[Presler]

Tomb Raider 2 and 3 had some levels that took me several days to finish as I was stuck and had absolutely no idea where to go. There was no map or even a hint as to what you need to do next or which direction you need to go. Even though the level design was completely linear, I feel the gameplay was a lot more interesting and challenging than today's open world maps with an arrow telling you what to do. Gaming has become about getting from point A (known) to point B

I read this and immediately think -> Myst. I feel you.

What the hell happened to full on Adventure games? Myst/Riven, Schizm, Zork, Rhem, Grim Fandango, Black Dahlia, Syberia, Atlantis, Leisure Suit Larry, Kings/Space/Police Quest, Loom, to name but a few. The good old stuff that made you use your fucking noodle to get somewhere. I'd love for someone to take the time and build a game that you'll spend weeks on to finish and feel good and satisfied that you managed to finish the thing. I remember Riven took me 6 months to finish the thing back in 99. So much to explore and really so much to appreciate in that game. Out of interest, watch this, gives you much more appreciation for just what was put into getting one of the best games in history.

[video=youtube;lOOVWFXjGQY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOOVWFXjGQY[/video]

Again, better technology allows you to draw better worlds and to build more immersive worlds. If this isn't being done it is not the fault of the tools but the ones scripting the games

The is because games are not being built to create the best game you can, they're built to beat the competitor, make more money. Think Battlefield/MW. More guns, more maps, more in game content. This one is better because of this or that, yadda yadda yadda. Shoot shit and go home. I lost interest in most FPS games after HL/FEAR & similar. Those you cold still play on your terms, now it's kill and fucking run or your ass is grass and game experience is over. I've said this before, just go look on Youtube how them squinty eyed kids play WoW or something similar, mashing a keyboard like he's gonna kill it in one session.

The enjoyment of the game is sucked out of it so game developers can pocket more cash, it's just what it is.

 

[Machine]

nah guys, I think the nostalgia is getting the better of you here.
No doubt there are some classics which will forever remain special.

But still, and regardless of the filthy same shit that ubisoft and EA bombards us with annually - gaming today is just so much greater.

Off the top of my head, in the last couple of years, I can remember many, many awesome games - for example
Dark souls series
Mass effect series
Torchlight
Total war shogun
Rayman Legends
Ori of the blind forest
Dishonored
Splinter cell series
Bioshock series
Crysis series
Dead space series
Civilization series
Amnesia
SOMA
Endless space
Alien Isolation
Company of heroes
Dragon age
Divinity original sin
Wasteland 2
Dying Light
Pillars of eternity
Shadow of mordor
Xcom 2
God of war
Bloodborne
Uncharted
Last of us

I can probably mention more, but hey...that already gave me more than a thousand happy gaming hours.

And what of replay-ability?
Dark souls 3 took me 58 hours, according to the save file, to finish.
Diablo 1 takes 5 hours.
For that amount of hours, I'd rather play through a game once than 10 times.

Perhaps its only human to appreciate things less the more you've experienced them.

 

[saa044]

heh looks like I am part of a dying breed here, no love for space sims.