NExt Gen Video games and what's going to be in it for us,?
This ones not about “The Shards of Thimbral”
Lets Just take an Off topic side trip for a second.
Besides it's Sunday and I'm not due for another post until tomorrow.
Besides it's Sunday and I'm not due for another post until tomorrow.
I want to talk about the new generation of video game systems.
I am also going to do so with out ever giving an opinion on which I think is better or which one a person should run out and drop their hot $500 plus dollars on. That's up to you.
I have had some thoughts on this recently along the lines of, “Should a 38 year old man even be considering this video game stuff.” with the present crop of games, I'm not 100% sure I should be.
I realize a lot of the gaming industry is trying to find what's going to hold people of my age group, what I call the “original video game generation.” More adult themed games and stories percolate around the surface of gaming every now and then, and designers show that a game system can do more than Call O' Duty. It can also do more involving games and apparently there are a few others out there.
However take a list like this one,
http://www.gamesradar.com/mature-games-that-are-actually-mature/
Somewhere down the line I think "mature" has been confused with "Violent and Disturbing."
Somewhere down the line I think "mature" has been confused with "Violent and Disturbing."
I think in this next gen of systems with their astounding graphics and processing capabilities there also needs to be an equally astounding revolution in game design.
Game studios, writers, and, producers (we now talk about video games in the terms we used to talk about the motion picture industry, and in reality, in the us video games are a bigger industry now. http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/19901/games-vs-movies-who-wins/)
Need to remember and embrace that “mature” does not have mean more violence and sexual content. Depth of characters, story and in game player decisions that have realistic in game effects can create a truly mature gaming experience more effectively than “Moar Bewbs.” Heck even More explosions is not going to grab allot folks who are moving into their 40's.
Don't get me wrong a game like "I have no mouth and I must scream" has it's place as an example of how games can push content boundaries. I understand Harlan Ellison is a respected writer with a following and his work is dark and mature in nature. It also should be said his style is not for just anybody, and that game never expected to sell a ton of copies in general release.
I'm not on the games are too violent bandwagon:
But I also can't deny that when I was in my formative years I was playing “Combat” on an atari 2600.
that is a far cry form well … “Far-cry” or “Battlefield 4” for that matter.
(Yeah, that's a lot of animations dedicated to stabbing a guy in HD)
While I will not weigh in on the violence in games debate, I will say there comes a time when you just don't get your jollies shooting at other players as much as you used to. This might be because honestly we start to realize that in this world, there' are places where real people are really shooting at each other, and it's simply not in any way cool. This is also how I feel about Grand Theft auto 5, I don't get a kick out of causing the chaos anymore. Stealing a car and doing drivebys in a virtual city does not make me laugh, because there's somebody right now somewhere stealing a car and doing a driveby in a real city with actual consequences, so it's serious shit. I think that's called "going soft," or "low T", or having some perspective.
Or it might just be because I have been virtually shooting people online since DOOM. (DOOM came out in 1993... that's 20 years...of “damn it, that was LAG!)
Perhaps more relevant to me personally the older I get the worse I get at these kind of things, so yeah I don't like running up a C.O.D. Kill to Death ratio of .23 while some kid named “Blazeaway420” blows my slow ass up 12 times in a match.
I think if I could get half the people I have randomly gamed with on titles such as NBA2k14 and Call of Duty and started this conversation I would be told in less polite terms, “These games are not made for you anymore, that's the problem, your problem.”
That may be true. http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/114544 I may need to drop this Peter Pan crap and move on, start painting again, mow the lawn, work on the house..MUST SLAY DIABLO!...
I have several friends all around my age who are thinking about buying next generation systems. As they move into their mid-late 30's and 40's what are the game companies going to do to keep their attention and money flowing? A harder question still is what happens when Blazeaway420 and his crew hit 35 or 40 years old?
Do the big game companies focus on the next generation and forget about the one they created? Forget about the folks that just dumped a shit ton of cash in their laps for GTA-V , COD ghosts among other titles?
Time will tell...
For my money the game companies are going to have to start putting out some games with more depth and smart writing, and less gratuitous"mature content."
Until then I need to go get my KDR out of the toilet.
Thanks for reading.
I agree with a lot of this. While never one to jump on the "video games are too violent" bandwagon, it does dawn on me occasionally that the most violent games of my youth were pixilated "alien goes poof" type.
ReplyDeleteAs for holding a late 30's gamer's attention, games have to get more deep and meaningful. But, perhaps it isn't just about gamers growing up... perhaps it is the genre needs to evolve. I am reminded of a recent article I read about "Barbarian" movies. There is a hella difference between LOTR and Kull the Conqueror. Computer games can definitely push the boundaries - but like Kull or even Conan before it - they need to take a cue from the movies and develop a bit more character and less gratuitous flashing of blood and body parts. My $.02
well said sir otto... i agree 100%
ReplyDeleteAs someone in their early 30s, this is applying more and more to me. Once you add a career, a family, and more meaningful pursuits, it becomes harder to actually game enough to keep up with people who can spend 5+ hours a day gaming.
ReplyDeleteI have also noticed that the games I want to play and have an interesting story feel like a movie once I buy it instead of a chance to game for 50+ hours.
Most single player games I play are getting easier and focus more on online balance rather than a great single player experience.
Hey, thanks for stopping in!
ReplyDeleteI agree that one of the biggest turn offs about looking into new game is outside influences mean I don't have enough time to really get into them. I spent over 800 hours on the original guild wars, that can simply never happen again. I just don't have the time to dedicate to a game like I used to. (though the way Jay and I went through Borderlands 2 ..I might have fooled some people.) So I wonder what the return in time used will be for me on a $500 investment for a next gen game system?