Hot posts in thread: Games Today, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

As a professional in the gaming industry, I can see this issue from both sides. I agree--you can tell what games are made by devs who truly love gaming, as opposed to those games largely driven by corporate greed.

I don't buy into the hype. Many of the big AAA titles out there don't interest me, in large part because they focus so much on flashy graphics and presentation while leaving mechanics, game play, depth, and, ultimately, fun, on the back burner.

So the question is--what makes a game good, bad, or ugly?

The industry has been studying that very question for some decades. Opinions differ broadly, but there are a number of things that most agree on:

-Excellent graphical quality and presentation are only part of a good game. Any game that focuses on just these will be sadly lacking. (See Rhys Son of Rome)

-Complexity and depth are not the same thing. Complexity denotes the amount of choices a player has available to them in the game. Depth, on the other hand, is determined by how meaningful those choices are. A very simple game can still have a lot of depth (See Stanley Parable), while a highly complex game can still seem very shallow if the player feels that their choices do not make a significant impact on the outcome of the game.

-A good user interface is most often barely noticed, because it makes playing the game highly intuitive to the player. However, a clunky, overly complex, or confusing user interface will invariably make a great game into a mediocre or poor game, because players will see the user interface as a barrier between them and the game play and fun that they seek.

There are others, but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. I am curious to see the opinions of other readers on this forum--what aspects of a game have a significant bearing on whether a game is good, bad, or ugly?

 

Games today would fall into the last category..."the ugly"
Let's face it gamers, today, many studios release beta versions as a finished product, full of bugs that should have been corrected prior to launch. (When accounting calls a squeeze, testing is usually the first cut)
Apart from this the games themselves, in many cases are too linear and tend to guide you by the hand, boring! If a game has no chance to defeat me why would I play?
RPGs are dumbed down (BG2 was the peak)
4X is a laughable, I realize that you have to take certain liberties with realism but come on now. (single planet solar systems, starlanes,etc)
It seems that once the big boys got involved in publishing the quality went south.
Take a look at CtS
They spent so much money on polish and voiceovers only to deliver I title I will not touch. (Already on sale by the way)
Lack of resources was not an issue here, rather that the resources went to fluff instead of content.
I understand the strategic decision to go after the masses but while there may be more casual gamers than there are gamers of our type, the publisher ignored the fact that more affluent gamers are the ones like us.
Moo2 was not complex, it was balanced, games today just aren't how could someone look at a title like Moo2 and decide that it needs to be simplified?

Sigh! Graphics are nice and shiny but a pig wearing lipstick would still be a pig.

A word to the wise

"Never start believing your own propaganda"

 

It's unfortunate how MoO:CtS turned out. I was participating in their forum (quality of the forum is a topic for another thread) and what troubled me the most were people asking to add certain features to DLC. Individual didn't just ask for a feature and let WG/NGD sort out how to deliver them, no they asked specifically to add a feature through DLC and remarked they are willing to pay. Such mentality only serves to perpetuate greedy laziness over quality.

 

I largely agree with your thoughts. Watching the new MOO game (Moo-Cts) morph from the faithful sequel they promised it would be into a shallow, casual-friendly, dumbed-down tablet game designed solely to sell as many units as possible to as broad a range of customer as possible was a bitter, soul-crushing experience.

After waiting 20 long years for a good sequel, MOO fans deserved far better, but unfortunately simple, casual-targeted games seem to be the norm now with only the rare, brave dev willing to cater to a more hard-core gaming audience. The irony is that 4x strategy tends to attract a disproportionately large number of more serious hard-core fans (something that NGD Studios seemed utterly clueless about) so the disappointment with MOO-Cts's narrow focus on shallow gameplay and pointless fluff was just huge.

 

I would like to know what YOU think of Games Today.
As for me, Here is my Rant upon the matter.

Seems to me that the Big Game Review Sites are full of Hype, such that it is really hard to get
a Honest and Straight Opinion now days.

This only pushes the Game Companies to feel like they can continue to Drop less than Complete,
buggy and mediocre Games on to the market, at prices much higher than what the game should be priced at.

I sometimes get the Feeling that the Companies think Gamers are all under 12 and have an IQ of a rock.
They do not seem to understand that Games should be FUN to play and not only a Thumb & Knee Jerk exercise.
I think this is largely due to the Console Port Mentality pushed by Greed and a Give me all the Chips Syndrome.
What bothers me most about this, is that players keep throwing money at this crap, and receive less an less.

Wake Up People, Demand that they Deliver Quality Equal to todays Tech, with some Depth, and Thought
put into the Game, NOT the Tired Old Loop of a Name, with nothing but the same old same old, sheep counting,
put you to sleep, shallow garbage being pushed as Gold, that we get today.

It only takes an Hour or less playing a Game, to realize it is only a Money Grab,
or Otherwise something the Developers have a Real Interest in doing.
Much like anything else that you love to do, Games show the Heart of the Creators.
I have noticed that Gamers who Create Games come closer to the Mark,
than the Money Grabbing Suits of Big Game Companies.

This is why I am Pumped for Project Spacesector, to be made by GAMERS who Love the Game,
Not those who are in it for the love of money.

Anyone Remember Apple Trek, or Eamon ?
AscII graphics, and text adventure, Games that gave you a Peek into what the Future could be for Games,
and also got you hooked, because of the Fun an Enjoyment of the Game.

END Rant: Thanks for allowing me to get that off my chest.