Are We In a New Gaming Renaissance?

[CrimsonShadow]

Thinking back on the last few years, we've come back from the precipice of a pretty dark time.. Although there were some highlights, the middle part of the '3D' age ushered in a bunch of companies that were looking to make excellent magazine covers, with little care or depth to the gameplay. A few genres, including competitive fighting games and 2d sprite-based games, looked like they were on the verge of stagnation and maybe even extinction.

But now, alongside the semi-repetitive Call of Dutys of the world, it seems like there's a new resurgence in developers that are willing to take some risks and do creative things. A lot more developers are listening to their fans, and interacting through social media. The fighting game genre is not only revitalized, but is spawning new games that aren't afraid to combine all the solid elements of the classics with a few new ideas.

In addition to that, indie game development is in the best position it's been in since the "shareware" era.. Tons of new indie titles are coming out every year, and they are starting to receive top-level billing alongside some of the AAA games. Even bigshot developers are investing in some indie-ish ideas, like Portal.

It seems like I have more good games and more choices about what to play then ever.. There's a list of games about 25 titles long that I haven't even bought yet, but have been dying to play.

So what do you think -- are we reaching new golden era for videogames as a whole?

 

[Killzone]

What are you talking about?

 

[Chuckychuck]

I believe in the past it was much more financially feasible to leap into the unknown and take some risks. Then around the mid 2000's games suddenly became exponentially more expensive to produce and as such resulted in less risks. This in turn gave birth to the 360/PS3 "Generation Sequel" where the same game engines were used to produce carbon copies of the games with slight differences and completely lacking in innovation.

This went on for so long that year after year gamers began to express themselves all over the internet and I believe just now that devs "get it" and with the arrival of a new generation of consoles, it's a great time to make this leap of faith and risk it all - especially since they can score sweet contracts with the big names. This is a time where both devs, publishers, and platform companies are willing to take a risk in order to gain the largest share of the market.

Personally, if there's a shooter that is going to become the next "default" multiplayer game I hope it's Titanfall. It can blossom into a fantastic franchise the with maps and multiplayer matches the size of Battlefield 4 but you get JET PACKS AND GIANT ROBOT EXO SKELETON SUITS OF ARMOR!!

 

[RiBBz22]

I still don't think we are even close to being there yet. Outside of the indy developers, there are only a handful of studios that really make challenging thoughtful and challenging games nowadays.

 

[Saboteur-6]

CrimsonShadow, I'd like to be optimistic and think that the next generation of consoles will translate to some more ingenuity amongst designers but honestly what I've seen so far at E3 doesn't seem like the formula is getting shaken up too much. I'm still holding out for new IP's and a deviation from established sequels before I drop money on a new system (which will probably be a PS4).

 

[xWEBSx]

Thinking back on the last few years, we've come back from the precipice of a pretty dark time.. Although there were some highlights, the middle part of the '3D' age ushered in a bunch of companies that were looking to make excellent magazine covers, with little care or depth to the gameplay. A few genres, including competitive fighting games and 2d sprite-based games, looked like they were on the verge of stagnation and maybe even extinction.

But now, alongside the semi-repetitive Call of Dutys of the world, it seems like there's a new resurgence in developers that are willing to take some risks and do creative things. A lot more developers are listening to their fans, and interacting through social media. The fighting game genre is not only revitalized, but is spawning new games that aren't afraid to combine all the solid elements of the classics with a few new ideas.

In addition to that, indie game development is in the best position it's been in since the "shareware" era.. Tons of new indie titles are coming out every year, and they are starting to receive top-level billing alongside some of the AAA games. Even bigshot developers are investing in some indie-ish ideas, like Portal.

It seems like I have more good games and more choices about what to play then ever.. There's a list of games about 25 titles long that I haven't even bought yet, but have been dying to play.

So what do you think -- are we reaching new golden era for videogames as a whole?

Consoles have never been threatened before.. As the window on the current gen lifespan comes to a close- there is a true threat to the console industry and that is your casual IOS platform games. I believe if approached carefully and keeping the IOS threat in full scope, the next gen consoles will do well and we as gamers will be in one of the best positions possible. I also believe that if the console companies disregard the IOS era as a flash in the pan, they run themselves close to the danger of extinction...

Consoles can not afford to rest on their laurels of past accomplishments put out the next system with prettier graphics and faster speeds.. Today it is IOS games, what threat lies around the corner? Consoles need to push the limits and raise the bar if they want to remain in this increasingly competitive market.

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

The console gaming industry is in transtion...that is all. Next Gen, online, digital and physical media, and the new models for how all these thing interweave and work together.

I do't know if this is where you were going with your post, but...*shrug*

 

[serge]

I think it's getting worse and worse.
We are entering an age of phone games, DLCs/games released unfinished, patches and updates left and right, games that appeal to the mass by being easier/simpler, almost real life graphics with shit game play, call of duty 7-8-9-10 etc and assassin creed ultimate, stupid controllers like Wii and WiiU and kinect and stupid projectors are absolutely useless for gameplay. Microsoft trying to shove their shit console down our throats because they are so rich and they don't care anymore about gamers and just want to control everything.

The market is so oversaturated it is INSANE and game makers are running out of idea, recycling lucrative recipes over and over. There will be a few gems here and there that will be remembered for a long time as usual but overall, nothing to be excited about. That's my personal opinion of course.

 

[chores]

I come from the competitive FPS side of things and I can tell you there hasnt been a shooter released worthy of competetive play in either 1v1, TDM, or CTF since Warsow in 2005. TF2 6vs6 was interesting but a class based game is a different beast. Quake 3 is still the most balanced shooter of all time and it was released in 1999 ffs

 

[coolwhip]

People talk like this has been some dark era for gaming. I, like many others, have some issues with the state of the gaming world, but to talking about a "renaissance" is greatly overexaggerating the alleged "bad" state of gaming.

 

[xWEBSx]

I come from the competitive FPS side of things and I can tell you there hasnt been a shooter released worthy of competetive play in either 1v1, TDM, or CTF since Warsow in 2005. TF2 6vs6 was interesting but a class based game is a different beast. Quake 3 is still the most balanced shooter of all time and it was released in 1999 ffs

Interesting view.. Would love to hear your opinion why- if you have the time- since there have been an overabundance of shooters since your provided examples

 

[CrimsonShadow]

Personally, if there's a shooter that is going to become the next "default" multiplayer game I hope it's Titanfall. It can blossom into a fantastic franchise the with maps and multiplayer matches the size of Battlefield 4 but you get JET PACKS AND GIANT ROBOT EXO SKELETON SUITS OF ARMOR!!

Titanfall looks pretty amazing. I think it's pretty cool that games like that and titles like Limbo and Journey can coexist. It seems like there's enough talent and money in the industry now for people to do whatever they want; so you get bigshot titles like The Last of Us promoted alongside stuff like Trine 2 and The Pinball Arcade, and the lines are starting to blur.

 

[Chuckychuck]

Interesting view.. Would love to hear your opinion why- if you have the time- since there have been an overabundance of shooters since your provided examples

Have you ever played Q3? Tribes? Unreal Tournament?

Completely different to what console kids think a shooter is. In fact the skill set required to succeed in it would most likely alienate most gamers today.

 

[xWEBSx]

Have you ever played Q3? Tribes? Unreal Tournament?

Completely different to what console kids think a shooter is.

I dabbled in Q3 and spent a good time with UT.. I would just like to open up the discussion to what makes them stand out or superior to modern shooters

 

[CrimsonShadow]

Have you ever played Q3? Tribes? Unreal Tournament?

Completely different to what console kids think a shooter is. In fact the skill set required to succeed in it would most likely alienate most gamers today.

We were talking about this in TYM chat the other day -- people's tastes evolve, and it seems like people are into more complex types of gameplay now. The 'pure shooter' is like a niche genre, in between games with all kinds of skill chains/levelling systems, loadouts, extra unmanned weapons, fancy explosives, etc.

To see something like Counter-Strike or Q3 again would probably require some kind of indie-ish effort. But enough people are attempting things now that it will probably happen at some point.

Painkiller was an early stab at that kind of thing.

 

[serge]

Seeing that you no longer need to know how to aim with your guns in a shooter tells a lot about the genre. I see my roomate soooo happy when he finishes a game with 22 kills and 2 deaths but this is how it really went:
14 kills from a turret gun, 3 kills from a air strike, 3 mines, 1 lucky gun kill from so far away that you would have never knew an enemy was there but since there is a X that appears when hitting someone he just keeps shooting anyway and finally 1 legit gun kill a la counter strike.

 

[Sasuga]

I like technology and stuff. But now that I think about it, I don't dare to imagine the future of games. In 10 or 15 years from now, there will only be crap. Realistically looking crap.

As for fighting games; this period may be remembered as the golden age. Fighting games' mechanics can not become more complex or they will be too complex. And basically, we have seen as good as every good mechanic now or it won't take long. I mean, how many more meters do you want? How many more usage of meter can you come up besides what is already here? How many more ways to combo one thing into another?

MK10 might be good, SF5 might be but after that there will probably be a vast emptiness and really nice, realistically looking crap. Other game genres have basically existed for a long time and are all just based on principles that are pretty old now.

What a depressing post, lol.

 

[Tim Static]

Sadly no. This next generation of consoles is coming way too soon. They should be announced in 2015, not 2013.

And by that, I mean $ony & M$. Nintendo had to do something when they did, but even they should have waited at least a year to announce & release the Wii-U.

Sent from The Turk

 

[CrimsonShadow]

As for fighting games; this period may be remembered as the golden age. Fighting games' mechanics can not become more complex or they will be too complex. And basically, we have seen as good as every good mechanic now or it won't take long. I mean, how many more meters do you want? How many more usage of meter can you come up besides what is already here? How many more ways to combo one thing into another?

MK10 might be good, SF5 might be but after that there will probably be a vast emptiness and really nice, realistically looking crap. Other game genres have basically existed for a long time and are all just based on principles that are pretty old now.

What a depressing post, lol.

That's pretty much what happened after UMKTrilogy and SF3.. People experimented with all kinds of wacky stuff. But then it came back around again. That was sort of the point of my original post.

I feel like everything goes in cycles.

Sadly no. This next generation of consoles is coming way too soon. They should be announced in 2015, not 2013.

I think this is technically the longest wait we've ever had for a new console generation.

 

[Sasuga]

That's pretty much what happened after UMKTrilogy and SF3.. People experimented with all kinds of wacky stuff. But then it came back around again. That was sort of the point of my original post

Yeah, but those games actually left room for improvement. And with the current state of games, I don't think they can come up with more interesting stuff. I hope I'm wrong ofc.

 

[xWEBSx]

Sadly no. This next generation of consoles is coming way too soon. They should be announced in 2015, not 2013.

And by that, I mean $ony & M$. Nintendo had to do something when they did, but even they should have waited at least a year to announce & release the Wii-U.

Sent from The Turk

As a whole- I agree with this ... And was my stance prior to E3... TOO SOON!!!
Now since the announcements- it is studying about each instead.

 

[Phosferrax]

No. COD is the best-selling franchise, and the Xbox One is possibly the beginning of a new level of control and greed being brought into gaming.

 

[chores]

Interesting view.. Would love to hear your opinion why- if you have the time- since there have been an overabundance of shooters since your provided examples

Wall of text:

Spoiler

Well the games im talking about are 'deathmatch' shooters. Not realism-based shooters in the vein of counterstrike or CoD.


Outside of indy devs there are really only two players in the deathmatch game, quake and unreal. There were small communities around Halflife DM, Painkiller, Tribes etc but quake and unreal have always had >90% of deathmatch players. The list of shooters that had large competitive communities goes Quake1 - Quake2 - Unreal Tournament99 - Quake3 - UT2K3 - UT2K4.

The problem was the same problem that I see happening in the fighting game communities; new players get stomped in a way that isnt fun for them. Someone who has played quake 3 for one week playing 1v1 against someone who has played for a year or more will simply never kill them. They will die over and over without really knowing what is happening. Good players are timing health/armor/powerups, denying certain weapons, and forcing spawn locations, etc etc. Things that wouldnt occur to a new player as valid tactics. It would be akin to loading up MK9 and not knowing that there was a block button. These tactics are that important. Aim and movement are a big part of winning, but if you have poor timing or tactics your good aim will rarely make up for it.
CoD you can pickup and play and even if you are terrible there is no huge penalty. You can still run around and get the occasional kill which triggers a reward response, the action is frantic and you will inevitably get a headshot or find someone turned around. There are no items to keep track of and the only real strategy is positioning. Playing quake for the uninitiated feels like you are trapped in an isolated rape chamber with a madman on the loose.

In quake 4 and unreal 3 both devs tried to correct this and in the process simplified the game to the point where the existing community abandoned them and went back to the old games, which of course with both games having been out for so long at that point attracted almost no new players.


So anyways here is why deathmatch is dead:

1) What makes the games good also makes the games extremely newb unfriendly
2) When the devs tried to make the games newb friendly, the games werent good
3) Those games didnt do well so they stopped making them in favor of other genres that sell more copies

 

[DuskAlloy]

The only genre of games that I think is making good games are believe it or not... fighting games. While I dislike Sf4 and Marvel, there have been plenty of great games that have come out in the past few years: Blaz blue, persona 4: arena, tekken tag 2, Sfxt, Kof 13, virtua fighter 5: final showdown, and somewhat injustice, so I would say fighting game players have it very good right now... I just dont know if the future of fighting games will be as good as it is right now, the only fighting games I know that are confirmed next gen is KI which I don't care much about and Guilty Gear which is amazing, there will oviously be a SF5 but if it is anything like Sf4 then it will suck...

 

[YOMI MITYEAP]

I never noticed we entered a "dark era" in gaming, I think this still because we had very successful games such as skyrim, uncharted 2, the first bioshock, and etc. I feel that the Ps4 and xboxone will live up to the hype they are building and they will be quite successful.. As for how games are now, heck they probably make it easier to do things like aiming in a shooter bcuz they want to appeal to the casuals so they can get more sales and stuff.