Video Games losing the Element of Surprise

[GTInfection]

I miss the good ol days of the 90s when arcades were booming and our raged was building from the change machine not accepting our crumpled dollar bills. I miss the days of wanting to go the supermarket with my folks, just so I can visit the magazine aisle and sneakily rip the cellophane off the latest gaming magazine. Where are the days when I prayed to the Gods that the one video game I could afford that year was going to provide me enough entertainment to last until the next one. Forever gone are the days when experiencing something genuinely new came from: the surprise appearance of a new arcade cabinet, the limited articles with blurry photos found within expensive magazine publications, and the gamble of that one video game purchase you've made based purely on box art.

Fast forward to the present state of video games and what I feel is a strong yearning for a period when the element of surprise still existed. Social media, websites, streaming sources, instant news feed has taken something away from me that I don't think can ever be brought back. How am I suppose to feel that pants-soiling sense of excitement from seeing a game like Mortal Kombat 2, or wasting my allowance for the week just to discover I can shoot a sonic boom if I charge the stick back and pull forward. All that has been replaced by a world where new games are marketed and expose to the point where you feel like you have conquered the game before the game is officially released.

With Mortal Kombat 10 around the corner, I am already dreading the idea of seeing monthly reveals of new characters, new moves, new stages, new combos, etc. I will still play the hell out of the game, but a part of me wishes for those days when a new game truly meant a surprising new experience. Those old days are a distant memory now, but I'm secretly hoping that one day, we will see a super awesome game be released completely under the radar and bring back the element of surprise like that of my fond memories.

 

[Killphil]

Well the Toasty Boost remained a secret in MK9 for a year or longer. But with internet its far easier to access information, so hiding things becomes a little harder.

 

[Saboteur-6]

I think the more accurate issue here (aside from the ease of connectivity you mentioned) is that you're not a little kid anymore. You're looking back at your childhood through the rose colored lenses of nostalgia.

 

[Mikemetroid]

ITT: We wish we were kids again

 

[GTInfection]

I think the more accurate issue here (aside from the ease of connectivity you mentioned) is that you're not a little kid anymore. You're looking back at your childhood through the rose colored lenses of nostalgia.

I agree with this. Part of me writing this is because I'm bored at work. Another part is I feel like I'm getting tired of video games. Is this what it's like to get old? Lol.

 

[ThaShiveGeek]

I understand the feeling, but I also understand that it's 2014. Technology today is not what it was back in 94. Times change. Those were good feelings though...

 

[HeroesNZ]

I miss the good ol days of the 90s when arcades were booming and our raged was building from the change machine not accepting our crumpled dollar bills. I miss the days of wanting to go the supermarket with my folks, just so I can visit the magazine aisle and sneakily rip the cellophane off the latest gaming magazine. Where are the days when I prayed to the Gods that the one video game I could afford that year was going to provide me enough entertainment to last until the next one. Forever gone are the days when experiencing something genuinely new came from: the surprise appearance of a new arcade cabinet, the limited articles with blurry photos found within expensive magazine publications, and the gamble of that one video game purchase you've made based purely on box art.

Fast forward to the present state of video games and what I feel is a strong yearning for a period when the element of surprise still existed. Social media, websites, streaming sources, instant news feed has taken something away from me that I don't think can ever be brought back. How am I suppose to feel that pants-soiling sense of excitement from seeing a game like Mortal Kombat 2, or wasting my allowance for the week just to discover I can shoot a sonic boom if I charge the stick back and pull forward. All that has been replaced by a world where new games are marketed and expose to the point where you feel like you have conquered the game before the game is officially released.

With Mortal Kombat 10 around the corner, I am already dreading the idea of seeing monthly reveals of new characters, new moves, new stages, new combos, etc. I will still play the hell out of the game, but a part of me wishes for those days when a new game truly meant a surprising new experience. Those old days are a distant memory now, but I'm secretly hoping that one day, we will see a super awesome game be released completely under the radar and bring back the element surprise like that of my fond memories.

You could just try to ignore any form of advertisements and reveals. It'll be super hard and you will definitely still see a few things, but you'd get more of a surprise than anyone else would

 

[Braindead]

Video games from my own childhood:

• Super Mario World - Time taken to complete: MONTHS
• Pokemon games on Gameboy - time taken to complete: MONTHS

Fast forward a decade...

• Call of Duty SP campaigns - Time to complete: hours
• Tomb Raider - hours
• Batman Arkham - hours

That's my main problem.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

This is an interesting point and very true. While there are advantages both ways, it's true that something is lost with regard to the ability to approach a new experience with no preconceptions; no leadup and no details.. To just press 'Start' and be immersed in whatever comes next.

The Last of Us was kind of like that for me, and it was an awesome experience.. I hadn't read any reviews, hadn't see any footage or screenshots, watched any videos, etc. I hadn't been keeping up with the hype, but I just kept hearing everyone saying "The Last of Us is amazing" and "GoTY" etc, so I bought it cold on a whim.

Popped it in the tray, loaded it up; and it was completely fresh.

Nowadays, you know about movies 5 years before they even come out. You have thousands of videos (and now even streams) of games before launch, rather than those few screenshots in Electronic Gaming Monthly. And games are starting to even be released in Alpha, for millions of people to play before they're complete. Also, leaks are like an everyday occurrence.

Overall though, it's not all doom and gloom.. Just different. The world adapts, and I guess we have to adapt to it too.

Anyway, interesting thread.


P.S. In hindsight, that was one of the things that was interesting about Injustice for me; because Ed Boon released so little and starved everyone for information, getting that special screening/walkthrough at PAX East in 2013 was like a revelation. An extremely cool moment of mentally 'unboxing' something that most people hadn't played and we didn't know much about.

 

[trufenix]

stay off the internet, you'll enjoy games a lot more.

 

[colt]

toastyboost and mka's last secret!
also mk9 strykers old school yell and jax's 7th jf slam.
we try its just pretty much impossible nowadays.

on a side note alot of us older cats would be in prison/dead if they had iphone technology around when we were in highschool.

 

[LEGEND]

The answer is always Dark Souls

and indie games

 

[themagiccan2]

The answer is always Dark Souls

and indie games

Exactly, since indie developers don't have a plethora of cash to throw into advertising there won't be as much tempting pre-release information. Back then, all the big video game corporations were just starting out so the budget was tighter

 

[TakeAChance]

toastyboost and mka's last secret!
also mk9 strykers old school yell and jax's 7th jf slam.
we try its just pretty much impossible nowadays.

on a side note alot of us older cats would be in prison/dead if they had iphone technology around when we were in highschool.

It would be awesome if you guys found a way to implement an actual SUPER secret character.

Like, one that is so random/obscure it would take a long time for anyone to ever figure it out.

 

[A F0xy Grampa]

Metal Gear 5

 

[EMPEROR PRYCE]

Video games from my own childhood:

• Super Mario World - Time taken to complete: MONTHS
• Pokemon games on Gameboy - time taken to complete: MONTHS

Fast forward a decade...

• Call of Duty SP campaigns - Time to complete: hours
• Tomb Raider - hours
• Batman Arkham - hours

That's my main problem.

This. I feel the exact same way.

When I was a kid I remember tearing up when I beat pokemon sapphire. then I found out there were end game quests. It took me months to complete.

Same w the old final fantasy games, i used to think they never ended. I still have yet to beat 8 or 9 all the way.

I think developers spend too much making games as beautiful as they can w a crazy pyhsics engine that it takes away from the long term playability. even the main story on skyrim felt short af. I wish we could get these ignorantly long titles back i miss the old Final Fantasy games. I think 10 and 12 were awesome but not 10-2 and 13+ sucked assssss.

 

[KIllaByte]

Naw dude. Games are the best they've ever been right now.
There's more saturation now too, though-- and I think that's your bigger issue-- but that saturation shows growth, which is still a grrr8 thing.
Journey and The Unfinished Swan are tow I played again recently that always surprise me, even after I've played and completed them several times.
Check out some indie games on the internet. There are some incredible ideas being put together.

 

[EMPEROR PRYCE]

Naw dude. Games are the best they've ever been right now.
There's more saturation now too, though-- and I think that's your bigger issue-- but that saturation shows growth, which is still a grrr8 thing.
Journey and The Unfinished Swan are tow I played again recently that always surprise me, even after I've played and completed them several times.
Check out some indie games on the internet. There are some incredible ideas being put together.

Yeah i agree that games are fricken awesome. But a lot of the time, I feel if the game doesn't have decent online multiplayer, theres no reason to really buy it. all these games are so fricken short its kinda sad

A dark souls 2 speed run is like 4-5 hours long w an all boss run.

FF9 world record any % speed run is 9.5 fricken hours. I miss the long never ending games

 

[VenomX-90]

 

[Mikemetroid]

toastyboost and mka's last secret!
also mk9 strykers old school yell and jax's 7th jf slam.
we try its just pretty much impossible nowadays.

on a side note alot of us older cats would be in prison/dead if they had iphone technology around when we were in highschool.

What was the MKA secret? Taven in the intro video?

 

[RoboCop]

The only thing I really think we're missing at this points are the easter eggs and secrets that used to appear in games. I remember trying to figure out fatalities in MKII, or trying to find secret characters in Shining Force. Now, nothing stays a secret for more than few days after release, if that long. It's still possible to personally avoid that kind of information, but gone are the days of rumored secrets and word-of-mouth discoveries.

On a related note, I just finished a book about the history of video games, and one section was about Mortal Kombat. Apparently Boon made it so difficult to get to the Reptile fight in MKI because he wanted only a handful of people to be able to describe it in detail, and for everyone to think you were a liar if you said you saw Reptile.

 

[KIllaByte]

Yeah i agree that games are fricken awesome. But a lot of the time, I feel if the game doesn't have decent online multiplayer, theres no reason to really buy it. all these games are so fricken short its kinda sad

A dark souls 2 speed run is like 4-5 hours long w an all boss run.

FF9 world record any % speed run is 9.5 fricken hours. I miss the long never ending games

Speed running isn't a great resource; different games have different game destroing glitches, sometimes-- especially Okami. (normally 38 hours.)
Check out Persona 4 Golden, Persona 5 coming soon, Ni-N0-Kuni, Fallout: New Vegas Complete Edition, Just Cause 2 (Forever) Red Dead Redemption, and multiplayer games.
Serious about Just Cause 2, though. It is forever long. There is no unit capable of measuring it's value over time. I've been in love with the game since released in 2010.

 

[xGunShow]

Still surprises me today

 

[STRYKIE]

I dunno man, I feel like even with today's resources it'd still be difficult to decipher some stuff with the development ethos of games in the mid 90s. You have to remember how much the industry has grown since then, Sony and Microsoft are now the front runners, who quite frankly, look at it as too much as a business opposed to dedicated video game corporations like Sega and Nintendo, ever noticed how the term "computer entertainment" has slowly eclisped simply saying video games?

I'm not saying that as one of those weird Nintendo apologists who think Sony's systems were only successful because of multimedia functions either, because I've HATED the model Nintendo have embraced from the N64 onwards.

 

[TaffyMeat]

Realized I'm old when there was a 12 year old kid running around the shopping mall screaming Black Ops Black Ops Black Ops. I wanted to smack the parents for letting a 12 year old play COD

*Edit
Then I remembered that it's usually 12 year olds on the microphones of said game. So no surprises there.