State of games today

M

Michael_A

Spaceman
This post is in no way intended to inflame, enrage or otherwise cause trouble.

That said I want to know if anyone else feels as though the games being made today are lacking in imagination.

Here is my point, Wing Commander gave us a universe to fly around in and people to interact with an excellent backstory. Games today are more about new graphics engines and such but they lack good solid story's.

I have been hanging out here a while and in reading your posts I have an impression of ya'll (Texas euphamism). Above average intelligence, and imagination. What has hooked you to Wing Commander is not graphics and gameplay but the story. I would imagine most of you read almost anything that passes before your eyes. Why then do most games skip or water down the most important aspect of a game...its story.

I admit I haven't played every game on the market but I would like some feedback if you to have felt dissatisfied with the state of games today.
 
I agree, for the most part. Games today are too we-don't-care-about-story-but-damn-this-looks-cool. There are exceptions, but for the most part what makes a game "good" nowadays is how good it's graphics are.
 
Points to the in depth story in the HW:Cataclysm and HW manual, and the cool missions and stories, Nough said
 
Yes, that is how I feel also. There are good exceptions to this like Baldurs Gate. But for the most part developers seem to be trying to win the console game wars by dumming down the PC games.

Now do come down on me about console games, I am not bashing them but I think things have there place. I'm hoping that this is just phase and things will cycle back around.

As most of people here I am a great SCI-FI fan, movies, books, and pc games. There have been outstanding sci-fi works translated to movies and games and vice-versa but somehow I think that sci-fi in general is in a slump. It could be only me hence this thread. I guess what I am looking for are others who feel the same way, or for direction to new and exciting adventures in sci-fi.

Another point brought out by Ladiesman^ is that pc capabilities are at an all time high but what is run on them is mediocre.
 
Originally posted by Michael_A
I have been hanging out here a while and in reading your posts I have an impression of ya'll (Texas euphamism).
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eu·phe·mism
n.
  1. The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive: “Euphemisms such as ‘slumber room’... abound in the funeral business” (Jessica Mitford).
  2. An inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive.
    [/list=1]
    -Dictionary.com
    ...games being made today are lacking in imagination...most games skip or water down the most important aspect of a game...its story.
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    It's a popular cliché these days to claim that modern entertainment - specifically video games - has mysteriously lost all substance, that today's efforts aren't really of the same caliber as those of the past. This is a bunch of boloney.

    I posit that we are merely slaves to our own feelings of nostalgia, disregarding the obvious truth that newer games are equally well conceived and executed. I can't think of very many older titles that match the likes of Homeworld, Independence War, Half-Life, Anachronox, and so on.

    In fact, it was the flood of crapass games back in the day that almost killed video games forever. Developers were releasing so many crappy titles in the '80s that people simply stopped buying games. I don't think that's happened any time recently.

    On average, modern games are longer, more involved, look and sound better, and are far more intelligent over all. Sure, there's the oddball classic that still captures and entertains people today just as well as when it was new, but the number of truly great classic games pales in comparison with the number of A-list we see today.

    It's a fun line to spout, I know, but there's really no truth to it.
 
Wow Frosty...you should write editorials for gaming titles! :)

Still, I recall Alex Garden, designer of Homeworld, looking back on his youth (relative of course :)) and fondly remembering classic titles. He's in his mid-twenties now, and he was talking about when he was ten or eleven, so...that would put him somewhere around the late '80s-early '90s.

He said (and this is direct quote):

"And those games were good - they had to be"

and then goes on to sprout his opinions on modern computer graphics, how they distract from actual gameplay nowadays and their effect on gaming.
 
I think that there are games that are fun because they have little story and you don't have to think about them. Like Unreal Tournamant. It's all about killing and kick ass graphics.

Then there are the story games. Some of these games are based solely on textual storytelling. Some flesh out the actual playing of the game with story. These are the games that stand out in peoples mind. (I think). Character development is really important when a game tries to do this. Who didn't make up their own little stories about the characters when they played?

So what I'm saying is there are games that don't base themselves on stories. There are those that do. There are those kinds of games around, but they're usually harder to find.


Anyone remember the Fredrik Pohl's Gateway games?:)
 
pre·ten·tious
adj.

  1. 1: making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction; "a pretentious country house"; "a pretentious fraud"; "a pretentious scholarly edition" [ant: unpretentious]
    2: intended to attract notice and impress others; "an ostentatious sable coat" [syn: ostentatious] [ant: unostentatious]
    3: of a display that is tawdry or vulgar [syn: ostentatious, kitsch]
    [/list=1]

    Dictionary.com

    Originally posted by Frosty
    On average, modern games are longer, more involved, look and sound better, and are far more intelligent over all. Sure, there's the oddball classic that still captures and entertains people today just as well as when it was new, but the number of truly great classic games pales in comparison with the number of A-list we see today.

    It's a fun line to spout, I know, but there's really no truth to it.
    Click to expand...
    I haven't seen a flightsim or spacesim (ala WC) that has had a decent make-you-want-to-play-to-the-end story since Prophecy. Maybe my standards are too high - a result of playing WC.
 
I think gaming is more about big buisness today ( what isnt? )than it is about having a great story.
Obviously not all games need a decent story but those that do usally take a long time to complete and could miss the publishers deadline.
Im sure all developers would love to have elaborate stories for their games but it takes time and imagination , I guess some people just dont have alot of it.
That said , there have been a few games released lately with cool storylines and good gameplay such as Half life , Balders gate 1 & 2 , Deus EX , System shock 2 , Fallout 1 & 2 , Planescape:Torment ,Red faction.
Not all games need stories to be fun though . The only games ive been playing lately are Subspace and Space tripper , both contain no stories and both kick-arse.
 
There are still very good games with a good story and atmosphere but I think that now the market is full of clones which then often pale in comparison to the originals and thus perhaps creating the imagination that most modern games have no story etc...

What I miss are games with such a cool manual as WC1, that is becoming rare, IMHO.
 
I think what we all really need is a new WC game...Anyway, I agree with Frosty on the nostalgia factor. Growing up along with a franchise tends to make a person biased. On the other hand, there's just something about the WC series that really makes it stand out. It's easy to play, it's great to look at (not just graphic quality but also artistic stylings), and it offers an engaging storyline. Anyway, you can read that stuff on the back of the box. In defense of Michael_A's comments (and if he's anyone like me), much of this opinion comes from frustration that there isn't any WC out there right now. Granted, there are some great space sims in stores but come on, it's like trying to replace Star Wars (hope this one doesn't come back to get me) with something new. It's difficult not to compare the new stuff with "ol' reliable".
 
As stated in an earlier post I haven't played every game on the market...yet. One thing that held me up was my old pc but now I have a new one and can play most games on the market. I am going this weekend to purchase X-Wing Alliance, I found it and Jedi Knight each for $14.99. I missed my chance at Half-Life for $19.99 at a Wal-Mart store that had miss-labeled it (kicks myself in the ass).

I don't dispute that there are good games out there it just seems that the ratio of good games to mediocre ones is being tilted toward the mediocre side.

I also want to make the point that IMHO sci-fi as a genre is in a slump. I hope that the new Star Trek series with Scott Backula will succeed in rekindling it.
 
Alliance is a freaking great game. Stick with it and try not to make a mess in your pants during the final mission. :)

Jedi Knight is a beast unto it's self. Personally, the only FPS game that rivals it is Duke3d and, more recently, UT. JK ain't too keen with multiplayer (unless you find the Jedi Ball map file online! :D )
but it's utterly immersive. Most people I know love it, buit the ones that don't, really don't.
 
Wing Commander's,story,universe,and atmosphere was what has kept me so attached,so I agree there.I think the problem with games today is not that good involving games do not exist,but that there are just so much more drivel these days.There still are those involving games.Deus Ex for instance.However,I do agree that a lot of focus is spent on gameplay building and not world building.Not just graphics,but,interface,interaction,and gameplay,which is good of course,but desighners need to focus on creating immersive worlds on their own right instead of being immersive because of gameplay.Look at, virtualy, all rts game's these days, if an rts actualy had a immersive universe and story it would stand out.
Take movies like Star Wars for instance ,you can argue that it was succesful because of its visual effects,and rightfully so, that is what,in part, made it a blockbuster.However, it was the characters and story that kept the fans long after the initial Wow had left them.It is not that games ever had a golden day when all games were good.Games have the potential to be the most immersive form of entertainment,and someday hopefully the focus of games will be on content rather then flash,and hopefully Wing will still be there leading the flock.
Btw,In my opinion Star trek has had it and it should be cashed in for good.
 
Star Trek should still kick around, but only if the writing is as good as it was for TNG and Classic. I demand the best!

As for games, I agree. But the SW thing is a little BS. No offense but the SW characters are utter cardboard cutouts, Harrison Ford says this anytime someone brings the movies up. If you really wanna hear SW in it's proper form, go grab the NPR Radio Dramas.
 
Yeah,I agree that the the characters in Star Wars might not be the accolade of literacy,but I disagree in that the characters are mere cardboard cutouts.Luke,Vadar,Chewy,even the Stormtroopers on a simplistic human level, appealed to people.There are some universes that try hard to create complex characters ,but ultimately end up with a bunch of characters that,complex or not, people do not remember or are drawn to.There is know denying that the characters in Star Wars are still some of the most popular and memorable ones around.To be fair,it is not just the main characters it's all the little ones that help make the universe.While it is true that some of these characters fame might be attributed to films popularity,but honestly, I think if the characters(and universe)were as memorable,Star Wars wouldn't have lasted to long.It would still make tons of money for it's special effects,but after the initial rush left it would have vanished.Also, I believe the same principle applies to other famous properties.Look at Independence Day ,a movie that could hardly, and I mean hardly, qualify as a work of art.Yet 2d or not a lot of people liked the characters.(Well,and the spaceships destroying things,but look at Godzilla, good special affects, horrid characters and story,no sale).
Incidently,I agree with you about the radio drama.
 
ST will be killed with enterprise which will continue the experience of craptacular episodes as made by voyager. But DS9 only ended 2 years ago and was the best of the treks (with episodes like: Trials and Tribbleations, Far beyond the stars, Sacrafice of Angels, Shattered Mirror actually all the Mirror universe episodes were quite good, ect. how could it not be)
 
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