Those that cannot innovate, replicate.
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
-Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899 (attributed)
Are you familiar with William Dean Howell’s Christmas Every Day? One of my favorite hobbies, gaming, is starting to look an awful lot like Christmas. And it isn’t good.
I’m simply not having fun anymore. After years of shooting, jumping, sneaking, and more recently covering, the twinkle in this gamer’s eyes is gone. I used to get home after a long day, relax on my favorite chair and smile as I turned my console on. Now I find myself actually procrastinating from gaming. Why is that? For years I’ve had fun playing these games…these same old games…maybe that’s the problem? It’s not me it’s you baby, you haven’t changed at all, and I think it’s time we take a break and start seeing other things. We can still be friends?
Pretty much every game falls into one of two categories:
1) The Sequel Addict: They thrive on nostalgia, name recognition, and fear of change. They’ll splash on some new paint and hide by new release shelves. Sometimes they’ll go so far as implementing shiny new features, but look past the jewelry and you’ll find the same old game you spent far too many nights with.
2) The Genre Culprit: These are perhaps the worst of the two. They lie and deceive you into thinking that they’re completely different. They’ll mesmerize you with a couple new tricks, maybe even throw new modes and features at you. You’ll love the novelty, the adventure of treading new territory…but the second you get comfortable the surface strips away, and you’ll realize the shocking truth: not only have you, and everyone, been here before, but this is a Sequel Addict in the making.
Just take a look at some upcoming releases:
Virtua Fighter 5, Madden 08, Call Of Duty 4, Halo 3, GTA 4, Medal Of Honor, Tiger Woods 08, PGR 4, Tony Hawk 10, Ace Combat 6, Blazing Angels 2, Juiced 2, Devil May Cry 4, America’s Army 2, UT3, Guitar Hero 3, Need For Speed, Beautiful Katamari, Brothers In Arms: HH, Mercenaries 2, WWE Smackdown 2008, Splinter Cell 5, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros, The Getaway 3, Half Life 2 Orange, Time Crisis 4, MGS 4, Final Fantasy 13, Turok, Ratchet and Clank…
Those are far too many been there, done that sequels.
Looking down the barrel of a gun
Son of a gun son of a b***h
Getting paid getting rich
- Beastie Boys, Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun, Paul’s Boutique
The character behind the gun might as well be interchangeable.
Ah the first person shooter, the staple of every console maker’s library. COD4, Halo 3, UT3, Killzone 2, Haze, Bioshock, Crysis, Metroid 3..these were the big AAA titles shown at the recent E3. Besides the fact that most are sequels, haven’t we seen enough FPS games? A couple more tricks and prettier graphics no longer impress. I remember playing these games when they were called Doom and Goldeneye. All this genre does from iteration to the next is look prettier and add more weapons/skills. Some are trying different storytelling methods, others add some RPG elements, but the core gameplay stays the same. Just point and shoot.
RPGs have seen their best days. The highly anticipated Mass Effect, while graphically stunning, looks to be nothing more than a choose your own adventure book. This was once called Knights of the Old Republic. Sure, you might have more options now, and the story might branch a little more, but the core gameplay is anything but original. And the combat system? Straight out of GRAW. Then there’s Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, but those come from a class of RPGs that pride themselves at being unchanged. Then you’ve got your platformers, your adventure and action games. The line between them seems to be blurring, and they’re all forming one giant mess. Assassin’s Creed, a new IP, is anything but an original game. It does nothing more than combine Prince of Persia agility and combat with Hitmanesque stealth mechanics.
Little Big Planet: Platform genre or User Created Content genre?
What’s the newest genre to find mainstream popularity? The guitar/music genre, thanks to Guitar Hero. But this too has been hit with sequelitis, as GH is already on its third game, and has spawned the soon to be released spin-off Rock Band, which is simply combing GH with Singstar. And if you want to get technical, Guitar Freaks was a Konami game released in Japan years before GH arrived.
This industry needs to take a leave of absence. Just go away, do some thinking, spend some time reflecting, and then come back when you’re refreshed. Come back ready to create and innovate, not just improve and perfect. Has every possible genre already been created? Will rudimentary mechanics such as jumping across ledges, looking over guns, and moving cursors over enemies ever leave games? All I see lately are technical improvements. Graphics get better, sounds get crisper, cars and environments behave more like their real life counterparts…but the core game mechanics remain the same. Is it presumptuous to think that this is all gaming has left: small incremental steps at perfecting genres created years ago?
July 25th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Wow, thats depressing. I do agree with some points. However; and this is just in Gamings defense:
1. Like a good movie genra; games have to have something we can relate to. Some like FPS, others like MMORPG, and others like a quick fix. It’s not bad to give gamers some sense of common-ground. Libraries have been doing it for hundreds of years. People still read.
2. As in Hollywood: Games are the next popular medium next to sports and music. We all know that a certain sound (Grundge, Hip Hop) or a certain sport (Soccer, Football, Baseball, Boxng) will have people try to improve on it, sometimes it works: UFC from Wrestling. Sometimes it doesn’t: Kurt Cobain to PINK.
However imatation is the best form of flattery. And it makes money too. I would like to think the next big thing is around the corner; but like it or not it will no doubt be emulated.
July 25th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Hey why dont you have your xbox brake a couple times, these long breaks can really refresh your gaming.
July 25th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
I’m still waiting for “Pong 2: The Paddle Strikes Back.”
Seriously though, I think we are part of the problem. We need to be more willing to buy different games. I think Blinx and Ico we’re 2 games with fresh takes that people just didn’t buy.
July 25th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
@Worridor I couldn’t agree with you more, games like Blinx and Ico get made and we spend our money on something like Madden or Halo 27(Yes I said 27, its coming and you have heard it here first). I’m not saying that Madden or Halo 27 are bad games but for the most part they are the same game just graphics and one or two new features. And what ends up happening is that I enjoy them but only for a short amount of time because for the most part they are not bringing anything new to the table. I think that we, as gamers, need to be more aware with our dollar and what we are supporting.
July 26th, 2007 at 12:11 am
There is an old saying “Don’t try to fix what’s not broken.” That saying seems to be the law of the industry today. With game devlopment cost soaring publishers are not will to take big risks these days. Steve is right in saying that most new AAA IPs are made up of parts of previous games. For example Army of Two take a bit of the cover and co-op system from Gears of War mix in a little GRAW gunplay and bam a “new” IP. Granted that game has new features but those are more like add-ons. One thing all of us must remember is at the end of the day games are made to make money.
July 26th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Good topic Thrill, and everyone has some good points… We need more of these types of write ups… Glad to have you you on board. Keep up the good work Thrillhouse.
July 26th, 2007 at 7:49 am
To All: Of course sequels get made because they make money. All Bungie has to do is improve the graphics, add a couple new bells, and change the ‘2′ to a ‘3′ and they’ll make sacks of money. Economically it makes sense.
Carpal: Yeah, people do like something they can relate to. If you’re familiar with an FPS, and remember having a good experience with it, you’ll be drawn to another. And another. And another. Your music analogy is pretty good. Back in the 50s Rock was introduced, and it slowly evolved over decades into what we have now. The problem is that I don’t see games following that change. Platformers haven’t really changed since the Mario days. We’re still jumping across fire ledges and squashing enemies. I hope that as the industry grows and matures we’ll start to see change.
Gui: Man, I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had so many problems with your box. I guess that when you constantly get red ringed, you appreciate every gaming moment you have.
Steve: You must have crazy inside contacts. Halo 27? How does it look? Does it have online co-op? (Totally kidding! Don’t want to start.)
July 26th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Well I can say that I agree with your story and then don’t. Sure we all get burnt out on the same ol game styles and rehashed stories. I can safely say that I don’t need any more sonic or army men games. The one game I failed to see in your story was “SPORE”! That game seems to step out of your sequel depths and screams hey i’m original for the most part. Then again Thrillhouse, that gamer score clearly speaks as game junkie whore. Maybe if you didn’t play every crappy sequel to get all those points. Then you could appreciate gaming again….its not work buddy. Grab a cold drink and play a game that truly means fun to you. Games are there to bring some entertainment to your life. Just because Sin City was B&W with some color thrown in , doesn’t mean its bad just because it borrowed the look and feel of movies from the 50’s. I am not hating on your story though, I totally agree that Halo 3 and all the other sequels I see don’t even get me excited anymore. Did that, Done that kind of feeling gets old when I see another Tekken and Metal of Honor sequel. Everything was original once….great story by the way!
July 26th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Until you change the mechanics of the interface, you will not be able to change the game itself! That’s why I see potential in Wii…
It hasn’t happened quite yet, though: right now we are only seeing the new interface applied to the old genres. But, the potential is clearly there! Of all the FPS coming out (and this is a hardcore Halo fan talking here), Metroid Prime 3 is the one I think has the most potential to innovate. And from there, I think we will see some really weird and interesting things happen.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Spore is too far into the future to consider. That game will probably come out in 2000never.
The Wii has potential, but so far all we’ve seen are the same games (Zelda, Mario…) with new controls. The only exception might be Trauma Center, but that was a remake of a DS game.
As for my gamerscore, if anything it should prove that I’m an informed gamer, as I’ve played a wide assortment of different games. And I really like points.
July 26th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
If you really want to boil down games, it’s only about pushing the right button(s) at the right time. That’s about it. Really, the same thoughts could be applied to just about anything in life. How new are cars, really? A new safety feature here, a new bell or whistle there, maybe even electric drive, but it’s still just a car. What about movies, sports, books, etc…
July 26th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Thrill, your artical is great and I can understand your frustration. But, what good does it REALLY do if you don’t present suggestions?
What inspiration can you offer developers who might take this artical to heart? Do you, yourself, have any bran new genres to introduce?
July 26th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I don’t know what genres have yet to be created, both because I’m not very creative, and because I’ve been conditioned with years of stale gaming.
What do people do for fun besides gaming?
Deep sea diving, sandcastle making, model building, graphic designing, world traveling?
What if it was technologically possible to have an Amazing Race game? You could go anywhere in the world, learn about the culture, solve riddles, then earn money and travel to the next location (totally decided by you, anywhere in the world)?
Sadly my little mind can’t come up with much. But there HAS to be more to gaming than what is already out there.
August 1st, 2007 at 12:01 pm
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