Has 'Gaming' got better or worse since 2006-2008 era?

[SvennoJ]

Mr Puggsly said:

SvennoJ said:

I should have been jaded in 2006 after gaming since 1980.
There is less variety, the last great mid tier game I played was Majin and the forsaken kingdom, 5 years ago. Indies have picked up the slack somewhat yet are either short or procedurally generated experiences.

Day 1 patches are standard now, pretty much all games release incomplete, load times seem to be getting worse and gameplay is not keeping pace with the improvement of graphics. Games look better, yet the gameplay is the same or worse which makes the quality difference stand out more and more.
Plus I don't like the trend to make everything a variation of the same openworld basic busy work gameplay.

I dunno why particular 2006-2008 but let's check the highlights:  Okami, Dreamfall the longest journey, Super paper mario, Super mario galaxy, Portal, Valkyria chronicles, Wipeout HD, Little big planet, Oblivion, Viva Pinata, Loco roco, Dead rising, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Zack and Wiki, Motorstorm, Fallout 3, Dead space, Mirrors edge. No sequels in there (Dreamfall, Oblivion and Fallout 3 excepted, yet they felt like new games)

Since then we had the excellent Dark souls, Ni No Kuni, The last of us, Rayman Origins, Portal 2, Deus Ex HR, Journey, The walking dead, Fez, Anti chamber in 2011-2013, good fun but less.

The only games that really stuck with me last year were Transistor and Fract OSC. The rest was competent. Driveclub turned out to be excellent yet not really a poster child for a competent release...

There are a lot of competent sequels and great remasters, but originality is lacking and gameplay is stuck in neutral.

A lot of ideas in the 7th gen were done in the past but were just done better. Gameplay mechanics are moving foward I just think its diminishing returns. You want fresh ideas and no idea what you really want.

 

Some of the games you mentioned were creative in presentation, but at their core didnt do much unique for gameplay.

Id like to see a little more creative and unique games. But gameplay for some genres is just fine. So maybe this question depends on what genres you most enjoy.

I do know what I want. I want to be able to talk to npcs instead of choosing from a few dialog options. Be able to ask for directions and advice without having to use a minimap or menu screen. Not be put in a straightjacket when it comes to completing objectives. AI that can adapt to my play style, both in generated dialog and gameplay.
For racing, Isle of Man track is at the top of my list, followed by endurance races with 200 cars on the track.
A complete god game expanding on the powers of from dust.
Gambit system from FF12 and programmable abilities like in Transistor applied to a massive scale RTS game.
More creativity in locations, art styles and escpecially different cultures.
And the last guardian to finally get finished (or actually made...)