JGarret said:
Mummelmann said:
JGarret said:
Mummelmann said:
forest-spirit said:
True or not it's clear where EA, and some other big publishers are heading. Unless you can turn a game into a long lasting series with 5m+ entries it's just not worth making. Which is why I prefer smaller publishers such as Paradox and Atlus. Heck even Nintendo is a million times better despite largely playing it safe with 25 year old proven franchises. |
Its starting to behave more like TV, shows that don't climb onto the top ten lists after one season (or, preferably, one episode) are axed at once, never getting the chance to come into their own. And a of the shows that actually do fail are either too niche or plain bad, same goes for games.
Shows like "Friends", "Seinfeld", "NYPD Blue" and "CSI" actually had fairly weak beginnings, quality-wise, but they rose to the occassion when the actors and writers got warm and turned out to be become classics, and incredibly successful to boot.
I'm not saying that Dead Space series would have become classic but a lot of games that do okay can become great with some polish. Instead, developers opt to change the recipe completely or at least enough to alienate fans of the first installation(s) and new fans are less likely to start enjoying a direct sequel since they have no relation to the beginning.
The recipe in gaming today is usually as follows; release game, recieve mediocre sales and reviews. Okay, throw in action, effects, sex and other gimmicks to reap a profit. It often works. Apply same recipe to sequels to milk, milk curdles as consumers tire of the same old shit (unless you happen to be making Call of Duty), sit back and watch in astonishment as your franchise dies. Branch out and launch spin-off's on unlikely platforms as a last grasp at straws. Make sour comments in the gaming press and start to talk about your new franchise getting ready for the same process. Rinse and repeat.
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Now that you mention CoD, I wonder when that well will finally dry up.
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That's a damn good question. I think that the 8th gen will show the answer and suspect that the market will be flooded with so many CoD-like games that one out of two things is bound to happen; either one game or several games emerge that behave like CoD but improve upon every aspect, thus stealing the thunder and sales and earning the coveted favourite stamp by reviewers or, the sheer volume of CoD like games detract sales and attention from the original.
The tendency we're seeing with more open world games, more and more CoD clones appearing and doing things slightly differently lends the belief that CoD will soon be an outdated recipe for blockbuster sales and new trends and gimmicks will set the standard for some years to come. If Infinity Ward and Treyarch start straying too far away from the core recipe, the Call of Duty name in itself will lose a lot of edge and power (look to the Forza series for an example, the arcade elements in Horizon drove away most of the fans the simulation series had established).
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Yes, I hope the next generation gives us the answer.
Also, do you think we should expect WRPGs to start trying to emulate Skyrim?...because that game is like, the 'CoD of the RPG genre' right now.
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I think we're already seeing it, somewhat at least."The Witcher 3" would be one example, creating an open world game is both potentially very profitable since its popularized by the Elder Scrolls and "Gothic" but also a great challenge to a developer, one that could net you massive accolade and attention if you pull it off properly.
We're seeing action games and shooters drift into the same territory, what with "Destiny" being hailed as the new coming, "Rage" and "Borderlands" already sitting there and "Assassin's Creed" continuing to expand the game world farther and farther, efforts like "Red Dead Redemption" and "Fallout" also show that developers are willing to test new settings and concepts for open world gaming, which is probably a good thing.
Even Indie title are taking a cue from the open world philosophy and approach, games like "Minecraft" and "Terraria" play on the possibilities of vast, open worlds ready to be explored.
I like your analogy though, Skyrim is indeed the CoD of the RPG genre and is very likely the standard to which many developers will aspire. I think that, quite shortly, this whole focus on open world games will yield some truly incredible games, far better than any of the Elder Scrolls games. I both hope and believe that "The Witcher 3" can be first such game, if only CD Projekt manage and dear to hold on to the unique elements of the series and maintain the same overall incredible detail work and quality of their series.
