Video Game Industry Faces 'Crisis of Creativity'

[MechDeus]

I never liked the idea of aiming snake to being a clone and what MGS2 was leading to.

Um, that was actually most of the point of MGS and the entire reason why Liquid did almost everything he did. MGS2 just elaborated on Solidus.

I dunno, I certainly find plenty to play nowadays, but it definitely feels like the ratio of quality to crap has been decreasing steadily. Just my opinion I s'pose.

It's pretty much just your tastes. After seeing you list a lot of what you like it seems pretty clear to me that the style of game you enjoy is something that isn't produced very much these days. I love a lot of old-school games and absolutely adore when something like that is made, but I also enjoy a lot of what they put out now because it wasn't technically possible to do earlier. It's a whole different kind of experience, for better or worse.

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Re: Videogame storylines - Sorry, but Legacy of Kain has both all videogames and all movies beaten for best story ever (but not books, at least not yet) and deals beautifully with its execution of said story (whether or not you enjoy the gameplay is a different matter). It has both the length and space to tell a story that a lot of movies would dream of without having the budget constraints for so many varied sets among so many time periods and varying levels of decay. The fact that it's a videogame gives it a certain leeway in a number of ways while at the same time holding everything together with an amazingly intricate story that absolutely defies its design of being made up as it goes along.

But as was stated before, this is the exception, not the rule. However, it does stand as testament to what could be done more of provided that some developers work harder on incorperating story into videogames. The recent Breakdown just did seamless integration of story into gameplay on a level that hasn't been done before. If it had been a movie most people would throw it away as a filler action movie because it hinges on so many cliches, but it takes the immersion aspect of a videogame to higher ground. While Breakdown was basically playing an action movie Shenmue II did something similar earlier in which you were living out the complete life of an action hero, even the menial parts. It too is hardly revolutionary in its story design but the execution is getting better (compare Shenmue II to Shenmue) and they're learning that it's sometimes the smaller events that truly make a story into something more. The last hour (or whatever) of Shenmue II was quite possibly the most inconsequential backstory I've seen in videogames in years, and yet was simultaneously one of the greatest moments in videogame storytelling ever.

Videogames are becoming more and more about immersion and more developers need to take advantage of that. If we wanted to watch movies we'd go and rent a damn movie, the point of videogames is being able to control what's going on, not watch what some director wanted to put on the big screen but didn't have the budget to. Compare LoK:Defiance to MGS, both feature tons of cutscenes, both feature a great story, both have fun gameplay. Yet Defiance understands to a far greater length about balance between playing and watching, the cutscenes never seem overbearing and even knowing the game doesn't make it seem like you've only played for two minutes before a ten minute clip. MGS is almost entirely the opposite, and while it's a great story that I don't mind watching it's clear that Kojima really wanted to just make a movie.

[MonsterMash]

These articles are so moronic.

No, Ninja Gaiden doesn’t really do anything new, but it’s become both a critical and a financial success, and that’s as much as a game can achieve. I know a few people that are buying an Xbox for it, so it must have done something new to get their attention. Beyond Good and Evil similarly doesn’t do a whole lot we haven’t seen before, but it pulls it off with such personality and polish that I’ve never really stopped to care. Games like ICO and Breakdown meanwhile are some of my favorites of this generation, largely because they feel so different from the norm. There’s plenty of room for both types of games, and so long as people buy them, both types will continue to be released.

It's a shame that bad licensed games always sell so well, but I'm not buying them, you're not buying them, and no one reading this article is stop buying them either. I honestly fail to see the point of complaining about it.

I also think that blaming sequels for all of gaming’s problems is an oversimplified opinion. Sure it appears to me that making the lead character look more effeminate in FF and adding superior stubble rendering in Madden are not at all worth noting, but then I don’t really like those franchises, so what do I know? We should all be so lucky to love a series that is regularly updated as those two are.

Heck, when an innovative game actually does come out, a year later we’re clamoring for a sequel. And that’s true even given the fact that unlike franchises that stick to the beaten path, innovative games have a poorer track record of success. Very few like Crazy Taxi 2, JSRF, and Um Jammer Lammy over their respective prequels.

In short, I hope innovative games continue in the same way I hope polished approaches to classic gaming conventions do.

[Saint of Killers]

Re: Videogame storylines - Sorry, but Legacy of Kain has both all videogames and all movies beaten for best story ever (but not books, at least not yet) and deals beautifully with its execution of said story (whether or not you enjoy the gameplay is a different matter). It has both the length and space to tell a story that a lot of movies would dream of without having the budget constraints for so many varied sets among so many time periods and varying levels of decay. The fact that it's a videogame gives it a certain leeway in a number of ways while at the same time holding everything together with an amazingly intricate story that absolutely defies its design of being made up as it goes along.

Torment destroys it.

[Mzo]

I'd like to thank Voltz for his massive D2 spoiler. Now I have to wait until I forget it before I can start that game.

[Drewbacca]

Where can I get information about monthly/weekly game sales for all systems?

[Scourge]

Videogames are becoming more and more about immersion and more developers need to take advantage of that. If we wanted to watch movies we'd go and rent a damn movie, the point of videogames is being able to control what's going on, not watch what some director wanted to put on the big screen but didn't have the budget to. Compare LoKefiance to MGS, both feature tons of cutscenes, both feature a great story, both have fun gameplay. Yet Defiance understands to a far greater length about balance between playing and watching, the cutscenes never seem overbearing and even knowing the game doesn't make it seem like you've only played for two minutes before a ten minute clip. MGS is almost entirely the opposite, and while it's a great story that I don't mind watching it's clear that Kojima really wanted to just make a movie.

Agreed. The games I've played recently that excelled the most for me in this area are Prince of Persia and Beyond Good and Evil. Prince of Persia doesn't have a great story, but what it lacks in story it makes up for in control. The environment of the game and moving within it is the crux of the PoP series. The way it was handled in Sands of Time made everything quite kinetic and doing that draws a player in moreso than cutscenes do. Feeling like you have complete control within this kick ass 3d environment gives you a sense of unhindered freedom. Fighting the controls of a game is irritating. When the controls of the game are as natural as using your hands can be, there's a satisfaction that can sometimes go unnoticed, because, well, for the most part you're just playing and not messing with the controls. That's not to say that PoP was perfect, as the fighting could have been improved or at least balanced better.

As for Beyond Good & Evil, the world is so enthralling and captivating. When I'm playing, I'm totally caught up in what I'm doing because there's a physical presence to this world that doesn't feel like most other game worlds. You can say it plays like Zelda or Star Fox Adventures or whatever, but there's something intangible about BG&E that rises it above other games of its ilk making it special. In this case, I think it's divided evenly between a) the amount of different ways the game rewards you from being able to take pictures, to driving vehicles, to stealth, to cool boss fights... there's a lot of variety in this one game and it's all handled quite well, b) the characters are not all stereotypes you see in most games, especially the lead female, and all the characterizations are done well too, you care for the people, and c) the story may be old but playing it out is usually fun in a lot of the games its a part of,... danger, intrigue, plot twists, underground networks, corrupt governments... Good stuff.

I'm a big Metal Gear fan, but my opinions can be found in the Twin Snakes review thread so I won't retype all that here. Metal Gear is, in many ways, ridiculous. It has been from the beginning and it hopefully will remain that way. The only problems I had with SoL were Raiden and Rose. Not playing as Snake all the way through was a disappointment. And the codec conversations got really, really out of hand in SoL. The rest I was fine with because it's Metal Gear and it's ridiculous. But while I think Solid is one of the best games ever made, pulling the player out for the enormous amounts of cutscenes and codec conversations is something that needs to change about this series. And the controls need to be fine tuned further so they never work against you. The game cube set up was more guilty of this than any other, but even the original and SoL have pretty clunky controls that take getting used to.

[Jeremy]

BG&E's story is one of the most original I've seen in years, and is captivating in it's own right. The little touches thrown into the game, like the speeches througout Hyllis, add dimensions to the characters, and make you actually care about the residents of the city. The LoK games, while not my cup of tea as games, do have great storytelling.

[MechDeus]

Torment destroys it.

I still haven't played this so I can't compare them, but considering the themes and characters of LoK I doubt Torment will sway me over it. A friend of mine might have a copy, perchance I'll borrow it from him at some point.

Out of curiousity, how much of LoK have you played?

Prince of Persia doesn't have a great story, but what it lacks in story it makes up for in control.

What I love about PoP's story is in it's behind-the-scenes subtle way of doing it. You are the story, prodded along by little quips here and there, my favorite being "No, no, that's not how it went," whenever the Prince dies. It's beautiful in its simplicity (although I'm not sure I'd want too many games like that).

[epmode]

I still haven't played this so I can't compare them, but considering the themes and characters of LoK I doubt Torment will sway me over it. A friend of mine might have a copy, perchance I'll borrow it from him at some point.

please do. while most of the story is simply told through text blocks (as opposed to actually showing it,) torment is still a work of art. it's one of the few videogames that genuinely moved me. definately bioware's best game.

[Saint of Killers]

Out of curiousity, how much of LoK have you played?

I've only played through Soul Reaver. Didn't find the story all that compelling.

definately bioware's best game.

Better than anything Bioware's put out, but they didn't have anything to do with it besides supplying the Infinity Engine. It's Black Isle's game.