You just have to stop looking at the big game developers and look at the smaller ones.
One thing that's really going to level the playing field is the whole crowd funding scene. nXile is a good example, with their recent release of Wasteland 2 and their upcoming Torment: Tides of Numenara. Crowd funding makes it a lot easier for a smaller company to compete with the big league players like EA, Ubisoft, or Take 2.
I don't find myself gaming less as I'm getting older. Just like when I discovered gaming when I was in my early thirties, it is a way to regularly escape the pain of being alive. Step out of this world full of injustice that's hard to tackle and hard to swallow to a world where you can deal with injustice with spells and swords.
Still, despite all depression and suffering, after reading this topic, the earlier off-topic discussion in it, I can count myself lucky for having the time to do work in which I can fulfil my passion of striving for a more just world, as I don't need work for income because of my disability allowance. For 7 hours a week (the limit of what I'm mentally capable of) I work for an organisation that steps up for the interests of people who like me suffer from mental illness. The government allowance takes care of my financial needs, so I can live just above the poverty line without worries.
I also can count myself lucky I got a caring family and caring friends, yet, besides the work which gives my life meaning and the family and friends I don't want to desert by stepping out of life, gaming as a regular getaway is my third building stone that helps me cope with life and act as an anti-suicidalicant as I call it.
So I can't imagine gaming less. And there's no worries for me about games becoming less innovative, as my backlog is huge, with games that are often accounted as being very good like Deus Ex, System Shock 2, Arcanum, Pillars of Eternity etcetera.
You just have to stop looking at the big game developers and look at the smaller ones.
One thing that's really going to level the playing field is the whole crowd funding scene. nXile is a good example, with their recent release of Wasteland 2 and their upcoming Torment: Tides of Numenara. Crowd funding makes it a lot easier for a smaller company to compete with the big league players like EA, Ubisoft, or Take 2.
I don't know if it is going to "Level the playing field". I admit that most of the innovation is happening in that space these days, but not all of it. And just because there are several notable hits on that front, there are more than a few misses as well.
I suspect that it will kick the big names in their complacency, but then they will take their buying power and start doing something about the whole thing. It's the way of big business unfortunately to find a financial solution (read: Throw money at the problem) for just about any issue.
But on top of everything else, the gaming industry is hitting up against wanting to appeal to the widest audience, and thus continuing to narrow their own scopes in innovation. The wider the audience, the narrower the focus. If they were OK with smaller individual markets, they might get more traction.
There have been some games from lesser known developers that have crushed all competition. Take Dark Souls as an example, yet to this day there hasn't been any game from a major developer that could stand up to it.
@Belanos It's alright if you given up yourself, but don't encourage other people to do the same. I might be too young, but you definitely sound like a old fart already. A toxic old fellow at that.
Also, thank you people for assuming than, for the rest of my life, I won't ever think of any alternatives or "what-if" scenarios. That's very encouraging of you.
There have been some games from lesser known developers that have crushed all competition. Take Dark Souls as an example, yet to this day there hasn't been any game from a major developer that could stand up to it.
There have indeed. and I am a big fan of the Dark Souls games. I just don't think it is an all or nothing type situation. Just because some indie developers have made some smash hits, it doesn't necessarily follow that all indie developments are superior to the big names, or that they are all guaranteed successes. By the same token, quite a lot of the Big name developments have fallen flat (Assassin's creed, just to name one). This does not mean that Big name companies are incapable of making anything of value.
I think extremism is a huge problem. People polarize and think that their side is vastly superior to the other regardless of the facts. Yes, I think that the big names could learn a lot from some of the indie companies. I think some of the indie developers could learn from the big names. I think the "Right path" always assuming there is such a thing, is somewhere in the middle. I think that big names need to stop trying to play to the widest (and lowest) common denominator and be open to making games specifically for individual markets. I think that the indie companies need to consolidation at least to some degree so it doesn't take 4 years to develop something that would take the big houses a couple of months (exaggeration here, please don't harp on this). I also think that some of the Indie companies could seriously learn from some of the 'Lessons learned' that the big names have accumulated. Just saying that each side could learn from the other.
There have been some games from lesser known developers that have crushed all competition. Take Dark Souls as an example, yet to this day there hasn't been any game from a major developer that could stand up to it.
There have indeed. and I am a big fan of the Dark Souls games. I just don't think it is an all or nothing type situation. Just because some indie developers have made some smash hits, it doesn't necessarily follow that all indie developments are superior to the big names, or that they are all guaranteed successes. By the same token, quite a lot of the Big name developments have fallen flat (Assassin's creed, just to name one). This does not mean that Big name companies are incapable of making anything of value.
I think extremism is a huge problem. People polarize and think that their side is vastly superior to the other regardless of the facts. Yes, I think that the big names could learn a lot from some of the indie companies. I think some of the indie developers could learn from the big names. I think the "Right path" always assuming there is such a thing, is somewhere in the middle. I think that big names need to stop trying to play to the widest (and lowest) common denominator and be open to making games specifically for individual markets. I think that the indie companies need to consolidation at least to some degree so it doesn't take 4 years to develop something that would take the big houses a couple of months (exaggeration here, please don't harp on this). I also think that some of the Indie companies could seriously learn from some of the 'Lessons learned' that the big names have accumulated. Just saying that each side could learn from the other.
I'm not saying one is better than the other. I just want good games and right now the Indie developers are delivering this to me while none of the big game developers have. If Bethesda or EA come out with something awesome, i'll be the first one to buy it. But i'm tired of them making copies of the same shitty games over and over again.
I don't think action games need anything but fun gameplay. I do want some character customization though, being presented with a named/voiced protagonist that is locked to one spesific appearance annoys me. Grand Theft Auto was one of the most fun games of all time and it had zero leveling, zero character upgrading and shitty graphics. But it was fuuuun.
As for reviewers and critics, they can fall into a pit. I never listen to them. Well okay, I see Zero Punctuation reviews, but that's for the entertainment value rather than a "yay" or "nay" on a game. I trust the judgement of my family, certain friends and myself when it comes to picking games or movies. Critics' opinions matter as much to me as any random jerk on the internet.
@Typo_tilly - very good points. One of my all time favorite games is the original Metroid. I used to spend hours at it and when zero mission came out, THAT became the new gold standard. I agree that platformers of that type still have an audience, although it also appears that game developers aren't catering to that audience anymore. Shame really. The Hand helds are a perfect place for that type of thing.
As far as reviewers are concerned, I have stopped looking at the numbers and started reading the actual reviews. I pick through both the positive and the negative reviews for the game elements that i want. More than once, I've seen a totally negative review that claimed that the game had 'X or Y' elements and cited those reasons as the cause of the negative review. Those are the elements I WANT in a game, and so I will buy the game.
I find it's not so much a matter of studying new games on your own, but rather finding reviewers who you share tastes with. I watch quite a number of different reviewers, but at least in some areas they all share my tastes.
That said, a great method of self-study can be watching Let's Plays. Just being able to see how a game looks and getting an idea of how it's laid out, how it's progression works, it's all very helpful for learning about a game.
Comments
Still, despite all depression and suffering, after reading this topic, the earlier off-topic discussion in it, I can count myself lucky for having the time to do work in which I can fulfil my passion of striving for a more just world, as I don't need work for income because of my disability allowance. For 7 hours a week (the limit of what I'm mentally capable of) I work for an organisation that steps up for the interests of people who like me suffer from mental illness. The government allowance takes care of my financial needs, so I can live just above the poverty line without worries.
I also can count myself lucky I got a caring family and caring friends, yet, besides the work which gives my life meaning and the family and friends I don't want to desert by stepping out of life, gaming as a regular getaway is my third building stone that helps me cope with life and act as an anti-suicidalicant as I call it.
So I can't imagine gaming less. And there's no worries for me about games becoming less innovative, as my backlog is huge, with games that are often accounted as being very good like Deus Ex, System Shock 2, Arcanum, Pillars of Eternity etcetera.
I suspect that it will kick the big names in their complacency, but then they will take their buying power and start doing something about the whole thing. It's the way of big business unfortunately to find a financial solution (read: Throw money at the problem) for just about any issue.
But on top of everything else, the gaming industry is hitting up against wanting to appeal to the widest audience, and thus continuing to narrow their own scopes in innovation. The wider the audience, the narrower the focus. If they were OK with smaller individual markets, they might get more traction.
I think extremism is a huge problem. People polarize and think that their side is vastly superior to the other regardless of the facts. Yes, I think that the big names could learn a lot from some of the indie companies. I think some of the indie developers could learn from the big names. I think the "Right path" always assuming there is such a thing, is somewhere in the middle. I think that big names need to stop trying to play to the widest (and lowest) common denominator and be open to making games specifically for individual markets. I think that the indie companies need to consolidation at least to some degree so it doesn't take 4 years to develop something that would take the big houses a couple of months (exaggeration here, please don't harp on this). I also think that some of the Indie companies could seriously learn from some of the 'Lessons learned' that the big names have accumulated. Just saying that each side could learn from the other.
As for reviewers and critics, they can fall into a pit. I never listen to them. Well okay, I see Zero Punctuation reviews, but that's for the entertainment value rather than a "yay" or "nay" on a game. I trust the judgement of my family, certain friends and myself when it comes to picking games or movies. Critics' opinions matter as much to me as any random jerk on the internet. Woo! Fantastic game and one I intend to pick up off of eBay one of these days as I received my Retron 5 console a couple of days ago!
As far as reviewers are concerned, I have stopped looking at the numbers and started reading the actual reviews. I pick through both the positive and the negative reviews for the game elements that i want. More than once, I've seen a totally negative review that claimed that the game had 'X or Y' elements and cited those reasons as the cause of the negative review. Those are the elements I WANT in a game, and so I will buy the game.
That said, a great method of self-study can be watching Let's Plays. Just being able to see how a game looks and getting an idea of how it's laid out, how it's progression works, it's all very helpful for learning about a game.