The Decline of Videogaming
 

I was clicking through Flash Video's one day, bored as usual, when I came upon two that were called, "The Decline of Videogaming." Not only were they a bit funny, but they proved a point. Video games are starting to lack originality, and we're having sequels thrown at us instead of original games. Look at the holiday lineup of 2004 for instance: Half-Life 2, Halo 2, GTA: San Andreas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2, DooM 3, The Sims 2, etc. Most of these just throw in new features, a new story, maybe a music score here and there, and presto! New game! Some are groundbreaking (like Half-Life 2's physics engine, not to mention graphics, were extroardinary), but essentially they're the same game.

Sure, there are differences between Half-Life 2 and DooM 3, and between DooM 3 and DooM 2 for that matter, but does it that much of a difference? Both are shooting games that require the same skill; both require fast reflexes and hand-eye coordination to win.

Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. New features, new story, same gameplay.

Not that I hate any of these games, but I fear that what happened in those flash videos could actually come true. I own Halo 2, will get Half-Life 2 when I have a good enough computer, and will soon own Knights of the Old Republic 2. But these holidays, I urge you, to promote originality. Pick up games that deterr from the everyday genre.

Other than that, anyone else feel the same way as I do?

The Flash Videos are somewhere on this site

What happend in DOVG anf DOVG 2 has already happened, it's been happening since FF7, but i digress. If a game is popular you can expect it to be milked to death. Few games actually have new concepts (Ico comes to mind) and we are instead fed the same garbage with different numbers (Square anyone?). But whatcha gonna do, Boycott or pirate?

I dont even think the issue is that games are just making sequels that have the same gameplay, its having sequels with worse gameplay. I personally like Half Life the original more than Half Life 2, just because the bad guys suck in the second one, and the vehicles were poorly done in my opinion.
Also RPGs have been notorious for that, FF, Star Ocean, Deus Ex (sort of RPG). I mean I can only reallly think of Diablo as being an RPG with a sequel that was phenomonely better than the original.

This has happened to games from the beginning. From the original mini PC games (countless versions of Pong, Atari games and stuff like Oregon Trail coming out 'revised') to the original NES games going sequel by sequel (Mario turned into a Franchise along with Zelda, Mega Man, Metroid, Castlevania, Final Fantasy...).

Being less creative and making sequels is NOT a new thing. What is new in my opinion is the gaps between the amount of time we see the 'new' things come out.

Usually when we get 'original' concepts in gaming, it comes with the release of a new series that's the first of its kind and the first game of the series. Mario was the first game to do what it did best...and had tons of sequels made of it. That doesn't mean the other mario games aren't original in some ideas, but just like Halo 2 or Sims 2 or even the upcoming Ragnarok 2....it isn't going to be as original or ground-breaking as the first game because each following game is a sequel. And as sequels, they're bound to continue to do at least something that connects the future games to the past ones.

Even series like Final Fantasy and Zelda, which many will say the lastest games are COMPLETELY different than their original creations, are still using enough of the first game of their series to count as a game of that series. If FFX was TOTALLY revolutionary and new, then it wouldn't have been a Final Fantasy. It would have been something else. Same with a Mario. Same with Doom.

Yes, I do agree that games today have somewhat less originality then the games of the past. But you gotta admit. We've reached a point where we're almost to the level where we can program a game to do anything by 'traditional' means. That is, a controller and a TV with a character you move around. Pretty soon all games are just going to be familiar game engines with slight twists to them...unless either new hardware is developed or people work REALLY hard on coming up with original ways to use current technologies to produce new types of games. But I still think they're going to at least have to change the way you use controllers or somesuch to do that.

Perhaps Nintendo is going to do this with its very hush hush 'Revolution' system....hmmm.....I can only hope. And maybe the DS with its promise can produce original games as Nintendo has already stated it can (and in their words, will). But will it.....we'll have to see.

This has definitely been noted on MANY occasions, which is why I look forward to see what's going to happen with the next nintendo system, if you have done any reading on what people are predicting the revolution to be, it truely would be phenominal. It's most likely going to be something involving gyroscopics, which is 10,000 times more sensitive then analog, and can sense movement in vertically and horizontally in a 3D manor, so essentually things like the computer interaction in minority report can come to pass. And this would truely cause another era in gaming. and this problem of rehashing that is constantly stated would be gone....for at least a few years. Now of course it will be nothing THAT great, but definitely the early stages of it. This is all, however, pure speculation. and nintendo has released no official statements as to what the revolution will be

The reason we get unoriginal games is that people are sure they're gonna have fun with them. Instead of originality drawing interest, often it just repels part of the video gamer crowd because they don't want to take a risk when they can buy Final Fantasy 29 and be sure to have a decent time. I hate to continue to use the same example, but look at Takamari no Damacy. It sells for TWENTY bucks. That's about $5-10 less than half of what Halo 2 costs. People see a cow and a mushroom on a box in a store with a giant ball-looking thing on the cover on one, and a guy in space armor shooting aliens with bitching weapons on the other. Obviously they're gonna go for the shooter because they know shooters are fun. Meanwhile, Bungie gets rewarded for perfecting a genre while the quirky Namco game bites it or makes a slimmer profit. What's this gonna make Namco do with these results? Pick a game they're sure they can make money out of.

So if you REALLY want to have more original games and less "DIE DIE DIE OMFG I GOT BLOWN UP BY A TANK LOLZORZ!", buy the games that try to be original, even if you might want a game that might be a better experience. That way, if many people do this, the gaming industry is motivated by money to make more creative games. These games will gradually become better as more competition emerges. Basically, this is the only way that original games are going to flourish. True, a Zelda or a Mario might slip in once in a while, but the majority of the new interesting games will never even make the market because businesses dislike risk.
(Note: I like Halo 2, and I think it is a better overall game than Takamari no Damacy. But I think that both deserved to be bought, and only the popular one is actually selling.)

Video games are definitly declining, but there is hope. As new technology comes around, new things can be accomplished. Take for example Dance Dance Revolution. This game is (or was) what could be called revolutionary. Instead of a controler, you have a pad on the floor that you step on the sides of! This is what I think Nintendo is planning for their new concole. More interactive gaming. Virtual reality. Take for instance the DS. The bottom screen on it, as we all know is a touch screen, meaning more interactivity with the game. It is my opponion that Nintendo is testing the market, showing us a little peak of what is to come. I mean, if they can do that, what is to stop them from making even more interactive games. If any of you have seen that Spider Man game where you put on the gloves and shoes to fight through the game, I beleive Nintendo is doing something along those lines, only better. Imagine, controling the entire figure in an RPG, weilding the sword, slashing through enemies, this can be the future of video games, but not if those dence producers don't try to stop making the same game in a different box. In order for video games to survive, we must make new breakthroughs in gaming.

Sounds tiring. I play video games to relax, not to sweat my ass off. Now if we're talking direct neural interface, well then sign me up.

Hollywood has, for decades, been releasing tons and tons of movies each year. Maybe only a handful or so of them are truly memorable, and even fewer are good enough to be rewarded annually with some sort of golden-statue prestige. This does not stop the moviegoing public from shelling out billions of hard-earned dollars each year to munch popcorn in a dark room in front of a potentially crappy film.

Over the last few years, the video game industry has become more lucrative than Hollywood. But the formula with video games is identical to that of movies. Each year, more and more games are released for every platform, but only a select few are really any good. Still, it doesn't stop us from practically breaking down the doors and GameStop or EB to get whichever shit game Electronic Games Monthly is currently being paid big bucks to plaster across their pages.

I tend to rent a lot of games before actually buying. In this way I'm not adding to the decline of video games by rewarding these hacks for their unoriginal, uninspiring, slack-jawed ideas of interactive entertainment.

And don't even get me started on games based on movies...

Wow, I'm surprised you haven't heard of decline of video gaming, or its counterpart, decline of video gaming 2 up until now: These two animations, developed by SuperFlashBros. and DoubleHelix, are considered some of the finest Flash animations out there, and Decline of Videogaming 2 especially is one of my favorites. For a more direct link to it, click here

Edit: Sorry for not reading everyone else's posts: I just wanted to provide a quicker link to this film.