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| Every scene sticks in my mind. |
Maybe I'm getting old but I'm starting
to notice a trend in the games industry lately. It seems that even
though online gaming is at it's biggest ever, the longevity of of
those experiences are weakening. I've been thinking about how to kill
time until the UK release of the latest Fire Emblem game and I
thought back to Chrono Trigger. “Maybe I could go grab some of
those endings that I missed” Then I thought about my memories of
the game. Mini-games at the millennial fair, punishment based on
your subtle and not so subtle actions at the court case, seeing the
depressing state of the future, learning how everything ties
together. Chrono Trigger really stuck with me and it was just one of
many games.
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| Persona 3 was a great example of game I always like looking back on. |
Flash forward to the current
generation. I played a few of the earlier Call of Duty games and
despite the hate it gets, is actually a solid shooter. The problem is
that it has left me with nothing. I don't remember the story much or
what I was fighting for, something to do with guns I’m sure. Okay
fine, It's an online game...I can dig it. Problem is...I don't
remember much about my experiences with the online either. I got
stressed more than a few times and I got some cool head shots but I
don’t really “remember” them. The next version of Call of Duty
made the last mostly obsolete. Call of Duty was a game that you were
supposed to dispose of when you were done..
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| I think this is from Modern Warfare 2? |
This is not to say that all games in
recent memory have been this way. Some of the most striking games
have come from this gen. Bioshock, Journey, Dark Souls, Ni No Kuni.
That being said, there is a alarming increase in throw away games and
it just kind of makes me sad. I don't want my games to just be time
sponges, I want them to be experiences that I really take in. Maybe
it's a change in business model, maybe it's changed according to the
needs of majority of gamers. Maybe games have always been something
to whittle away their free time with.
I dare say there are plenty of throw
away games from earlier generations. Fighting games are probably the
most guilty offender here. Why own Street Fighter II when Turbo is
out? In their defence, this was also a method to perfect the game
itself but the end result is the same. Sell Street Fighter II because
Turbo is better in every possible way. Most people have learnt their
lesson with fighting games (myself excluded) in that it's best to
wait for the Hyper Rainbow Super Turbo Remix EX Alpha GOTY edition.
It is however harder to draw the line with the next Battlefield or
Call of Duty, exactly when you should jump into a new game.
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| No Super Bars Yet. |
Maybe I'm wrong and I missed something,
maybe most gamers prefer to move on with their games. As long as
there is space enough for both mindsets, I'm fine with it, if it's
what people want. It might be too strong a word that the industry is
evolving but there is no doubt that it's changing.
