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I don't know about you, but I'm starting to notice vague similarities between a lot of games published nowadays, particularly in the FPS genre. I've got a horrible suspicion
that games developers are copying each other now, rather than creating unique ideas of their own. I've listed a couple below.
1) A misplaced desire for realism
Don't get me wrong, I am all in favour of a game being realistic. It's just that some games take realism too far in one direction, whilst ignoring the rest of the game. The
prime miscreant in this case is Red Faction. So much time was spent on hyping up the geo-mod capabilities of the engine that the rest of the game was, quite simply, poor.
Or at least, not as good as it could have been. Obviously, the two most successful games - for creating a believable environment - of recent years have been Half-Life and
Deus Ex. This is because the developers wanted to create an entire world in which the player could immerse him/herself. Yet both games had elements which were completely unrealistic (i.e. Half-life's laser guns and Deus Ex's augmentation system). The ideal 'realism' in a game would be a coherent, believable environment in which any events
that do occur look and feel real (Red Faction's animations and weapons, for example, looked as though they had been created in a rush at the last minute).
2) Sniper rifles
I love sniper rifles. I think they are one of the classiest ways to kill people. However, games developers have realised the love of sniping that some people have, and have
started putting sniper rifles in to every game they create. And they are hopelessly unbalanced.
One-hit-kill weapons are justified in a game - if they are suitably challenging to use. Quake III's railgun for example, is a real challenge to use in a hectic deathmatch, but Counter-strike's AWP was unnecessarily powerful. Red Faction had sniper rifles. They were rubbish, and looked as though they were there simply because the developers had run out of ideas for other weapons.
The best sniper rifle I have seen for a long time is the rifle in Serious Sam 2. It is a complete mockery of what we have come to expect from rifles in games. We want to
be able to hide in the shadows, picking off our targets silently. The SS2 rifle is one of the loudest guns in the game, and causes most enemies to disappear in a shower of
blood/feathers/scales. It's sheer entertainment, but it should be meted out with care, and not chucked in to an unsuitable game simply because 'people like that kind of
thing'.
3) A desire to trade from a licence.
Not really FPS-related, but still a major problem (as far as I'm concerned) in computer gaming. This is the height of laziness for games designers - they are given a basic
concept and told to recreate the environment of their concept source. For example, the 'Big Brother' games. No 'gamer' in their right mind would spend any money based on a game of a poor television series, but the game publishers aren't aiming at actual gamers. No, they're aiming at people who don't know better. Big Brother had appalling reviews everywhere, and it still made the Top-20 in the UK. It's like the game of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?'. Why not buy the book of questions? It's
£25 cheaper, and won't ever crash on you!
Bear in mind, though, that some film licences are perfect for games, and vice versa. The number of Star Wars/Trek games available proves this. Most of Lucasarts Star
Wars games are superb (if we don't mention Force Commander), because they had a high-quality concept, and the game designers were given a limited amount of freedom
when it came to what they wanted to do. They could create entirely new parts of the Star Wars universe (i.e. Jedi Knight and X-Wing Alliance). The designers of 'Family
Fortunes', however, were stuck with a very rigid framework of rules and specifications, and consequently finished with a very poor game.
4) Government Agents dressed in black
When these guys made their first famous appearance in Half-Life as those psycho ninja dudes, they were original and reasonably threatening. However, since then, at
least one government agent (and they always seem to be wearing either a black suit) has a cameo in every game under the sun. Deus Ex had those guys in black suits and
shades. State of Emergency - those guys were straight out of Men In Black. Men In Black was a game all about them, for goodness’ sake! Even the spies in Red Alert had
suits. Surely a spy should at least try to hide himself in his surroundings? Nowadays, whenever I see a guy in suit attack me, I know that he is either working for the
government or some highly secretive corporation (i.e. the Aesir guys in Max Payne). It’s depressing, and makes the game feel less original.
5) Government building lobbies with metal detectors and pillars down the sides
My final gripe is something that is really starting to bug me. I saw it first in Max Payne (which was an obvious tribute to *that* film). Then I realised that the same
thing was used in countless mods all over the place. Half-life’s high quality mod ‘Redemption’ had one scene where you walk in to a room with pillars on both sides,
while marines come through the glass roof and spread out to hide behind the pillars. I could almost hear a terse voice shout “Freeze!”. I appreciate that the government
lobby scene in the film was a superb piece of cinema, but can games designers please realise that the tribute has been paid. They can stop now. Now, when I see that room
layout, I think “Oh, God, not again”. It is pure action but it has been done to death.
Please please please think of something original.
Thanks for listening - that was the longest (and most draining) post I’ve written yet. If you can think of any more ideas that are overused in gaming, I’d really appreciate your input.
that games developers are copying each other now, rather than creating unique ideas of their own. I've listed a couple below.
1) A misplaced desire for realism
Don't get me wrong, I am all in favour of a game being realistic. It's just that some games take realism too far in one direction, whilst ignoring the rest of the game. The
prime miscreant in this case is Red Faction. So much time was spent on hyping up the geo-mod capabilities of the engine that the rest of the game was, quite simply, poor.
Or at least, not as good as it could have been. Obviously, the two most successful games - for creating a believable environment - of recent years have been Half-Life and
Deus Ex. This is because the developers wanted to create an entire world in which the player could immerse him/herself. Yet both games had elements which were completely unrealistic (i.e. Half-life's laser guns and Deus Ex's augmentation system). The ideal 'realism' in a game would be a coherent, believable environment in which any events
that do occur look and feel real (Red Faction's animations and weapons, for example, looked as though they had been created in a rush at the last minute).
2) Sniper rifles
I love sniper rifles. I think they are one of the classiest ways to kill people. However, games developers have realised the love of sniping that some people have, and have
started putting sniper rifles in to every game they create. And they are hopelessly unbalanced.
One-hit-kill weapons are justified in a game - if they are suitably challenging to use. Quake III's railgun for example, is a real challenge to use in a hectic deathmatch, but Counter-strike's AWP was unnecessarily powerful. Red Faction had sniper rifles. They were rubbish, and looked as though they were there simply because the developers had run out of ideas for other weapons.
The best sniper rifle I have seen for a long time is the rifle in Serious Sam 2. It is a complete mockery of what we have come to expect from rifles in games. We want to
be able to hide in the shadows, picking off our targets silently. The SS2 rifle is one of the loudest guns in the game, and causes most enemies to disappear in a shower of
blood/feathers/scales. It's sheer entertainment, but it should be meted out with care, and not chucked in to an unsuitable game simply because 'people like that kind of
thing'.
3) A desire to trade from a licence.
Not really FPS-related, but still a major problem (as far as I'm concerned) in computer gaming. This is the height of laziness for games designers - they are given a basic
concept and told to recreate the environment of their concept source. For example, the 'Big Brother' games. No 'gamer' in their right mind would spend any money based on a game of a poor television series, but the game publishers aren't aiming at actual gamers. No, they're aiming at people who don't know better. Big Brother had appalling reviews everywhere, and it still made the Top-20 in the UK. It's like the game of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?'. Why not buy the book of questions? It's
£25 cheaper, and won't ever crash on you!
Bear in mind, though, that some film licences are perfect for games, and vice versa. The number of Star Wars/Trek games available proves this. Most of Lucasarts Star
Wars games are superb (if we don't mention Force Commander), because they had a high-quality concept, and the game designers were given a limited amount of freedom
when it came to what they wanted to do. They could create entirely new parts of the Star Wars universe (i.e. Jedi Knight and X-Wing Alliance). The designers of 'Family
Fortunes', however, were stuck with a very rigid framework of rules and specifications, and consequently finished with a very poor game.
4) Government Agents dressed in black
When these guys made their first famous appearance in Half-Life as those psycho ninja dudes, they were original and reasonably threatening. However, since then, at
least one government agent (and they always seem to be wearing either a black suit) has a cameo in every game under the sun. Deus Ex had those guys in black suits and
shades. State of Emergency - those guys were straight out of Men In Black. Men In Black was a game all about them, for goodness’ sake! Even the spies in Red Alert had
suits. Surely a spy should at least try to hide himself in his surroundings? Nowadays, whenever I see a guy in suit attack me, I know that he is either working for the
government or some highly secretive corporation (i.e. the Aesir guys in Max Payne). It’s depressing, and makes the game feel less original.
5) Government building lobbies with metal detectors and pillars down the sides
My final gripe is something that is really starting to bug me. I saw it first in Max Payne (which was an obvious tribute to *that* film). Then I realised that the same
thing was used in countless mods all over the place. Half-life’s high quality mod ‘Redemption’ had one scene where you walk in to a room with pillars on both sides,
while marines come through the glass roof and spread out to hide behind the pillars. I could almost hear a terse voice shout “Freeze!”. I appreciate that the government
lobby scene in the film was a superb piece of cinema, but can games designers please realise that the tribute has been paid. They can stop now. Now, when I see that room
layout, I think “Oh, God, not again”. It is pure action but it has been done to death.
Please please please think of something original.
Thanks for listening - that was the longest (and most draining) post I’ve written yet. If you can think of any more ideas that are overused in gaming, I’d really appreciate your input.
Page:
That would be good
I reckon GTA3 could work quite well if some sections were FPS-style. Imagine of you could also enter buildings and shops. You could go in there with a machine gun and threaten the shop owner to give you free stuff - just like how you can threaten people on Goldeneye!
I agree quake 3 arena on the dreacast was dire.
I agree - FPSs are the most fun, but more effort needs to be put in to their production so we are not forced to suffer half-a*sed attempts like Red Faction again.
I reckon that we should see more games like MOH and goldeneye. 1st person shooter are the best games.
hmm, nice topic, yeah i agree that First person Shooters need to be more original.
slik ~_~
slik ~_~
I don't know about you, but I'm starting to notice vague similarities between a lot of games published nowadays, particularly in the FPS genre. I've got a horrible suspicion
that games developers are copying each other now, rather than creating unique ideas of their own. I've listed a couple below.
1) A misplaced desire for realism
Don't get me wrong, I am all in favour of a game being realistic. It's just that some games take realism too far in one direction, whilst ignoring the rest of the game. The
prime miscreant in this case is Red Faction. So much time was spent on hyping up the geo-mod capabilities of the engine that the rest of the game was, quite simply, poor.
Or at least, not as good as it could have been. Obviously, the two most successful games - for creating a believable environment - of recent years have been Half-Life and
Deus Ex. This is because the developers wanted to create an entire world in which the player could immerse him/herself. Yet both games had elements which were completely unrealistic (i.e. Half-life's laser guns and Deus Ex's augmentation system). The ideal 'realism' in a game would be a coherent, believable environment in which any events
that do occur look and feel real (Red Faction's animations and weapons, for example, looked as though they had been created in a rush at the last minute).
2) Sniper rifles
I love sniper rifles. I think they are one of the classiest ways to kill people. However, games developers have realised the love of sniping that some people have, and have
started putting sniper rifles in to every game they create. And they are hopelessly unbalanced.
One-hit-kill weapons are justified in a game - if they are suitably challenging to use. Quake III's railgun for example, is a real challenge to use in a hectic deathmatch, but Counter-strike's AWP was unnecessarily powerful. Red Faction had sniper rifles. They were rubbish, and looked as though they were there simply because the developers had run out of ideas for other weapons.
The best sniper rifle I have seen for a long time is the rifle in Serious Sam 2. It is a complete mockery of what we have come to expect from rifles in games. We want to
be able to hide in the shadows, picking off our targets silently. The SS2 rifle is one of the loudest guns in the game, and causes most enemies to disappear in a shower of
blood/feathers/scales. It's sheer entertainment, but it should be meted out with care, and not chucked in to an unsuitable game simply because 'people like that kind of
thing'.
3) A desire to trade from a licence.
Not really FPS-related, but still a major problem (as far as I'm concerned) in computer gaming. This is the height of laziness for games designers - they are given a basic
concept and told to recreate the environment of their concept source. For example, the 'Big Brother' games. No 'gamer' in their right mind would spend any money based on a game of a poor television series, but the game publishers aren't aiming at actual gamers. No, they're aiming at people who don't know better. Big Brother had appalling reviews everywhere, and it still made the Top-20 in the UK. It's like the game of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?'. Why not buy the book of questions? It's
£25 cheaper, and won't ever crash on you!
Bear in mind, though, that some film licences are perfect for games, and vice versa. The number of Star Wars/Trek games available proves this. Most of Lucasarts Star
Wars games are superb (if we don't mention Force Commander), because they had a high-quality concept, and the game designers were given a limited amount of freedom
when it came to what they wanted to do. They could create entirely new parts of the Star Wars universe (i.e. Jedi Knight and X-Wing Alliance). The designers of 'Family
Fortunes', however, were stuck with a very rigid framework of rules and specifications, and consequently finished with a very poor game.
4) Government Agents dressed in black
When these guys made their first famous appearance in Half-Life as those psycho ninja dudes, they were original and reasonably threatening. However, since then, at
least one government agent (and they always seem to be wearing either a black suit) has a cameo in every game under the sun. Deus Ex had those guys in black suits and
shades. State of Emergency - those guys were straight out of Men In Black. Men In Black was a game all about them, for goodness’ sake! Even the spies in Red Alert had
suits. Surely a spy should at least try to hide himself in his surroundings? Nowadays, whenever I see a guy in suit attack me, I know that he is either working for the
government or some highly secretive corporation (i.e. the Aesir guys in Max Payne). It’s depressing, and makes the game feel less original.
5) Government building lobbies with metal detectors and pillars down the sides
My final gripe is something that is really starting to bug me. I saw it first in Max Payne (which was an obvious tribute to *that* film). Then I realised that the same
thing was used in countless mods all over the place. Half-life’s high quality mod ‘Redemption’ had one scene where you walk in to a room with pillars on both sides,
while marines come through the glass roof and spread out to hide behind the pillars. I could almost hear a terse voice shout “Freeze!”. I appreciate that the government
lobby scene in the film was a superb piece of cinema, but can games designers please realise that the tribute has been paid. They can stop now. Now, when I see that room
layout, I think “Oh, God, not again”. It is pure action but it has been done to death.
Please please please think of something original.
Thanks for listening - that was the longest (and most draining) post I’ve written yet. If you can think of any more ideas that are overused in gaming, I’d really appreciate your input.
that games developers are copying each other now, rather than creating unique ideas of their own. I've listed a couple below.
1) A misplaced desire for realism
Don't get me wrong, I am all in favour of a game being realistic. It's just that some games take realism too far in one direction, whilst ignoring the rest of the game. The
prime miscreant in this case is Red Faction. So much time was spent on hyping up the geo-mod capabilities of the engine that the rest of the game was, quite simply, poor.
Or at least, not as good as it could have been. Obviously, the two most successful games - for creating a believable environment - of recent years have been Half-Life and
Deus Ex. This is because the developers wanted to create an entire world in which the player could immerse him/herself. Yet both games had elements which were completely unrealistic (i.e. Half-life's laser guns and Deus Ex's augmentation system). The ideal 'realism' in a game would be a coherent, believable environment in which any events
that do occur look and feel real (Red Faction's animations and weapons, for example, looked as though they had been created in a rush at the last minute).
2) Sniper rifles
I love sniper rifles. I think they are one of the classiest ways to kill people. However, games developers have realised the love of sniping that some people have, and have
started putting sniper rifles in to every game they create. And they are hopelessly unbalanced.
One-hit-kill weapons are justified in a game - if they are suitably challenging to use. Quake III's railgun for example, is a real challenge to use in a hectic deathmatch, but Counter-strike's AWP was unnecessarily powerful. Red Faction had sniper rifles. They were rubbish, and looked as though they were there simply because the developers had run out of ideas for other weapons.
The best sniper rifle I have seen for a long time is the rifle in Serious Sam 2. It is a complete mockery of what we have come to expect from rifles in games. We want to
be able to hide in the shadows, picking off our targets silently. The SS2 rifle is one of the loudest guns in the game, and causes most enemies to disappear in a shower of
blood/feathers/scales. It's sheer entertainment, but it should be meted out with care, and not chucked in to an unsuitable game simply because 'people like that kind of
thing'.
3) A desire to trade from a licence.
Not really FPS-related, but still a major problem (as far as I'm concerned) in computer gaming. This is the height of laziness for games designers - they are given a basic
concept and told to recreate the environment of their concept source. For example, the 'Big Brother' games. No 'gamer' in their right mind would spend any money based on a game of a poor television series, but the game publishers aren't aiming at actual gamers. No, they're aiming at people who don't know better. Big Brother had appalling reviews everywhere, and it still made the Top-20 in the UK. It's like the game of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?'. Why not buy the book of questions? It's
£25 cheaper, and won't ever crash on you!
Bear in mind, though, that some film licences are perfect for games, and vice versa. The number of Star Wars/Trek games available proves this. Most of Lucasarts Star
Wars games are superb (if we don't mention Force Commander), because they had a high-quality concept, and the game designers were given a limited amount of freedom
when it came to what they wanted to do. They could create entirely new parts of the Star Wars universe (i.e. Jedi Knight and X-Wing Alliance). The designers of 'Family
Fortunes', however, were stuck with a very rigid framework of rules and specifications, and consequently finished with a very poor game.
4) Government Agents dressed in black
When these guys made their first famous appearance in Half-Life as those psycho ninja dudes, they were original and reasonably threatening. However, since then, at
least one government agent (and they always seem to be wearing either a black suit) has a cameo in every game under the sun. Deus Ex had those guys in black suits and
shades. State of Emergency - those guys were straight out of Men In Black. Men In Black was a game all about them, for goodness’ sake! Even the spies in Red Alert had
suits. Surely a spy should at least try to hide himself in his surroundings? Nowadays, whenever I see a guy in suit attack me, I know that he is either working for the
government or some highly secretive corporation (i.e. the Aesir guys in Max Payne). It’s depressing, and makes the game feel less original.
5) Government building lobbies with metal detectors and pillars down the sides
My final gripe is something that is really starting to bug me. I saw it first in Max Payne (which was an obvious tribute to *that* film). Then I realised that the same
thing was used in countless mods all over the place. Half-life’s high quality mod ‘Redemption’ had one scene where you walk in to a room with pillars on both sides,
while marines come through the glass roof and spread out to hide behind the pillars. I could almost hear a terse voice shout “Freeze!”. I appreciate that the government
lobby scene in the film was a superb piece of cinema, but can games designers please realise that the tribute has been paid. They can stop now. Now, when I see that room
layout, I think “Oh, God, not again”. It is pure action but it has been done to death.
Please please please think of something original.
Thanks for listening - that was the longest (and most draining) post I’ve written yet. If you can think of any more ideas that are overused in gaming, I’d really appreciate your input.
Page: