The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
A post from 1/2pint about the lack of originality in games got me thinking about the future, and I began to wonder......
Could it be that in a distant rosy future, videogames will have gone the way of cinema in the year 2002? It's not too unbelievable to imagine the massmarket saturated by corporate big-budget, highly-hyped and untimately unsatisfying pap akin to the majority of Hollywood's cinematic output of today, forcing anything not conforming to the stereotype of a bestseller to be denied shelf space. How far from that situation are we really at the moment anyway? I dare say far closer than most of us would like.
"But wait, what light though yonder window breaks? Tis the East, and independant videogame producers are the Sun". Could it be that in a strange parallel to modern arthouse cinema, that small, independant softcos will produce innovative and thought-provoking games on a shoestring budget with little or no marketing cash, that will be distributed to the discerning few via small independant retailers (or more likely directly from the makers electronically)? This resurgence movement is already beginning today - an example is pompom.org.uk, a small team making retro-shoot'em ups for PC, and selling directly to the consumer. Their games have received critical acclaim from the likes of Edge magazine, but they're still pretty much unknown to the average gamer.
Here's to innovation in games. Long may it live, however it gets to us, the gamers.
Could it be that in a distant rosy future, videogames will have gone the way of cinema in the year 2002? It's not too unbelievable to imagine the massmarket saturated by corporate big-budget, highly-hyped and untimately unsatisfying pap akin to the majority of Hollywood's cinematic output of today, forcing anything not conforming to the stereotype of a bestseller to be denied shelf space. How far from that situation are we really at the moment anyway? I dare say far closer than most of us would like.
"But wait, what light though yonder window breaks? Tis the East, and independant videogame producers are the Sun". Could it be that in a strange parallel to modern arthouse cinema, that small, independant softcos will produce innovative and thought-provoking games on a shoestring budget with little or no marketing cash, that will be distributed to the discerning few via small independant retailers (or more likely directly from the makers electronically)? This resurgence movement is already beginning today - an example is pompom.org.uk, a small team making retro-shoot'em ups for PC, and selling directly to the consumer. Their games have received critical acclaim from the likes of Edge magazine, but they're still pretty much unknown to the average gamer.
Here's to innovation in games. Long may it live, however it gets to us, the gamers.
I'm not too sure that "retro" and "innovation" go together, but I do like the idea of arthouse games. Games made solely for artistic and creative value, rather than watered down for the mass market.
The best films and music are found at the "fringe", and (in the future?) I think the best games will be found at the fringe (so to speak).
The best films and music are found at the "fringe", and (in the future?) I think the best games will be found at the fringe (so to speak).
A post from 1/2pint about the lack of originality in games got me thinking about the future, and I began to wonder......
Could it be that in a distant rosy future, videogames will have gone the way of cinema in the year 2002? It's not too unbelievable to imagine the massmarket saturated by corporate big-budget, highly-hyped and untimately unsatisfying pap akin to the majority of Hollywood's cinematic output of today, forcing anything not conforming to the stereotype of a bestseller to be denied shelf space. How far from that situation are we really at the moment anyway? I dare say far closer than most of us would like.
"But wait, what light though yonder window breaks? Tis the East, and independant videogame producers are the Sun". Could it be that in a strange parallel to modern arthouse cinema, that small, independant softcos will produce innovative and thought-provoking games on a shoestring budget with little or no marketing cash, that will be distributed to the discerning few via small independant retailers (or more likely directly from the makers electronically)? This resurgence movement is already beginning today - an example is pompom.org.uk, a small team making retro-shoot'em ups for PC, and selling directly to the consumer. Their games have received critical acclaim from the likes of Edge magazine, but they're still pretty much unknown to the average gamer.
Here's to innovation in games. Long may it live, however it gets to us, the gamers.
Could it be that in a distant rosy future, videogames will have gone the way of cinema in the year 2002? It's not too unbelievable to imagine the massmarket saturated by corporate big-budget, highly-hyped and untimately unsatisfying pap akin to the majority of Hollywood's cinematic output of today, forcing anything not conforming to the stereotype of a bestseller to be denied shelf space. How far from that situation are we really at the moment anyway? I dare say far closer than most of us would like.
"But wait, what light though yonder window breaks? Tis the East, and independant videogame producers are the Sun". Could it be that in a strange parallel to modern arthouse cinema, that small, independant softcos will produce innovative and thought-provoking games on a shoestring budget with little or no marketing cash, that will be distributed to the discerning few via small independant retailers (or more likely directly from the makers electronically)? This resurgence movement is already beginning today - an example is pompom.org.uk, a small team making retro-shoot'em ups for PC, and selling directly to the consumer. Their games have received critical acclaim from the likes of Edge magazine, but they're still pretty much unknown to the average gamer.
Here's to innovation in games. Long may it live, however it gets to us, the gamers.