The Future: Social Games and AAA Games

 

They say the future is always clouded and that nobody can predict it. I happen to agree.

However, some things are clear and for the game industry these are the things I see.

The most important one? How internet games are going to get more and more attention than AAA titles. You’ve all heard of games like “Farmville”, “Mafia Wars” and other such games right? Maybe some of you even play them once and awhile or are totally addicted to them. Me, personally I don’t like them that much because I’ve always lived my gaming life in the AAA titles. However, more people are focusing their attention to these kinds of games and are making them very cheap or free to use so they can attract more people and get more money this way. Now I don’t think this thing will last as long as most people think it will. Eventually this stuff will die out until something new comes out, but it will stay for awhile.

Why?

Well for one, it’s free and people love to get free stuff. The games are easy to understand and for those trying to work in the game industry these games make a good start to work on when you’re starting out. All the big companies don’t want prodigies. They want people who know how to work in a team, know about the game industry itself, and have spent two or three years working on games. Social games are great for gaining experience. 

Another reason is that most of the games don’t need any sort of updated software or a console. You just need your computer and a connection to the internet. People don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars getting a new console or upgrading their PC’s to get the requirements to play the game, you just click and go.

So why do I, and a lot of other gamers, don’t like these kinds of games? A lot of companies are focusing on these social games so much that those who do want to do AAA titles have no choice but to comply and work on these when we want to play and create the next God of War or Demon Souls. But it’s simple to understand why these companies keep on issuing demands for more social games, its money. 

Now I’m not going to go on a rampage and say why companies should focus more on creativity then money because A: Our economy sucks. B: It’s the same artist vs. business crap we hear every day. And C: It’s just how business works. When you look at the rank on how Zynga, the company that made Farmville, was worth 5.51 Billion compared to EA’s 5.22 Billion last year in October then that says something.

We also have more people going to the social games and such because the game industry is, in my opinion, at a turn. We have had the longest console time ever with the 360, PS3, and Wii and there is no sight of a new console being made yet.  A lot of bad games are being made with the only big ones being from the same companies we always see, which are a bad sign; I think we need to see a few new rising stars. People are getting laid off (no surprise), companies are going down (again no surprise), things are costing more,and with the state the world is in with the economic backlash (Yes even you China, we all know your faking it) everything is just harder. 

We also have a few idiots in the gaming industry who really need to get a bash on the head and start taking the industry seriously. Don’t come into this industry unless you’re serious because we have been trying for years to get everyone to take us as a real business and we’ve only gotten one foot out the door, don’t ruin it for us!

But I faith that everything will work out. AAA titles will be good again and social games will be like 95 percent of all the flash games you play on Newgrounds, just things to play if nothing else is left.

And if that don’t work….well there’s always hoping of a zombie apocalypse.

Later.

Narrative or Gameplay?

 VS

                 For all those people who think that Game Design is all about story and narrative while creating characters and their personalities, then please hit yourself on the head and wake up. That is not it at all Game Designing is about. Narrative is an important part of being a Game Designer, but the most important part is the gameplay, specifically the mechanics of a game.

                This is a discussion that has been talked about for some time in the game industry. What is more important and what should we focus on more? Most people say that gameplay is a more important issue to deal with and I happen to agree. However, we shouldn’t ignore the aspects of narrative either. After all, every game tells a story like any other media and while it may not be like Hollywood or novel like, story telling is still something that should be looked up to more. But before you make any story really work, you need to focus on the Gameplay aspects of the game first. After all, unlike movies and books, games are an interactive experience. The player must be doing something to progress the game forward so it can continue to the end. Even games that focus heavily on narrative have some aspect of interaction. You may have a great story, but that won’t matter if the player doesn’t find the game interesting through its mechanics. 

                Take a game like Call of Duty. You run around shooting people. Core mechanic is that and it does it well. Aiming, reloading, picking up weapons, how far the bullets go, damage, the perks, attachments, and more all change the experience of the players actions and the experience they feel playing the game. Story wise it’s like a regular commando movie about stopping terrorism from destroying America, boring. But because of its gameplay, Call of Duty is the most popular first person shooter game around. Then you take a game like Heavy Rain where the only main mechanics are motion control, quick time events, and a few puzzles. Most of the game is story based, but it was a successful game because it was done so well. Visual Novels, which are like choose your own adventure games, only have a story and clicking a choice. That’s it. Yet thousands of these are all over Japan. Granted the majority of them having hentai scenes may play a part of it, but the fact that these games are so popular in Japan, as well with a certain audience in America, is amazing.

                  The reason why we need gameplay more than narrative is simple. If we have no interaction with the game…then it’s not a game. Any game you can think of features you doing something from moving a joy stick to clicking buttons in a certain order. Even board games have you doing stuff like moving pawns or rolling dice. It’s this interactivity that makes games enjoyable and special. Be it casting a spell or slicing a demon in half or ordering a squad of troops to take out an enemy tank; this is what we as Game Designers need to focus on the most in order to draw our audiences in.

                So while some games do focus more on story, it’s important to remember that gameplay is always needed and, in most cases, is the most important aspect. Without gameplay, the game doesn’t exist. That is not to say that gameplay and narrative can’t blend. Look at Deux Ex and Mass Effect. These games have blended both pretty well and are looked at by many Game Designers for inspiration to blend both of them. So while we still are trying to find the perfect way to combine both, we must remember that for our games we need to make our games interactive.

We are Gamers and  we are Legion!

Later

Top 10 games that I think influenced the year

Well 2010 was a lot of things, video games being one of them. We had a lot of good ones and bad ones this year that have influenced us. Some deserve more credit than others and this is my opinion why.

(ALL opinions are mine. Also I do not own any images shown in this post)

Top 10 that I think influenced the year most are:

1. Modern Warfare Black Ops: Not only did this break MW2’s record for most sales in 24 hours; it’s a more improved version of it. I’m serious, I like both games, but MWBO was faster, had better controls, and more multiplayer options that were more fun, like Barebones.The guns and kill streaks were well thought out for the cold war atmosphere, which is a better feeling then the WWII world we no longer love. Yet it’s not so different from the Modern Warfare feeling which we still do love. Plus, it had you killing zombies as JFK and that’s cool. The single player is also much better then it’s predecessors with great visuals, a better storyline, and a lot more intense action and difficulty. You will die a lot in this game, but you will continue playing regardless of your frustration because it’s hardcore. Really hardcore. Even if you didn’t like it, you have to admit it was one of the most talked about games before and after its launch and still is.

2. Minecraft: Even if you don’t play it like me, you have to admit this is amazing. A single beta version of the game only and millions play it all over the country. The unique thing is that it’s not so much used as a game as it is for constructing the world around you into a scene then posting the work online for others to see your creativity. We’ve all seen pictures of people making places, people, events, and more with the tools used. It’s innovative, creative, and allows the player a lot more freedom then most games. Best of all it’s simple to understand. This isn’t even the Gold Disk version of it, so who knows what the finished product will look like.

3. Red Dead Redemption: This game blew everybody’s mind. It was such a total 360 twist from its original counterpart that I wondered sometimes if I was watching a Wild West movie instead of a game. If there was ever a game better then GTA in sandbox gameplay it was this game. Everything around you is always happening in real time, the gun mechanics have greatly improve, the story is something out of a Clint Eastwood film, and the online gameplay is tons of fun for everyone. It’s perfect and there’s nothing else to say else about it. Even its DLC, Undead Nightmare, was great. Heck, that was a game all on its own. If you don’t have this game, buy it now.

4. Assassins Creed Brotherhood: This game is just…wow. Some of us wondered if this was just a DLC or a sequel. Turns out it was a sequel that was completely awesome and, although familiar, offered new ideas to the game that made us continue assassinating people over and over again. I’ve only played it a few times with a dorm mate, but from what little missions I did I could see many improvements. For one thing, you are actually judged based on how well you did your mission which gives you more money if you’re a better assassin. You don’t need to do the whole building town crap, but just improve stuff on a whim. The best part is that you can train your own assassins, make a guild, sent them out into world missions or use them to help you kill targets that are hard to reach. It makes you feel like your really are part of a guild of assassins. Besides the new items and weapons the only more awesome thing about the game is the multiplayer. All I can say is just play it and you won’t put the controller down.

5. Civilization V: Now Civilization has always been an impressive game series, but this one takes the cake. While some features are gone, the new AI is easier for newcomers and the graphics are just eye dropping. It’s more than just a strategy game, this time you are creating and ruling a civilization that is growing by your choices and standards. You can be a peaceful nation, a war nation, be democratic, be communist, focus on trade, focus on art, invent new technology and more. Everything you do is by your hands and always effects the world overall, not just yourself. You can even pit your civilization against others online. Everything from the song to the cutscenes is enough to make you want to play again and again.

6. Mass Effect 2: This came out way early this year, but it deserves to be on this list. The sequel to one of the greatest narrative games of all time is not only better then the first game, it’s learned from the first game. No more Mako and no more multiple weapons while changing them every 3 minutes. Instead we get faster paced action, a new way to interrupt speeches in a funny or bad ass way, and a story in a galaxy that is darker than we thought it was originally. Mass Effect 2 is like a Space Western Movie where you’re on own and almost everyone is against you. The characters are each special and well designed in both the looks department and personality (Jack being my favorite), the worlds are unique and special in their own way, and the best part? You get to see the choices you made in the first one effect the world of the second game now and it’s never the same no matter how many games you play. That’s just awesome narrative right there mixed with gameplay, god bless you Bioware. This game is looked upon as making the most interactive experience in a game ever and is used for examples in every field making this a must see. 

7. Pokémon Black and White: Pokémon is, and always will be, remembered as one of the fastest and most popular video games to spread out worldwide. A huge mega hit in Japan, it’s already broken most records and is still being sold in Japan as its number one game. Sadly it’s not out in the US until March of this year, but some people are already buying from Japan and learning Japanese just to play the game. Others are getting ready to order it or are talking about it on forms and such. It’s gotten much talk since word of it came out long ago and already we got anime, manga, fanfiction, fan art, and more dedicated to this game then you can think. Even though it’s not in the US, this is still something that has caused a lot of influence this year so it should be counted. The reason its lower is because it’s not out here yet.

8. Monster Hunter 3: Although this came out last year in Japan, I’m going to count this because of the influence it had in west this year. Monster Hunter was never a game I got into, but apparently everyone else did. You are a hunter with a giant ass sword who goes around, with other players if you want, to kill giant colossus sized monsters ranging from dinosaurs to dragons and more. In my college, at least 10 people I saw were talking about this game all semester in every class I went too. Great visuals, realistic monsters, tons of fun they say. Maybe I’ll check it out. But since coming out into the US it’s been the talk for months and is not stopping anytime soon.

9. Final Fantasy 13: This game was more than just beautiful; it was a new step for the entire series. JRPG’s are not popular here in America, but Final Fantasy has always been one of the few exceptions. A new gameplay experience, level up system, storyline well written, and music as awesome as always. Final Fantasy XIII brought a lot to the gaming world. It brought a chance to make the art tell the story and showed a new never before seen battle system that was familiar to old players, but new and creative for a chance in pace. The animation is so real and so visual that you have to respect the artists for their dedication and if you are a Game Artist, this is a game you should study and analyze. If Game Designers have Mass Effect, then Artists has FF13. One of the best the series has given us in a long time.

10. 360 Kinect and Playstation Move: While they are not really games, they deserve the spot because of the hype and uniqueness they brought to their systems. Now I, like many, didn’t think much of the two and felt that it was going to either fail and bring more harm to the industry or succeed and bring a new experience that would change it. To my surprise, and joy, it was neither. Despite being somewhat successful it didn’t ruin the industry nor did it improve it. Still, it used new technology and was talk about a lot so it gets a spot.

And that’s what I think the top 10 are.

If you agree or disagree, please state why or ask questions!

Later and let’s hope the new year is good.