Our youth today do not comprehend what makes a video game special. They approach their purchases based on superior graphics and on-line functionality. A night of gaming consists of trash-talking to other gamers, ruining their experiences. They have not grown up with the innocence of gaming that generation x had the pleasure to. Back when Nintendo and Sega games were a bunch of sprites traveling from left to right, the programmers focused on game play, the cornerstone of what makes a game so unique. Today's games do focus on that same concept, but our youth seem to ignore it. It doesn't help their case that companies like EA and Activision churn out sequels every year, and turn once great gaming concepts into bland experiences. Examples include the Tony Hawk series, Medal of Honor, Tomb Raider, Madden and now the EA developed Skate 2.
The latter of which has had great reviews thus far. However; in three years, when we reach the fifth incarnation, how many fresh concepts will the developer really be able to put into their work? We need more original content. The companies tell us that in order to see these new concepts, they need to make money on their established franchises. That is absolutely understandable, because it is indeed a business after all. Why then, do they release the original content in the fall, where hundreds of games are released and subsequently are lost in the shuffle. Mirror's Edge is a prime example for the last holiday season. A unique game by the makers of the Battlefield franchise is released when other established franchises rule the charts, thus getting lost and it sits on the shelves. It is a shame to see these fantastic experiences, truly unique game play worlds falter under the foot of advertising. It seems the only way to get these Game Publishers to listen up, is to use our wallets and stay informed as to what is being released, and to post on their forums or write directly to them en masse to get their attention.
How then, do we force these publishers to experiment with new concepts and release them at a time where they will be successful? How do we reclaim these unique experiences that are dwindling slowly? These new-school gamers who grow up on PlayStation 2 or Xbox have not lived in the simple worlds that the twenty to thirty somethings were forced to. There is no way for them to realize what makes a game special if they keep seeing boring sequels produced. The old-school gamer used his or her imagination when viewing these simple worlds, and had a blast doing it. A prime example for this takes us back to my youth.
Playing Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the Sega Genesis, there is a particular part in a level that a secondary character implies for Sonic to follow him. In my eleven year old mind, I would think Sonic at least nods his head. So that's what I made him do. I simply nodded when the secondary character made a gesture to follow. There was no real reason to do it other than the game had already made me feel apart of the world, so I was just extending my simple experience without thinking about it. Those days are long over, and now we have voice acting and sweeping stories to stimulate our brains. This is a great extension of that simple old-school gamer life we all enjoyed, and of course it was inevitable.
It is great to see these games come to life now. Our youth today take it for granted, and as such, demand more of the same drivel. Of course, ironically, all drivel starts with a "fresh" concept. Even if that game will be a retread of an established genre. In the near future, more developers will be the old-school gamer that lived with the original Mario and Sonic. Eventually we will see generation x become a CEO or President of a large company, allowing for some new advertising ideas and thoughts to be injected into this booming industry. The gaming community needs to come together, and stake a claim in what future gaming will be all about. Maybe, just maybe, the parents of video game past will show their children what it really means to be a gamer, and our industry will enter a new golden age.
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