http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1784975,00.asp

Interesting article. While I don't particularly agree, I found it an interesting read anyway, and food for good discussion here on polycount.

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The categories are shooters, puzzles and mazes, adventure games, sports games, and simulations. That's it. Most of today's hottest games are combinations of two or three of these categories, with a storyline added to keep the players from being bored stiff. When my kids show me a game, I usually say that it's nothing but the same old running-jumping-kicking-shooting with a new background. They leave in a huff.

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This guy's a wanker. If the same logic were applied to Hollywood, movies would have been over decades ago. People like playing games like prize fighters like winning fights.

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None of this will save a doomed industry. The business is going to attempt to sustain growth and creativity by making game players buy newer and newer machines. Computer gaming has always been sustained by never-ending improvements in resolution and realism. But once we get to photorealism, what is going to sustain growth?

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Holograms. Duh.

That article is written by John C. Dvorak. That guy is a real technical comedian. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Posted this in the chatroom recently. I agree with him.

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what is going to sustain growth?

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Smell-o-vision, of course.

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If that doesn't flatten the market, the never-ending need to satisfy the demanding full-time game-player should do it. Some of today's games are ridiculously hard to play—unless gaming is your so-called life—and so daunting to casual players that they will quickly reject them. Who needs to devote themselves to a game just to play it once in a while? I'll take Spider Solitaire instead.

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Wow this guy got under my skin [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] "So-called life"? I'd call active and interactive entertainment a far cry from planting the ass on the couch and pounding a six-pack while watching Survivor. His kids should kick his ass.

I don't think games not ever re-inventing the wheel is the worst thing in the world, and certainly not going to bring it's downfall. Things that always keep me interested in new games are aesthetics, stories, etc. Now of course if something came along that was the next big thing like first person shooters then I would be excited. Another point would be to take a hard look at the movie industry, there isn't anything new or revolutionary there and it stays strong as well.

Yeah. I dont understand what peoples obsession with "newness" is. What story is ever truely NEW? What movie(characters, conflict, love, loss)? Game? Sport (throwing/dribbling/running/hitting with some shape/size of ball)? Anything?

Christ. Get real. Grow up. If YOU are bored, don't cry the sky is falling just because you've ceased to enjoy something. Many of the rest of us still enjoy things long after they are "old school".

"OMG that story is just a combination of english words that have been used billions of times before! OLD! Boring!"

The determined stifling of creativity, is currently, what is killing the industry. Independants are scared to go out on a limb... the Corporates are cracking the whip to the tune of a cheap dollar. With a big yellow smiley face. Be happy. Enjoy. Destroy.

Its not the use, its the intent. Human kind is always redefining itself. So yes certain methods have been used before. THey still can be fresh based on how they are used. Hollywood is still evolving. Do you remember the bullet time of matrix? We are a much younger industry, and we are talking about how we are already doomed to have "discovered it all". BS.

To simply say everything has been done before is a cope out.

As per the article, I agree to an extent but would point to the industry not "growing up" with its expanded age audience. Kids dont have alot of $50. to spend repeatedly. Adults do, but adults have seen many of the same ideas before.

I totally agree with this. Is anyone here working at a company making a game that would be considered a new genre? Anything really groundbreaking in terms of gameplay? Most of the things that are being done are all visual, and less attention being payed towards creating unique gameplay experiences that people can enjoy. Normal maps and HDR effects are nice, but that doesn't make a good game.

Most people don't know how bad something sucks until after they've bought/watched it. It can be the hype this weekend, and dead in two months. Either way, the industries get your money. Each small step is marketed as the next revolution to slowly drain you. That's how it became an industry. I probably won't buy the next systems unless I can hook a small headset to the back and leave the joystick behind. Joysticks are so 80's. But no, let's add another joystick. Hell, let's have four!!!

It's been happening for ages, kids grow up and realize everything's been done before. The industry is going to make what is popular, remember the good ol days? Don't you think it's funny how pretty much every single game was a platformer?

I think John was just being lazy and had to meet a deadline so he fell back on the old standby, pick a subject and then complain about the lack of innovation etc...

"am I the only one upset about the lack of new colors today? Artist are content to just mix 2 or three colors together and leave it at that, where are the innovators?

Well, pretty much everything that I love in life has been done before. Sex, food, fine wine, music, art, conversation, martial arts, etc. etc. You name it, I can pretty much guarantee that it's been done before.

His logic is fundamentally flawed.

Just because something has been done before does not mean that it is not worth doing again. Put a new spin on it, and it's still good. And the games are still fun.

One thing I am upset about is the lack of pinball games and point n' click adventure games

John C. Dvorak has made sex seem boring.

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John C. Dvorak has made sex seem boring.

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well maybe you should try a new position instead of making him do all the work.

Trust me, whatever position that you come up with, it has been done before.

I mean, we should just shoot ourselves, except for the fact that has also been done before.

Doesn't matter once he opens his mouth you be asleep befor you could pull the trigger.

Holy crap. He insulted Starship Troopers. HOW DARE HE!!

Not more of this 'The end is nigh' stuff.. . .

r.

Ill say that the next 5 years will probably see a culling of the herd in the industry but Dvorak's pessimistic "Doom4" attitude is unwarranted. The movie industry parellel mentioned above is good. Just because its been done before doesnt mean its not worth doing again if only to develop the skills that might one day discover a new way of approaching it. If theather had gotten old to the ancient Greeks and they had abandoned it where would we be today? Ive seen and read Dvorak before, true to form here he betrays his total lack of imagination. You may not see whats coming over the horizon but if you want to you'll have to keep walking your path one step at a time. That said if the glass really is half empty its interesting to note that before great falls great societies tend to get restless with boredom from the same old parlor tricks. The colluseum wasnt as bloody in the beginning, at least not gorey as it got towards the end. I cant wait to watch a Survivor where the two tribes dont do silly games to compete but rather fashion crude weapons then hunt and slaughter one another in the jungle.

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He neglected to mention a new genre that has earnest room to grow, MMORPG's.

We'll all be rooned!

...ah, probably something that only a few of the Australians will get. I think rather than looking at this all this talk of impending doom, we should look upon the forced change as our very own little renaissance.

The movement needs to begin somewhere and I say where better than here. Instead of just going over the same wailing and gnashing of teeth again and again, why don't we put our heads together and work out exactly how we're going to spark this revloution.

To be honest, I really only posted this because I'm tired of the topics in general discussion lately. I'll try to figure out a better one that I actually agree with and that we haven't gone over to death, tomorrow.

How about how AI and your ability to interact the the game world haven't kept up grapical advancements with and are actually worse than some older games?