The Real Reason Games Aren't As Good As They Used To Be
I've just been reading a piece about the potential episodes 7, 8 and 9 of the Star Wars series. Regardless of whether the films will ever be made or not, such speculation always strays into how bad episodes 1 and 2 were. I'm not convinced that we wouldn't have been equally enamoured of the first trilogy if it had started with episode 1 back in 1977.
While it is possible to tell stories in a non-sequential manner, when attempting to do so in a format that relies on a very traditional method of story telling it simply doesn't work. I believe that a major part of the disappointment of the newer Star Wars films is the fact that we know how it "ends" we have seen these films' future. We knew that Anekin would survive because he becomes Darth Vader (if you didn't know this, where have you been?) and Obi-Wan lives to a reasonably good age. We knew the relationship between Luke and Darth, so we could easily work out the relationship between Anekin and Amidala almost instantly. With no story tension is there any wonder it falls flat? It's like reading the last chapter of a novel first and then wondering why you didn't enjoy reading the rest of it.
The same is true of television. People constantly complain that TV isn't as good as it used to be (you may see where I'm going here, if not please be patient), but I don't think that's really the case. I believe that it's because they know too much. Magazines and tabloid newspapers constantly run features on TV programmes where they give away important story lines well in advance, so when people watch it there are no surprises and they come away disappointed.
This is the fundamental problem with today's games. We all know way too much about new games before we ever get to play them. Way too many screenshots are published on the internet and in gaming magazines so that when you come to play the game you end up being disappointed because there is nothing new to discover. There is nothing better in a game than discovering a completely new area, either as part of the unfolding story or by beating the end of level boss. When that new level isn't new because you've seen fifty shots from it plastered over the internet, then your gameplay experience is reduced.
I think that the approach that Doom3 and Half-Life2 have taken where the exposure is restricted have really worked in the favour of the games. People get more hyped up because they are seeing so little. Perhaps when the industry matures a little more we will have a more mature approach to marketing than simply throwing out fifty new screenshots every month.
While it is possible to tell stories in a non-sequential manner, when attempting to do so in a format that relies on a very traditional method of story telling it simply doesn't work. I believe that a major part of the disappointment of the newer Star Wars films is the fact that we know how it "ends" we have seen these films' future. We knew that Anekin would survive because he becomes Darth Vader (if you didn't know this, where have you been?) and Obi-Wan lives to a reasonably good age. We knew the relationship between Luke and Darth, so we could easily work out the relationship between Anekin and Amidala almost instantly. With no story tension is there any wonder it falls flat? It's like reading the last chapter of a novel first and then wondering why you didn't enjoy reading the rest of it.
The same is true of television. People constantly complain that TV isn't as good as it used to be (you may see where I'm going here, if not please be patient), but I don't think that's really the case. I believe that it's because they know too much. Magazines and tabloid newspapers constantly run features on TV programmes where they give away important story lines well in advance, so when people watch it there are no surprises and they come away disappointed.
This is the fundamental problem with today's games. We all know way too much about new games before we ever get to play them. Way too many screenshots are published on the internet and in gaming magazines so that when you come to play the game you end up being disappointed because there is nothing new to discover. There is nothing better in a game than discovering a completely new area, either as part of the unfolding story or by beating the end of level boss. When that new level isn't new because you've seen fifty shots from it plastered over the internet, then your gameplay experience is reduced.
I think that the approach that Doom3 and Half-Life2 have taken where the exposure is restricted have really worked in the favour of the games. People get more hyped up because they are seeing so little. Perhaps when the industry matures a little more we will have a more mature approach to marketing than simply throwing out fifty new screenshots every month.
posted by Steve | 7:08 PM
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