Upgrading For The Sake Of Upgrading

Many modern games have become too reliant on aesthetics and narrative content. The aesthetics and extensive story line of modern games are of amazing quality; however, it seems that these are becoming some of the most important factors in the game and consequently the story often ends up being average or poor quality. Or, more frequently, the cutscenes/cinematics can often disrupt the flow of game play and therefore the player’s immersion in the game as well.

First person shooter (FPS) games are a prime example of this as they have decreased in length and ingenuity. Single player is now like an extended tutorial for online gaming. Games are designed with a short single player campaign (6-12 hours or so, which is relatively short compared to previous FPS games). Furthermore, it is argued that there is a lack of replay value (besides online) in the modern FPS, whereas in the older games one was able to play them over and over. Nowadays one is expected to clock up hundreds of hours of gaming time online - where the developers put most of their attention. The developers are encouraging online gaming so that they are able to persuade players to buy new gear (guns/armor/clothing/etc) to give them an advantage over other players. An online player is able to buy new map packs and other content which consequently extends the game. This means that the developer can sell these add-ons for perhaps 1/10^th of the prices, and sell 5 or 6 of them, and through doing this they have made almost the same amount of money as the original game cost, even though they may have only done 100^th of the work.

FPS games have made the transition into a slower paced strategic and tactical experience. Even though modern FPS games are aesthetically pleasing and often quite realistic it is argued that they have become more simplistic in their map design and thus limits the ability to explore. The simplicity of the map increases the linearity of the storyline as well as the cinematic aspects and number of cut scenes. This is seen amongst gamers as both positive and negative - sometimes it is considered too cinematic and too linear, thus removing the immersed feeling of fear and danger. For these reasons many FPS games are now often seen as 'interactive movies'. Developers need to take notice of this, and start considering marketing these new styles of game as a whole new type of media that fits in somewhere between film and game. The image below highlights the changes of older FPS games and new ones.

http://rampantgames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/BITmX-650x519.jpg retrieved on 14/01/2012

Wanda Hart