Following on from a previous post about Japanese
Role-Playing games (JRPGs) I wondered if people had any thoughts on any other
genres which may be seen as obsolete in the near future and what other types of
games might need reinvention. Some questions to spark discussion:
a) What genres/types of games do you see as needing to change or evolve in the current gaming climate, or have you seen any examples of this already happening?
b) Do you see any trends in gaming that you think
will affect how certain types of games will react with one another? And are these changes for the better or worse,
or simply just different?
c) Is there any chance that we will see new types
of games and genres emerging in the future, or will everything simply be a
mash-up or rebrand of previous themes? Do you have any ideas of a new genre of game?
I know it seems like exam questions but I hope its helpful in generating discussion.
Also I'd rather we didn't get caught up in the term 'genre'; I'm not trying to get into what makes a genre, whether that word can exist in modern games etc. - thats something for a future post! - what I'm talking about are the general terms we use like RPG, FPS, Strategy, Racing, etc.
To start things off:
ReplyDeletea) I think racing games and fighting games have needed a revamp for a while. Racing games are moving more down the more trigger-intensive, action-heavy route with games like Need for Speed and Burnout being market leaders right now. I think there's still a place for games like Forza and Gran Turismo but they are the minority now compared to the new(ish) breed of intense racing games.
Fighting games still need something new, not sure what.
b) I think pretty much all games are taking tips (for better or worse) from games like Modern Warfare which focus more on spectacle and scripted but exciting-looking gameplay, and a heavier focus on multiplayer too. Introducing multiplayer modes into typically non-multiplayer genres (see ME3) I think is going to be an outcome here, as well as more budget put into graphics than into creative ideas.
c) I think we've reached a point where the most innovation and unique ideas are coming from indie games or small-scale ventures (see Portal, Braid, Limbo, Minecraft). I'm not sure if we'll see many new genres hitting the mainstream but I imagine simpler games like Angry Birds or Plants vs. Zombies that can be on multiple forms of media will become more and more prominent even on home consoles in some form. Cross-media is the future I feel.
I'm going to try and address all the points you've listed, but it doesn't really fit with the structure of what I want to say:
ReplyDeleteI think one genre that already is evolving is the RPG. Most big release games look for ways to include RPG elements, as they're a brilliant way to reward players. Achievements do this as well, but including upgradeable gear, having different classes with different abilities, improving basic stats (e.g. improved reaction time, speed, damage) or modifying character appearance are all things that have their birth in the early RPGs, but have been massively taken up with other genres. Even things which were traditionally pure RPG territory (gaining exp from a kill, for example) are now starting to feature in other games (such as the recent Halo titles).
I think this means in the future that RPGs are going to have to adapt further, or risk being subsumed by other genres. Borderlands, for example, was pretty much right on the border (no pun intended) of the lands (okay, pun intended) of RPG and FPS. Was Castle Crashers an action style RPG, or was it an action adventure game with RPG elements?
I don't think I have a clear idea of what form future RPGs will take, but I hope that it will be a very exciting one
Interesting idea there about RPG elements creeping into other genres, is actually very true; again back to Modern Warfare, that game has almost single-handedly popularised the idea of 'Perks' in an FPS and given players more incentives to play beyond simply winning. Even the idea of Achievements/Trophies themselves is a form of all-encompasing RPG, and I can imagine on future consoles them expanding on this idea even further (Levelling up? Reward system? 'Loot'?)
ReplyDeleteGreat point Pas
TF2 has the idea of looting and using achievements to unlock stuff..
ReplyDeleteSo ur questions, basically asking bout past, present and future games I think...
Old genres are all going to have to change I think. Every game nowadays seems to like to involve an RPG element like you said. Puzzles games are now pretty much mini games or levels in most major action type games now (All RPGs, Uncharted, Zelda and FPS to a point). However I think that certain genres like Puzzle or RPG will have to get more innoviative rather than copying other genres. For instance, Mario Kart needs more balance and new racing concepts...
For the present, I hope games will try to do the things they do best better, rather than try to emulate what others do. I want CoD to be even more epicly scripted and Assassin's Creed to be even more open exploration.
For the future, I'm looking forward to the invention of 4th wall breaking games that play you. That is a game that is MMORPG but like LBP where players create the content. It would blur the lines of single player and multiplayer games... Whoever realises my dream will be very rich haha....
In response to TF2 comment, I purposefully used the term popularised not invented to describe COD:MWs influence; that is most every FPS after it seems to try to work in something similar. I don't think COD 4 invented anything new at all in the FPS genre, it just did what it did well, hence its success! TF2 is its own concept and not really doing the same thing at all I'd say.
ReplyDeleteI think unique games like that probably don't even need to change as their market isn't based much on beating a competitor but just on refining a core concept, and so the life-span of a game like TF2 is way longer than a game like COD, which brings out new versions every year to make sure it outdoes Medal of Honor/Battlefield/generic modern shooter no. 74
I agree that games should focus on bettering what they already do well and cutting out the 'fat'. That means blue shells Mario Kart.. :P
Yay I can comment.... Now I have nothing to say :(
ReplyDelete