dh4rm4 wrote:Seriously guys, do you even hear yourselves? Are you aware of what kind of glory period computer gaming is currently experiencing? More games, bigger projects, more press coverage and even moreso ACCEPTANCE of gaming as an adult past time than ever before.
This had been done to the death before. Yes, yes, we do have more games, but we also have more generic and uniformed gameplay. And frankly, I don't see how do "press coverage" and "bigger projects" benefit gamers unless they translate to better experience for gamers. Daikatana perfectly falls into the category of "big project" and "great press coverage", but its gameplay is a yawn. Doom 3 even made it into big screen, but list of complaints can be made on its gameplay.
The argument above only works from gaming industry perspective, but then again, just because boys band clones are such a great thing from record labels' income statement, it doesn't mean such safe formula won't eventually get boring for the audience.
dh4rm4 wrote:How anyone who's a gamer can complain about and even generalise something so varied as the state of modern gaming defies logic. There's such a depth and breadth of games, genres and games systems these days that modern gaming can't be explained in the nomination of a single phrase, let alone a singular complaint.
Nice rethoric, but I just cannot see the "depth and breadth" of modern games when the game I'm playing basically plays the same with the latest one I've just finished.
dh4rm4 wrote:Anyway, music is like gaming : it comes down to personal taste.
Red herring. Just because personal taste is subjective doesn't mean people cannot get bored with the same basics of gameplay over and over again. Let me put it this way; I love flightsims, but if every single game out there is flightsim, then even I would eventually get fed up. This has been done to the death before, and I fail to see how this irrelevant excuse matters.
dh4rm4 wrote:people just can't deal with evolution. Survival of the fittest and all that.
Survival of the fittest in consumer products doesn't always translate to quality. EA makes a lot of boring sequels, yet they're the biggest player in gaming industry today. Origins Systems made a lot of excellent games, yet they were absorbed by EA and got killed by its new parent. Besides, you are the one who insists to use "personal taste" argument in defending new games. If taste is personal, then why aren't gamers entitled to dislike what gaming evolution has brought them?
By the way, I wonder why you often use coloring and labeling. First, you said old game-favoring arguments were nothing but "nostalgic waah-waaah" despite that was clearly not the case. And then, you used the word snobs. Finally, you label old gamers as people who can't deal with evolution. Seriously, WTF?
dh4rm4 wrote:I do see a bunch of people who are generally younger than me complaining
Riiiiight... like the guy who wrote this article? Younger than you, eh? Are you claim to be 80 or something? What are you compensating for, really? 🤣
Seriously, I don't understand why you need to point out this "younger people" thing, especially since the writer is an old gamer who makes comparison with his gaming experience from the past. Why you ever posted this thing is beyond me.
dh4rm4 wrote:Of course, they aren't really motivated enough to do anything about the situation either...
Frankly I'm already tired to see this being repeated over and over again. This had been done to the death, and had been rebuked weeks ago: gaming industry is fully entitled to launch another profitable clone, but the consumers are also entitled to express their contempt as well. Maybe someday we will all live in a Orwellian capitalistic society with 100% free market and zero free speech, but until then, we are still entitled to express our discontent.
For me, the discussion is already over. One can always defend the gaming industry with rethoric, excuses, and red herring, but it doesn't change the fact that games are more generic today than in the past. And frankly, no amount of gaming industry fap-fapping will make me spend more money to buy another game that basically plays the same with the one I've just finished. Meh.
Unfortunately, nothing changes the fact that the majority of people are content with generic things. Safe route is profitable, FPS is profitable, and Britney Spears is profitable. As DosFreak has put, the majority of the population are contend with the gaming equivalent of non-complicated TV shows.
On the other hand, people who want more are the minority. In the past, most PC gamers were nichers compared to console and arcade gamers. After PC games become more mainstream, such old gamers have become minority compared to all PC gamers in overall. Fortunately, we have now companies like GoG who think that niche markets can be profitable too. And personally, I always appreciate small-time/independent game publishers who dare to make something different.