« Apport integration | Main | Going with the flow »
Gaming in the modern age
By sparky | February 5, 2010
I’ve been thinking for a while about writing an article pertaining to computer/console games.
Originally, I wanted to talk highly about the ‘shift’ in the developers goals of creating mindless, violent First-Person Shooters where you go around killing anything that moves – to that of more ‘thought-inducing’ strategy based learning teaching games.
Back when I first started playing games, I wasn’t allowed to play Doom or Wolfenstein 3D – which were the original FPS’s of the time. Instead, I grew up playing games like The island of Dr Brain, and The castle of Dr Brain, along with The Incredible Machine, Hugo’s House of Horrors, Kings Quest, Day of the Tentacle and even Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, (Sam and Max, and The Adventures of Willy Beamish also were in my fav’s list – which goes on and on….)
I’m not sure how many of these games you’ll recognise or know, but they were ‘classics’ in my mind, and bring a nostalgic flair to my memory. What was different about these games is that you had ‘puzzles’ you had to solve. Be it having to go between 4 or 5 different characters to get the rope you needed to swing across the chasm, or working out that you had to mix 6 different items in your ‘bottomless backpack of inventory items’ to create the one item you need to get that shiny ring.
It was all in the name of good fun – and a lot of humour, subtle or otherwise.
Recently, Portal provided a similar experience, one that was different from the ‘norm’. Sure, we had the 3D engines, and everything looks really schmick on screen – but that’s only 10% of what makes a game. A good storyline is critical. I know I always get criticism from people when I harp on about this, but I stand by my ‘guns’. Movies and Books are the same – I don’t enjoy many modern ones because like many modern games, they lack this crucial element.
Mirrors Edge was a game I thought had a unique game-play style, backed by a positive and solid story. It was only when I reached the end that I was quite disappointed; primarily due to the lack of ‘fulfillment’ of where the story ended up, and also because I wanted to do some more tricks; Like so many ‘chick flicks’ – the main issues are discovered, and the dilemma of the protagonist is related to the viewer. However, the resolution seems to come to quickly and swiftly. Perhaps it’s because they feel the audience has been left on the edge of their seats for long enough – or they just ran out of ‘intermediary’ people and sub-plots to place between the ‘plateau’ of the issues and the final point of resolution.
Another game I’ve started in recent months (and yet to finish) is Assassins Creed. This one is an interesting mix between FPS and a more puzzle-based game, with goals and quests – not always requiring killing people, sometimes you have strange tasks such as picking pockets, or collecting a set number of ‘flags’ within a time limit. The more interesting elements is the main story plot, and then sub plots within the characters. Scientifically speaking, it’s mostly none sense: But when has anyone let that get in the way of a good story? You get ‘sound’ in space on shows like Star Wars and Star Trek – but not in Firefly.
In comparison, games on Wii are different again – primarily due to the controls. I know, there are FPS’s and various other games on there, but some of the ‘Wii Fitness’ games are just plain fun! I love the Tennis and Golf that comes with Wii Sport – partially because it is a ‘sporting’ game, but also because it’s something different.
The future of gaming is interesting. Microsoft’s latest attachment for the Xbox-360, an interactive camera nicknamed Project Natal, should be an interesting shift in how games are played – and may even prompt a new interface for computing (though, that one is being actively targeted by touch-screen systems).
Apart from the controls, the environment is the next part that developers are working on – though that is harder; allowing users to fully interact with their environment (read: destroy everything they can) provides a challenge and a freedom – which can be fun at times, but definitely not primary to the main story or purpose of the game.
Let’s watch and see what the next 10 years of gaming will bring us to our respective gaming ‘console’ of choice!
Topics: General | No Comments »