Re: Can Games Get Any Better (2024 Ed)

On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 12:54:54 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>
In August 2013, I asked a question of this newsgroup: did you think
that games were going to get significantly better in the future? My
thesis was that - despite radical advancements in visuals and
quality-of-life features - actual gameplay of a lot of the games of
the time didn't feel fundamentally different from games of ten or even
twenty years ago. Sure, "Elder Scrolls: Oblivion" looked far better
than 1995's "Elder Scrolls: Arena", but was it really that different
an experience to play? Had the games matured to the point where we
just weren't going to see any significant changes in the hobby?
>
That question sparked a lively discussion (mostly revolving around
what 'better' meant ;-). So - with ten years under our belt - why not
ask it again, with an added caveat. Not only do I ask, 'Do you think
that games are going to get significantly better', but also, 'Do you
also think we've seen significant improvement - in gameplay, not
visuals - to modern games over the ones we were playing back in 2013?'
>
In other words, are modern games better? More advanced? More fun? Do
you think games will be better or different in the future? Or are we
perpetually stuck in the doldrums?

What I'm curious to know is whether most here....

(and granted, the demographic of this newsgroup is probably NOT the
demographic that most game studio marketing directors are targeting)

... believe that gaming is better or worst than 10, or 15 years ago?

My opinions have sparsely peppered this newsgroup over various
threads, so I won't repeat what's been said in any level of detail
unless you really want it :) 

Personally I think consolitis and politics have taken their toll on
the industry.  Console sales resulted in a lot of bad PC ports, where
controls and the overall feel of the game and mechanics became slapped
together in haste for the PC and/or only worthwhile using a
controller.  Politics interfered with individual artistic vision,
resulted in design-by-committee and messed up the content, direction
and overall development decisions.

It seems like most good forms of entertainment "jump the shark"
eventually.  A gem will emerge here and there occasionally, and some
of the old mainstays still provide the same level of entertainment
they used to even if there is a been-there-done-that-vibe.

But genuinely curious what the rest of the folks here think..  Clearly
"good" gaming means different things to different people.