I am a video gamer, and because of my general stupidity, I’m a damned good gamer, too.
However, as a gamer and a game developer, I can’t help but to question the mindless lack of creativity that this industry as a whole is greatly playing without. A single gaming genre rules them all, essentially playing King Of The Hill against a match of unworthy opponents.
Yes, I’m referring to the first person shooter genre, with all of those unneeded Call Of Duty’s and Battlefield’s dominating the entire market, and with it, the industry itself. It’s as if we, as a race, are destined to experience war and horror, as we are all simulating the most violent of deeds on our television screens and monitors. You may argue that the virtual reality murders and deaths do not relate to or affect our own physical psych, but you may also argue that life itself was created by a race of mutated penguins from Africa. Either way, you would be greatly mistaken. The violent nature of gaming is one of the many reasons we are so mentally f**ked up within our current society, but the realism of the ongoing creation of these games is what is now truly bothering me. Where shall the metaphorical line rest, and when will we reach out to cross it?
I truly fear for the future of this once-fine industry. A future where realism takes importance over creativity and fun. Let us all hope that the industry isn’t yet corrupted beyond repair. The rise of the indies may be our only salvation, but even they are falling victim to the staleness of the industry. To create and design such unique adventures, but be limited by the technology at hand. To be limited to creating yet another side-scrolling adventure, or artistic visual effects with unique shading and graphics. It’s a fresh and welcomed start, but a start nonetheless to something more.
Surely the indies are the future of the game industry. Graphical realism combined with violence will only go so far, on a moral grounds especially.