[podcast feature] Has the mainstream ruined gaming

[Centy]

Probably one for the older gamer but do you remember the days when just sad geeks played games and there was so much originality do you yearn for those days or do you like what the industry has become (worth more than the movie industry) with bigger budgets but yearly updates and the Sims

Anyway post you thoughts here

[relmatos]

I remember the past and I want more of that.

The problem with games nowadays is that they are too easy and if they are a bit harder people just give up on them. When I was a kid I'd play the same level hundreds of times and I wouldnt tire. Heck, even the codes used to prevent cheating in games like Ducktales, Leisure Suit Larry and Championship Manager were like a game we had to beat before we were allowed to play

The gaming industry is a lot better right now though. we have a lot more diversity, we can see games in stores and if a game is being made we get info about it. I just wish they'd take more chances when creating a game instead of just repeating what worked the previous time.

[DANGERMAN]

I dont really buy that the mainstream have ruined gaming, I think things have just progressed as they've needed to. Back in the C64/Spectrum/Amstrad days it seemd like everything was either a platformer or some sort of adventure game, because that's what sold. That trend continued into the 16 bit generation, but with the increased power we also got more arcade ports (shm-ups ahoy). Even when the 32 bit era brought 3d graphics into the fore we still had stuff like Pandemonium harking back to the old days.

When the mainstream got hold of games like Tomb Raider, GTA and Resident Evil, things changed. Sure for a while everything was ripping them off (still are with GTA), but out of that we got games like Soul Reaver, Silent Hill and Project Zero.

The other side to the mainstream is that we are only going to get identicate games. Imo, if you get everyone aiming for the same market, then it'll be the people who buck the trend who end up making more of an impact. There will always be games for gamers because there will always be an outsider market

[Spike]

As a crusty old gamer you can always look to the past with rose tinted glasses and cherry pick the classic titles amongst the sea of farm slurry that make up the majority of most game systems libraries. For every Knightlore their are always loads of sad movie/cartoon/tv show tie-ins.

Bringing in the main stream means that more edgy/niche titles are then developed. When a user base for a system reaches a critical mass then titles like SOTC can be unleashed. The average uniformed joe will continue to buy dire license product like 50cents but this is cool as that revenue feeds back to the devs/publishers. Who in turn will occasionally come with some new interesting IP.

Recently I've been reading a lot of Wii backlash posts on various forums stating that it is the death of gaming. This maybe the case but aleast the devs will now have to concentrate on gameplay and not shallow graphic engine show ponies.

The real monster is the DS which due its tech spec's has stripped gameplay back to its core values. All the innovation so far has come from the Japanese companies, but I'm sure after this years "e3" a few western devs namely Bioware will step up to the plate with interesting product.

[Hendo]

If we're talking the business side of it, then times did seem much simpler way back when.

The most a programming team had back then was one guy to program, one to do music and one to do graphics - and that was pushing the boat out!

However, I think we're in the best time, as due to the interwebs, bedroom coders are rising once again. It might be hard to crack into the 'proper' gaming world with all their big bucks and fancy franchises, but make a great flash agme and the world is suddenly playing your game.

That's about as hardcore as it gets.

If we're talking gameplay though, there's always been overly simplistic rubbish, or bad licence drivel.

I don't yearn for the days when it was as simple as 'gamer' or 'non-gamer' - in fact I hope for the exact opposite where the more people are enjoying videogames and they are so entered into normal life that iw would be weird if someone said they didn't like games.

Imagine meeting someone that said they didn't listen to music at all (I worked with a woman once who didn't have as much as a radio in her car or house) or didn't enjoy watching a film.

Games have to progress I think.

[Sambob]

I think that in terms of 'ruining' the industry it has ruined the old school gaming days when you were either a gamer or non gamer. Its ruined those days because those days are gone as a result of the times we are enjoying now. Personally I like the fact that I can love video games and not be a 'geek' and not feel singled out and not feel like a social misfit because of it, something which im sure everyone here has felt in years gone.

In my opinion I much prefer to play with my Wii (including the Gamecube) and my DS than I ever did with my gameboy and Snes, however I think thats cus I havent changed much as a gamer, the games I liked 10 years ago, I like now. I always enjoyed the sense of community experienced watching your mate try to crack that last level, or showing off your awesome Super Star Wars skills, the same sense of community that is synonimous with mainstream.

Mainstream has given the industry some of the incredible benefits that make it everybody on this site's favourite hobby, but its also created some problems, the likes of which have made me consider once or twice giving up playing games. The problems I refer to are things like the constant graphical power wars that have given rise to intensified Fanboyism and tons of uninspired sequels. Its also brought the same problems that mainstream brings to other areas such as increased Piracy, companies lowering the quality of their product in order to meet massive demands Etc. Mainstream brings the idiots like Jack Thompson banning games, and on the other side of that, however many kinds/young adults that havent been able to maturely cope with some game content and given gaming a bad name that way. Im sure nobody would have filed repeated lawsuits against Atari games in the way they do nowadays (although there were still controversial games back then, Wolfenstein eg.).

Its very difficult to say whether mainstream has ruined gaming without taking into consideration all of the good things that its brought to gaming. I know that if the question were 'would you like to go back to the 'glory days' before mainstream came along?' then Id almost certainly say no.