Gaming Rant - 11/12/10 - Narrow Focus of Audience

[stupidvid5229]

I agree with everything you said. Gaming is becoming more about money making and less about actual gameplay. But even if we brought the gameplay of the likes of DOOM or Duke Nukem back I don't think it would last and it would start all over again with games like Cod and Halo. Why? Because of the current games, gamers have gotten lazy and narrow minded only focusing on what they know they will enjoy, not trying anything new. That's my opinion.

[CaliforniaTD]

I wish people would stop bringing up the terms "Casual gamers" and "hardcore gamers". Everybody seems to have their own definition for them, that is just one of many reasons why either term holds no meaning.

[elbryan42]

Casual gamers play games that require little to no learning curve, have lower difficulty and are in it for solely the fun. Hardcore gamers are there to master a game, have games with at least a learning curve, have at least a decent challenge and to fully immerse themselves in the games and the experience.

A narrow focus means they cater to a narrow audience, who don't want a new experience. It's easier to market to a group that's already established. It's easy money, and that's the problem.

[SNESFanboy64]

@elbryan42 Totally agree with this video, games these days are just too simplified.

[jago2k31]

I love your opinions on games and your channel updates! Keep it up!

[Bungholio281]

I feel like the degradation of the Resident Evil series sums this video up quite well. What was once a game of tension, problem solving, and resource management, has been dumbed down to a sub-par shooter with online play, completely throwing out the isolation factor. Sadly, Resident Evil is only one of many victims of this change.

I hope games that immerse you in single player mode will continue to hold their own in the marketplace; that's one of the things that has always drawn me to games.

[elbryan42]

Hmmm... Now that I think about it, you're absolutely right. Resident Evil was really getting great, more immersive, and more imaginative. Especially with REMake, Zero and Code Veronica. Then RE4, while great, is very narrow in focus. Fast fluid gameplay. Not much else.

Same thing with Dino Crisis as well. The first and second ones, freaking great, a great evolution. After that, simple and boring.

[Bungholio281]

@elbryan42 I wish I were in a position where I could buy the rights to the game... hire some of the original brains behind the series, bring it back to its roots while utilizing the strengths of modern systems, etc.

[ChinoMoreno4life]

Ugh, i hate most of the newer FPS... I wish they'd go back to making old school fps like doom.

[MediumPoo]

Deus ex had the best of all areas imo. Good example of the focus shrinking in the sequel, to a detrimental effect.

I think one of the few games I have really enjoyed since was GTA san andreas - due to the large area of exploration.

[SnakeEater7771]

Well elbryan... you see. I don't want to start a war here but listen buddy. Today's games are made in cash with mind and they'll do everything, literally everything to sell as much as possible, even dumbing it down in worst ways possible. There is no hope for future of gaming. I HOPE the entire industry suffers, that the simplifying backfires on their butts. The problem is that people have extremely low requirements so everything is shoved up their butts. I'll continue my rant in next comment.

[SnakeEater7771]

I don't know man, mainstream market does not appeal to me anymore, it's all the same, it's the same meatballs etc.

And it's been years since we had a decent single player FPS that didn't have A. Non-obvious Invisible wars B. Regenerating health C. Lame bosses D. Scripted cutscenes everyfuckingwhere every 5 seconds E. Tacked on war story. THE LIST could go on and go on but nothing will change.

Simply elbryan, I hate today's times. I'll continue it even further in next one.

[SnakeEater7771]

Okay last comment which I hope you will reply to. There is no innovation anymore, there is no fun gaming, the times where games were made in passion, have passed. The only games with passion you will find, is the indie market or in the modding scenes (Doom modding scene comes to it's mind and total conversions like Batman Doom, Urban Brawl, Harmony etc. or my upcoming saturnus, you can look it up on the wadsinprogress.info).

No thanks to modern mainstream gaming. I'm sticking to my 80s/90s!

[KriztofferSwank]

Rob, have you ever played "Thief: The Dark Project"? (I may have asked this before.) It's a game that has numerous objectives based on the difficulty you play, but it doesn't necessarily take you through a scenario in the sense that it forces you to fulfill some objective right away. Tons of exploring in that game; I love it. But it's also not a shooter. ;) It's a slow-paced "sneaker," where stealth and avoiding conflict are key. My favorite first-person game by far.

[elbryan42]

Thief is one of those games I always wanted to try out, but never got around to. Someday I hope. ;)

[gyiyg996]

I hate where the modern FPS genre is going, it looks more mindless, too much eye candy, and too many whiny kids flooding the multiplayer, rather than darker grittier visuals, THINKING TWICE, exploring every detail, etc... I miss the game aspects of classic DOOM, and also the first two Thief games.

I rather be walking\running down dark hallways, exploring stuff rather than a endless battlefield with a ton of useless brainless enemies where the only objective is to "NOT DIE" and kill everything..

[elbryan42]

I 100% agree with you. I hate fighting enemies in newer games. They're "not die" AI is so freaking predictable and annoying. And discouraging any thought in modern FPS games is just plain sad.

[gyiyg996]

@elbryan42 Yeah, and combine that with the "Sit here for two seconds without moving for full health" BS and you got yourself a "modern FPS", really why are they bringing in so many idiotic game mechanics? I also hate the whole like... praise in doing idiotic things, like achievements and kill streaks, they blither about realism yet, how do you magically get like, attack dogs, air strikes, predator remote controlled craft, just for killing 5 people in a row? Like how does THAT work in real life?

[elbryan42]

Yeah, it's kinda hypocritical to have a game and its fans spout all about realism when the games aren't realistic at all in where it matters: gameplay. It can look real all you want. But when you regenerate health, can't open doors, hit invisible walls, magically spawn support, can't swim, etc; it's acceptable.

When they have that stuff and say that the reason why there isn't something else in there because it's not realistic it's hypocritical.

[gyiyg996]

@elbryan42 Yeah I know, perfectly valid point you have too... I also recall the "Can't open doors" thing with survival horrors... It's like you the character can't even bash open a door even if the lock is jammed or "missing". And the hit invisible wall thing I remember bluntly from Goldeneye, but it's also in EVERY modern FPS game, where you see a landscape but can't traverse it because it's not in a "mission zone" or it's "undefined"... It got so old that I'm returning to DOOM now.

[Larzuk06]

I agree about the FPS genre. I also agree about the classic gaming is better and that's why I primarily play those now. I always loved the gameplay and sense of humor that was in Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, and Blood.

[CALAdmin88]

Hey Rob, you ever play Far Cry?

[elbryan42]

Yup, I beat the original. Haven't beaten Instincts, or played Far Cry 2 yet. I liked it, but IMHO it felt like Crysis lite. I guess since I played Crysis first. :P

[Madnam]

I'm sorry if I didn't respond to your previous comments on goldeneye, I have a lot of other things to do, but you clearly hold more of a grudge against it based off of other factors not even related to it's impact or even the game itself. Call of Duty and Goldeneye are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT GAMES aside from being in the same genre.

[Madnam]

@Madnam ok rob, I responded on the other video, please go check it out. I do take back saying that you didn't comment "on the game itself" :P

[elbryan42]

Both COD and Goldneeye are guilty of narrowing the focus of the game. They replace diverse gameplay concepts with simpicity that appeals to a more casual gamer. Over a decade since Goldeneye and there's STILL no swimming in most modern FPS games. That's ignorance.

[elbryan42]

Goldeneye was the first FPS game to simplify the genre. And since then, most games haven't gotten oustide of the same cookie-cutter gameplay. Go only where you're supposed to complete objectives. Kill all exploration aspects, kill all innovation in gameplay, concentrate on concepts that help make for a fluid multiplayer experience. And don't take chances. Because chances may mean making less money.

[Madnam]

@elbryan42 "Cookie cutter gameplay" would include running through extremely linear maps and killing shit nonstop.

[Madnam]

@elbryan42 No casual gamer is gonna beat Goldeneye on 00 Agent, period. "Diverse gameplay concepts" would be the various objectives that you have to complete in game while dealing with the dangerous and plentiful enemies. Also, many games these days aim for realism, so I wouldn't expect underwater sections as much.

[stevewins914]

They worry more about graphics that's when all games lose hope as the gameplay is never original just more of the same..Castlevania now to Castlevania in the past,graphics better now but gameplay better back then..

[flaminglight]

Elbryan, what do you think of Uncharted? It has a good mix between puzzle and action in it, but its third person.

[elbryan42]

I only got a chance to play a little of Uncharted. I absolutely loved it. It's at the very top of my list of games to play when I get a few days off to truly relax.

[nesnahprotsdam]

The FPS genre has been pushed into the realm of console gaming. Thus making them narrow, swallow and relatively "easy-to-play". Catering to a more casual audience, thus losing most of it's complexity and non-linearity.

[elbryan42]

Yeah, that really bothers me too. It makes me wonder if when Duke Nukem Forever comes out whether with diverse gameplay will annoy people or not.

[spicyechidna94]

@nesnahprotsdam Not necessarily. The platform has nothing to do with the complexity of a game these days. I agree with you on the fact that FPS gaming is indeed becoming more and more and more narrowly focused, but that isn't the consoles' fault.

Consoles are a lot cheaper than gaming PCs, and thus they have a wider market for casual gamers. Developers could create complex console shooters if they wanted to, but all people seem to want these days is Call of Duty.

[silenthilldomain]

I agree, the FPS Genre used to have so much exploration and were non linear.