Reset Button:Most Innovative Videogame of 2008

An essay on the most innovative videogame of 2008, and on why videogames are too inbred and insular to attract non-gamers.

See the post to accompany this video:
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=2048

A great history of consoles from 1972-present :
http://www.thegameconsole.com/

The PEW/Internet study cited in the video:
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/269/report_display.asp

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• Mirror's Edge
• Prince of Persia
• Shamus Young
• GTA
• Pacific Rift
• PS3 Controller

[GarciLP]

Every single comment dissing this video has absolutely no idea what Shamus is talking about... Who are you to call a new gamer an "idiot"? Go and pick up a guitar/piano/instrument you've never played, and try to sound coherent. You'll suck, I guarantee it. If we applied the standards we use for videogames on such things, we'd have run out of musicians in the 80's. So shut the fuck up, all you "expert gamers", and lend a hand to those who are trying to pick gaming up. If you like gaming, that is.

[FIERYdaemon]

PoP was awful. The characters had no depth, the guy was a complete douchebag and the levels were linear. My first platformer was on the ps2, it was Ratchet and clank (#1). That game wasn't difficult, but it had humour in and was well received by critics. It goes to show a game catered to everyone can actually be good. Ratchet and clank gave you 4 (?) lives and plenty of chances to get more, it didn't punish you either! But it did give you a chance to challenge yourself. Pop does not.

[CyberLance26]

@cbuma Most people get really frustrated if they only die a few times in games and prefer to give up instead of working hard to get better.

Thats why many new people that try to play games dont wanna continue play to play game because they dont want to keep dying and get frustrated anymore.

[josemlopes]

Instead of penalty free gaming I would prefer that the Easy mode got a redesign, for example, you said that we learned to play on a controller with 8 inputs so imagine a game like Rainbow Six Vegas, my dad liked the game but sucked at it because of the complex controllers, if the Easy mode was a more simplefied version of the game he could learn the basics first (no ironsight, no cover system, etc, it would almost play like DOOM, run and shoot). Then he could learn the advanced stuff later.

[TheSuperhalofreak]

@GarciLP You are wise in your statement. However, playing videogames picked up my finger dexterity in playing guitar and vice versa. It is an endless loop of skill building. Think of it as skill synergy like in a roleplaying game. Skills in one field can help use other skills. Suffice to say, I actually did have some advantages before ever playing the instrument. It doesn't defy your statement but is more of a supplement.

[WinstonSmith6079]

@timorekusa [...continued from last post]

Hell, I remember playing like C64 Telengard and the Ultima games and such where maybe about half the monsters you killed dropped nothing at all, at least in the early stages of such games. You had to get a bit of skillz to get to where the monsters dropped lots and good stuff.

But I also understand what the video says as well: Games were much more "User-Friendly" in the past. Today, the attitudes are all wrong: User-Friendliness is quite a lost art!

[WinstonSmith6079]

@timorekusa I know what you mean, and agree to a certain degree.

I played Diablo II: Lord of Destruction online for the first time in years last week. What a great online game it USED to be! Now you just kill the weakest monster or just open a chest and all the items in the virual world fall to the ground to be grabbed! I'd just started the game and my inventory was full after like three kills and a chest!

Damn! What am I, a baby!? It didn't used to be that way!

[Continued in next post....]

[no1sjester]

very coherent. very accurate. good points made.

[TheLazEffect]

very interesting

[bencheshire]

That study quoting 50% gamers, did that include mobile and facebook games, those platforms must have a higher penetration than 50%... And i think the iphone is more intuitive than the wii, which has too many controllers (mote, nunchuk, classic, gamecube, plastic peripherals), whereas the best iphone games require only one finger to manipulate the game world. Talk about accessability, plus it can start out as a smartphone until you're bored one day on a bus and decide to check out this "app stor