I just recently saw an interview Peter Molyneaux (Creator of Black and White and Fable among others) at IGN talking about some of the features that will be released in the upcoming Fable 3. A lot is going to change from previous instalments as the company has set itself a goal of reaching 500,000 copies sold, so it will have to target a much broader audience, moving from it's classic RPG setting to a more action adventure kind of feel. But that's not the point of this blog entry. What struck me was the use of the term "Arcade" game mechanics. That single concept has made me review the history of gaming in a whole different manner.

Let's back up to the birth of video games. Arcades (in all their different genres and forms) are truly the first video games to come into existence. But what is the true concept behind the arcades? A similarly repetitive form that increases in difficulty through a progression of levels. I mean think of your childhood, playing whatever arcade game you can think of. The whole emphasis of the game was to make it past all the different levels of difficulty, repeating time after time the same levels over and over till you finally managed to beat the game. The whole game was based on a continuous repetition of the same concept with slight variations and you'd have to rely on your reflexes, memory and skill to finish the game. This is what I would consider the core "Arcade" concept. For a more ideal setting let's just say we're talking of Space Invaders type game when we refer to the "Arcade" concept (low graphics, high repetition).

Slowly as the years passed the games have started to move further and further away from this basic "Arcade" concept to a more "gaming experience" orientated type of game (as in the feel of the game itself, the feeling and experience you have while playing a game). The graphics improved, more combinations of movements where introduced (or character skills) which made the game more engaging and enjoyful, improving the gaming experience users had while playing the game. Then suddenly the "credits" concept was torn away from the "Arcade" concept. Ok fine in the REAL Arcades (machine in a bar or arcade) they still existed since it was the way they made money out of it, but in the consoles it suddenly became obsolete. You could continue an indefinite number of times and some of the whole level repetition was removed. We suddenly started seeing concepts like saving a game, which were borrowed from the PC games (mostly graphical adventures) and where now a applied to console games. A lot of classic elements rapidly became obsolete such as High Scores and most games started introducing more and more complex story lines to go along with the levels to improve the "gaming experience". And suddenly a revolutionary concept hits the market: The Simulators. Levels and "Arcade" concepts are all thrown out and the game is fully based on the players' personal "gaming experience": they don't get points, don't pass levels, they just enjoy the ride.

The concept of "gaming experience" and enjoying the ride has slowly crept over to all forms of gaming, especially with the use of open worlds and sandbox concepts. Who can say they never just rode around Hyrule on Epona in "Ocarina of Time" just for the sheer joy of it? (yeah ok anybody who never played it, but if you haven't you should!) The general public has also opened up to gaming thanks to this, and proof of it is the smashing success of "The Sims" franchise. The game developers have seen it and since money moves the market all games have slowly evolved to a more "gaming experience" based philosophy with more or less success (Star Wars Galaxies anyone?). The rule now was not to make more detailed and intricate games with a gazillion options, but a more simplified and intuitive way of gaming that instead of challenging you takes you more for a ride.

In a natural way the gaming community divided itself into two opposed factions: The Hardcore gamers and the Casual gamers. The Hardcore gamers are more "Arcade" based: they enjoy games with a higher degree of repetition where they can hone their skills and deeper and more intricate layers of details which they have to slowly delve into to understand fully. The Casual gamers are more "gaming experience" oriented: they revel more in the graphical and submersion elements, enjoy the ride more and look for an entertaining experience instead of sitting down in front of a game trying to crack it down. (By these definitions I'm merely trying to introduce concepts and mean no ill to any of the factions per say.) But none of them are better gamers than others, they simply look for something different.

Take WoW for example. Hardcore gamers in WoW are Raiders, PvPers and even Power Levers. They enjoy the more "Arcade" aspects of the game: repetitive actions which allow them to hone their solo and group skills to achieve the "end game" aspects of the game, they aim to beat the game as in the old arcades. The vast majority of the rest of the game is more for Casual players (again not saying this in a negative way): it let's you explore environments, develop characters, meet other people and has more attainable and frequent milestones.

A lot of friction has appeared amongst the factions simply for an incorrect branding in my opinion. It would seem that the hardcore gamers are more dedicated and higher in the gaming hierarchy than the casual gamers just for the name. But this would be incorrect, as it is simply that they each choose to experience different parts of the game.... after all it IS simply a game.

But I digress... Games are evolving more into the " casual" and "gaming experience" end of the stick. But this is not just because the game distributors are money grubbing loving bastards (even if they are :P) but because it's the natural evolution of gaming. Remember the utopia at the end of the 80's and beginning of the 90's about the whole 3-D goggles thing with alternate realities? Well it's still here! What does that have to do with arcades and levels? The whole function of games is to pull us away from reality so we can relax and flee from our complicated lives for a while, and of course that need is going to push video games to a more immersive and virtual reality, a better "gaming experience". Sure there will still be a place for "Arcade" gamers, but even hardcore games are getting more intuitive with time (when was the last time you HAD to read the instructions before you started playing?).

Maybe it's just me but the whole idea of the "Arcade" concept becoming slowly obsolete both has me disturbed and excited about what things will come in the future. I mean rumours have it that Blizzard will be pulling out it's current raiding system from WoW which is it's core "Arcade" aspect, so what will the future have in store for us? Bioware's highly anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic is mainly based around story and narrative which is essentially part of the "gaming experience" concept. "Arcade" and "Gaming Experience" are not incompatible but we've seen full core "Arcade" games.... What will full core "Gaming Experience" games be like?