Lately there seems to be a general consensus, gamers like nostalgia and packaging up
something that was written and coded 15 years back is a good way to make a quick buck.
But what I've been starting to wonder if it's just the elegant simplicity of old games that often
gets games coming back for more.
While I'm perfectly willing to accept that games like say Mario Galaxy are in a lot of ways
more impressive then their forbears, from graphics to musical expression and length there
are still a few things that are not going to change no matter how many more millions of
dollars/yen are spent on something. Writing in a game is not going to improve merely
because it had the swag bag thrown at it, and if you think back to the old 8-16 bit days few
games even had much of a story, at least in the generally accepted meaning of the word now
with FMV sequences and plots unfolding.
Who cares that sonic had no dialogue and involved a blue hedgehog jumping on things? You
just did it, which proves to some extent that you don't need to be spoken to as if playing a
novel to enjoy yourself. Games for more modern systems, such as Geometry Wars, also show
that games which fundamentally involve blasting things can still be fun next to a game like
Eternal Sonata.
So what I can't help wondering is gaming about to go full circle? With the introduction (soon™)
of wiiware and the popularity of the xbox live arcade, coupled with companies ravenous desire
to get in more casual gamers will we see a marked increase of games designed and coded
towards their older roots, without the buckets of cash which seem to be required for so many
popular titles today?
I imagine, like you pointed out, we'll be getting both. Shorter "old school-style" games through downloads and the more modern masterpieces on DVD and Blu-Ray. Either way, I also enjoy both for what they are.
Bigger is better. It also takes longer to get into, and often to gain satisfaction.
to put it simply, id be EXTREMELY pissed off if you took away my uber, top of the line, awesomely shiny games like Crysis, OR my pretty much pointless but never-the-less, most played game on my computer, Freecell. They both have their use.
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I depends what you want in a game. I myself find the simple games enjoyable, but get a greater feeling of satisfaction completing a "deeper" game.
I imagine, like you pointed out, we'll be getting both. Shorter "old school-style" games through downloads and the more modern masterpieces on DVD and Blu-Ray. Either way, I also enjoy both for what they are.
Bigger is better. It also takes longer to get into, and often to gain satisfaction.
to put it simply, id be EXTREMELY pissed off if you took away my uber, top of the line, awesomely shiny games like Crysis, OR my pretty much pointless but never-the-less, most played game on my computer, Freecell. They both have their use.
You can't get rid of either type of game. A world without all the Final Fantasy XIIs or the Geometry Wars wouldn't work right.