Let’s not beat around the bush here. I have no life, I play a ton of video games, I work in a place that centers itself on them, I cannot escape from gaming, and now I also write for a site that is built around gaming. Gaming is sort of my life, okay?
Now, you may be wondering why I opened this up with that. Well, I’ve thought about this a lot, and I think it really plays into what sort of games I like to play the most. I am absolutely in love with player driven games; I think they are the best out there, hands down. I am talking about those games that allow me to leave my boring non-life behind and immerse me in a world that is truly mine for the taking.
I’m not talking about MMOs here either, because frankly, I don’t want you or anybody else mucking up my world or galaxy. What I’m talking about are the Fables, the Skyrims, the Mass Effects. Those games that really make you part of what is going on; they allow you, the player, to drive the story, those are the games I’m talking about.
Any shooter or adventure or paradigm RPG can provide a stimulating story or a few neat cinematics, but it’s all scripted, I’m not really driving anything. When I charge through the enemy base shooting all the bad guys, it’s not because I wanted to, it’s because the game forced me into that position. When I finally defeat the stereotypical bad guy at the end of an RPG, I feel little satisfaction, because I knew from the beginning that that is what was supposed to happen.
What I want, and I think I speak for many gamers here, is a truly player driven world. Insert me into a world that moves and thinks without me, and let me play with it. Let me make my decisions and watch the results unfold around me. Let me save the world, let me destroy it, let me pick and choose. Create for me a world that is unique, a world that will ensure that each play through of the game is different in its own way.
Then, I will gladly pay for whatever you want. I’ll buy an “online pass” and I’ll pay to get the downloadable content, I’ll even preorder the game (I so rarely do so it’s laughable). I will do this because developers will finally be offering me a game that I can truly immerse myself in, a game that is more than just a game; it’s a whole new world.
You may think that standard, run of the mill games that fit the paradigm perfectly, like the Call of Duty franchise, will continue to be the dominant games. You may think that as long as we are given cool cinematics we’ll keep religiously shelling out the cash, but I am telling you here and now that this is not so.
Those of us who take gaming seriously, who judge a game on the content of its character and not the flashiness of the cinematics or the “edginess” of its murder scenes, are tired of those games. We grow tired of playing the same game in a new package over and over again, shelling out $60 minimum each time. To put it bluntly, developers and publishers need to stop dressing up pieces of crap in nice packaging and selling them to us as “the next big thing.”
In short, the days of the paradigm shooter and RPG are coming to a close. Gamers like me are tired of playing the same thing over and over again. Player driven games are the future of gaming, and we are ready to take the next steps. Developers and publishers need to recognize that and work towards the future with us, they need to perform, or get off the apparatus; and you my dear readers, as gamers, need to make sure that you keep the pressure on them.
Although I do think Skyrim was a massive improvement over Oblivion, it just wasn't all I thought it could be. I've never played any of the Fables however, so might give them a try. I think if you're to design a world such as Skyrim it should be built to survive and adapt without your input. I don't know why, but a game that could beat itself without your direct input would be appealing me. It may take much longer for the crisis to be solved, like decades in game time, but it means you don't have to be the one responsible for saving the world. You could be content roaming the plains robbing people blind or creating your own paradise. If you build a world you should build a world that doesn't need you to work.
Although I do think Skyrim was a massive improvement over Oblivion, it just wasn't all I thought it could be. I've never played any of the Fables however, so might give them a try. I think if you're to design a world such as Skyrim it should be built to survive and adapt without your input. I don't know why, but a game that could beat itself without your direct input would be appealing me. It may take much longer for the crisis to be solved, like decades in game time, but it means you don't have to be the one responsible for saving the world. You could be content roaming the plains robbing people blind or creating your own paradise. If you build a world you should build a world that doesn't need you to work.
I think "player driven" games as you've defined them is nice goal for the future of video games, but we're probably a long way off from that kind of gaming experience. In a sense, Skyrim tried to do this, but ultimately your actual choices are very limited. It has lots of bland sidequest and the main quest of defeating the dragons. But there's no option for the player to actually side with the dragons. You either defeat them or you don't.
I think the Witcher series and the Growlanser series are actually far better experiences than the so-called "open world" sandbox games like Elder Scrolls. The Witcher and Growlanser games are all story driven, but they do have multiple story branches and multiple endings. Characters will live or die based on your actions (and I don't just in save one or the other Kaiden / Ashley scenarios). I would like to see more RPGs like The Witcher 2 and Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time that let the player make choices that have real in game consequences. Modern RPGs should have multiple endings; in fact it is sort of ridiculous that more of them don't. How can you immerse yourself in a world if you have only one set path to follow.
I think "player driven" games as you've defined them is nice goal for the future of video games, but we're probably a long way off from that kind of gaming experience. In a sense, Skyrim tried to do this, but ultimately your actual choices are very limited. It has lots of bland sidequest and the main quest of defeating the dragons. But there's no option for the player to actually side with the dragons. You either defeat them or you don't.
I think the Witcher series and the Growlanser series are actually far better experiences than the so-called "open world" sandbox games like Elder Scrolls. The Witcher and Growlanser games are all story driven, but they do have multiple story branches and multiple endings. Characters will live or die based on your actions (and I don't just in save one or the other Kaiden / Ashley scenarios). I would like to see more RPGs like The Witcher 2 and Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time that let the player make choices that have real in game consequences. Modern RPGs should have multiple endings; in fact it is sort of ridiculous that more of them don't. How can you immerse yourself in a world if you have only one set path to follow.