Last Online: 4/24/07

Fooluaintblack

I am just another gamer mostly interested in FPS's and other action related games. I am very interested in how games are developing and changing in our world, and what that world may or may not hold for the future. I like to think of myself as a reasonable logical person and able to approach almost any situation from an outside perspective.

I am very interested in the Development side of games, my main areas of interest are design and animation with a general interest that covers pretty much everything else. I have my own ideas for games, and game-play mechanics that i would like to see grow into fruition some day.

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I hate but i gotta tolerate

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I Hate, But I Gotta Tolerate

Why don't western games do something like the games in these videos, or other games of equivalent difficulty/depth/uniqueness like Ninja Gaiden? They can be beautiful, elegant, well thought out (although they may seem insane from a western cultural standpoint), challenging (sometimes to the extreme), unique game play concepts, and most of all fun to play! Western games never seem to come close when it comes to uniqueness, story depth, challenge. They are all the same, or at least similar. Take Halo 2 for example, the best FPS for a console, but it's nothing new, it's just more of the same only done right. Are western games a little lack luster because our culture is different and so we think differently? Perhaps because the asian culture is different and so is something new? Maybe it is too new for the average gamer. Are gamers stubborn believers in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", saying? Perhaps a combination of them all, take Psychonauts for example, a great game, but not the best sales. I find myself similarly frustrated when it comes to anime, there is very little good anime because it doesn't have a significant audiance to drive it forward.

The western market is like watching slugs ram into each other over and over again, simple, blunt, and the lowest common denominator. The Asian market is, elegant beautiful (in its own way), and willing to try something new. It's not all bad. There are great things, but they just don't seem to be going anywhere. But all is not lost.

Nathan D. McMahon:

I have noticed that the industry is fast approaching a brick wall, where new concepts and fresh ideas are often neglected in favor of tried-and-true formulas for maximum profits with the least amount of capitol expenditure. This is reminiscent of the path the film industry was on prior to the early'90s. During that time, the surge of independent films and new methods of storytelling was like a splash of cold water in the face of cinema. It opened eyes and evoked feelings of wonder and joy in seeing something new. That splash led to the renaissance of sorts for that industry. Why can't it be the same for us?

Nathan D. McMahon Game Tester said,

I have noticed that the industry is fast approaching a brick wall, where new concepts and fresh ideas are often neglected in favor of tried-and-true formulas for maximum profits...

continued...
With the exponential rate at which video game technology is developing we are fast approaching a similar dilemma. Do we follow the lead of the past and play it safe? Or do we blaze our own trail and propel video games into their rightful place as the ultimate entertainment medium? That, I believe is up to us, the people who help bring this media to the masses. Fortunately, we have the ability to observer the history of film and apply many of the same concepts to our own industry. We are in the process of growing and I, for one, am excited by the prospects. For example, recent offerings, such as XNA Development Studio from Microsoft, confirm that revolution is an almost certainty. This will allow the creative minds outside the mainstream to give their fresh ideas a chance and to show their wares to the world.

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What will Achievements Achieve?

Now that i finally have a 360 and i have played some of my games to death trying to acquire achievements. Two achievements in Crackdown consist of collecting 500 Agility orbs and 300 Hidden orbs (which i have done), I find myself becoming something of an "Achievement Whore", trying to get more and more points to add to that pretty little number beside my gamer tag. Therein lies the problem, how many people are skipping past games because there is something new in the stores and they want more points? Perhaps someone bought a cool new title like Army of Two, now that they have all they can get from that game they put it back on the shelf to become a glorified dust collector in favor of something else, how will this affect the gaming industry? Will it become broader and stronger with more and more people buying more and more games from different genres to get more points, or will it weaken gaming titans like Halo 3 because people are blowing through and moving on? Perhaps this could provide additional incentive for developers to create some thing great and set themselves apart from the masses, but there are really only a few great games as it is. Then again maybe there is not an issue at all and as always there are some hardcore gamers who live for achievement points and then those that just want to have some good old fashioned digital fun.