Aelius Escreveu:It seems to be a sad truth that games in the last few years are designed to appeal to mainstream teenagers who just like to see guys fighting and half-naked women in combat. Not all of us fall into that category.
So when someone like me sees a game like Guild Wars or Everquest II where women barely have enough clothing to make a hat, well we're very displeased. The target market for such games are going through a stage of life where they like to see scantily clad women. I don't understand why, but that's how it seems to be. So if the developers include woman with little clothing, they get the attention of children who just so happen to be... the target market. "Nevermind gameplay or balance or realism, just put a few chicks in revealing clothing and we'll rake in the cash!"
And then you have games like Oblivion, which quite apparently is the prime example of the power of hype. What's mainstream about Oblivion? Well, this, for example. Swords with spikes is the perfect example of mainstream material. I'll never understand the desire for huge spiky swords, but it's clear kids like it. And of course, Oblivion was ported to the PC from the Xbox 360, which just so happens to be a console. Consoles are much more affordable to children, hence a better chance of Oblivion being purchased if it's designed for the 360. And then there's the compass and quest markers. And the lack of dialog. And the completely laughable persuasion minigame.
Neverwinter Nights 2. Great game. So great that I beat it twice in a row. What's mainstream? A few things, but thankfully less than the others. Firstly, it isn't a console game (thank god), that's good. They aren't afraid to add in dialog (although still not like the old games). Combat wasn't their highest priority, so they actually spend more time on other things. Unfortunately, they had a crappy producer who insisted on getting the game out before Christmas (oh of course, more money!). Which is why the 3 chapters in the game got progressively worse. And yet again there's an abundance of spiky weapons (thank god for mods). This game is borderline-mainstream.
But enough of RPGs, let take a look at Medieval II: Total War. Another example of a game aiming to get out at Christmas. "Who cares if you're not finished the game, it must be out at Christmas!". Which is why you have numerous bugs in the game. For example - Pikeman, or any other unit that has a two-handed weapon simply will not attack cavalry. I don't care if you have 1000 pikemen and you're up against 10 primitive light cavalry, you will lose every single one of your pikemen to the cavalry due to this bug. Or how about diplomacy? You can conquer half of the known world and then ask a faction to ceasefire, and they refuse. They have 1 territory left, you own half the world, yet they decide to keep fighting.
And alliances don't mean anything, your 'ally' will blockade one of your ports just for giggles, even though you have superior forces. And then there's the passive AI. Enemies on the battle map, more often than not, will simply stand there and do nothing. Absolutely nothing, until you attack hand-to-hand. You can rain arrows over them until your archers are out of ammunition and they'll be standing there. That's just one of the many AI abnormalities on the battle map. The fact that the AI is so braindead is enough to make even the most mainstream crowd frown.
First Person Shooters. Ooooh, there's a good mainstream category. Let's take a look at Call of Duty, or better yet - Battlefield games. The sheer unrealism of them is staggering. Hop in a tank, then a boat, then a plane, then a helicopter, then a bomber, then grab a sniper and snipe targets off from a distance. And in all of those activities your character has no training, and need not have a specific area of expertise. An example of a non-mainstream FPS is Red Orchestra. The realism of that is outstanding. No more "Okay, you're in my crosshairs so that means the bullet hits you, haha!". Just because the enemy is in your crosshairs dosen't mean that the bullet will go there. And there's no more of that "hop in a tank, plane, boat or bomber" ordeal, you have to have an area of expertise specific to the activity you wish to perform. I could go on and on about the realism of Red Orchestra, but the point is - What makes Red Orchestra different from the rest? The fact that they didn't get paid. The developers had no producer, and didn't get paid for their work. If memory serves, they won a contest for something and were given a million dollars to create a game of their choice. Hence, you get a non-mainstream game. Which just goes to show that money is what is bringing down gaming.
Gaming has been steadily degrading for years. There was a time when dialog was more important than combat and graphics. There was a time when personality and character was more important than chicks-in-the-tightest-possible-skirt. There was a time when swords were realistic and not abhorrent slabs of metal and whatever other doohickeys attached to it. But as time advances, so do developer's realization. They realize the potential money to be made by going mainstream. Albeit, often times it's the producer who's at fault for it (KotOR:II). But whatever the reason... it's happening. And it's unfortunate that we're powerless to stop it.