Gaming Expectations: To hype or not to hype

Today's Topic for Debate:

This is not a specific question on the quality of video games, (PC and Console), but on the quality of PLAYING today's games.

Let's look back to the mid 80's and early 90's. Before the internet was the norm, and before publishers brought out some prestigious game magazines, such as PC Gamer or even EGM, (just using these two for example, don't flame me on that please), games (well for me anyways) were much more fun to play. Without tons of previews and reviews and afterthoughts, i could just dive into a game and actually enjoy it without thinking of people's criticisms or expectations, and likewise, i appreciated the value of quality time spent with a game.

Now with shows like E3 and such, we not only know of games that are going to be coming out in the next 4 years or so (mild exaggeration folks), but we see so much content from the game itself, and the designers give so much information, that when it actually debuts, one doesn't appreciate it like they would a new car, or a new house even; something that has a surprise value, giving it a greater appreciation merit.

We are too spoiled nowadays with the overflow of information we receive from countless number of sources. I find that when i buy a game nowadays, i will play it for a while but i've already seen so much info on that game, that i don't appreciate it as much as i would a persistent online rpg like EQ or DAoC, that is a new experience everytime you log on (even that can be put to debate).

I'll give some examples of course of grade "A" games that just got too much media attention, that when it actually came out, many felt were disappointing, where if people didn't know too much about these games, then they would have appreciated it more.

This list spans, PC games as well as console mind you:

Final Fantasy X: my goodness, have u ever seen so much media previews and opinions being thrown around ever since this PS2 game was announced? No wonder why Square games just aren't getting the appreciation they deserve, unlike the earlier titles in the series. This is a game that had 1,000,000,000,000,000 screenshots, movie files, sound files, screensavers, wallpapers, plot summaries. And all of these BEFORE it even came out.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Sorry for picking another PS2 title, but this one springs to mind easily. If we hadn't gotten so much media attention on this game, i'm assuming (actually i'm pretty sure) that fans wouldn't have been so critical of the protagonist change in the game.

-Neverwinter Nights (PC)
-Black and White (PC)
-Many wresting games from many different systems
-Eternal Darkness (GCN)
-Jedi Knight II
-Devil May Cry
-Shenmue (DC)


Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos

Okay now this game. I want to point out something bout this game. Almost any Blizzard game that is released, (well pretty much SC and DII lol) is extensively, and i mean extensively covered. From every unit, stat, spell, stage, plot twist, item, bug, pro, con, anything u can think of, is totally given away way before Blizzard releases the game. With WC3, they were smart enough to at least hide the single player story, from the public and were very hush hush about it, almost as much as Hideo Kojima was hush hush about the MGS2 plot. Even then, extensive beta testing for multiplayer (and i'm not speakin of just the legit players) showed so much of the game even before it came out, that when it did, so many people were quick to kill it right away.


Many other games i can't even begin to list, as there are so many of them out there, just are not fun to play as much as games like Ninja Turtles the Arcade Game for NES or even the Original Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat.

Games coming out in the near future have to be wary. Especially since the big "N" is releasing its 3 giants this year, those games have already received well more than enough attention and previews. THe screenshots are piling and we don't really need all the spoilers. Playing video games has (for me anyways) really changed over the past 20 years. They aren't meant to be games that you could pick up and play and actually be surprised at what's going on; it's more like a world where you read bout a game 2 years prior to its release, anxiously awaiting that fateful day, then trying it out and finding that it doesn't meet the expectations of the PREVIEWS and FIRST LOOKS that you read a while back. In a sense, it turns the gamer off from appreciating the game, and prevents them from forming their own opinion of it.

Now i'm not saying that all people have treated the hobby of playing games like this, but for many it has become simple case of seeing if a game meets up to a certain reviewers expectation.

I mean, many games are still successful, and many games are still very fun to play. I still buy games by the handful, and try to devote lots of time to playing them, but still, it's not the same as the days of yore, and with the information overflow that the world is experiencing now, games, and heck not just games, but movies, books, songs, ANYTHING medialike out there just won't be appreciated as much, (e.g Star Wars, James Bond)

Feel free to agree or disagree with me, please

Well till next topic, this has been cloudteej

wow ... if u wrote that on ur own thumbs up ... thats gonna take me awhile to read

I fail to get what your getting at here.

I have been playing video games since 1977. I have been playing video games from many systems..including a PONG TV setup, right through various computer systems starting in 1979 to the present date. As well, I have played many different games..have seen genres come and go, such as the Infocom text based games, platform games, etc. I have seen games morph into something much more with visual eye candies that would be unimaginable 5 years ago..let alone 20. And I haven't even begun to talk about the complexities.

I have seen game play improve. I don't know about you..but I was there for the arcade craze. Hell, I almost remember its start. When the neighbourhood kids were spending quarters like nuts at the local arcade..I was playing the same games for free on my home computer at the time. I remember game play was very simple to an almost visceral level. Dodge this, jump on that, run from this, don't fall on that. When you look at the "good golden oldies" today, the game play is stale and repetitive.

Frankly, I get bored with the old games. I find them mind numbing. I don't care about graphics..because I can remember a time when I was enjoying little black boxes, triangles, and lines on a black and white TV screen. So, good graphics don't make for a good game providing the game play is there. Remember those text based games..well...they won't ever come back because frankly...I don't think the young generation could spell itself out of a wet paper bag..and you needed good spelling to play those..and imagination was king back then as well...something lacking from the now spoiled bored kids. But that is a genre that didn't need graphics. You just stared at a blinking cursor and read text.

I don't look back to those days with rose coloured glasses. I can remember waiting for 15 minutes to load a simple 8k game from a tape recorder.

Anyhow, to get back on topic here...I have noticed many opinion that games are getting stale...and that there is no game play left. Everything has been done etc...well, I think differently. I like my nice graphics. I still get a high playing Tactical Ops AOT on the net. Back in the early 80s, lets be honest here..who would have thought that gaming would have advanced so fast and quickly? Today's graphics are mind blowing. The game play is still there....but I think people are getting complacent and jaded. Yes, it is true, when there is a successful game out there, everyone in the gaming industry wants to cash in and make a clone game. Well I like this. Sometimes, you get a better game...most times you don't..but those few better games often advance the genre.

It is no secret that the gaming industry moves in cycles. I know war gamers and flight sim gamers often have to wait for a period to have any game, let alone good games come out for them. The industry aims to please, and if it feels that RTS, RPG, FPS, SIMS, etc..is the flavour of the year, then those gamers that like other genres will feel that gaming sucks nowadays..but they have to wait for their time in the light so to speak. For example..only until recently, those people who liked RPGs had nothing good to play. Nowadays, that is not the case. So, the Industry moves in cycles. Probably later, RPGs will decrease in popularity...when people get tired of them..and those fans of other genres will get good games for them.

As for the hype..I think it is a good thing. I for one do not like buying a game that I know nothing about. Money is precious as it always has been. In the old days, I knew I would like a game because I could play it at a local arcade first. Besides..those days were much simpler compared to today. You just didn't have the choice you have today..and choice is king. So yes, I like the hype. It tells me what too look for, or keep tabs on. As for knowing enough about the game that it makes it less fun...well...using that argument..maybe you would prefer buying games in little black boxes..this way, it’s a surprise in every package! Hype is just another media tool to garner publicity. With the average cost of developing a game on the rise...publishers need to generate hype as a means to generate sales when the game releases. Mind you, hype is dangerous because it may garner negative publicity as well...especially when games don't make their release date. Now..you can't compare today to yesterday because in the yesterday I remember, the industry was just starting..and it had lots of rough edges to iron out. Besides there weren’t that many companies making games...with popularity comes complexity and number of game developers...with that..comes choice for the gamer..so hell ya..I think gaming is alive and well today from my perspective...regardless of the hype, regardless of the "seen this, done that" mentality.

I think as the technology becomes greater, so will the games. I want to see graphics so real that it looks like FMV (anyone remember that horrible craze?). I want to have greater interaction with my games. I want to have more features, I just want more. If I have to suffer some..so so games to get there...by all means..I am there!

What makes a gane to me in order of importance to me are:

70% Gameplay - A game should be able to lock you in just by playing it regardless of anything else. Example: Old text graphic adventure games like Nethack and Moria were fun for many. Longevity of a game also fits in this category. Innovation also fits in here.

2. 10% Graphics. Eye candy. Yay!

3. 15% Sound. Great sound can add a lot to a game.

4. 5% Ease of use - If a game is awkward to control because of a bad command layout or awkward controller, it's annoying as hell.

Anyway, no matter how pretty everything gets and sounds, gameplay is still way too big of a factor for the other factors to even compete. Sure they can help enhance a game, but it's a small chunk of the pie. That's why so many are wanting to dig up their old DOS games. Because gameplay has taken a staggering decline in quality for the most part.

cloudteej, there is a very simple solution to your problem. Don't watch. Don't read. Don't download. If you don't want to know everything about a game before it's released, then don't. No one shoves it down your throat. I decided almost a full year ago now to quit reading previews, and hyping myself up over games.

The problem isn't with the games, the problem is with yourself. If you read all the hype and previews and look at screenshots and movies, and whatnot, you form an opinion in your mind of what the game is going to be. The problem lies with the fact that the image you build is rarely the same as the game.

Games aren't less fun nowadays, nay, they are far more fun than ever. You look at masterpieces like Deus Ex, System Shock 2, Metal Gear Solid, Crono Chross, and tell me that games aren't as fun as they used to be. These games hold far more appeal than anything from before.

Not to say that old games aren't fun, they are just as fun as ever. But newer games evolve, and offer better, more cohesive, more engrossing game experiences.

The only value really old games have anymore is nostalgia. You'll never hear me pining for the days of the Atari 2600.

hmm..The newest PC game you listed is 2 years old.

Definitely time to get a console.

Originally posted by Ion Silverbolt
hmm..The newest PC game you listed is 2 years old.

Definitely time to get a console.

True, but consoles haven't been all that shit hot over the past while either. Last console game I enjoyed was MGS2, and before that, Devil May Cry. I've been retro gaming on my consoles as well.

Games such as Warcraft III, Mario, and Final Fantasy have such a huge fanbase that there are people who go to every show and read every magazine and preview and then post all the information on their website. I think that this is a good thing. All I had to go for information about WC3 was one website where they had in-depth previews about everything.

If you don't want your experience ruined because of all the previews you read, then don't read them.