Do you think there has been a general lack of creativity in the gaming industry?

[Badpaladin]

I hadn't really thought about it much until I perused this article:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-6-mo...n-video-games/

I'm not really too concerned about much of the other points, other than the bit about creativity. I'm not saying the guy who wrote this is the video game gospel or anything, but he's sort of got a point. MW3 = Call of Duty 8. Halo is set to have 7-9 as a new trilogy. Assassin's Creed 4 is coming out soon. Almost everything at E3 was a sequel of some preexisting series. Games are starting to look goddamn identical.

I dunno, my opinions may be different. All I can say is that I was ridiculously excited when I saw the first trailers for Assassin's Creed. That general feeling of, "holy shit this looks so cool I can't wait to see all the new shit this game is going to bring" was immense. I have felt any of that for any new games in a while.

Is this a product of the industry itself suppressing new ideas, or the same trends in what the public wants?

I'm curious to see what more "gamer-y" gamers than myself think of this.

[Weightless]

It's the product of companies being afraid to develop "different" games because of chance of failure and thus possibly bankruptcy. There is no room for error in an economy like this, it's safer to stick with titles that are well known and genres that are already recognized instead of trying to branch out.

[Wilian]

Well, one magazine put it forth quite well, I think it was Pelit-Lehti of Finland:

In the past, developers were proud to add more and more features into the game, and even more so to make them work. Nowdays they are proud to take them away, and even more so to make excuses of why.

Too bad they are too right about it. :<

They commended EA back in 2008 for admitting their ways of using earliel franchises as milking machines and promising they would fix it. Too bad the fixing didn't last too long either. :x

[Edge-]

It's the product of companies being afraid to develop "different" games because of chance of failure and thus possibly bankruptcy. There is no room for error in an economy like this, it's safer to stick with titles that are well known and genres that are already recognized instead of trying to branch out.

This. A lot of the really creative, innovative titles I've seen have come from either smaller companies that get more or less complete freedom if they get picked up by a larger one to publish the game (rare), or indie games.

But as for the endless sequel cycle...if something works, they're going to milk it for every dollar its worth. It's much cheaper to make sequels, especially when you already have a large established playerbase that you can count on to buy it, than it is to develop a whole new game and run the risk of it doing poorly/mediocre (Homefront, which didn't meet their expectations at all and has struggled despite a massive marketing campaign).

Innovation is hard, partially because it's a ton of trial and error. It's not worth the risk of developing new IP's when you have a huge base (the broader gamer market of less hardcore gamers) that will eat up sequel after sequel without any innovation or change. While games like Mario/Zelda ect. have been around for decades, they have done some really interesting stuff with them. So while it's technically a massive franchise, they have at least tried innovation (the same could be said, although it more or less failed, with Final Fantasy from around XXII -> now).

[JustintimeSS]

I like sequels. I especially like when they wrap up sequels. As long as the game is fun it usually ends up being worth it for me.

As far as lack of creativity, sure, to an extent.

There is that new RPG game coming out that will end up being an MMO at some point. That is pretty much the newest thing to catch my eye. All in all we have so many genres and sub genres now that studios have to really dip or redip into what we already know for success. Making a game that costs millions of dollars and it not coming out hot is a kick in the nuts with a tombstone shaped as a boot. The companies that are better off can risk new IPs or flex creative muscle but for the rest of the competition they have to walk on thin ice until they have enough to back up a mistake title.

[Krowz]

Think of it like music. There are only so many combinations of chord changes you can do in a riff, albeit a large number, but still there is a limit before riffs start to look alike, and sound the same. Developers will start to have to make ridiculous plots/gameplay for games to look fresh and new. Maybe someday we will see a Guitar Hero World of Warcraft Battlefield Bad Company Assassins Creed Mario Kart game.

[Kouki]

It's the product of companies being afraid to develop "different" games because of chance of failure and thus possibly bankruptcy. There is no room for error in an economy like this, it's safer to stick with titles that are well known and genres that are already recognized instead of trying to branch out.

I agree mostly but they need to try to branch out, develop gameplay, not pretty graphics and water and light.

Gameplay will always win over graphics, example the minecraft craze.

[OnyxRayzor]

Ask the Japanese, many of them think that about their own country having lack of innovation.

Anyway, many things have been done to death. Only so much combinations that seem to work especially in the MMO department.

[Kouki]

The article is right, and what will happen is console and pc gamers will only buy single player games from small companies not giant corporate wads.

[Redgoon23]

There is still creative games out there. Namely the indie market. You just have to look for it.

[Sunseeker]

Yes, in movies, books, games, general software there is by and far too great a tendancy to simply refresh an existing design, create a sequel, throw on some new fancy packaging instead of going for the hilt and really developing new IP. It's one of the reasons technology seemed to advance rather slowly for the past decade, companies are focused on repackaging and refining modern technology, instead of focusing on developing brand new things.

6 cores? So what. I'll take 2 cores if they can do a better job.

[Digglett]

It's the product of companies being afraid to develop "different" games because of chance of failure and thus possibly bankruptcy. There is no room for error in an economy like this, it's safer to stick with titles that are well known and genres that are already recognized instead of trying to branch out.

I have to agree with this completely.

[xile]

Think of it like music. There are only so many combinations of chord changes you can do in a riff, albeit a large number, but still there is a limit before riffs start to look alike, and sound the same. Developers will start to have to make ridiculous plots/gameplay for games to look fresh and new. Maybe someday we will see a Guitar Hero World of Warcraft Battlefield Bad Company Assassins Creed Mario Kart game.

I feel like this is more the idea, it's not that game developers are afraid of doing something, but it just gets to the point when almost every idea has been used up, and the only real goal is to perfect those ideas. I mean look at movies and books, there hasn't been a real entirely original story or movie for several decades (probably closer to centuries for books). They all follow the same storyline with differing parts at certain levels. The problem isn't that they don't want to it's just that we are human and limited to only so many ideas.

[Ogretron]

Creativity hasn't gone down hill. You are only looking at sequels, so of course they are going to be the same as the others. There is one thing that people seem to forget, and that's:

IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.

I mean, come on. Why would someone go out of their way to make something truly unique, when they can just make the same thing as before and be guaranteed to make money. There are a lot of games out there that are unique and have things that are cool, but they don't sell.

The game developers have it wrong. The only thing keeping it going are the dollar apps. If it wasn't for those, the same game developers would just copy/paste the same games over and over until the end of time. Now the greedy bastards have to work to get their game sold for $60, knowing there are games for $5 that are just as good. The cheap games are what it's about. Spending a few minutes playing a game that is fun, because the people making the game are making it because it's something they want to do. The big game developers are what's ruining gaming, not the people working out of their living rooms.

[belfpala]

Challenge...

What would you like to see in a game, in terms of how the game is played (game control here; the setting and plot are up to writers and artists).

There really hasn't been anything truly NEW for 20 years. Or more. Modern RPGs (we'll include WoW here) are just built off the FPS model which is as old as 1990, which were then developed into an over the shoulder view, then a free camera.

The "indy" games mentioned above just use a few creative mechanics within existing styles of games. I know this isn't "indy" but the Prince of Persia games of recent years are examples of this: neat mechanic on an otherwise typical game.

I'm pretty sure we need new technology before games can truly advance any further.

Edit: If you're old enough to have played Zork while it was still new, you'll probably know what I mean. Yes, I'm dating myself here. But I've witnessed the entire history of video games. After the transition from text-based games to graphics, the graphics get better, but not much else changes. I'd say the only major innovations were: platformers, FPS, RTS, multi-player, and persistent world.

[bohapjut]

I'd rather see a lot new innovative franchises than neverending sequels to games like it's been going for a while.

[PhailPally]

This thought has occured to me numerous times.

Usually when I see things like Aion, Rift, WoW, Everquest ect...

Game developers have really copied ideas.

Level 1 > Kill small animals, collect something, talk to someone.
Max Level > Kill crazy shit, drops good loot, gear up, good luck.

Interface > Let's all create identical interfaces.

Gameplay > PvP / PvE - Battlegrounds and what not, instanced dungeons to fight bosses. (I know rift has outside bosses)

Other aspects are also similar, with Aion and WoW for example, mana runes are really just gems...

People saying "there is only so much creativity and ideas you can put into a game"
YOU ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BECOMING GAME DESIGNERS.

There is an infinite you can do with a game, developers are just becoming less creative, and being safe through stealing what works with other games.


To the person saying "IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT"

I'd rather see a brand new fully creative game, then another recreation of WoW in new graphics.

[Clockwork Pinkie]

Same could be said about movies. Once you've seen enough movies to last you 10 lifetimes, it's hard to find things creative because more often than not, you'll compare it to something else you played in the past. Same with games. Just how I see it, also same with WoW, once you play it for 5+ years, it's hard to find a challenge.

[Event Horizon]

It's the product of companies being afraid to develop "different" games because of chance of failure and thus possibly bankruptcy. There is no room for error in an economy like this, it's safer to stick with titles that are well known and genres that are already recognized instead of trying to branch out.

I say 50% this and 50% profit. Less risk of failure and making a loss and more chance of higher profits because it's a known IP

[Meestercat]

If only early 90s Peter Molyneux could return. Save us, 90s Peter Molyneux, save us!!!