The stagnation of game design for the past 20 years

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Recently another thread was posted in this subforum about a Chinese MMO that would be launching in the West soon. It's... wait for it... another generic MMO. Nothing to write home about.

That got me thinking: it seems like game design has stagnated for the past 20 years. The graphical fidelity of games has been increasing, with the leap to HD to 4k and to Raytracing... but games haven't really become more innovative. In fact, overall, game design seems to have declined.

• The shooters coming out today are pretty much just reskins of Halo, and Team Fortress, and Counterstrike, games that came out 20 years ago.

• RTS game design hasn't evolved past Dune II and Starcraft.

• The only MMOs still running today are all WoW clones (rip all of the Ultima Online and Everquest style games that died out).

• JRPGs are still pretty much just FF7.

• SRPGs are all the same.

• On the WRPG front, they are either 1. more CRPGs like Baldur's Gate or 2. more sandbox RPGs like Morrowind.

• The only really "new" kind of RPG was Dragon Age/Mass Effect, but the design of their sequels deteriorated with each entry to the point that they have just become generic Ubisoft crap or Gears of War: sci fi edition.

• Fighting games haven't evolved since Street Fighter was in arcades (the Ultimate Ninja Storm games at least tried something new, but alas, it seems that nobody else is exploring that path).

• City/base building games are still pretty much the same.

• Empire building games are pretty much the same.

The only really new games to come out have been Minecraft and its clones.

Am I going crazy?


EDIT: David V. Stewart has touched on the same idea.

[Pratt]

The innovation has been in graphics and the incentive systems. Loot boxes, cosmetics, microtransactions, achievements, ratings, that kind of thing. Everything else is the same.

[Icecat]

There's absolutely no mistake that the triple A game industry has increasingly cut costs and done a well-documented deep dive into anti consumer practices, and it's bled into virtually every popular big-budget game. I think this is consistent with the generally problematic turn of the decade though - the internet, the monopolizing of distribution, the sheer proliferation of easy gratification, and not to mention content that is designed specifically to target aspects of our psychology to keep us engaged and clicking. Not just games, it's pretty much the entire entertainment industry fallen victim to the bloated dying late-capitalist machine. We need systemic change.

On the other hand, there are still beautiful design-forward games being made in the indie space, and in indie tabletop gaming as well. Gone are the days where we could reliably expect a corporation of all things to make art for the sake of art. I hate to say it, but you have to let that go for the sake of your own sanity.

[LemonDemonGirl]

I swear all Mario games have been the same for the last few years. I think the last time something was truely new was Mario Galaxy and Sunshine

[Kallisto]

There comes a point in time where innovation just isn't going to happen because every major idea can and has been put into place. At a base level everything that could be done with games has been done since late 1990s/early 2000s and everything is just a play on it. From the Triple As to the small indy games.

[LemonDemonGirl]

Maybe people are just running out of ideas? I've been wanting to make for like 5+ years, but I know it'll just be another dumb RPG with 8bit graphics and no voiceacting

[Easo]

I look at Witcher, especially number 3, then I look at you, OP, and I have to disagree. Let's add Automata too, because why not.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

You're not gonna like every innovation on a gameplay level. Any complaining about "Anti-consumer" well its more a symptom of how business is handled in the U.S. and sometimes in EU countries(I don't wanna use the c word here).

[Corvus]

If you are looking for innovation, don't look at the big developers. They don't take risks. Instead look to small and independent developers. If they do something new and it works only then will the bid developers chase it.

[AwkwardSquirtle]

I look at Witcher, especially number 3, then I look at you, OP, and I have to disagree. Let's add Automata too, because why not.

Is Witcher 3 particularly innovative? It's a good open world ARPG, but they've been common for years. It's basically the Arkham combat system, with Mass Effect dialogue options. It does what it does very well, but I can't think of any part of it which I'd describe as innovative.

[loras]

Recently another thread was posted in this subforum about a Chinese MMO that would be launching in the West soon. It's... wait for it... another generic MMO. Nothing to write home about.

That got me thinking: it seems like game design has stagnated for the past 20 years. The graphical fidelity of games has been increasing, with the leap to HD to 4k and to Raytracing... but games haven't really become more innovative. In fact, overall, game design seems to have declined.

• The shooters coming out today are pretty much just reskins of Halo, and Team Fortress, and Counterstrike, games that came out 20 years ago.

• RTS game design hasn't evolved past Dune II and Starcraft.

• The only MMOs still running today are all WoW clones (rip all of the Ultima Online and Everquest style games that died out).

• JRPGs are still pretty much just FF7.

• SRPGs are all the same.

• On the WRPG front, they are either 1. more CRPGs like Baldur's Gate or 2. more sandbox RPGs like Morrowind.

• The only really "new" kind of RPG was Dragon Age/Mass Effect, but the design of their sequels deteriorated with each entry to the point that they have just become generic Ubisoft crap or Gears of War: sci fi edition.

• Fighting games haven't evolved since Street Fighter was in arcades (the Ultimate Ninja Storm games at least tried something new, but alas, it seems that nobody else is exploring that path).

• City/base building games are still pretty much the same.

• Empire building games are pretty much the same.

The only really new games to come out have been Minecraft and its clones.

Am I going crazy?


EDIT: David V. Stewart has touched on the same idea.

Too much money drains the brains.
That is to say: greed and risk aversion.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Is Witcher 3 particularly innovative? It's a good open world ARPG, but they've been common for years. It's basically the Arkham combat system, with Mass Effect dialogue options. It does what it does very well, but I can't think of any part of it which I'd describe as innovative.

Its not the Batman Arkham combat system, not in shape or form, No way. I don't know what to describe it but it aint Batman Arkham's combat.

[ro9ue]

Lots of good shit in the indie space.

[vizzle]

How many times can you really reinvent the wheel? Of course there was a ton of innovation back in the day when these genres didn't even exist yet.

If you look at indie developers, you get the kind of innovation you're looking for. 10-15 years ago, could you play 90% of the kind of games that exist now? Not really.

Whenever I hear/read this argument, I imagine that the person speaking/feeling it is someone who has just played video games for way too long and doesn't realize how burned out they are.

[aceperson]

i mean graphics is very easy to improve. the entire idea would be making more and more realistic graphics. that's a very clear goal and something easily achieved with enough money. no amount of money guarantees innovation will be good. that's why most (if not all at this point) triple a game makers don't make innovative games. they are more than happy just shoveling money into a money printer than possibly throwing it into the garbage bin.

don't get me wrong though. graphics don't make a game. plenty of triple a games with great graphics have been hated over their design. it's just a heck of a lot less likely to happen if the game design is simple.

[Daedius]

For a long while now innovation has typically come from indie games while Triple A titles stick to their formula.

[aceperson]

There comes a point in time where innovation just isn't going to happen because every major idea can and has been put into place. At a base level everything that could be done with games has been done since late 1990s/early 2000s and everything is just a play on it. From the Triple As to the small indy games.

i just don't believe this on a fundamental level. i know it's a cheesy quote but it's one i believe.



no idea is perfect. science itself is the process of building on the failures and successes of the past scientists. as science progresses, new concepts become aware to us. do you think people like Aristotle ever thought about the concept of folding space-time to circumvent the physical limits of faster than light travel? there is ALWAYS room for growth. the issue is whether a person wants to pursue it. as someone else said, there are plenty of innovative games in the indie area. that is where the triple a devs of tomorrow reside. the future scientists of the gaming industry working on the foundation laid by our current devs.

there is, and always will be, room for innovation so long as humanity exists.

- - - Updated - - -

Its not the Batman Arkham combat system, not in shape or form, No way. I don't know what to describe it but it aint Batman Arkham's combat.

i'd probably say something like a mix of arkham combat with dark souls combat. there is a lot more emphasis on dodging in witcher 3 but it isn't quite as heavy as dark souls.

[Aurabolt]

I assume the OP left this out on purpose but it would be remiss not to mention the paradigm shift Mobile Games created. Video Game Companies that traditionally made console or PC games--many of whom scoffed at the idea of mobile gaming--are now rushing to make mobile games themselves after seeing how profitable mobile apps can be for people with no background in programming.

A lot of the stuff prevelent in mobile games have been making their way into console and PC games in recent years. Genshin Impact does a pretty impressive job of hiding the fact its Hero collecting model is Gacha (pay money to get a hero randomly). Gacha, which involves paying money (either up front or on in-game currency) to get a random in-game feature/item/character/etc. has been getting a lot of attention in mobile games because of its ruthless addiction factor and high chances of creating a gambling addiction. It's why so many copycat mobile games are out there. Gacha is where they make their money so they make the game virtually unplayable without it in too many cases. In short, promoting gambling addiction.

That aside. It's no secret Sony is banking hard on VR Gaming once costs become viable. We're probably a Gen or two away at this point though I'm not interested in that personally. I look at the Wii and Wii U consoles in particular. Nintendo went in a different direction with both of those consoles and they were not as well received as Nintendo hoped--especially the Wii U. I am under no illusion VR Gaming is inevitable and will come in my lifetime though (I'm now 37 years old on that note).

Lots of good shit in the indie space.

...This, and it's why a lot of Devs who spent time in various AAA companies have been splitting off and starting their own studios in recent years.

[DeltrusDisc]

How many times can you really reinvent the wheel? Of course there was a ton of innovation back in the day when these genres didn't even exist yet.

If you look at indie developers, you get the kind of innovation you're looking for. 10-15 years ago, could you play 90% of the kind of games that exist now? Not really.

Whenever I hear/read this argument, I imagine that the person speaking/feeling it is someone who has just played video games for way too long and doesn't realize how burned out they are.

I think this is a wildly accurate and widely ignored phenomena.

[deenman]

I look at Witcher, especially number 3, then I look at you, OP, and I have to disagree. Let's add Automata too, because why not.

witcher is pretty fun and well made,but there is nothing really ground breaking or innovative in it,in fact it actualy takes a few steps back when it comes to rpg elements,something even cyberpunk for all its issues did better in that department,witcher 3 would have been the perfect game if it gave you more freedom and options on rpg elements,stuff like in dragon age,i get why they dont,because it has pre established limitations to what it can do,but that doesnt change the end result feel