Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Future Is Not So Much Dark, But Boring


I was, for just a moment, excited that there's a new Syndicate game on the way, as the original was one of my favourites back in the day. I had most fun running around the cities and using the Persuadertron to brainwash every living thing. So, yes, excited. Then I read the article and saw the screenshots and, oh look, it's another first-person shooter -- or Doom-clone as we called them in the old days -- and that's killed my interest stone dead. What's wrong with the video game industry these days? Why the chronic lack of imagination?

3 comments:

  1. Simply put: money. High investment costs militate against innovation. It's much safer for the studios to a) repeat a commercially successful formula or b) re-heat well-known franchises than risk the shop on an novel type of game.

    (what number "G(od/-ears) of War" are they up to now?)

    Compare and contrast: the innovation of the 80s Speccy 'bedroom coder' explosion vs. the formulaic drivel pumped out by the current gaming industry. What was the last *truly innovative* game you remember playing?

    Re: the screenshot. Oh looky, it's the classic early 2000s colour palette: blue and orange. How original.

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  2. What was the last *truly innovative* game you remember playing?

    Well, that one's easy: Katamari Damacy, which felt like a classic bedroom-coded game in many ways.

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  3. Syndicate was a great game, Syndicate american revolution was impossable. New Syndicate looks Stunning!!

    I Cant wait.

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