Getting Things Right

On occasion there are times when by accident we do something right. It may be something minor, that we merely guessed at, or it could be an entire series of blunders that we do that some how turn out for the best. However one thing that most people have in common, not matter if they live by this or it happens on sheer happenstance, is that we try to learn from these experiences. Some people, however never seem to learn from these lessons.

Perhaps I should clarify. I'm not talking about every day life, no I'm talking about the big game developers, and Hollywood. Sure some channels are fairly radical... SyFy (hate that change) for example does a fantastic job of coming up with relatively innovative shows. However generally speaking Hollywood is just relying on formula, pomp, and nostalgia anymore. I mean really, how many times are they going to remake My Little Pony, The Care Bears, or Street Fighter? Things from our childhood unless done right, should stay there.

Video game makers are guilty of this too. I agree with Adam Sessler's soapbox that independent games are important. In fact I also agree with man things in X-Play's post on things they'd like to kill in video games. The problem is that large portions of the video games we play are based off of the stepping stones of games before. Large portions of the games we play are formulaic. I've mentioned this previously when talking about Final Fantasy games. They are so formulaic that once you know how to recognize certain symbology in the characters, the challenge is removed from the game play, it becomes a level grind.

Independent game makers get things wrong all the time, however they are getting many things right. Part of the things that they are getting right are things that we later see in main stream games, but generally it takes an unknown making these games, taking the risk and putting everything they have on the line. Why? The big names in games don't want to take the risk of spending hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars of dollars to make a game that may, or may not be a success.

Think about it. Rock Band (to an extent) imitated Guitar Hero, and now there is DJ Hero coming out, all very similar games. Then there are all of the run 'n gun games out there, first person shooters (FPS), etc. All rely heavily upon games like Doom and Quake. I freely admit that the story lines differ, but games that offer innovation really aren't seen much in FPS games, and when it is there, it tends to feel hollow and vapid, something tacked on because someone decided it needed to be there, instead of something designed to change how we view the game. On occasions when there is a through walk though for something innovative such as Fracture, the game doesn't do well, or game play feels sloppy, or out of balance.

What needs to happen is for game manufacturers such as Konami, Capcom, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and the others, is to start thinking more like an independent developer. They need to be willing to take risks, and to work on things that are beyond the box. Sure, Final Fantasy is fun to play, but over the years it has lost its charm, even if it has a fantastic storytelling to provide. Give us something new to sink or teeth into. There's nothing wrong with using something old and doing something new with it, so long as it is well done *glares at Final Fantasy XI and its Grouping Requirements*.