Biggest problem this gen - lack of originality

Contrary to what many think, namely that Call of Duty copycats or even "consolization" are the biggest problems in games today, I think the main problem is the lack of any originality in AAA games.

In the last gen we had a lot of original, even groundbreaking games (like Shenmue, Halo, Black & White, ICO and so forth).

Yet today we only get rehashes of well known concepts.

Publishers are just too unwilling to risk and bet on accepted and often generic concepts and gamers eat up whatever is hyped and served to them.

On the whole this is what stagnates the indutry and may result into an another "video game crash" when the marked becomes too saturated with the same games over and over again just with better graphics (ironically some vintage games never get resurrected while some get sequels faster than you can think).

Amnesia, Braid, Portal, Bulletstorm...

Amnesia, Braid, Portal...PannicAtack

Yeah, but neither of these had a big budget and high production value.

Someone needs to see the entire libary of the DS

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"]Amnesia, Braid, Portal...nameless12345

Yeah, but neither of these had a big budget and high production value.

Most risky games aren't going to ever be big budget, it's just too... risky.

Someone needs to see the entire libary of the DS

Cruse34

No, I wouldn't touch DS with a 10 foot pole, I hate handhelds. And don't care about 'originality' on them, it only matters if originality hits pc/360/ps3 imo.

This reminds me of a topic not long ago where a poster actually thought he had cornered me about game difficulty.
there is no such thing as originality...till we get real time sex, and realistic violence and torture, pochinko water bottle knife displays...etc then most all ideas have already been done and the ones that haven't aren't actually good ideas.

Much like I said before where he though he had cornered me on difficulty in my comments of black ops, mw2..etc there are no real learning curve games there is really only one method of increasing difficulty atleast till we get real AI...thats increasing things.

Black ops-Super meat boy I believe was brought up...Someone or the TC in that topic actually tried to claim that super meat boy had a diffrent difficulty method...when in reality its the same...
blackops-enemies hit harder, there are more of them, they have more ammo.
super meat boy- there are more obstacles, more death traps, faster paced.

there is no real difference between the 2 more of, faster..etc all the same difficulty increasing methods and simply put that has to do with originality in the fact that there is originality within the rules we live in most all game types have been done and the ones that haven't arently actually good...So maybe go out and find the games you haven't played and you will find originality but don't expect so much originality we are 30 years into the video games arena till we get massive leaps of technology in terms of graphics, sound, control interfaces...etc you won't find the mythical originality you expect.

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"]Amnesia, Braid, Portal...nameless12345

Yeah, but neither of these had a big budget and high production value.

If you want originality you better look at the indie scene,otherwise you´re mostly out of luck.

[QUOTE="nameless12345"]

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"]Amnesia, Braid, Portal...Arach666

Yeah, but neither of these had a big budget and high production value.

If you want originality you better look at the indie scene,otherwise you´re mostly out of luck.

I believe that was the point that the TC was trying to get to. I believe he is trying to prove that in past years big name publishers released original filled AAA games. Nowadays it's only small indie games.

Contrary to what many think, namely that Call of Duty copycats or even "consolization" are the biggest problems in games today, I think the main problem is the lack of any originality in AAA games.

In the last gen we had a lot of original, even groundbreaking games (like Shenmue, Halo, Black & White, ICO and so forth).

Yet today we only get rehashes of well known concepts.

nameless12345

And when they do something different, people whine.siLVURcross

Truth!

Also, originality isn't always good anyways-- like some games try way too hard at being original and fail at being good overall; I would imagine it's pretty difficult to be truely original when just about everything has already been done in one way or another. I feel there is enough variety though.

[QUOTE="Arach666"]

[QUOTE="nameless12345"]

Yeah, but neither of these had a big budget and high production value.

glez13

If you want originality you better look at the indie scene,otherwise you´re mostly out of luck.

I believe that was the point that the TC was trying to get to. I believe he is trying to prove that in past years big name publishers released original filled AAA games. Nowadays it's only small indie games.

I agree with OP, I'd like to see some new IP's coming out instead of XX 2/3/4/10. That said I can't imagine devs releasing a high budget Mech Warrior/Shenmue/whatever and gaining enough profit to last?

I'd rather it be phrased

"Biggest problem this gen - the consumer"

Maybe on consoles. PC has alot of unique games this gen. :)

There's plenty of original games out there. You just gotta look for them.

Consolization is the cause for the lack of originality.SamiRDuran

Contrary to what many think, namely that Call of Duty copycats or even "consolization" are the biggest problems in games today, I think the main problem is the lack of any originality in AAA games.

In the last gen we had a lot of original, even groundbreaking games (like Shenmue, Halo, Black & White, ICO and so forth).

Yet today we only get rehashes of well known concepts.

Publishers are just too unwilling to risk and bet on accepted and often generic concepts and gamers eat up whatever is hyped and served to them.

On the whole this is what stagnates the indutry and may result into an another "video game crash" when the marked becomes too saturated with the same games over and over again just with better graphics (ironically some vintage games never get resurrected while some get sequels faster than you can think).

nameless12345

The video game crash will never happen, ever again. I've seen a documentary a wile ago concerning that and why it'll never happen.

And there's plenty of originality, but not in the mainstream. The mainstream wont feed you any originality, you need to look for it, and then you'll see.

[QUOTE="SamiRDuran"]Consolization is the cause for the lack of originality.nervmeister

Maybe you should look at the PCs library of games instead of just the bigbudget games and multiplatforms.

No, I wouldn't touch DS with a 10 foot pole, I hate handhelds. And don't care about 'originality' on them, it only matters if originality hits pc/360/ps3 imo.

Inconsistancy

That doesn't make sense, care to explain? There's load of games on the DS and PSP that reeks of originality.

Unfortunately video games are more of a business now than ever. It's not about what's original. That's not what sells. What sells are rehashes of popular known titles to the Walmart crowd who just wants to pick up a game to shoot nazi zombie eskimos. The only place you'll find originality nowadays is in Indie games. And those aren't going to be as large of scope as bigger production projects, but will have more originality.

Games are about making money, not about having something that is original or fun. Producers decide where a project is going to go and how much is invested within a limited time span, not the creative team behind it.

This gen has seen an ABUNDANCE of originality. I don't know where you've been... but there are so many original games this gen, its hard to keep up. High or low budget.

[QUOTE="SamiRDuran"]Consolization is the cause for the lack of originality.nervmeister

Actually, yes.

Sounds as though your due a break from gaming.. Perhaps after a break; the gaming industry may seem a little more positive than it does at present for you.

The biggest problem this gen is the increase in development cost. Everything else comes from that.

[QUOTE="nervmeister"][QUOTE="SamiRDuran"] [QUOTE="NanoMan88"]

[QUOTE="nervmeister"][QUOTE="SamiRDuran"]Consolization is the cause for the lack of originality.DraugenCP

Maybe you should look at the PCs library of games instead of just the bigbudget games and multiplatforms.

Contrary to what many think, namely that Call of Duty copycats or even "consolization" are the biggest problems in games today, I think the main problem is the lack of any originality in AAA games.

In the last gen we had a lot of original, even groundbreaking games (like Shenmue, Halo, Black & White, ICO and so forth).

Yet today we only get rehashes of well known concepts.

Publishers are just too unwilling to risk and bet on accepted and often generic concepts and gamers eat up whatever is hyped and served to them.

On the whole this is what stagnates the indutry and may result into an another "video game crash" when the marked becomes too saturated with the same games over and over again just with better graphics (ironically some vintage games never get resurrected while some get sequels faster than you can think).

nameless12345

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"]Amnesia, Braid, Portal...nameless12345

Yeah, but neither of these had a big budget and high production value.

You really expect big risks taken on a 50 million $ project?

There are original games this gen but they often tend to be overlooked. But for the most part devs are not being as creative with games this gen compared to the last. That's why I reckon it's very important that a new gen doesn't start anytime soon. With the high costs(getting lower) and the state of the economy(getting better of course) it will take a little time for devs to break out of the norm but on the hardware side Im sure there are absolutely no hurdles like there were a few years back. Devs now fully understand what it takes to make quality games on current gen hardware, and not just rely on top of the line graphics. Im expecting to see a lot of original titles coming in these next 3 or 4 years, so next gen systems have no place until late 2014 or 2015.

And if anyone truly wants new systems then I suggest they make the move to computers.

I'll put a finer point on it: I don't think it's so much lack of originality as it is lack of variety. There are plenty of existing genres that used to get big releases that simply aren't represented at all in mainstream gaming today.

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"]Amnesia, Braid, Portal...nameless12345

Yeah, but neither of these had a big budget and high production value.

Perhaps to some degree. But not in every arena. Square-Enix games like FFXIII and 3rd Birthday have very original elements but they lack good execution. I think, more than anything, the main problem with this generation is a lack of variety. Which is not necessarily the same as a lack of originality.

Derp, why is Halo in your list of games with original concepts from last gen?

Assassins Creed, Batman Arkham Asylum, inFAMOUS, Demon's Souls, Red Dead Redemption are just a few original AAA games from this gen.

My problem is that entire genres(adventure, lack of many WRPGs and JRPGs as last gen, platformers) seemed to die this gen, and there are few expectations, and those that do don't get much attention here.