A-List Games – Should All Games Aspire? (Games Blog Banter)
“Welcome, welcome to the 7th instalment of Blog Banter, the regular blogging extravaganza headed by bs angel and coordinated by Game Couch! Blog Banter involves our cozy community of enthusiastic gaming bloggers, a common topic, and a week to post articles pertaining to said topic. The results are quite entertaining and can range from deep insight to ROFLMAO. Any questions about Blog Banter should be directed here. Check out other Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!”
Do all games need to be A-List games?
I’m not sure if this question itself implies that we should settle for mediocrity, I interpret this as meaning, should we need and require multi-million pound budget games that take years to develop?
The Price of Perfection
Take for instance Duke Nukem Forever, from reports that I’ve read, it seems to be a game that has got stuck in such a vicious circle, partly due to their aspirations to gaming perfection during development – which is a good thing, but I think they’ve taken it to an extreme. It sounds like the developers have been re-making the game so many times over using different game engines and technology, that we’ve never actually been able to see or play it.
In the 11 years it’s been in development, admittedly there’s been some issues to do with publishers and rights changing hands, but surely had they not be so such perfectionists about their game they could have released 2 or 3 Duke Nukem games by now and still be advancing with technology each time?
By spending so long on the development of this one game, it now has to be an A-list game if and when it is released? No doubt people will be disappointed no matter what they produce now just because they’ll never be able to meet the high expectations and given the length of time it’s taken to get out to market – assuming that it ever does!
A Different Way?
Perhaps we should applaud their dedication, especially given that there are so many (lazy?) games developers out there, who you would think from the finished product (or sometimes it’s not even that) that they don’t have any pride in their work. Although, that’s perhaps a little unfair on developers, they are often at the mercy of the publishers, who just want to get the game out onto the shelves regardless of whether it is finished, as was the case with the Elite game, Frontier: First Encounters when it went bad!
This topic also ties in with what Daniel Primed recently wrote here on Zath asking the question whether handheld gaming is taken seriously by the gaming industry. The handheld platforms are certainly not ones where you find ending years to create an “A-List game”. However, despite that fact, there are still many great gaming examples of what can be achieved on a certain platform without throwing huge budgets at a game’s development which still end up complimenting an established franchise really well.
Don’t get me wrong, I still really like my “A-List games” such as Half Life 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, World of Warcraft, Civilization 4, Battlefield: Bad Company, but equally you often find a quick and fun web game to occupy you for a short time, which is what I try to highlight when I find them, such as Vector Wars and Match: Super League Football – on these occasions the games again have to be good in context of the platform.
What Does It Mean?
Overall, I like to think that I take Jerry Maguire’s attitude to gaming – “Playing Less is More” – like many of us gamers as we’re growing up, we’ve got a lot less time on our hands than when we did when we were at school, college or university – so it’s even more important not to waste time on bad games that are just not worth it!
Ultimately, I believe that a game doesn’t need to be “A-List” to be enjoyed, but equally it shouldn’t mean we should settle for mediocrity in our gaming experience.
Do you feel the same as I do? Do we need to appreciate that not all games have to be “A-List”, but at the same time be wary that this could encourage more mediocrity?
Participants : Delayed Responsibility, Silvercublogger, weblog.probablynot.com, Crazy Kinux, Gamer-Unit, MasterKitty, XboxOZ360, Omnivangelist, Lou Chou Loves You, Game Couch
Related Pages:
- Digital Game Distribution (Games Blog Banter)
- Gamer Stereotype? (Games Blog Banter)
- Get To Know Me! (Games Blog Banter)
- History of My Civilization! (Games Blog Banter)
- When Good Games Go Bad! (Games Blog Banter)
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Comments: 4
3:20 pm 21st August, 2008
Took the words right out of my mouth, or for that matter, right off my post! =p
As you say “Less is More”.
CrazyKinuxs last blog post..Blog Banter: Quality over quantity any day of the week
Comments: 4
4:21 pm 21st August, 2008
Lol, Duke Nukem Forever In Development. I think the longer a game takes to make, the more gamers expect it to be amazing. A longer development cycle could hurt a game in the long run.
Sort of like Kameo – it would have been much more well received by the video game industry had it been released a few years earlier, but time made the game a bit outdated. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it because I had not played a game like that in awhile.
Good article! I feel pretty much the same way you do. I don’t want t wait a few years for a game I like to be developed though. : )
Silvercubes last blog post..Xbox Live Arcade Sales Charts
Comments: 2
4:44 pm 21st August, 2008
Yeah, I thought of Duke Nukem Forever when I read the question. I think DNF would need to cure cancer upon its release for it live up to its promise. Prey also lingered in development hell and that ended up being a flash in the pan.
Comments: 1
4:50 pm 21st August, 2008
Look at all the games that have been released since Duke Nukem Forever was announced. Valve, not exactly known for their rapid timelines, have released Half-Life, Half-Life 2, and two follow on Episodes to Half-Life 2. Valve is a company that takes a lot of time developing their games and yet they look speedy by comparison.
I would like to see a less is more approach though. As a 360 owner I wonder if we REALLY need another FPS. Do we really need another mediocre game that does nothing we haven’t already done and probably already own? Do we need more fodder for the bargain bins and budget racks of our preferred retailers? There are games that continue to be released that make me wonder “What’s the point”. Just look at the 360 library to see the instant glut of mediocre WWII shooters as an example. Why even bother making those games?
Comments: 11
7:26 am 22nd August, 2008
I interpert the question the same and to answer it directly – no.
Games should be as sufficient as possible in whatever goals the developer intends to set. If all games were blockbuster titles then we would have no Zumas, Locorocos and would be limiting the bredth of game design as well as the market appeal.
Blockbuster titles more often than not conform to adjectives like ‘intense’ and ‘dramatic’ which I don’t think is a good thing either.
Daniel Primeds last blog post..Survival Guide for the Next Few Months
Comments: 1
4:12 pm 22nd August, 2008
I have found that games need to be of interest on a broad range. as the saying goes one mans trash is another mans treasure. I like all sorts of different games and not all of them are top sellers. I have played WOW and i have played COD4 . I like them both equally. I have found myself suddenly emerged into a new forum of games that are wildly growing in popularity.
web-based text games or mmorpg/pbbg which most of are free to join and very entertaining. some have extra features that you can chose you buy if you feel like it to enhance your experience as well.
one i found that i love is http://www.genleo.net
not and A-list game by any stretch but fun to play.
Comments: 25
6:29 pm 4th September, 2008
I think those games that are of great interest for their players will survive forever with some moderations of course.
Tanyas last blog post..Traditional Christmas Tree Decorations
Comments: 332
11:20 am 15th September, 2008
@Silvercube – I think you’re definitely right, people will be disappointed either way now.
@Jason O – I agree totally with your comment about Valve, they don’t mind putting release dates back and yet still produce high quality games. You’re also right about having loads of games in the same genre, surely you only need 2 or 3 top quality ones without all the stragglers tagging along trying to make a bit of money off the back of the others?