Hello. Today, I want to discuss what defines "progress" and in particular, what you want to see in gaming.There are many different opinions and I want to hear them all.
In my opinion I see two major trends in the gaming community.
Camp 1:
Camp 2:
Personally I see the merits of both camps, but I am far more interested in the community aspect. I love consuming and creating content by/for the community. I am an extremely avid fan of Total War mods and the eSports scene. Personally, I feel that this is the direction that gamers should push. However, there is a quandary to be found between these two different camps.
As Technical and Gameplay progression is pushed, the Community part inevitably dies. Note, that all major "eSport" and "moddable" games have been around for a very long time. This is telling, and we don't exactly see a huge community built around SniperElite or something similar. Now, I'm not trying to insult anyone, I realize that there are huge communities and mods built around Triple A titles like Crysis, ArmA(Yes I know DayZ is a mod
), but I feel it pales in numbers and content when you compare it to giant communities like WoW, and SCII. There is simply an astronomical difference. We've all seen the massive technical modding wonders like and HD texture pack for Crysis3, or the Half Life 2 mod(which was recently in the news), but Rome: Total War has over 30 Total Conversion mods! Out of those 30, at least 14 I would rate as "extremely high quality."
Note though, that as games become more complicated, the amount of work required to successfully make a total conversion mod easily triples or quadruples in the amount. Less people are inclined to mod, or mods may take up to half a decade to complete!
New games and sequels also splinter the competitive community. Just look at CS. Many call GO garbage, others call CSS garbage, others say that 1.6 is outdated. It simply splinters the community too much or makes the transitions difficult.
This is why I feel that there are distinctly two visions of Video Games. Yes, there is a huge curve to both camps, but ideologically, there are distinctly two camps. You may not share my opinion, or you may and attribute yourself to one of these two visions. Please post below.
Note: My list and choices of games/examples is subjective but they are examples. I don't want to earn your ire, but I want to emphasize what I'm trying to say. You are entirely entitled to your opinion and welcome to disagree with me about the specific games or w.e. because that is not my point. My point is that you endorse mainly one of these two positions. You may claim that you have your own third opinion and I'm perfectly fine with that. Just keep your all-knowing ego in the back of your mind and try to present your argument in a calm, patient, and rational manner. ).
In my opinion I see two major trends in the gaming community.
Camp 1:
The people who want to see the technical and gameplay aspects of video games pushed. Engines like CryEngine and Frostbite 3 are innovation and ultimately what drive gaming forward. The ones who want to see their hardware pushed, or hardware optimization improved, or the ones who want truly multi-threaded games and optimized engines. There are many different aspects and visions of "technical progression."
Of course, another spectrum of this camp is the one that respects gameplay, and insist that it has to improve in parallel to the technical aspects of the game. Games like ArmA and DayZ help push "Realism" in gaming, while innovative titles like Portal, Mass Effect, Fallout, etc push other boundaries; Open sandbox worlds, interesting gameplay, non-linear storylines, etc.
Of course, another spectrum of this camp is the one that respects gameplay, and insist that it has to improve in parallel to the technical aspects of the game. Games like ArmA and DayZ help push "Realism" in gaming, while innovative titles like Portal, Mass Effect, Fallout, etc push other boundaries; Open sandbox worlds, interesting gameplay, non-linear storylines, etc.
Camp 2:
The people who want to see the community aspect of gaming move forward. This is the e-sports and modding communities. These are the guys who want to grow gaming as a sport or as an acceptable hobby without the social stigma associated with it. A slightly different mindset is simple people who are personally invested in gaming or enjoy community made content. I am talking about competitive games like SCII, LoL, CS, etc.
On another side of this camp are those who are simply into the community of the game, or enjoy consuming the content that the community creates. Things like mods, guides, fanfiction, privately-runs servers, the friends, acquaintances, clans, etc. These are the modding teams of Total War, Skyrim, Source games, Racing simulators, etc.
On another side of this camp are those who are simply into the community of the game, or enjoy consuming the content that the community creates. Things like mods, guides, fanfiction, privately-runs servers, the friends, acquaintances, clans, etc. These are the modding teams of Total War, Skyrim, Source games, Racing simulators, etc.
Personally I see the merits of both camps, but I am far more interested in the community aspect. I love consuming and creating content by/for the community. I am an extremely avid fan of Total War mods and the eSports scene. Personally, I feel that this is the direction that gamers should push. However, there is a quandary to be found between these two different camps.
As Technical and Gameplay progression is pushed, the Community part inevitably dies. Note, that all major "eSport" and "moddable" games have been around for a very long time. This is telling, and we don't exactly see a huge community built around SniperElite or something similar. Now, I'm not trying to insult anyone, I realize that there are huge communities and mods built around Triple A titles like Crysis, ArmA(Yes I know DayZ is a mod
Note though, that as games become more complicated, the amount of work required to successfully make a total conversion mod easily triples or quadruples in the amount. Less people are inclined to mod, or mods may take up to half a decade to complete!
New games and sequels also splinter the competitive community. Just look at CS. Many call GO garbage, others call CSS garbage, others say that 1.6 is outdated. It simply splinters the community too much or makes the transitions difficult.
This is why I feel that there are distinctly two visions of Video Games. Yes, there is a huge curve to both camps, but ideologically, there are distinctly two camps. You may not share my opinion, or you may and attribute yourself to one of these two visions. Please post below.
Note: My list and choices of games/examples is subjective but they are examples. I don't want to earn your ire, but I want to emphasize what I'm trying to say. You are entirely entitled to your opinion and welcome to disagree with me about the specific games or w.e. because that is not my point. My point is that you endorse mainly one of these two positions. You may claim that you have your own third opinion and I'm perfectly fine with that. Just keep your all-knowing ego in the back of your mind and try to present your argument in a calm, patient, and rational manner. ).