Slashdot Mirror
Five Ways To Save Video Games
Games.net has an article up with the somewhat dramatic title of Five Ways to Save Video Games. The piece doesn't feel the need to pull any punches. From the article: "#1 Stop Treating Women Like Whores - Sexy is fine. Titillating can be fun. But when you show stupid jiggle-physics and scantily-clad girls cooing and moaning and wriggling, you show yourselves for what you really are: sex-crazed children. And don't think for a minute that the mainstream media doesn't pick up on this. If you can't stop demeaning women (with skimpy outfits and hyper-sexuality) and men (by glamorizing massive musculature and testosterone-dripping masculinity), then get the hell out of the industry."
It seems 90% of the world is a sex-crazed children, if advertisments are anything to go by. From cars to perfume to... yeah pretty much anything adheres to the "skimpy outfits + huge muscles" trend. Don't even get me started on movies.
"#1 Stop Treating Women Like Whores"
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On the grounds of taste, I'd like to agree, but I don't think it matters overall to gaming's future successes. There are plenty of films and music videos that portray women as sex objects and do well out of it. Here's a great example:
http://www.internetdj.com/watch_video.php?op=watc
Seriously, how many articles like this have we seen recently? I don't mind slashdot covering the articles; after all, this is an undeniable trend in gaming journalism of late and deserves to be covered. I do wonder whether the authors of these articles realise just how redundant they're being, though.
What I've noticed is that, whatever language and specific examples are used to dress them up, most of these articles seem to be trying to point in the same direction. In short, they want to "save" the industry by getting it to drop the practices that have been successful at pushing gaming into the mainstream over the last decade.
Seriously, how often lately have we read that games should stop trying to be like movies, stop including fmv or, indeed, any cutscene longer than about five seconds. How many cheap (and inaccurate) shots at Final Fantasy X do we have to sit, on the supposed grounds that it was just a movie with a few interactive sequences? What precisely is the purpose of attacking games with "epic" plots? Should every game be about a cartoon plumber running around cleaning graffiti off an island?
I think this basically boils down to "disgruntled fanboy syndrome". The journalists writing these articles now are the same breed who, ten years ago (before the Playstation, when gaming could still reasonably be described as niche) were writing about what games needed to do to break into the mainstream. Now that gaming is firmly a mainstream practice, they want nothing more than to push it back into its niche? Why? Ego, mostly.
A lot of these sages figured that when games became a mainstream activity, the nature of the public would change to fit their past-time. They didn't figure on their past-time changing to fit the public. Look at all the Final Fantasy fans who whinge on (often at great length, in slashdot games comments section) about how Square haven't made a good game since Final Fantasy VI and are just interested in milking the franchise these days? Do their claims stand up to close investigation? Not by any objective standard. FFX had a more intricate and nuanced combat system than FFVI, had more "optional" content and a better range of tools available to convey emotional expression. FFX-2, by no means the most popular installment in the series, was a pretty risky venture, taking all kinds of liberties with established gameplay concepts that *could* have simply been milked further to provide a safe cash-flow. The vast majority of those who publically hark back to the so-called glory days of the series are simply trying to boost their own egos by showing all these pesky newcomers that "WE WERE HERE BEFORE YOU" and assuming that their opinions should carry more weight as a result of this.
Alternatively, turn the example around and look at Nintendo. Nintendo's course of action over the last few years (and its probable course over the next couple of years) has been pretty close to what most of these articles seem to be promoting. They've eschewed movie-style production values (look at the absence of voice-acting in Wind Waker, for example) and concentrated on "old school" gameplay concepts. If these articles (and the general thrust of opinion on slashdot games) were correct, Nintendo should be market leaders. In reality, they're faced with declining sales, plummeting market share and a near total absence of any press attention out of the strictly specialist media.
In short, most gaming media articles on "how to save gaming" are in fact nothing more than thinly disguised articles on "how to save the author's job and/or ego".
... is there anywhere I can do a Masters or PHD in jiggle-physics, this seems like a discipline that requires further study.
Maybe it would be nice if games could alsobe targetted at other markets, but I suspect the interest just isn't there. Just look at films - barring the odd Titanic / English Patient (eww), how many blockbuster chick-flicks are there? Granted they do exist, but the film market dynamics are different. Currently, the market says "geeky boys play games" - hence games focus their sights on geeky boys.
-- Intelligence is soluble in alcohol
Not that I dissagree with the sentiment (far from it infact), but isn't mainstream movies and TV even worse than games in general, ESPECIALLY in the US?
At least in games things are obviously fantasy. A lot of TV/Movies are also fantasy, but dressed up as fact.
And don't think for a minute that the mainstream media doesn't pick up on this.
You mean the way I read articles about the male/female stereotypes in hollywood movies every other day?
The media will pick up whatever it wants, and if it doesn't find something, it creates something.
Remember all the crying of "think of the chiiiildren" back when they found some boobs in a game labeled 17 or older already? Right, that was a major issue for the 9-13 age bracket.
I've got another hint:
Stop worrying about the media and start making better games, you morons.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
> This article was a waste of time..please dont read it.
;-)
You must be new here...
---- Take the Space Quiz!
Just hit F6?
I am a Man , I like seeing women in skimpy outfits .I do not view them as inferior or lessor beings because some women choose to wear something titillating . In fact I admire their courage and their bodies. .. It's natural for straight guys to like these types of things.
.. but the most important thing is the game-play . Sure a few stories are rather similar and have some plot holes .. but you would think that these people have never read works of literature .. I can tell you from experience that the same things happen even in the greatest of literary works .
I like jiggling breasts
It is not Evil or wrong for Games to portray this .
They are not treating them as whores , they are treating them as beautiful examples of the female form.
I am not a sexist and believe women deserve equal rights in all things. The fact remains that men like to see scantily clad women and that is not going to change because a few prudes consider this demeaning .
We are not immature idiots , we know that most real women are not like this , but let us keep our fantasies please.(some women also enjoy scantily clad men , look at the success of male strippers )
The complaints about the story lines are silly , some games have better plots than others
After all these are just games and centre around the interactivity aspect of the story . Sure they do sometimes follow the Hero save damsel from villain plot but honestly it is a tried and true format that works well.
Special effects can be rather cool , So long as they are not over-used or inappropriately used (or lacking inappropriately ).
Cinematic experiences can be part of the games style , what is wrong with that . I don't have much to say on this part as it's really not worth commenting on
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
TFA: Why don't we just show everyone naked and copulating and be done with it?
I'd buy that game!
... I remember reading an article with Itakagi, the creator of the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series. He talked about the beach volleyball game they made. He said that the artists who came up with the skimpiest were the women on the team and not the men. Makes you wonder what the women who make 3d models and textures think of all this. They don't seem to care, at least in Team Ninja's case.
On average, men prefer slim women with D-sized breasts. Women prefer guys with musculature. Looking at ads and movies just proves the point. We are shown what we like. If we didn't like it, we wouldn't watch it. It's no wonder games are doing the same thing.
Article: Instead of spending $20 million to make "THE NEXT HALO!!!,... why not spend $4 million to make five solid games with interesting themes? You might not sell 8 million copies, but with budgets like that, selling 300,000 units will make you serious bank.
5 * 300,000 = 1,500,000.
1 * 8,000,000 = 8,000,000.
8,000,000 > 1,500,000.
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
Memo to games.net: I know that times are tough and you fund yourself with the revenues you get from ads. But making me go thru a a full page ad every time I click on a link is annoying to no end.
I'm not saying that I won't visit your site again, but I'll think twice before clicking on another games.net link.
No sig
Its just that the entertainment industry's creative muscle has atrophied and instead of offering new and innovative titles, we get the same formula based and derivative "sequels" and "clones" based on other successful franchises.
Most companies while earning billions of dollars don't want to waste millions developing a software title that may fail. The same is true in Television and Hollywood. The entertainment industry has resolved itself into only a few major companies that generate billions in revenue, but these companies make their billions by not taking risks.
All that is needed to save video games is to start breaking the mold and offering us something new. We don't need GTA or Quake knockoffs, just something new.
Gratuitous sex and violence isn't needed in video games, its a cheap gimmick to drive sales without investing much in innovation. But sex does sell, and as long as any movie, tv show, or game can make millions with it, it will continue to happen.
For the most part, many game formats are old time favourites, we will always love a fast paced FPS or thought provoking RPG or RTS, but rather then 90% of the market being clones of only a handful of original games, just take a risk and offer us something new!
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
To me, the best way to save video games is to be able to save whenever the hell you want, not run around the building/city/world/universe trying to find a save point.
Random rants about technology: http://technorants.blogspot.com
Why the hell would the market leader want to change what has always worked, and will always work, to wit, pandering to the lowest common denominator? The masses love the stupidest games. Look at the sales for frogger, and "101 solitaire games" compilations and weep. Now, multiply that by the number of adolescents who will bite their own hands off for a chance to own the fashion statement of the moment. PS2, XBOX, both tried to become the Von Dutch shirts and Diesel jeans of videogames, and now, The Big N is shooting for that position with the ultra-cute Game Boy Micro.
Small aparté :
I'm actually GLAD sony sells consoles to the mentally-challenged. It helps me determine whether so-and-so actually knows what the fuck he/she's talking about whenever we talk about video games :
"Gran Turismo 23! Metal Gear 45! Madden Whateverthefuckthisyearis! GTA : now you can even use a skateboard and yell "fuck!" in the street! Mario is for kiddies! Gnéhé! *wipes drool* Would you like fries with that, sir?"
End troll-moddable aparté.
You want things to change in the industry? how about you...
VOTE WITH YOUR FRIGGIN' DOLLARS!
But when you show stupid jiggle-physics and scantily-clad girls cooing and moaning and wriggling, you show yourselves for what you really are: sex-crazed children.
Sounds awesome! Where can I get this game!?!
Ok, so we're seeing an article like this about once a week now. It's getting a little redundant.
Most of the points are agreeable don't get me wrong, but do they really think anything is going to change? These developers are going to play it safe until they are out of business and I can't wait for that day to come.
It basically boils down to lazy an unimaginative game designers and the scumbag publishers that reinforce the behavior because the shit sells. I'm not going to point fingers at any one developer or any one console because almost all of them are guilty.
One a separate note, I like seeing scantily clad women and also enjoy playing as a muscular guy. I don't see the problem with this. If that type of person fits the role of the game then whats wrong with that?
This article makes me wonder if the author even plays games. Most of the people I know play games to escape, being the only person around and saving your entire race is a damn good way to escape. Looking at scantily clad women (also a good way to escape). I enjoy being the only person who can save earth, now if there was only sequels to certain games such as HALO, Half-Life and Advent Rising I would probably survive. The author also seems to forget entirely about games such as Rainbow Six, BattleField (I know it has its own problems, but those are seperate from what he was talking about) even Grant Theft Auto.
For the most part they are pointing out the obvious, however I found it rather ironic that their choice of images to prove their points shows how little they understand games or have bothered to research their choice of imagery beyond "that looks good, we'll use that".
... this may well be the longest thing I've posted on slashdot...
#2 Your Storylines Suck--Get New Ones
The image they've chosen to match this one against is from System Shock 2, one of the few immersive story driven FPS games from that time.
The original system shock defined a genre in a period when "shoot, shoot, shoot, grab the key" was about as deep as the stories in FPS games were. Then half-life 1 stole system-shocks crown by doing nearly everything the original while not leaving you feeling as isolated by adding lots of NPCs you could interact with.
System shock 2 was a fine sequel that built upon elements of the first system shock and made it truely atmoshperic and immersive to the point that it was capable of scaring you.
Yes the storyline still left you as the only live "person" on the ship and partnered with an operator, but that is system shock's style. Maybe they could have done more with it, but honestly I think the team that designed system shock did themselves proud on both the storyline and the game itself.
#5 Cinema is Sinful
The image they've chosen to match this one against is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with the general feel of "stop trying to make games like film, because it doesn't work".
Again, really poor research - yes SA did have cinematic cut-scenes but the majority were amazing and really helped define & enhance the underlying story and hold your interest.
Yes, they could have tried doing it all in locked 3rd-person mode so it didn't break the immersion but that wouldn't have worked nearly as well at keeping peoples attention, or setting the scene.
For example in Half-Life and Halo the narrative is delivered from bystanders but for the most part these people are extras who could (and often would) never be seen again so you don't need to develop any attachment to them. Contrast this with SA where you and your extended family are all major characters, each with their own backstory and plotlines which are woven into the main story.
By the time the last "chapter" of SA begins your character has been used and thoroughly betrayed, some of which helps the player remain motivated and understand the events of the final chapter which would have seemed unthinkable at the start of the game.
Hmm
I have to disagree. While there is alot of sexuality and t&a on TV, it never gets so infantile as it does in some games. Best example would be to check out Bloodrayne. There is a character in there that runs around with you (serves as the means to teach you how to play). Well, every time this character stops moving her tits jiggle violently like jello in an earthquake. It looks SO ridiculous, it's embarassing. Llike the article said, nothing wrong with sexy... but when it gets to the point where only a 14 year old boy would enjoy it, you've crossed a line. A line where frankly, you can LOSE sales.
Hey, I've got an answer for him...they don't. Using hyperbole like this to establish an argument when there are actual real issues that could be discussed is simply bad writing. There are many ways to see that this is a straw man argument. An examination of the past year's releases and the upcoming year's releases shows how lame this argument is. Of the Top 10 releases of 2004, none involve a character who is the "sole survivor of some holocaust." Actually, none are close, though we almost got a holocaust in Halo 2 and we likely will in Halo 3:
(Note: I'm not interested in his other points at the moment, but it doesn't look like jiggly boobs and a cinematic experience hurt GTA sales all that much and I'm not sure that any of the other titles included T&A. Heck, less than half of them featured a "hero" as the main character. GTA, and arguably the Halo games, feature an anti-hero. The sports games don't focus on a single character, nor do the racing games. So, only Halo, Halo 2, Spiderman, and Pokemon have the player playing as a hero. Only GTA features T&A. Only GTA, Spider-man, and the Halo games feature cinematic cut scenes. Of those, only the Halo games commit his sin of being, God forbid, Epic. I'm not aware that any of the games have you getting captured half-way through the game and having to recover your weapons. I've played lots of games that had you do that back in the 90's. I don't think I've played a single one on the current consoles, but I might be forgetting something.)
Additionally, here is a list of the upcoming releases on the PS2 as previewed by one of the major video game sites. I have marked the ones that don't feature a solo hero in a post-holocaust setting.
#1 where women are treates like whores - isn't this simply a reflection of society, where women choose to wear skimpy clothing? While most "normal" people don't do that, it just takes a small group to damage everything.
/. readers have experience with, is a dupe.
#2 might have merit, but it is minimalistic. The problem is not with plot, but with the attempt at poor plot being a crutch to negate (or explain) bad gameplay. As a side note, the screenshot is for System Shock 2 - where the "Aliens" are from Earth.
#3, as most
#4 is merely a variation on a theme for #2 and #3 - the storyline sucks and the developers simply focused on art.
#5 is somewhat correct. Cinametics are sometimes necessairy to help show important plot points, when it would not be possible (or "safe") to have the information shown in character.
As for full screen cinematics, any unskippable cutscene means the game is substandard (unless it is also doing background loading as quickly as possible, but that's another story). Developers that don't even make an attempt to speed those things up (even after trying a combination oy 12 ESCs, 6 mouse clicks, 256 spaces and 6 enters) will simply be blasted for excessive loading time (since the player cannot interact with the game while it is trying to do processing for the next in-game scene).
In summary, I've seen better articles. These 5 points are simply pecking away at minor issues rather than pointing towards the core problem. I'm sure other posters have pointed out the Gamesutra bill of rights that was posted recently, which does a much better job of summarizing flaws with games.
Civ3 was a flop because of all the boobies.
As an example: there is an article up there entitled "I hate Puppies, or how Nintendogs will ruin the world," the general gist of which being that Nintendogs is stupid, and I'll be over here playing real games. And then in the article linked in this Slashdot post, we get this: "Look at Nintendog's sales--they're they're spectacular. 'Nuff said. Games are games. Let's keep them that way." Granted, these are from two different writers, but I'm not trying to point out hypocrisy; I'm pointing out that many of these writers are know-nothing blowhards.
The writer makes some valid points, but her reputability is marred by that of her colleagues.
"#1 Stop Treating Women Like Whores
Well that's fine and dandy, but there is a reason people demand 500gb hard drives. And it's not all to download episodes of Futurama.
Not that I go around devoting entire hard drives to storing high quality jpg files or something like that... *coughs* Not me. I swear! *coughs* But it's the nature of US society even though no one will admit to it.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
1. The Sims 2
2. Nude Patch/Skins
3. ???
4. Profit!
Maybe step 3 would be sue for inappropriate adult content in a teen rated game?
That's why Duke Nukem, Serious Sam, and the rest of the games like that don't sell.
Oh wait.
Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
I can't imagine why this new #1 women's breasts are too large in video games + variations is coming out, unless the geeks who write the articles (who have hard time getting dates anyways), are maybe recieving some kind of other pressure. But this last one really baffles me. Whores? With the exception of GTA, I'd like you to point out one game where a female character doesn't at least have some kind of "Action Oriented" participant role in the game.
One other, please?
I have my own opinions. I don't need a hack writer trying to put forth their opinions as gospel to me.
If anything, I'd say I don't like how men are shown in FF games. They are looking more and more female. I don't want to play a big muscle bound character, but I'd like an average guy character that doesn't look female! I guess to start pleasing the female audience the next FF game should include the stick girl with no boobs, the big butt girl, the girl with thunder thighs, the short girl, and of course the girl with the good personality. The villian would be some one that looks similiar to Luna out of FFX-2 or Tidus from FFX.
I was thinking about writting a long, witty reply to your huge paragraphs full of juicy love, but then I came to my senses.
;)
"In short: popular games are often popular because they are GOOD. Denial of this is nothing more than a symptom of rabid hard-core fanboydom and is deeply ugly."
Change the word "games" to "music", "TV shows", "movies", "mass-media-covered piles of crap", or even "operating systems" and throw yourself off a cliff, *insert insult of choice*.
See? Toldja why I like phony sanboys
Five ways to save video games /dev/cdrom warcraft3.iso
1. File>Save As...
2. put the CDs in your gun vault
3. cd
4. wait till the game's in the $5 bin and buy an extra copy
5. just pirate the game from your buddy, and let him worry about it!
Why in point #2 does it say "something really cool" and link to a direct marketing assocation?
Let's go over some things. The way I see it:
Disclaimer: All this is IMO.
I might be a shallow, simple action gamer, but I know what I like in my games. >:|
But when you show stupid jiggle-physics and scantily-clad girls cooing and moaning and wriggling, you show yourselves for what you really are: sex-crazed children.
Won't someone please think of the sex-crazed children?!
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
You know what? I really don't think the mainstream media cares. In fact, I'd say if they were interested, they'd harp on that fact, which would not only sell the product to sex-craved adults and children, but also make them money. Sex makes you watch TV. It makes those same sex crazed individuals hunger for more sex-crazed shows.
Sex sells and you're not getting away from it by whining about it. You have to change the dynamics. It comes down to a community deciding that it won't sell and you not buying what they're shoveling on TV in the way of programming, the game itself or discussing in the TV news programs.
Change the dynamics and you'll stop the chain, but no amount of legislation or public outcry will do it. You have to act by voting with your eyeballs, your "values" and your wallet.
"Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important." (Lisa Hoffman)
I agree that when cinematics absolutely need to done, they should be short, probably everyone agrees.
My question is, how do people feel about cinematic scenes done as pre-rendered movie clips vs (my preference) scenes done within the game engine itself, such as in KOTOR.
I noticed that KOTOR does use prerendered clips for cinematic scenes that don't feature the player's character.
Technoli
#5 Stop posting top 5 lists #4 Stop hiring morons who can't write #3 Stop hiring writers who don't know games #2 Don't take yourself so seriously #1 Don't invent problems. Gaming is not dying. It is more popular than even. Whoever wrote this should be smacked around with a trout.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
These equations are not risk-adjusted.
True outcome depends on the assumptions you make going in.
If you have a one-in-five chance of success on any given 'try' at a game, then more tries at less cost per try mitigates the risk of catastrophic failure. Production decisions depend on the risk assumptions you make going in.
Still, intuitively, more small tries should be a better risk than one big try - NASA is doing the "smaller, cheaper" mission model to mitigate such risks. Have to wait and see how that goes.
Just my $.02.
Wow i've seen this same article written by 15 different people. Its ironic to see a writer complaining about originallity as he writes the same complaints that have been posted dozens of times on a number of different sites.
And for the record I LOVE having hot busty women and big testorone filled guys in my games. I dont want to play DOA with some 45 year old fat chick that looks like the lunchlady from my old high school. And i dont want the hero of Far Cry to be some gangly redneck with a beer belly.
We are playing games to escape into a fantasy world and I want to see fantasy characters. I love the hot chicks in revealing clothes and the tough guys with big muscles and so do most people i know personally. In fact I have never met anyone who complained that the chicks were "too revealing in DOA" or that the main character in Halo was "too tough"
If you want real life go walk around outside. If you want hero's and fantasy worlds and hot women with unrealistic proportions play games.
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be. -PF
I dont know if you've heard, but right now the gaming industry is BEATING the movie industry. Right now people are a lot more hyped about getting their clutches on a "next gen" console and titles than in any movie coming this or next year.
And yes they are making halo 3, MGS4, GTA for PSP and DOA4 plan on banking several million bucks, apparently disregarding your "saving" extreme advices.
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
FTFA "Or what if it slowly became evident--slowly!--that the player himself was the villain, whether on purpose or by accident?"... In that Star Wars, Knights of the Republic, couldn't you choose the darkside if you wanted to? Weren't there two paths? And what about the up and coming "Ultimate Spiderman"...spiderman/venom good vs. evil... ...realy this guy is still wearing his tighty-whities form 4th grade, while living at home with his mom and two aunties that borrow him for pleasure purposes which in turn lower his gaming criteria to that of a ...[finish with your own imagination].
//Nothing to see here, please move along.
Stop generalizing. Not all games have macho heroes (ico-psychonauts, katamari) not all games have scantly clad women, not all games try to be movies there are tons of diferent games aimed at diferent audiences with different tastes.
What you are doing is the equivalent of comparing all movies to action/horror or even porn. You sound like this: " How come in every movie I see all the girls are desperate on having sex with some guy they just met? I mean seriously whats up with that? and why are people on their houses naked all the time?"
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
Save video games from what precisely?
Being the fastest growing area of entertainment spending in the world to the extent that its crushing the music industry already in terms of stealing the discretionary purchase allowances out of the hands of its former customers and Hollywood is quaking in its boots?
In short, save video games from being overwhelmingly succesful? I don't take the point at all. Yeah sure, we can have a debate about how to make video games fresh and new, how to make the industry the progressive, how (even) to make games art, but this isn't it.
Memo to Sidney Shurman: Get in touch with reality. Its about money and video games right now are doing very well in that area.
Plays violent online games as: Nerfherder76
Actaully, I was thinking "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND MAKE SOME FUCKING GAMES!"
Why should these idiots tell game designers how to do their job? Since the writers obviously know all about the entertainment industry, game programming, design, and marketing, so why don't they make their own games and let the public's pocketbooks do the talking?
Having problems with a game is one thing, but laying down "rules", "laws", or "player's rights" is ridiculous.
I'm going to go out and buy it right now.
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
"#1 Stop Treating Women Like Whores - Sexy is fine. Titillating can be fun. But when you show stupid jiggle-physics and scantily-clad girls cooing and moaning and wriggling, you show yourselves for what you really are: sex-crazed children. And don't think for a minute that the mainstream media doesn't pick up on this. If you can't stop demeaning women (with skimpy outfits and hyper-sexuality) and men (by glamorizing massive musculature and testosterone-dripping masculinity), then get the hell out of the industry."
Fine, I'll get out, I just demand that the comic book industry do the same. Its only fair
The idea behind number one is based solely on a (repressed) opinion; that there's something wrong with prostitutes, or prostitution. It people like the article writer that continue to propogate the unfair idea that prostitution is "bad", and it's why very few places in the United States are enlightened enough to have it be legal (unlike Europe, which has plenty of places). Your sexual repression, maintenance of the status quo, and thinly veiled non sexual-positiveness shine through, righty.
To the more enlightened of us, there's nothing wrong with prostitution. We're sex-positive, support open sexuality, and shun your ugly repression.
Games don't need help. You do.
This was one of the worst articles I've seen Slashdot post. It's just rambling by someone who has no clue what he's talking about. Look at the games he puts as "chief offenders" basically a crop of some of the best games of all time by both reviewers and sales number. Cmon slashdot, you know better then this.
Here's a response to this article. A bit on the lighter side. http://my.ampednews.com/blog/view/6/
Because then they'd actually have to make more interactive characters! If you're the last one to survive, there's nobody around to interact with, aside from using your shotgun to interact with the assorted zombies, demons, and wildlife left behind.
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
(in keeping with the style of the article, I am going to make as many unfounded generalizations as possible)
the irony that an article complaining about all games being too "epic" is going to single handedly save the entire gaming industry?
...that he's criticising the best selling games of 2004-2005? One slashdotter was correct when he commented above that these industry commentators just want to push gaming back into a niche market. They can't handle the fact that it's grown into the mainstream.
I mean, come on, lets look at what points he really has:
#1 Stop Treating Women Like Whores
At least he admits that television and movies have been doing the same for years, but no one has said that those industries should stop it if they want to be "saved". Why is computer gaming any different? Sure, he has a point, but I don't really consider it a problem until all games are treating women like sex objects. There's enough counter-examples out there (Resident Evil, Beyond Good And Evil, Perfect Dark, Final Fantasy X, etc) to not get worried yet.
#2 Your Storylines Suck--Get New Ones
Wait, what? Let me get this straight... He's ciriticising System Shock 2 and Half Life for having derivative storylines? Two of the most highly rated FPSs of all times, both having won many Game Of The Year awards, yet they both have derivative story lines. Oh I'm sorry, Mr "there is only one story in the world" you come up with something better. FPSs are exactly that, First Person Shooters. The story will always revolve around one man (or woman) because it's First Person, and until the technology for realistic squad AI or personal interaction came along, it was decidedly easier to reduce the human interaction. Besides, people who play FPSs don't want to be swamped by character interaction. A little bit, maybe, but mostly they just want to shoot things. So developers write story lines around that. Now, mister smarty pants, you develop an "original" story that involves one person, unravelling a mystery, without any character interaction. Go on, I dare ya! Chances are it's going to involve:
a) Getting transported to an alien planet (Doom)
b) Armageddon (Doom 2)
c) A Killer virus (Pariah)
d) Zombies (Resident Evil)
e) Conspiracy Theory (Max Payne)
If you can come up with a better reason why one man might be alone against the masses then suggest it. Until then, I think your argument is pretty weak. There are only so many story lines out there, especially for one lone soldier.
#3 Enough with the Epics
Oh. Sorry... Yes, you're right, we don't need anymore epic games. We need more mundane games where people do mundane things. Paperboy, anyone?
We need less heroes? We need more "everyday people"? I'm sorry, but I'm an everyday person, and I play games for escapism. I play grand theft auto because I do things there I can't do in real life. I can't shoot cops, I can't fly helicopters, I can't ride bikes ten times faster than the speed limit. The last thing I want to do is play an everyday game with an everyday character. I find The Sims boring, though I understand its appeal. But I also think its a niche and more sim-like games will fail to succeed. Why on earth would I want to play a game about everyday people?
Same as with the first example, if every game in the world were basing themselves on a heroic character that has to save the world, maybe I'd be worried. There are enough counter-examples not to worry.
#4 Stop with the Spectacles
This one's a bit iffy, and I do think some of the games he mentions have problems. Doom 3 is a classic example of too much work on the graphics and the engine and not enough on the gameplay. Sure it looks pretty, but I think the game suffers because of it. Halo 2 I haven't played, so I can't comment on, but in answer to one of the questions he poses on Half Life 2... Yes, I think it is a great game and the physics model complements the game experience rather than dominating it. Spectacles are great to enhance a good game, not to make a bad game into a good game. But that just comes down to basic game design "What makes a good game?" Developers shouldn't stop building spectacles, they should jus
Call Forum Joe, That's my name, That name again is Forum Joe.
Or at least that's what I think he should have called the article. Anyone else notice that most of the games he lists that make his "mistakes" are top games?
His dream game: You play an average Joe with nothing to save, in a low-budget game with crappy graphics, and no T & A. Sounds like fun!
top Treating Women Like Whores
Why? It obviously works everywhere else. They aren't treated like 'whores' just because they are half naked (as are men in many games). Really, if you want to save the video game journalism industry get them off the hyper-feminist kick they have been on for the past 5 years.
Frankly, nobody wants you here if you're going to make us all look like fools. Let's face it: the last thing we need is another Hot Coffee-style sex scandal, especially when this crap is so puerile and insignificant to begin with. Do we really have to corrode society just to sell a few thousand more units? Why don't we just show everyone naked and copulating and be done with it?
Can't writers find anything different to whine about? Sex sells, it always has. There are plenty of successful games that don't involve sex, there are some that do. Just like any other form of entertainment. I don't know why these femi-boys feel the need to whine about this. If you think there is some huge feminist market out there, go make your game and strike it rich. Or more likely, go down in flames so I can laugh at you. Cookie cutter "fix the game industry" articles are even worse that cookie cutter games.
Memo to game developers: Yeah, yeah, TV and movies struggle with similar problems, so maybe video game developers aren't the only evildoers here. Still, you can buck the trend--just look at Beyond Good and Evil, a game with a hip, normal-looking female lead character. You won't find any jiggle physics, crotch-thrusting or bikini splits there, just an average girl with average looks. HOW REVOLUTIONARY!
Who cares, let the market decide what it wants rather than moral dictators. #2 Your Storylines Suck--Get New Ones
Your article sucks, and is the same as 100 others, write an original one.
Ok, so here's a big one. Why is it that half the games on the market begin with your character as the sole survivor of some mysterious holocaust? As you stumble over the bloody bodies and piece together the ghastly clues, you come to realize that--HOLY CRAP!--the spaceship/planet/laboratory was invaded by aliens/parasites/demons!!! This storytelling clich? can be traced to the original Doom (and further back to films like Aliens) and it used to be a truly novel approach. Now it's just evidence of a much larger problem, a massive creative malaise. Stop, please. Also please cease employing stories that revolve around parasites, killer viruses, or zombies (please note that Halo's Flood fit ALL THREE of those criteria).
Because first person shooters revolve around gameplay, not storylines. Games revolve around gameplay more than they do storylines. Sure storylines help, but would you rather play a game with good gameplay and a bad story, or bad gamplay and a good story? Ideally you would have both, but if you had limited resources to put into only one, which would you choose?
Memo to game developers:
Memo to people writing about the video game industry. You are not insightful, and you keep spewing the same crap. Find something new to write about.
#3 Enough with the Epics
What do you want? A RPG about a hero who is a janitor and needs to clean 3 stalls before the end of the day? Stories _should_ be epic.
And how about this radical thought: what if there were no heroes and no villains, just ordinary people doing the best they could under supremely tough circumstances?
It's called real life.
Or how about a Reservoir Dogs-style scenario where almost everyone's a bad guy? No more excuses!
Ok, everyone be a bad guy! No half naked women though! How come you said bad guy? Why not bad girl? Well, a fully clothed bad girl.
#4 Stop with the Spectacles
Because we don't want better graphics. As a matter of fact, lets all go play combat from Atari rather than the next FPS game.
You
The article somehow pushes FFVII into its so called Chief Offenders: lists for:
#3 Enough with the Epics
and
#5 Cinema is Sinful
I am surprised Sidney Shuman goes so far as to criticize an epic for being an epic! Its like saying, "Enough with the 3D games, chief offenders: Quake 2, Doom 3". I am amazed! If you are interested in blaming a game (specially a Final Fantasy) for being epic to the point of boring, please vent your ignorant, tasteless, obvious criticism towards FF-X which was nothing but an epic movie that you play linearly as your jaws drop watching Rikku in shorts and the amazing animation that went into the summonings. You have obviously missed out the fun in Final Fantasy 7, Sidney, which is why you spend your not-so-productive-time writing articles like "Ten Ambiguously Gay Game Characters on Games.net" . How come articles written by trolls find place on slashdot as news?