@NTM23: Procedural and/or rogue-like elements do not inherently preclude or obstruct a focused narrative. If you consider most "narrative-driven" games (Dishonored and Bioshock included), they're a collection of gameplay sequences glued together by short cinematic sequences. Aside from tradition and convenience of development, there's no reason why those gameplay sequences couldn't take place in a procedural environment, or with a perma-death mechanic.

In fact, I know of a game that's doing exactly that, and it's one I'd recommend: Darkwood. It's been in Early Access for a long time, but IMO, it's worth the price of admission, as-is, and the slow pace of development seems to be the result of the developers caring too much, not too little.

@darkrayne: PvP games usually have less content than PvE games because that content is much harder to make, requiring finer balance and greater polish in spite of facing a number of complications that co-op and single-player games don't.

Take FPS map design, for example. With a PvE map, there's a single spawn, enemy location/behavior is developer-controlled, and there really only needs to be one path through the map that's fun. If there's some overlooked nook/cranny which can be exploited to make the map super-easy, the worst case is that those players that choose to use it will be bored.

With a PvP map, on the other hand, there are multiple spawns that must be equally fun/advantageous, enemies are controlled by misanthropic tween boys, and anything that can be exploited will be, often making the game infuriating instead of merely boring. Additionally, any map you make will require numerous post-release updates to remain playable as players discover new ways to ruin each other's fun.

So cut Gearbox some slack. PvP is really freaking hard to do right.

Actually, while conceptually similar, real-life "smart bullets" will never be a functional match to current video-game equivalents. While they'd be an amazing boon for snipers trying to make 1000m+ shots, in order for a guidance system to be effective at short/mid-range, the projectile would have to have huge fins that could withstand outrageously large drag forces without failing, and it would lose velocity and lethality far too quickly to be useful.

@Forcecaster @dmastor Microsoft doesn't have to "follow suit," because it's Sony that's playing catch-up, here. The Xbox 360 was the first console to really provide a place for small-budget titles.

And BTW, both are playing catch-up to the PC, where indie games were seeing artistic and commercial success years before Sony or Microsoft even considered offering non-AAA titles.

@fluffyfacedfool Nothing could eradicate all bad behavior. People throughout the ages have managed to be utterly nasty to each other, no matter the circumstances, and in ways far worse than spewing juvenile insults through a keyboard or headset. There's even a diagnosable, clinical condition that basically makes people psychologically incapable of anything but predatory and/or parasitic behavior. It's most commonly (and improperly) known as sociopathy.

However, for the other 95% of the population, I suspect Cam's solution would likely go a long way towards reducing online foolishness.

@garrybubba It takes a lot of extra work to create motion blur, and in some cases might actually be more computationally expensive than just rendering more frames.

And regardless of how good it looks, motion blur wouldn't reduce the lag between action and onscreen feedback. My own reflexes are meh and I can't see any visual differences past ~40fps, but even I notice how much easier games are to control when running at 60fps.

@MXVIII @PutU2REM "The limitations of our input devices. Thats the only reason control complexity exists."

If that were true, then a direct neural interface allowing 1:1 control over the player avatar (which is the least limited input device imaginable) would make things simpler and easier. However, given how complicated and difficult the "controls" are in real life (which is itself a DNI-controlled "game"), that argument is an epic fail.

If you want on object lesson on how less-limited input devices can make controls more complicated, try playing Die by the Sword. It's the only fighting game to ever fully utilize analog-style controls, and even though it's incredibly intuitive, infinitely flexible, and extremely easy to grasp, it's also fiendishly difficult to learn. There's never been anything else like it, and that's a crying shame, because it was well worth the effort.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go download it from GOG again. I have the sudden urge to hack off some limbs. ;)

@MXVIII Hardware isn't the primary limitation at all. The real bottlenecks are the size of the production budget, the length of the development process, and the degree of control complexity tolerated by the audience. The QTE-style control scheme allows players to engage in a wide variety of activities without having to learn/master a control scheme for each.

Additionally, there is a tension between drama and freedom to explore, and it is very, very hard to create an intense, engaging story without the use of scripted events. The developer has to account for every single possible action a player could take, and that becomes exponentially more difficult to do as a player's freedom grows. That's why sandbox-style games usually have sub-par plots and characters.

@Sohereiam @picho86 @Renegade_Garrus That isn't necessarily the case. The best (and usually the most successful) F2P games avoid falling into the P2W ("Pay-to-Win") trap.

Mechwarrior Online is a good example of a non-P2W, truly F2P game. Real-money purchases offer little but grinding shortcuts and cosmetic enhancements.

@Renegade_Garrus @--CryptOrchid-- Actually, that is a large part of the decline in single-purchase games. DRM clearly doesn't work, but requiring online connectivity certainly does, and people become incensed at that requirement unless there is some gameplay-oriented justification for it. Finding that justification is harder to do for single-purchase, single-player games and far easier for things like F2P and MMO.