Why are modern video games so mediocre? Modern games are so formulaic.

Please help me pinpoint what it is about modern gen games that suck so bad. The video games of today all seem the same, so generic, all the same and nothing special about them.

What is it about the current video game formula? How would you describe it? We all know that the Call of Duty game formula that is running rampant throughout the history and having a severe effect on video games. But what is it about the formula of modern games that set them apart from games from long ago? Is it the QTEs, linearity, cutscene, flash over substance (graphics over gameplay and story), casualized/watered down/dumbed down, and gameplay and cutscene and more gameplay, etc.? Why are modern games all the same and so mediocre?

I can think of quite a few modern games that are not mediocre/follow similar formulas. You should stop generalizing.Minishdriveby

I am speaking generally. 

Dark Souls is one of the most non-formulaic modern games. So, I am capable of naming some too, as well as a few that are not mediocre. My point being, is that most are, it is the current video game industry fad.

Many games can seem formulaic when you look at the basic game play.

Maybe #1: Since a huge amount of money is being poored into these games for the man-power to make them high-detail, companies aren't willing to gamble on something that's creative enough to be anything other than a sure-fire formula for success, ironically ensuring mediocrity and boredom from customers.

Maybe #2: Since game companies are now huge and getting attention on stock markets, executives who know nothing about game design are gaining control of the companies and their designs, placing people in charge of game design who simply kissed butt to get there.

Maybe #3: Both. :(

XBla/PSN/Steam

/thread.

Maybe #1: Since a huge amount of money is being poored into these games for the man-power to make them high-detail, companies aren't willing to gamble on something that's creative enough to be anything other than a sure-fire formula for success, ironically ensuring mediocrity and boredom from customers.

Maybe #2: Since game companies are now huge and getting attention on stock markets, executives who know nothing about game design are gaining control of the companies and their designs, placing people in charge of game design who simply kissed butt to get there.

Maybe #3: Both. :(

Barujin

Yeah, that's pretty much what I am thinking. Good answer.

But I am also wanting to know what the current video game formula is, put into words. I am not sure if I know how to describe it, but I see it more and more, in mostly the AAA hugely anticipated games. 

I mean stuff like Gears of War, the entire game is linear, you have some setpieces and a few heavy action battle scenes and climax and then four hours later you beat the game! Another prime example is God of War, where every one of the games follows the same mundane formula as all the other ones. Anyhow, I keep on seeing these same old stale formulas in more and more games now and I am not liking it, no sir. Not one bit.

You know what I am talking about, right? 

XBla/PSN/Steam

/thread.

speedfreak48t5p

So, you are saying that indie games are the answer, yes? Or that these arcade games still have retained their identity as games, is your point?

Quite frankly, I am not too impressed so far with indie games. They lack polish and production value. For example, Journey is a two hour walking and floating desert simulator. I guess there are a few good ones still. Perhaps there are far better digital titles than retail titles these days, I don't know. I will have to think about this for a while.

[QUOTE="speedfreak48t5p"]

XBla/PSN/Steam

/thread.

soundcellx

So, you are saying that indie games are the answer, yes? Or that these arcade games still have retained their identity as games, is your point?

Quite frankly, I am not too impressed so far with indie games. They lack polish and production value. For example, Journey is a two hour walking and floating desert simulator. I guess there are a few good ones still. Perhaps there are far better digital titles than retail titles these days, I don't know. I will have to think about this for a while.

Maybe #1: Since a huge amount of money is being poored into these games for the man-power to make them high-detail, companies aren't willing to gamble on something that's creative enough to be anything other than a sure-fire formula for success, ironically ensuring mediocrity and boredom from customers.

Maybe #2: Since game companies are now huge and getting attention on stock markets, executives who know nothing about game design are gaining control of the companies and their designs, placing people in charge of game design who simply kissed butt to get there.

Maybe #3: Both. :(

Barujin

  That makes so much sense.

Anyone planning on getting into a serious debate with the TC should probably read this and this thread first.

You'll thank me later.

If you started gaming on a commodor 64 like I did, you wouldn't think that was the case at all. There's more variety and depth to games now than ever. 

If you started gaming on a commodor 64 like I did, you wouldn't think that was the case at all. There's more variety and depth to games now than ever. 

23Jarek23

I started gaming with Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt. Among my other first games were stuff like Pong, Donkey Kong and Pacman.

However, if you look at the PS3 and 360 video game libraries you can clearly see how much modern gaming sucks. The PS3 video game library is not even 1/4 as good as the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 video game libraries. Turn based JRPGs are my favorite subgenre of video games, but they did not survive the new trends in modern video games. Since my favorite subgenre did not fit the formula, turn based JRPGs died. So, to me, it is not really variety and depth when I can't even play new games in my favorite subgenre.

Nintendo games are still good. 

I don't find modern games to be mediocre myself. I also don't think a game being formulaic is inherently a bad thing as it can still be an excellent and entertaining game despite this. There's still a lot of compelling stuff to be had that isn't formulaic and I don't even think you have to really look all that hard to find it.Archangel3371

Modern games don't seem all the same to you? To me many of them seem to blend together so that I cannot tell them apart, especially shooter games.

[QUOTE="23Jarek23"]

If you started gaming on a commodor 64 like I did, you wouldn't think that was the case at all. There's more variety and depth to games now than ever. 

soundcellx

I started gaming with Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt. Among my other first games were stuff like Pong, Donkey Kong and Pacman.

However, if you look at the PS3 and 360 video game libraries you can clearly see how much modern gaming sucks. The PS3 video game library is not even 1/4 as good as the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 video game libraries. Turn based JRPGs are my favorite subgenre of video games, but they did not survive the new trends in modern video games. Since my favorite subgenre did not fit the formula, turn based JRPGs died. So, to me, it is not really variety and depth when I can't even play new games in my favorite subgenre.

Nintendo games are still good. 

I don't find modern games to be mediocre myself. I also don't think a game being formulaic is inherently a bad thing as it can still be an excellent and entertaining game despite this. There's still a lot of compelling stuff to be had that isn't formulaic and I don't even think you have to really look all that hard to find it.Archangel3371

Modern games don't seem all the same to you? To me many of them seem to blend together so that I cannot tell them apart, especially shooter games.

Anyone planning on getting into a serious debate with the TC should probably read this and this thread first.

You'll thank me later.

1PMrFister

Third thread in 2 days complaining about this same topicBlack_Knight_00

Aren't you generalizing? Not all modern games are that way. Are you telling me Journey plays the same as Call of duty, becuase that's absurd. Now while the vast mayority of mainstream games do go through the road of being generic, some stray away from the beaten path. 

I completely agree with OP, I actually sold my 3rd gen console because I could see this happening. I think developers ignore the gameplay aspect a lot to put in better graphics and more sensory depth. The CoD games are exactly the same as they were for the 2nd gen consoles. I guess if something works, why change it? Plus, of course people are still going to buy their games. EA is notorious for this, idk if they're still in charge of the bond games, but I remember playing some bond game made by EA and thought it was complete crap. I'm sure they've kept the same formula for it over the years, and I was reading something that said that the newest Bond games was one of the worst out there today (Again idk if they're still EA but yeah) Also when EA announced the microtransaction thing... that's just horrible and you can really see right through their guise. They don't care about the gamer experience, they just want their moolah.beatrev791

TC seriously needs to take off the rose-tinted glasses. Video games in generally have always been formulaic.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]Third thread in 2 days complaining about this same topic1PMrFister

Because games have become so expensive to produce you have to sell a bajillion copies for them to turn a profit (especially AAA titles). So most devs have had to appeal to the lowest common denominator (casuals).

Things casuals love:

1) FPS/TPS

2) Linearity

3) Low difficulty level

Things casuals fear:

1) Meaningful choices that can't be undone

2) Strategy games

3) Unforgiving difficulty

4) Unfamiliar gaming formulas

With secondhand gaming on it's way out I foresee a glimmer of hope next gen. With less of burden of having to sell a ridiculous amount of copies I hope that devs will take chances on less formulaic games. Games like Demon's Souls/Dark Souls and XCOM: Enemy Unknown have shown that tastes are changing.

If you started gaming on a commodor 64 like I did, you wouldn't think that was the case at all. There's more variety and depth to games now than ever. 

23Jarek23

That is so true. There's so many genres and good games out there.

Please stop this back and forth with TC. I completely agree with his rationale and what he's trying to say about modern games.

There is a lack of creativity. The people saying....oh....what about Rayman Origins, or any of those modern games, Be they Call of Duty(The modern ones) Crysis, Halo, Gears of War, and the rest (including Journey)

People who say there is creativity these days have probably not played the great games of the past.

Please stop this back and forth with TC. I completely agree with his rationale and what he's trying to say about modern games.

 

There is a lack of creativity. The people saying....oh....what about Rayman Origins, or any of those modern games, Be they Call of Duty(The modern ones) Crysis, Halo, Gears of War, and the rest (including Journey)

 

People who say there is creativity these days have probably not played the great games of the past.

outworld222

I cut my teeth with a Magnavox Odyssey 2 (around 30 years ago) and I can tell you that there really is more creativity in games now then there ever has been. Certainly a lot of games stick to certain formulas, but that has always been the case. Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply not viewing the past with an objective pair of eyes.

Nintendo games are still good. 

soundcellx

This guy came crawling out from under his bridge in the PS3 forums? I'll ask again, why hasn't this guy been banned yet?

...even trolls need love, apparently.

Listen up everybody: Just from the writing style and frequency of these topics in the last few days, I am guessing we are either dealing with ONE person with multiple Alt Accounts or a small group of people looking to ruffle some feathers. Either way, it's pretty damn sad and by arguing with him/them you are only giving him/them the attention he/they so obviously crave. Either you are not going to convince him/them to see anything any other way or you are just feeding in to and drawing attention to a sad (bunch of) Troll(s).

Looking at the posting histories and union memberships of a bunch of these TC's ties quite a few of them together.

Just ignore them. Let them take their lonely little stands against whatever it is they are trying to fight against, and everyone else go back to enjoying their games and non-whiney conversations. If he/they start to intrude on your topics, just use the Report button and get rid of them once and for all.

Please help me pinpoint what it is about modern gen games that suck so bad. The video games of today all seem the same, so generic, all the same and nothing special about them.

 

What is it about the current video game formula? How would you describe it? We all know that the Call of Duty game formula that is running rampant throughout the history and having a severe effect on video games. But what is it about the formula of modern games that set them apart from games from long ago? Is it the QTEs, linearity, cutscene, flash over substance (graphics over gameplay and story), casualized/watered down/dumbed down, and gameplay and cutscene and more gameplay, etc.? Why are modern games all the same and so mediocre?

soundcellx

Name 10 games from the past that you consider non-generic.

My 10 from this gen:

• Flight Simulator X - My favorite general aviation flight sim I use this to input real-world weather and see how accurate the game renders it. It's also the most educational game in my inventory
• IL-2: Cliffs of Dover - I have to have at least one WW2 flight sim.
• ARMA 2/Operation Arrowhead - The only modern warfare game in my list. I use the in-game editor to create different realistic scenarios.
• Napoleon: Total War - My favorite strategy game from my favorite time period.
• Crysis series - My one admission to spectacular graphics. Yet, I still found them enjoyable.
• FIFA 13 - gotta have my sports game. I buy a new one every 3 years. The last one was FIFA 11.
• Hard Reset - My old-school FPS. Minimal story line and all action. Just the way I like it.
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - one of my very few action platformers
• Uncharted series - Probably one of those in your list. But, I consider it an adventure game with some shooting elements.
• DCS Black Shark - I have to have my hardcore flight sim.

Add others and I don't see myself lacking in good games.

Stopped reading at soundcellx.

Perspective

[QUOTE="soundcellx"]

Please help me pinpoint what it is about modern gen games that suck so bad. The video games of today all seem the same, so generic, all the same and nothing special about them.

 

What is it about the current video game formula? How would you describe it? We all know that the Call of Duty game formula that is running rampant throughout the history and having a severe effect on video games. But what is it about the formula of modern games that set them apart from games from long ago? Is it the QTEs, linearity, cutscene, flash over substance (graphics over gameplay and story), casualized/watered down/dumbed down, and gameplay and cutscene and more gameplay, etc.? Why are modern games all the same and so mediocre?

jun_aka_pekto

Name 10 games from the past that you consider non-generic.

My 10 from this gen:

• Flight Simulator X - My favorite general aviation flight sim I use this to input real-world weather and see how accurate the game renders it. It's also the most educational game in my inventory
• IL-2: Cliffs of Dover - I have to have at least one WW2 flight sim.
• ARMA 2/Operation Arrowhead - The only modern warfare game in my list. I use the in-game editor to create different realistic scenarios.
• Napoleon: Total War - My favorite strategy game from my favorite time period.
• Crysis series - My one admission to spectacular graphics. Yet, I still found them enjoyable.
• FIFA 13 - gotta have my sports game. I buy a new one every 3 years. The last one was FIFA 11.
• Hard Reset - My old-school FPS. Minimal story line and all action. Just the way I like it.
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - one of my very few action platformers
• Uncharted series - Probably one of those in your list. But, I consider it an adventure game with some shooting elements.
• DCS Black Shark - I have to have my hardcore flight sim.

Add others and I don't see myself lacking in good games.

Jun, you are different as you enjoy games that challenge you as well as those that are just all action. I fall into that class of gamers too (though I haven't picked up any DCS games yet). Most gamers are lowest common denominator gamers who want everything fed to them and aren't interested in games that don't give you achievements or allow you to level up. 

I keep telling everyone that gamers are their own worst enemy as they are the ones who continually buy the games that the publishers keep shoving out the door. Want something different, quite buying CoD and it's clones as well as Halo and it's clones etc. Don't want DLC, stop buying it or games that offer it. Don't want buggy games, stop buying buggy games.

The FPS genre was founded on clones. Doom clones and there was actually a few good ones. I also think there are some decent CoD clones.

[QUOTE="1PMrFister"]Ironic, isn't it? The threads complaining about modern gaming becoming bland and mainstream are becoming bland and mainstream themselves.Black_Knight_00

The FPS genre was founded on clones. Doom clones and there was actually a few good ones. I also think there are some decent CoD clones.

Sir_Graham

...even trolls need love, apparently.

Listen up everybody: Just from the writing style and frequency of these topics in the last few days, I am guessing we are either dealing with ONE person with multiple Alt Accounts or a small group of people looking to ruffle some feathers. Either way, it's pretty damn sad and by arguing with him/them you are only giving him/them the attention he/they so obviously crave. Either you are not going to convince him/them to see anything any other way or you are just feeding in to and drawing attention to a sad (bunch of) Troll(s).

Looking at the posting histories and union memberships of a bunch of these TC's ties quite a few of them together.

Just ignore them. Let them take their lonely little stands against whatever it is they are trying to fight against, and everyone else go back to enjoying their games and non-whiney conversations. If he/they start to intrude on your topics, just use the Report button and get rid of them once and for all.

Phantom_Leo

I blame Call of Duty, Halo and Microsoft for this decline in video game quality.

Microsoft's Xbox only survived because of Halo. Halo is what popularized console shooters. That game is what they relied on.

Ever since Halo, everyone and their dog has been trying to make the next Halo killer. It's gone a little overboard. :\

Call of Duty came along as a competitor and did one hell of a job. It continued making console shooters even MORE popular.

Developers did the same thing and then tried to make the next CoD killer.

Every shooter has become either a Halo or Call of Duty clone. And the shooter genre is still what's dominating the market.

Thanks Microsoft. For killing off so much creativity that used to be in the gaming industry.

or the RPG genre was founded on Final Fantasy clones

1PMrFister

Actually, Final Fantasy took a lot from Ultima, too...

I blame Call of Duty, Halo and Microsoft for this decline in video game quality.

Microsoft's Xbox only survived because of Halo. Halo is what popularized console shooters. That game is what they relied on.

Ever since Halo, everyone and their dog has been trying to make the next Halo killer. It's gone a little overboard. :\

Call of Duty came along as a competitor and did one hell of a job. It continued making console shooters even MORE popular.

Developers did the same thing and then tried to make the next CoD killer.

Every shooter has become either a Halo or Call of Duty clone. And the shooter genre is still what's dominating the market.

Thanks Microsoft. For killing off so much creativity that used to be in the gaming industry.

GeoffZak

:roll:

Yeah its ALL microsoft's fault! I blame Microsoft for 9/11, AIDS, and the sh*tty economy too!!

I blame Call of Duty, Halo and Microsoft for this decline in video game quality.

Microsoft's Xbox only survived because of Halo. Halo is what popularized console shooters. That game is what they relied on.

Ever since Halo, everyone and their dog has been trying to make the next Halo killer. It's gone a little overboard. :\

Call of Duty came along as a competitor and did one hell of a job. It continued making console shooters even MORE popular.

Developers did the same thing and then tried to make the next CoD killer.

Every shooter has become either a Halo or Call of Duty clone. And the shooter genre is still what's dominating the market.

Thanks Microsoft. For killing off so much creativity that used to be in the gaming industry.

GeoffZak

You're an idiot. Microsoft also brought us two of the best series in gaming: Project Gotham Racing and Forza Motorsport. Not to mention published amazing games like Mark of the Ninja and Toy Soldiers on xbla.

And how about Sony with their "games" Heavy Rain, Uncharted and MGS4. Don't see you **** about Sony's problems much these days.

[QUOTE="1PMrFister"]

or the RPG genre was founded on Final Fantasy clones

PannicAtack

Actually, Final Fantasy took a lot from Ultima, too...

This guy came crawling out from under his bridge in the PS3 forums? I'll ask again, why hasn't this guy been banned yet?

Lucky_Krystal

For what? Also, I am seeing many people agreeing with me, so it looks like I am right and you are wrong. 

Want something different, quite buying CoD and it's clones as well as Halo and it's clones etc.

WhiteKnight77

I do NOT buy CoD, yet they still keep on making them! I wish they would stop making those crappy games!

Yeah its ALL microsoft's fault! I blame Microsoft for 9/11, AIDS, and the ****** economy too!!

Lucky_Krystal

No one is saying that, except you. Microsoft is largely at fault for modern gen formulaic crap though, that is for damn sure, whether or not you want to admit to it.

For what? Also, I am seeing many people agreeing with me, so it looks like I am right and you are wrong. 

 

[QUOTE="WhiteKnight77"]

Want something different, quite buying CoD and it's clones as well as Halo and it's clones etc.

soundcellx

I do NOT buy CoD, yet they still keep on making them! I wish they would stop making those crappy games!

Yeah its ALL microsoft's fault! I blame Microsoft for 9/11, AIDS, and the ****** economy too!!

Lucky_Krystal

No one is saying that, except you. Microsoft is largely at fault for modern gen formulaic crap though, that is for damn sure, whether or not you want to admit to it.

This thread is a little too much fun.