I love innovation as much as the next guy. It drives the industry and reveals new exciting aspects about video games unknown before. But I feel that most game developers and reviewers have taken this Idea too far. Everyone wants the new hovercraft without paying homage to the wheel. The wheel has received a bad rap over the recent years being labeled cliche or just a knock off of (insert title here) To me there is a reason why those aspects are cliche or copied and that is because they work , they are fun and essential for good gameplay. I mean its like going off-roading in a hovercraft sure its new and efficient but not nearly as fun as feeling the ride by having tires on the ground. This seems to have been especially crippling to the RPG genre, particularly American ones. Mostly because the pre-occupation with innovation has actually caused quite the opposite. Most RPG games are still stuck using pen and paper calculations and other archaic game mechanics because developers are too busy inventing tentacle faced space cows (yes Blizzard I'm talking about you) or other unique races, classes, weapons, etc. rather than making real innovations. There is a reason Human, Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, etc. are popular because its easy to identify with them because they have real world counterparts and when I want to play the hero or the villain these just fit. The weirdly horned transvestite might fly in Japan but it just distracts it most cases. Also it bothers me when staple classes for a game get cut so they can try out some crazy obscure one. There are a reason warriors, mages, rogues, and rangers were the first classes for these games because they are what you think of when you think about high-fantasy worlds. You expect them to be there they provide substance and fill out the universe you are trying to create. REALISM if you may, cause just like in real life most people look to each other and mimic them it doesn't feel right that it would be any different just because it's high fantasy. Yes their are those unique snowflakes out there and they can be fun but you have to be careful you don't take away from the foundation of the gameplay for some pet project. Rift a recent MMO I felt handle the class thing well by having the four arch types and then providing the weird or unique stuff within those. So give me new combat and targeting systems, new ways on how stats affect gameplay, more freedom to do what I want, stretch the bounds of what's possible with video games with AI and movement innovations, etc. but leave the wheel alone, I don't need anymore manbearpigs and whipswordguns and anymore shiny hovercraft graphics at least for now. Fix my gameplay and get that right first. Let me know your opinions, are developers looking in the right places for innovations? or where do you think they should go?
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