The end of major improvement in games...

[SeefourDC]

I’ve been thinking about this for awhile but do you think there are aspects of games that have somewhat reached their peaks for now? I realize this isn’t true in every area but take for example RTS games. SC2 is still a top esport and the best players are basically the ones that can take the highest task loads. Basically the game has as many things going on at once that a human being cannot manage any more so making a more complex rts is meaningless.

This is also something I felt like is showing in a game like assassins creed: odyssey. They added an rpg leveling system in because why not? I was disappointed when I heard that sekiro would not have one even though I know the gameplay will be amazing because what excuse do they have not to have this nowadays?

Have you all noticed any of these trends in some of your favorite genres? Like maybe the formula can’t be dramatically improved but maybe the parts just arranged in different ways?

 

[HereticBD]

I feel we're just in an stagnant period, waiting to transition. Creatively, I think the industry is tapped out as far as game design goes.

I'd bet on VR, and VR tailored gameplay being the next logical step. They will eventually get that shit right. Its still in it's infancy, like games that experimented with 3D level mapping on the NES. It was ugly, shitty, and they didn't really have the tools to pull it of, but they eventually got there after a few generations.

 

[SeefourDC]

I feel we're just in an stagnant period, waiting to transition. Creatively, I think the industry is tapped out as far as game design goes.

I'd bet on VR, and VR tailored gameplay being the next logical step. They will eventually get that shit right. Its still in it's infancy, like games that experimented with 3D level mapping on the NES. It was ugly, shitty, and they didn't really have the tools to pull it of, but they eventually got there after a few generations.

My big worry about vr is that the cost of entry won’t be affordable enough to allow it to cycle up into relevancy. Game companies lose interest fast if there aren’t big profits to be made and just getting VR gear seems pretty expensive when you stack it onto the system itself. I guess I have a hard time believing it could be a front line seller and not ultra niche at the moment due to cost.

 

[rob mafia]

SC2 is still a top esport

whatever that means.

Basically the game has as many things going on at once that a human being cannot manage any more so making a more complex rts is meaningless.

huh? it could be more complex/deeper in many ways that are irrelevant in terms of one's "task loads." ie: more races and unit types...

They added an rpg leveling system in because why not? I was disappointed when I heard that sekiro would not have one even though I know the gameplay will be amazing because what excuse do they have not to have this nowadays?

because more often than not, it's just power creep and makes me think the game is balanced around complete imbeciles because catering toward the LCD really does seem to be the status quo now.

I'd bet on VR, and VR tailored gameplay being the next logical step.

i hope not. if the next "logical step" is strapping tiny screens to our faces (and with worse resolution than our monitors/tvs), count me out.

 

[loyalyolayal]

I feel we're just in an stagnant period, waiting to transition. Creatively, I think the industry is tapped out as far as game design goes.

I'd bet on VR, and VR tailored gameplay being the next logical step. They will eventually get that shit right. Its still in it's infancy, like games that experimented with 3D level mapping on the NES. It was ugly, shitty, and they didn't really have the tools to pull it of, but they eventually got there after a few generations.

 

[Diogenes of Sinope]

I fell like the biggest issue rightnow is originality. Need more themes, new aesthetics. Different types of games. Graphics are improving.

 

[THEfightsAREfixed]

The advancement has been rapid and development takes time, the large projects that under NDA right now will be impressive and titles for next gen consoles are definitely being worked on right now, gotta be atleast one title that pushes the envelope

 

[HereticBD]

i hope not. if the next "logical step" is strapping tiny screens to our faces (and with worse resolution than our monitors/tvs), count me out.

Well, you gotta give it time. I don't know if they'll ever get past strapping a bulky mask to your face, which is admittedly a big hurdle. I think you may see something a little lighter and more durable in the future, like something as small as swimming goggles perhaps.

As far as the tech goes, that will naturally evolve. What they should be doing is trying to think outside of the box with game design. They need to get past just simply making you a character that can look around in first person, and move it's arms awkwardly. There's still a long way to go in terms of creating a smooth gameplay experience.

 

[Concrete]

Scale and AI seem like ways forward. If the big developers insist on giving us open world action games that are all slowly becoming the same, improve big time on the scale and AI of the game.

 

[Hitman81]

I think we've actually seen some major improvements in the last two years. I look at a game like Breath of the Wild and see a significant leap forward in what an open world game can be. They took a series that had once been an innovator but had become stale and completely rewrote the book not just on the series but the genre itself. A game like Spiderman, while fun to play, is almost a throwback in terms of open world games. I think you're going to see something possibly bigger and better than we've ever seen in Red Dead Redemption 2.

 

[Chubz]

I feel we're just in an stagnant period, waiting to transition. Creatively, I think the industry is tapped out as far as game design goes.

No doubt about it. You'll get occasional flashes of brilliance in the form of games like Minecraft, but those are incredibly rare.

I think the industry peaked in the mid-to-late 90s/early 00s (not in terms of sales and popularity, obviously, but just the sheer influx of fresh, exciting ideas).

It feels like virtually everything since then has just aped what the developers from that "era" did/accomplished.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

I feel like we have this conversation near the end of every console generation.

 

[RJ43]

I think AC Origins and Odyssey are the epitomes of this.

RDR2 will likely be the new standard for open world games, but overall I agree.