|
|
|
Column: Originality in Games... does it exist anymore?
|
|
|
Originality in Games... does it exist anymore?
By Cook Train, RareDark.com Columnist
Normally I would be straight into my moans about why games do such, or how games are being whatever. Not this time. Today, I'm going to start off with a little personal tale of how originality is in short supply. Twas but the start of the new year and I was watching television like a good little boy. I can't remember the program but I remember the advert inbetween. It was for a cough medicine called "Cavonia - Cough Medicine with Clout!". Now to me, the word clout means to hit or strike, so the next day at school I introduced the idea of lightly hitting someone round the back of the head whilst singing "Cavoooonia!" Fair enough you might think, but what's this got to do with originality? Well, before the day was out, every person I knew was using the same action and word! Showing how simply people like to latch onto new ideas, because there aren't very many of them about. I brought something original, and before the day was out, it was indeed tiresome and really p***ed me off.
So what about the games, this is why you're reading I assume, not to learn about the social activities of a measly writer. Well the originality problem hit me one day while reading up on my gaming knowledge. Whilst trundling through an article commenting on the state of platform games.
"Blah blah blah... there are many fine examples.. Tomb Raider 1.. Tomb Raider 2... Tomb Raider 3.... Tomb Raider 4....." and the list went on.
There was a time when games were all original. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for a good sequel, but back in the day, a long while ago they had much more creativity. A game couldn't be "Whatever 2" or "Blah-de-blah Returns" A sequel not only meant developing a whole new game, a new storyline and sometimes new characters, but they had to put the whole 3 minutes effort into a new title as well!
It seems that the current "throw-away" society can not only fail to cope with keeping an object for more than 1/2 an hour, but they need something named exactly the same to replace it. Final Fantasy 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10 and even 11! At one time there was one game series, now very popular, that kept up with the new name game, but it would seem even the mighty Hideo Kojima (maker of the Metal Gear Series) can't fight it. Metal Gear.. Snakes Revenge.. ok, going well so far... Metal Gear Solid.. hmm, kinda like the first, but ok... Metal Gear Solid... no don't do it.. Metal Gear Solid 2! Yep, nothing fancy, just 2. True it has the Sons of Liberty tagline, but who cares about that?
Ok, so maybe moaning about names of games is really petty, since it's the games that we're here for, not their titles. But names are just the main-stay of what you'll see. Most games you won't play, you'll only see the box of, possibly a review, if that's all you have to see, you're lucky. Most games are atrocious. There is only the odd gem that sets apart from the onslaught of hideous titles. Some games create what are called spin-offs. These games look similar, play similar, hell the main character even has the same hairdo! But that quality aspect that made the first as good as it was, is gone.
A great game is released, with amazing new innovations in gaming. The team that made this game put a lot of effort into it, and then the next company to come along has just ripped it off! Once upon a time, there was a busty young woman who liked jumping around tombs killing animals. At the time, the kind of gameplay employed was almost completely unique. Nowadays, quite a lot of games have it. Of course, I'm a firm believer in "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." but that doesn't mean I believe "If it ain't broke, put it into mass production until our audiences are sick of it!"
I'm gonna go out on a whim here and make a prediction. In fact it isn't a prediction, it's already happening. The latest case of mass imitation is in Cel-Shading. Making your games look like fully interactive cartoons is the cool thing to do. Bullet-Time is also one of these innovations that deserves a thorough copying. All we need now is a Cel-Shaded version of the Matrix which is a 3rd person platformer called "The Matrix Returns" and we'd have one hell of an unoriginal game... maybe I'll get working on it, or maybe not.
I know what you read here is boring, but Columnists like me are few and far between. Despite what statistics may say, we're not very common, so please, don't have nightmares.. Goodnight from Gamewatch!
© Cook Train, February 2002, for RareDark.com
|
|
Copyright
|
|
|
All Content © Deadeye's
Basement; 2000, 2001, 2002
All material, including layout,
images, and articles, are property of Deadeye's Basement
unless otherwise stated. Copyright granted by the Internet
Content Protection Agency of Ohio. All logos, trademarks, and registered names belong to their respective owners.
http://www.RareDark.com
|
-
|
|
|
