The disturbing future of PC games

[Ravyn Flameheart]

I hate console games. I can't stand those stupid controlers, and I think that thoughtful strategy is replaced with hand-eye coordination when you abandon the "pause" button. These games are boring.

I hate MMOs. I like stories with plot (the whole beginning, middle and end thing), and frankly, interracting with strange gamers makes me nervous.

Yet I am told the quality of PC games is disintigrating. Consoles and MMOs are the big money-makers. The former can't be pirated, and the later requires a monthly subscription.

Perhaps the new DRM is the solution to PC game piracy, and these games will again be profitable. However, I share in the pessimism many have expressed about the DRM's ability to thwart determined pirates.

What, then, is the solution? I think NWN2's toolset it pure gold, and the makers should capitalize on it. I think the modding community, who has put countless hours into their creations, should be renumerated. What if NWN2 became a glorified iTunes, in which it distributed independently-created modules for a nominal fee? Modders could then afford to make even better modules (including voice acting!), and maybe even kickstart their careers and game developings. NWN2 wouldn't be under such enormous pressure to publish new content (as we see in the MoW debacle), because they'd have a constant stream of new conent.

Thoughts?

[sirchet]

There is a company that has your thoughts in mind, but the name escapes me right now.

I saw an interview with their President and he was talking about how the pc gaming future can be saved and made very profitable, (he even mentioned NWN).

This is the same company that offers older games as downloadable content via their site.

I for one hope the pc gaming community holds strong against consoles and with the ever evolving graphics processors I believe it will.

[akatosh]

For the game Oblivion, there are many mods available for the PC version but not for the console versions and the owners of the console versions are constantly complaining about that on the forums.

I don't believe PC gaming is dying.

[Sicar Eneco]

Funny, a discussion about the same thing just started on my guild’s forum AND the latest issue of my gaming magazine ‘PC Gameplay’ featured the same thing as well. Must be the time of that time of the year? :)


Now, PC gaming has definitely undergone an evolution (or rather, is undergoing one right now). Developers have transformed in big-time companies, and then obviously try to choose a path where they will sell most. On the other hand, I feel this indirectly causes independent developers to rise up, or at least step into the spotlights a bit more.

I’d like to add though, that not all big-time companies really care for simple equations of maximum profit. Companies like Valve and Stardock are taking rather direct pro-PC gaming stances and at the same time release their own services, like Steam and Impulse. Stardock even went further and stopped adding copy-protection to their games. Amusingly enough, the pirating spree on their game went rather quick, but they got extra sales out of it as well. On top of that, they didn’t have to spend time, recourses and money on the copy-protection in the first place; So I think they made a pretty good deal out of it.

MMO(fps/rts/rpg) games are indeed rising at an amazing rate. However, I think most developers are disillusioned by the success of World of Warcraft and Everquest. Pathetic, in my opinion. I think it would be rather obvious how that market works when most people know the name of about 3 to 4 MMO’s out of a few thousand games. But hey, who am I to judge about that.

I have a bit of a mixed opinion about MMO’s. Basically, I hate current day MMO games. About every single one of them. They are typical representations of ‘mainstreaming’, take a genre like RPG, then strip out the things that make the games special (story, choices and consequences, influencing) but keeping the ‘systems’ – the only things I really hate about the RPG genre, like ‘levels’, ‘experience points’, etc. Then expecting it to sell because ‘WoW also sells good’ and ‘it has RPG elements’. Urgh, idiots.

However, I think the concept of an MMO is – in a way – very interesting. Two examples:

I’m currently anticipating the indie MMO ‘Infinity: The Quest for Earth’. And I don’t even like scifi in the slightest bit. We’re currently not even near release, but there are a decent group of ‘corporations’ (scifi variant of guilds) around. The whole connectivity, conflicts and tension between the different groups and the independent players is an amazing experience to be a part of.

Second example: Wurm Online. This is definitely a unique game and makes use of what MMOs could be. You see, you can pretty much do anything; Yet at the same time have to think of everything as well. Basically, players are dropped in this gigantic world with only very few NPC towns available. These NPC towns are where new players start, where they get basic equipment and get some pointers. What some players do is group together with some friends and set out into the world, finding a suitable place to stay and start up their own village. The whole world can be de/reformed, and every building or item in the game is constructible by players. Characters need to drink and eat regularly, or they start suffering from it. There is no magic, so when someone gets injured (which does not actually happen all that often) there is need for a player who specialises in medical treatment. The construction of a village takes many weeks and now and then certain creatures can make their lair nearby, requiring a hunt to be set up. This game was one of the most amazing experiences I ever had, though I quit after my first day, as it was so realistic it started becoming boring. Cruel irony.

Anyway, I digress. I don’t believe there’s a reason to ‘panic’. A lot of people think like you, and that fact alone is enough to make sure gaming does go down the console drain. There are always evolutions, there are always changes. It’s no good to try and resist change, but I think the PC gaming community is strong enough to give it’s own twist to that change.


Oh, this seems to have turned out rather long. My apologies.

[sirchet]

Wow, I really like to gain levels and direct the progression of my character as he/she matures.

But, I do see your point and respect your opinion. ;)

[Sicar Eneco]

Wow, I really like to gain levels and direct the progression of my character as he/she matures.

Games stop being fun when it's only about those levels and statistics any more and everything else is secondary. That's pretty much what MMOs do, in my opinion.

I like character progression, definitely. However, I dislike the system of 'levels' and especially the whole focus on 'statistics' in MMORPGs, or even some RPGs. In order to justify my opinion in a way, I'll quickly explain why I don't like the idea of 'experience' and 'levels' even in general.

It's too simplistic for a PC game. I can see why one would use it in Pen and Paper RPGs and the like, but a PC is capable of incredibly complex calculations in a matter of milliseconds, why do we stick with such simple systems? Rhetorical question, though. Developers seem afraid of trying something too new, and I frankly can't blame them.

But hey, we digress.

[akatosh]

I like the levelling system of the Elder Scrolls games (Morrowind and Oblivion)

You do something so you get better at that: very natural and it's not as weird as the XP points falling out of the sky when you finish a quest.

[D.0.a]

I like the levelling system of the Elder Scrolls games (Morrowind and Oblivion)

You do something so you get better at that: very natural and it's not as weird as the XP points falling out of the sky when you finish a quest.

My thoughts exactly. More games should use a "practise-makes-perfect" leveling system.

I also think PC games have a great potential to be prfitable above consoles, for resons already given (mods and the like), so why should the quality be deteriorating? if it is I'll be severly disapointed.