August 20, 2005, 5:10 AM
Where are the gameplay advances?
Posted by Thomas. Filed under: blog
Am I the only one who’s becoming increasingly disillusioned with games, or am I just playing the wrong games? Graphics have shown consistent improvements. Physics use has been improving too. Audio has seen variable improvements. Interactivity with game world? Hmmm. In Duke Nukem 3D I could shatter windows & blow up objects, at least the ones that I’m intended to be able to - everything else might be decaled to indicate being hit. Fast forward several years, in Doom 3 I can shatter windows & blow up objects that I’m allowed to - everything else is decaled to indicate being hit. Hmmm, does that strike anyone as odd? Almost a decade of technology improvements yet interaction with the game world is still the same? Half-Life 2, perhaps the pinnacle of physics & game interaction (Or so the reviews all indicate); lift/throw/drop objects, buoyancy - Deus Ex had these same features several years ago!
We’ve still only partial interactivity - most of the Half-Life 2 game world (for example) is locked out - you’re in a ruined city at 1 point, a ruined city with only 1 way to navigate it. Similar story with the mini-driving games; you’re stuck in a narrow channel - you get to ride a dune buggy -great ! But on a road blocked on 1 side by a sheer rockface, while on the other side a drop into the ocean & immediate death. Or what about a hoverboat - fantastic! But in a series of channels whose sides you can’t get over. There is no “world” in games like this; it’s just a series of somewhat wider & longer corridors with no ceiling.
More to come.
Related posts
Interesting poll results on PC gaming and sales Console emulation on the PSP Games for Windows, where is my Halo 3?
Leave a Reply
Am I the only one who’s becoming increasingly disillusioned with games, or am I just playing the wrong games? Graphics have shown consistent improvements. Physics use has been improving too. Audio has seen variable improvements. Interactivity with game world? Hmmm. In Duke Nukem 3D I could shatter windows & blow up objects, at least the ones that I’m intended to be able to - everything else might be decaled to indicate being hit. Fast forward several years, in Doom 3 I can shatter windows & blow up objects that I’m allowed to - everything else is decaled to indicate being hit. Hmmm, does that strike anyone as odd? Almost a decade of technology improvements yet interaction with the game world is still the same? Half-Life 2, perhaps the pinnacle of physics & game interaction (Or so the reviews all indicate); lift/throw/drop objects, buoyancy - Deus Ex had these same features several years ago!
We’ve still only partial interactivity - most of the Half-Life 2 game world (for example) is locked out - you’re in a ruined city at 1 point, a ruined city with only 1 way to navigate it. Similar story with the mini-driving games; you’re stuck in a narrow channel - you get to ride a dune buggy -great ! But on a road blocked on 1 side by a sheer rockface, while on the other side a drop into the ocean & immediate death. Or what about a hoverboat - fantastic! But in a series of channels whose sides you can’t get over. There is no “world” in games like this; it’s just a series of somewhat wider & longer corridors with no ceiling.
More to come.
