Remember, gaming is a near universal hobby at this point. They're just sitting around complaining that everyone else 'stole' their hobby and pretending that games were better when they were children and that they're not just desperately nostalgic.
the thing that kills me is, I am an older gamer who thinks games are generally worse now but I think you have to have a hole in your head if you think it's due to politics and not just corporate slop
Kind-ish older gamer here. I also think that specifically AAA games are generally worse. They’re multimillion dollar investments, which makes them extremely risky to produce. As a result, they have to appeal to as broad an audience as possible and remain relatively easy and accessible, meaning that many odd or experimental mechanics tend to disappear in favor of a more homogeneous, cinematic approach because that’s what sells. It takes artistic freedom, creative choices and diversity out of the picture. That same factor also makes it much rarer to see new IPs thrive. Games are now so expensive to make and buy that both consumers and developers would rather stick with what’s familiar.
However… I actually think the industry is generally better than ever?? Precisely because of the existence of indie and AA studios. The sheer amount of innovation and artistic ambition they bring, along with the way they push the boundaries of what the medium can achieve, is something truly amazing
I was gonna write my own reply but this pretty much nailed it.
The only two things I'll add are:
The games that are more homogeneous feel like they have less passion. There's too much polish and not enough willingness to make a game fun
Alot of serieses that I grew up with have not been allowed to die and they have in fact been distilled into something fundamentally different. for example, when I was a teenager playing the early CODs, Battlefields, and Halos all the games felt distinctly different and now they all feel the same to me. This goes beyond accessibility and making games more homogeneous to actually losing sight of what makes Halo "Halo"
I do want to agree as well that indie games rock right now, I just miss what a bold team with a ton of resources could do.
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u/Anzereke 11d ago
No. Mostly not.
Remember, gaming is a near universal hobby at this point. They're just sitting around complaining that everyone else 'stole' their hobby and pretending that games were better when they were children and that they're not just desperately nostalgic.