Multiplat Do you think video games have plateaued or will it plateau eventually?

[Iactus Inferus]

This world is too big for an entire medium of art to plateau. Definitely certain genres can of course, but it's like saying "will music plateau?" Of course not.

 

[GtehMVP]

I don't know about RDR2. There are NPC's with very detailed routines. There are a few videos out there of people following some around, and it's kind of crazy. Thing is, even if they didn't, it's not like you would really notice, since you're only in areas in moments of gameplay. You're not really gonna notice much about the NPC's daily routines, unless you take the time to follow a few around.

I personally just want them to quit flirting with RPG mechanics and choice/consequence gameplay, and lean into them more. I think RDR2 would've benefitted from making a lot of extra stuff, like building up your camp, mandatory. They've got all these extra activities, that really don't add up to much but mini-games that are completely optional and don't mean a whole hell of a lot. Like you can do some to extend "dead eye", and you can improve weapons to upgrade your damage output, but it doesn't mean anything, since every enemy in the game can be killed with any old pistol. You can find all sorts of legendary gear, but it's like, who gives a shit? It doesn't change the gameplay one bit.

That's funny, I did just follow some NPC's. Valentine is still my fav place in the game. I like antagonizing NPC's into fights and squaring off. The fighting is fun, but provoking them into getting getting shot by the Sheriff is even funner.

I was enjoying the western vibe, but got bored and decided to follow some NPC's. A lot of them don't do much, but I found some that worked a full shift, went into the Saloon, either passed out in the bar, or went back to their camp to sleep before doing it all over again the next day.

You're right in that we wouldn't normally notice what they do, unless you actively try, but I'd still like to see a lot more of that. It makes the world feel so much more alive. I'm pretty sure every NPC in KCD2 has a 24/7 schedule, which I haven't seen since Oblivion and old Ultima games, and pretty much every interior is accessible. It's easier with a smaller population of NPC's, and less of a world size to factor in compared to RDR2, but Kuttenberg in KCD2 was pretty large/populated.

Rockstar has the budget to make more of it happen, especially giving us more interiors to explore.

I'd like to see them dive deeper into the RPG mechanics too. It's not like the Mafia games where the cities/background is just intended window dressing between missions. They flirt with an immersive world, and have all kinds of crazy details like horse balls lol, but never go far enough where it counts.

 

[Croaker]

I think the reality with gaming is that everyone thinks it peaked when they were a kid and has gotten shit since and what someone thinks the peak era is will depend on how old they are.

Nah, there is good stuff and bad stuff from every era. Right now there are great video games, there are bad video games. The reason there are so many remakes/hd re-masters etc is because its easier to sell an IP and concept thats already worked.

If you look at a series like Dark Souls, its popular among "gamers" because its gameplay is limited but contributes to the feelings that the games are trying to convey. It doesnt seem like theyre concerned with quality of life because they're concerned with quality of experience. Its why Nintendo branded games tend to be bangers too, the entire concept could be made "better" and given more depth or throw more at the player, but they dont need to do that.

Disagree, I dont think any of us old fucks feel that video games peaked in the Vectrex era

This

 

[Rygu]

I don't think PC has plateaued, there are a lot of really good indie devs releasing games better than a lot of AAA games and the number of indie devs is only going up.

As far as AAA titles and console games, they plateaued years ago. AAA titles aren't about being good games anymore, it's all about day 1 DLC, microtransactions, loot packs, and all that nonsense. Corporate greed is definitely having a negative impact on the industry.

An example in my opinion would be the original Deus Ex. 25 year old game and knocks most AAA games released this year out of the water in terms of replay value and storyline.

Borderlands 4 isn't even as good as 1 and it came out 16 years ago.

 

[HereticBD]

Borderlands 4 isn't even as good as 1 and it came out 16 years ago.

Yeah, I don't know about that. Recency bias/nostalgia plays a big part in both praising games, and slamming them. If BL4 was the first game in the franchise, it would've blown our damn minds and be legendary. The original BL is not that great, BUT, when it came out, it was revolutionary. It's pretty bare bones, when compared to the sequels. The sequels just built on the formula, and I couldn't point to one thing BL1 objectively does better than the sequels, other than subjective things like characters, environments and storytelling. It's all the same formula, only bigger and better with the sequels.

I think we're sometimes spoiled, and we don't realize just how much certain games have evolved from their origins.

That all said, I do think games have plateaued in certain aspects. Graphics are a BIG one. The diminishing returns are impossible to ignore. We can't go much further than where we're at, so everything feels similar. Innovation on the other hand, I think is legit stagnant, and there's no technological excuse. The industry is just constantly banking on past glory to print money. All the big franchises are practically mods of their original blueprint. The indie scene is at least trying to pick up the slack, but those little games that have already started stealing from one another, will meet the same fate.

 

[Rygu]

Yeah, I don't know about that. Recency bias/nostalgia plays a big part in both praising games, and slamming them. If BL4 was the first game in the franchise, it would've blown our damn minds and be legendary. The original BL is not that great, BUT, when it came out, it was revolutionary. It's pretty bare bones, when compared to the sequels. The sequels just built on the formula, and I couldn't point to one thing BL1 objectively does better than the sequels, other than subjective things like characters, environments and storytelling. It's all the same formula, only bigger and better with the sequels.

I think we're sometimes spoiled, and we don't realize just how much certain games have evolved from their origins.

That all said, I do think games have plateaued in certain aspects. Graphics are a BIG one. The diminishing returns are impossible to ignore. We can't go much further than where we're at, so everything feels similar. Innovation on the other hand, I think is legit stagnant, and there's no technological excuse. The industry is just constantly banking on past glory to print money. All the big franchises are practically mods of their original blueprint. The indie scene is at least trying to pick up the slack, but those little games that have already started stealing from one another, will meet the same fate.

I liked the atmosphere of BL1 over 4 it felt more like Borderlands is supposed to feel imo, plus I found the story far superior. BL2 is def my favorite in the series and from there it just went downhill for quantity over quality. BL4 should be better than BL2 in many ways yet I don't think its better in any way besides graphics but BL has never been about graphics its about humor, crazy guns, and wild gun battles. I get the nostalgia comment and in some cases I'm sure I am guilty of that with for example Battlefield. I think BF2 is the best in the franchise bar none just due to the map scaling, 7 classes that were all very unique and different from each other, the medals, and unlocks/ranking up requiring a lot of gameplay to acquire. This whole going up 5-10 ranks a day and like 500 ranks in total just seems silly to me. Truthfully if BF2 was re-released and had the same number of people playing as 6 I would go back to 2 for sure.

You are 100% right about innovation becoming stagnant, as well as when you said many are relying on past glory to make money. Devs are becoming more hesitant to take any risks and only use the same formula that has been successful in the past to appease their corporate overlords. It's nice to see indie devs having success and its because they are not afraid to try something different which is what the industry is so desperately missing.

 

[93confirmed]

Gaming reached its peak with PS1 and PS2. It's been downhill since and will only continue. It's impossible to be original forever.

One of the worst takes I've read on gaming. What?

 

[Satur9]

One of the worst takes I've read on gaming. What?

Yeah saying ps1 is the top for gaming is actually quite insane.

I go back and try to play older games with my sons on the old raspberry pi, to show them how far they have come, and 80% of the PS1 games are freaking ROUGH to play now. Especially the 3D games. My old eyes have a hell of a time looking at all those enormous pixels, the environments constantly breaking, and just random flashes.

 

[maximus__]

I'm curious to see if they still force you down a strict linear path for most missions like in previous games. It's always jarring when you have this massive open world to carry out all kinds of shenanigans with a lot of freedom of choice, especially in police chases, yet missions are heavily restricted/scripted.

They are also notorious for incredible cities, on the surface, but with most interiors being closed off, and NPC's going no where, it quickly starts to feel like a giant movie set.

I fired up RDR2 the other day (binge watching Hell on Wheels, got me itching for the wild west) and as beautiful as the game still looks, it doesn't take long for the smoke and mirrors to fall apart.

I don't expect full NPC schedules in such a large setting, but hopefully we can go inside most interiors, with better reactive NPC's doing more than standing around, or walking/driving to no where.

I actually think that's why games aren't as good anymore. I like open world games but now everything tries to be open world.

Give me a story with some specific choices over endless open world games.

My peak RPG was Morrowind back in the day, so I like Open World games. To use an example of why something like Morrowind was better than Skyrim, Skyrim allowed me to do everything with one character. I loved Morrowind so much because I literally had to start a new character depending on the Quest lines I chose. Same with games like Kotor etc that were considered greats.

You had to pick a play style and do specific run throughs on those games.

The last couple times in gaming I have had those sort of moments have been games with actual quest lines that push me into a specific story. Open world is fun, but it can be too much. Just give me an open world option post main quest or something.

 

[TrueBias]

Graphics have plateaued, sound too.

Game play would and should only be the next level and that's virtual reality. It almost looks real now, so next step is to FEEL how real it is and im not sure that's a good thing.

That means people are gonna have to move around instead of sitting on a couch.

 

[TeTe]

I think the reality with gaming is that everyone thinks it peaked when they were a kid and has gotten shit since and what someone thinks the peak era is will depend on how old they are.

I hate going back and playing games that are two or three platforms old because of inferior graphics. I do love playing games because of nostalgia and simplicity from the original NES and SNES though. But they are in no way as good as current games. But they can be equally as fun.

But I do feel that way about music though. To me, rock at least, peaked in the 90s.

 

[Tatra]

Yeah saying ps1 is the top for gaming is actually quite insane.

I go back and try to play older games with my sons on the old raspberry pi, to show them how far they have come, and 80% of the PS1 games are freaking ROUGH to play now. Especially the 3D games. My old eyes have a hell of a time looking at all those enormous pixels, the environments constantly breaking, and just random flashes.

I said PS1 and PS2. PS2 was essentially just a PS1 with better graphics. As far as the games that came out then, it's an unmatched era in gaming. Resident Evil 1 & 2, Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, Gran Turismos, Final Fantasies, GTAs, Onimushas... there's no era that comes close. Your entire counter is 'bUt ThE gRaPhIcS'.

It's irrelevant you can't personally play those games today, all that matters is how great they were when they first came out. Also get an upscaler.

 

[Zazen]

I can't believe most people voted yes. Kind of short-sighted imo. We've barely touched VR and AR. There are a lot of things to be done with that. Still way more to be done with game physics and AI may lead to cities being more explorable with unique buildings that you can actually enter.

Playing the Resident Evil games on PSVR2 really change my opinion on how great VR can be when done right. Probably the most immersive experience in gaming I've ever had.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I hate going back and playing games that are two or three platforms old because of inferior graphics. I do love playing games because of nostalgia and simplicity from the original NES and SNES though. But they are in no way as good as current games. But they can be equally as fun.

But I do feel that way about music though. To me, rock at least, peaked in the 90s.

I think there's still great rock music being made although I think probably less volume because guitars can't really get better and most things have already been done so it's hard not to be derivative.

I also think that young talented musicians are as likely to start fiddling with computer programs as they are to pick up a guitar nowadays whereas back then I feel like most kids picked up a guitar.

Of the rock music that is being made I also think you're less likely to hear it, simply because that's not what gets pushed in the mainstream anymore.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I said PS1 and PS2. PS2 was essentially just a PS1 with better graphics. As far as the games that came out then, it's an unmatched era in gaming. Resident Evil 1 & 2, Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, Gran Turismos, Final Fantasies, GTAs, Onimushas... there's no era that comes close. Your entire counter is 'bUt ThE gRaPhIcS'.

It's irrelevant you can't personally play those games today, all that matters is how great they were when they first came out. Also get an upscaler.

You likely just had more time to play games back then. If you look at the game of the year awards lineup it's generally a bunch of games that people who do game seem very exited about.

 

[RockyLockridge]

The PS1 and N64 era were fucking magic.

It's not easy to understand but what made video games amazing was the limitations. Like "fucking magic" is a good way to describe it. because they had to use tricks that felt like "magic" to achieve increible things in gaming way before they had a right too.

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

Yeah saying ps1 is the top for gaming is actually quite insane.

I go back and try to play older games with my sons on the old raspberry pi, to show them how far they have come, and 80% of the PS1 games are freaking ROUGH to play now. Especially the 3D games. My old eyes have a hell of a time looking at all those enormous pixels, the environments constantly breaking, and just random flashes.

This reminds me of when I tried to revisit Andretti Racing on the Sega Saturn.

It was a little rough even back in the day, but I was able to get used to it. Revisiting as an adult? I couldn't make out the grey on grey Vancouver track at all, or gage timing on the turns because of how bad everything looked...

I do think that videogames have plateaued, but I also think that experiencing things as a child as opposed to an adult with limited time left, more experience and more pressures, does affect opinions on this matter.

I can't believe most people voted yes. Kind of short-sighted imo. We've barely touched VR and AR. There are a lot of things to be done with that. Still way more to be done with game physics and AI may lead to cities being more explorable with unique buildings that you can actually enter.

Playing the Resident Evil games on PSVR2 really change my opinion on how great VR can be when done right. Probably the most immersive experience in gaming I've ever had.

I think AR and VR will be more of a gimmick and a sidestep, a bit like the Wiimote, than a definite jump in game quality. The only way I can see a definite jump in gaming quality is through the use of AI to accelerate development.

The issue seems to be time and cost. Yeah, developers can probably make games that massively break the mold, but this costs millions and takes years to do, and with the media getting more and more vicious and unforgiving, they'll just be rushed out and released as broken messes.

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

ive using redream (dreamcast EMU) for most of my gaming lately, wicked system for games you can jump in and play for 10-20 mins.

SEGA were kings of the arcade back in the day and they put those games on their consoles, so there were a lot of pick up and play games on them.

I just think that SEGA and their consoles had a charm that was hard to find on other consoles.

 

[TeTe]

I think there's still great rock music being made although I think probably less volume because guitars can't really get better and most things have already been done so it's hard not to be derivative.

I also think that young talented musicians are as likely to start fiddling with computer programs as they are to pick up a guitar nowadays whereas back then I feel like most kids picked up a guitar.

Of the rock music that is being made I also think you're less likely to hear it, simply because that's not what gets pushed in the mainstream anymore.

I agree, there's some good stuff being made today, but you definitely need to search for it.

 

[HereticBD]

I agree, there's some good stuff being made today, but you definitely need to search for it.

Seems to be the deal with all entertainment media.

Good music is still being made, but...
Good movies are still being made, but...

And so on and so forth. It's a product of technology advancing faster than we can keep up with it. It's one big Jackson Pollock painting out there.