Chapter 4 – The $21st Century
The 21st century didn’t just bring ‘next generation gaming’ but also next generation costing. Costs of games were in the millions compared to old skool games like Pac-Man for the VCS (Video Computer System) which only took a single programmer a few weekends and a small amount ofUS$100,000 to conjure up.
A shocking yet believable game fell under this expensive category called ‘Halo 2’. This bad boy managed to only cost US$40 Million and took 190 people over 3 years to make, now either no-one turned up to work for a couple of years or this game must really be that good. I’ve never had the pleasure of playing Halo 2 otherwise would comment from my own experience but I think I shall but it in the near future just to see what the fuss is about, or rather download it…shhh.
Companies just found it hard to guarantee a winner. You can get games that cost a lot and sell minimal, then again you can get it the other way round. Microsoft creating Halo 2 had the same success rate as Pac-Man back in 1982 even though these two games are two worlds apart, they dramatically differ in graphics, game play, features, complexity, and the obvious the cost. Game manufacturers face that block in their creativity when a game they spend time, money and blood on doesn’t sell, or doesn’t sell enough to make it a ‘good game’. Most manufacturers stick to the original design they got and just elaborate on that particular game and think of ways to make it better. Perfect example could be EA because these guys not only have almost every single major sports game out there but have the same game play in all their games with just that little extra to make it the 4th in the trilogy.
Me personally I don’t like manufacturers who can’t be asked to put the time and effort into providing me some sort of virtual entertainment and naturally that’s why I think EA games suck….not all most. EA just get so boring in their game play and styles, its like if you’ve played FIFA 2007 that means you’ve played FIFA 2008 even though it isn’t even in development. When a tech team put effort and originality in a game they now it’s going to sell, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to make them billions and trillions but enough to be recognised as a good game and one that sells of costs.
Now I love a game with originality, a game where you can call its own kind even though there loads of games similar to it. To me a game doesn’t have to be unique in the sense that it’s got never seen never heard of features but rather a game that you play and can instantly tell that there’s nothing like it. Each game leaves a signature in a gamers head where a gamer remembers specific scenes or specific cut scenes that made the gamer get a head rush now that’s the difference between a serious focused gamer and a every now and again casual gamer. Serious gaming is waking up at 9am, having some breaky at 10am, missing your lecture at 11am to play Warcraft till 18:00, then having another bite just before your ready to enter a dungeon for another 7 hours to bring home the mount baby. Then there’s the laid back gamer that plays games as often as I play golf and I play golf quite often? Through some personal experience I’ve also seen the seriously casual gamer and the casually serious gamer ftw! Its hard to build a picture for you but their something along the lines of playing 24 hours a day 7 days a week but when you play against them its like their trying to hit a monkey with an iron wrench. They may take the time and effort they put into it seriously but at the end of the day all their good at is being seriously shite and above all annoying.
Some people I would say are born to be gamers where they just know things that others wouldn’t or play ways that others would take time to get accustomed to. Natural born gamers are people who install a game and from the click of the start button are already near the end. Now imagine these people could actually create their ideas into consoles and games. Imagine computer games thought out and made by hardcore, serious, natural born gamers? Imagine a world where the best games could only get better. I have loads of images I can portray through the vision in my mind but can’t get it out on paper. I would like to see games so highly developed that no joy pad or console was even needed. It would be so real that you could wake up and be in a game scenario. Imagine turning on a game and being inside it, a place where you can’t die but can do endless things, no AI in the world could think or move like you do, no programme written yet could control the infinite amount of possibilities for you to explore, no high tech graphics card and monitor could capture the beauty seen through your eyes, imagine a game created by you. 
A shocking yet believable game fell under this expensive category called ‘Halo 2’. This bad boy managed to only cost US$40 Million and took 190 people over 3 years to make, now either no-one turned up to work for a couple of years or this game must really be that good. I’ve never had the pleasure of playing Halo 2 otherwise would comment from my own experience but I think I shall but it in the near future just to see what the fuss is about, or rather download it…shhh.
Companies just found it hard to guarantee a winner. You can get games that cost a lot and sell minimal, then again you can get it the other way round. Microsoft creating Halo 2 had the same success rate as Pac-Man back in 1982 even though these two games are two worlds apart, they dramatically differ in graphics, game play, features, complexity, and the obvious the cost. Game manufacturers face that block in their creativity when a game they spend time, money and blood on doesn’t sell, or doesn’t sell enough to make it a ‘good game’. Most manufacturers stick to the original design they got and just elaborate on that particular game and think of ways to make it better. Perfect example could be EA because these guys not only have almost every single major sports game out there but have the same game play in all their games with just that little extra to make it the 4th in the trilogy.
Me personally I don’t like manufacturers who can’t be asked to put the time and effort into providing me some sort of virtual entertainment and naturally that’s why I think EA games suck….not all most. EA just get so boring in their game play and styles, its like if you’ve played FIFA 2007 that means you’ve played FIFA 2008 even though it isn’t even in development. When a tech team put effort and originality in a game they now it’s going to sell, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to make them billions and trillions but enough to be recognised as a good game and one that sells of costs.
Now I love a game with originality, a game where you can call its own kind even though there loads of games similar to it. To me a game doesn’t have to be unique in the sense that it’s got never seen never heard of features but rather a game that you play and can instantly tell that there’s nothing like it. Each game leaves a signature in a gamers head where a gamer remembers specific scenes or specific cut scenes that made the gamer get a head rush now that’s the difference between a serious focused gamer and a every now and again casual gamer. Serious gaming is waking up at 9am, having some breaky at 10am, missing your lecture at 11am to play Warcraft till 18:00, then having another bite just before your ready to enter a dungeon for another 7 hours to bring home the mount baby. Then there’s the laid back gamer that plays games as often as I play golf and I play golf quite often? Through some personal experience I’ve also seen the seriously casual gamer and the casually serious gamer ftw! Its hard to build a picture for you but their something along the lines of playing 24 hours a day 7 days a week but when you play against them its like their trying to hit a monkey with an iron wrench. They may take the time and effort they put into it seriously but at the end of the day all their good at is being seriously shite and above all annoying.
Some people I would say are born to be gamers where they just know things that others wouldn’t or play ways that others would take time to get accustomed to. Natural born gamers are people who install a game and from the click of the start button are already near the end. Now imagine these people could actually create their ideas into consoles and games. Imagine computer games thought out and made by hardcore, serious, natural born gamers? Imagine a world where the best games could only get better. I have loads of images I can portray through the vision in my mind but can’t get it out on paper. I would like to see games so highly developed that no joy pad or console was even needed. It would be so real that you could wake up and be in a game scenario. Imagine turning on a game and being inside it, a place where you can’t die but can do endless things, no AI in the world could think or move like you do, no programme written yet could control the infinite amount of possibilities for you to explore, no high tech graphics card and monitor could capture the beauty seen through your eyes, imagine a game created by you.
posted by Taz at Wednesday, November 22, 2006
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