Current level of innovation in games

[Sonic]

As I was browsing a few websites and looking through a couple gaming mags the thought occured to me that most of what I was looking at was really underwhelming. I was looking for a couple games that will be out soon that will be worthy of a purchase. And I must say that most everything looks bland or it's been done before. It's not just the gameplay itself, as if I like a game I can play its countless sequels if it remains true to the original and continues to improve upon it. Sortof like Sonic games on the Genesis. I go back to play them every now and then and when I do I get stuck for days just playing them. Not the same for the Sonic Adventure games.

I guess my concern is that innovation in games has all but run out on the current crop of systems. I do see quite a few games in the pipeline that try new things and have really neat concepts, but that is perhaps 5% out of everythign I'm looking at. From characters to level design, graphics to dull looking art, gameplay to a rather non interaction cutscenes.

Does anyone else feel that innovation in current gaming needs a big push? I'll even go so far as to say that SEGA itself is lacking in innovation these days.

Does anyone else see innovation starting to decrease as time goes on? Are there any games that you feel are pushing the envelope as far as content, gameplay, just about anything is concerned? Lastly, which developers do you feel are pushing the envelope more than others?

 

[zurich]

Innovation != commercial success, unless you're Nintendo where virtually anything you publish will make money due to a solid fan base.

<- mourns the non-existant Rez sequel.

 

[Almasy]

Nah, it has always been this way, we were just never as aware of it as we are now.

 

[V3]

I do see quite a few games in the pipeline that try new things and have really neat concepts, but that is perhaps 5% out of everythign I'm looking at.

Share with us these games and their concepts, please.

 

[Sonic]

Hey now, these are just what I see. Too late to go into detail.

And they are not from within the walls of SEGA.

 

[Deepak]

I prefer fun factor over Innovation!

 

[V3]

Hey now, these are just what I see.

Well, at least give us the title, so we can appreciate those games too.

 

[Sonic]

Ninja Gaiden. I am looking forward to this game. It's in my top 5 most wanted.

 

[London Geezer]

well i dont think anyone can expect every game to have some innovative aspect... and the ones that do, cannot be expected to raise the level by much... the ones that do are very rare and are considered "gems"...
i mean, i could count on one hand the games that were truly innovative this generation, or at least provided a different experience than anything else... ICO is one of them.... Stretch Panic was "different" and kinda fun, shame it was so short... (well, i have a thing for Treasure games so i might be a bit biased)

 

[jvd]

some companys really push boundrys . Sega is a big one . Though sometimes they fail alot of the time the push the limits. I mean phantsy star was basicly in 3d (looked like wolfenstien for the pc) , knights into dreams , pds , psonline , and monkey ball are just a few . But nintendo at one point push the limits alot and added tons of good things thats are now standard in games. Capcom , namco , square and hell even ea at one point inovated. I guess sonic its just harder and harder to inovate .

 

[Bohdy]

Funny, I was just thinking how generic Ninja Gaiden looked.. :?

Please enlighten me to your perceptions of it, as there is probably more to it that I missed from my (addmitedly brief) look at it.

 

[Grall]

I'm gonna go drag up Metroid Prime here again. It is the FIRST FPS (to my knowledge) that really makes the player feel like they're inside the head of the character, and not just a floating gun-camera with ammo and health counters in the corners of the visual field.

That HUD is a real masterpiece of game design! I have to admit that sure, there are other games with a HUD, but none of them have one that is slightly decoupled from the movement of the head like in Metroid Prime. None of them has the reflection of the player's face in it, or the static that appears when certain enemies jam the suit's electronics etc. Those little details make all the difference.

Now, if only we could see Samus's body when we look down... Still waiting for the first FPS where the body is visible! That's the final step in FPS evolution I think, apart from like full-immersion bodysuits and such, hehe.

*G*

 

[jvd]

Funny, I was just thinking how generic Ninja Gaiden looked.. :?

Please enlighten me to your perceptions of it, as there is probably more to it that I missed from my (addmitedly brief) look at it.

This thread is about innovation not graphics. The two are not the same.
I have yet to play ninja gaiden so i can't comment on what innovations there are in the game play but I'm sure sonic knows whats in the game otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned it .

 

[zurich]

Grall,

Despite it being an X-devil-satan-box game, Breakdown does some interesting first person work in regards to the hand-to-hand combat.. like when you throw someone over your shoulder, the screen shifts down to face the floor, or if you get knocked down you're staring at the ceiling. Hard to explain, its in the E3 trailer.

 

[London Geezer]

WELL, the side effect of "seeing your body" in a FPS would mainly be, the thing u're gonna see is the characters' crotch.... or her tits.... unless u... bend over......... then u'd see your knees

oh god... i just cant help it u guys are too easy to wind up

 

[zurich]

WELL, the side effect of "seeing your body" in a FPS would mainly be, the thing u're gonna see is the characters' crotch.... or her tits.... unless u... bend over......... then u'd see your knees

oh god... i just cant help it u guys are too easy to wind up

Hey man, wait for a Tecmo FPS and you can jiggle 'em in real time, ON DEMAND!

 

[London Geezer]

Hey man, wait for a Tecmo FPS and you can jiggle 'em in real time, ON DEMAND!

eheheh... funny u say that, i was playing Baldurs Gate last night and i noticed similar bouncing on the bigg boobied woman at the bar.. only this time she actually lifted them with her arms when crossing them!!! i mean, whats next? Jin Kazama fixing the thong in his crack in Tekken7???? or Heiachi Mishima playing with his big nappie-shaped thing and seeing his balls bounce???? that would be gross....

 

[Riddlewire]

Still waiting for the first FPS where the body is visible! That's the final step in FPS evolution I think, apart from like full-immersion bodysuits and such, hehe.

*G*

It didn't do much to enhance the feel of Trespasser.

 

[Grall]

Still waiting for the first FPS where the body is visible!

It didn't do much to enhance the feel of Trespasser.

I just remembered Trespasser, but that game was total shite anyway, so it's not surprising the presence of a body didn't do much for the gameplay experience. You might as well use that game to slag off the entire FP genre as a whole, not just FP games where the body is visible; Trespasser really was THAT much of a failure.

It just feels idiotic when looking down and seeing NOTHING there, at most just a circular shadow on the ground (which sometimes extends off cliff edges and such). I sure see me when I look down, I should see me in a FP game too.


*G*

 

[London Geezer]

Still waiting for the first FPS where the body is visible!

It didn't do much to enhance the feel of Trespasser.

I just remembered Trespasser, but that game was total shite anyway, so it's not surprising the presence of a body didn't do much for the gameplay experience. You might as well use that game to slag off the entire FP genre as a whole, not just FP games where the body is visible; Trespasser really was THAT much of a failure.

It just feels idiotic when looking down and seeing NOTHING there, at most just a circular shadow on the ground (which sometimes extends off cliff edges and such). I sure see me when I look down, I should see me in a FP game too.


*G*

THE FACT that in many FPS no-one cares who the player is or what he looks like doesnt help.... i mean, u know who u are in Timesplitters1 and 2, Metroid, Halo and such, but "there was a time when u really didnt even know who the main character was"...