Videogames need to Join the mainstream, or Become Comic Books
108 replies, posted
[url]http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20013761-17.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20[/url]
[release]The gaming industry's reliance on larger-than-life characters and science fiction stories could turn it into a niche market like the comic book space, Disney game developer Warren Spector warned at the Game Developers Conference Europe in Cologne, Germany, on Monday.
Speaking to a crowd of developers, Spector said the industry finds itself "in the center of a cultural firestorm." Because of that, the onus is on game developers to build better games that bring the industry into the mainstream, like film, rather than the niche, like comics.
"If we don't break out of the big buff guys with swords, and guys in tights, and space marines in armor, we're going to get marginalized the way that comic books have been in the United States," Spector said, according to reports. "I hope we can break free of the content of comic books."
Although Spector didn't mention them by name, he's undoubtedly referencing the seemingly endless supply of popular franchises, such as Halo, Mass Effect, and Gears of War, that attempt to bridge that gap between comic-like themes and film-like storytelling.
Going forward, Spector believes that the game industry has a long way to go in order to match the film business. He said that "in some respects, [developers] are still making cartoons." Spector wants to see the industry embrace the fact that "games are not about the magic moment--they're about the repeated action." Once developers realize that, he said, they will have to find ways to make the repeated action--downing an enemy in an action game, for example--"feel different" every time.
Getting the industry to stray from a comic-like focus will be difficult. But Spector believes that it's necessary. Of course, whether gamers, who continue to buy the comic-like games, will agree with Spector's notion is anyone's guess.[/release]
He's the crappiest Spector in the citadel :smug:
So he's saying that games can only be one thing or the other.
Pretty Much.....I'd rather it be like comic books then :v:
Is he an idiot?
Halo is about as mainstream as it gets.
[editline]01:37PM[/editline]
Mainstream=Big buff guys with huge swords/guns.
"Make games mainstream"
"Okay"
[img]http://gameaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/modern-warfare-2.jpg[/img]
Not saying some of them are bad games, but they aren't very niche.
I like the games how they are now, I haven't seen as many glitches or gamebreaking bugs as I have in the games from the 90's or 00's compared to now if anything they are still improving.
I always thought Mass Effect was a Niche game in my opinion...TIll I found out how many of friends loved it. :v:
Good day that was...
They ARE mainstream.
So he wants videogaming to go the way Nintendo went with the Wii instead? No thanks.
He's from Disney. No surprise here.
So if we become a niche, it means the end of the subculture itself?
And besides, video games are supposed to be games. For fun.
If we break out of guys with buff swords wearing tights that double as space marine armor, then where will we go?
The Sims is an accepted part of video games, but it would ruin everything we've been building for the last thirty years if it became the norm.
Variety may be the spice of life, but video games don't need to overdose on it.
[b]Edit:[/b]
Spector's a numbskull.
Notice how its the Disney Game Developer :v:
[quote]Of course, whether gamers, who continue to buy the comic-like games, will agree with Spector's notion is anyone's guess. [/quote]
I don't :colbert:
[QUOTE=Swilly;24115472]Notice how its the Disney Game Developer :v:[/QUOTE]
lol Disney.
[QUOTE=Swilly;24115472]Notice how its the Disney Game Developer :v:[/QUOTE]
Notice how it's Warren Spector, one of the best/most brilliant game developers ever, who's worked on System Shock, Thief, Wing Commander, Ultima, and created fucking Deus Ex. He's also working on Epic Mickey, which despite being a Disney game has been almost universally anticipated.
So he's not just a "disney game dev" :colbert:
And he's not calling for making all games casual, he's saying we need to break out of the simplistic machismo oriented gametype that's been the norm since Doom and branch out to more creative areas, and work to make that creativity the mainstream
I see nothing wrong with the video gaming industry being a "niche market." Pen-and-paper role-playing games, which were around way before Pong and even influenced the development of video games, still remains a "niche market" and continues to produce innovative and unique games.
Besides, we still have Valve! :v:
[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;24115528]Notice how it's Warren Spector, one of the best/most brilliant game developers ever, who's worked on System Shock, Thief, Wing Commander, Ultima, and created fucking Deus Ex. He's also working on Epic Mickey, which despite being a Disney game has been almost universally anticipated.
So he's not just a "disney game dev" :colbert:[/QUOTE]
Then why is he saying something like this? And I'm not bashing him specifically. I'm bashing the Disney part...
[QUOTE=Swilly;24115575]Then why is he saying something like this? And I'm not bashing him specifically. I'm bashing the Disney part...[/QUOTE]
Yea really, you'd think that the developer of deus ex would understand the values of a niche market.
comic books own. games have the potential to be 100% better than film, but i'd rather them become a niche then get dumbed down, gray and browned out, generic as fuck games for the mainstream.
So basically games need dumbing down
no thanks
i'm not entirely sure i understand what he's trying to say.
games today are incredibly mainstream and if anything, they need to break free from it.
[QUOTE=Swilly;24115575]Then why is he saying something like this? And I'm not bashing him specifically. I'm bashing the Disney part...[/QUOTE]
Because he sees the problem in the industry? When some layperson thinks of games they prob think either cartoony (Mario, Zelda, Nintendo in general) or mindless killing and stupid machismo (Most every FPS for the past two decades)
He wanted videogames to break out of the mold in a more than indie fashion, and make the mainstream a more creative and different place, so that people would associate VGs more with a perception of complex art such as cinema rather than a perception of simplistic and mindless art like comics
[QUOTE=James*;24115672]So basically games need dumbing down
no thanks[/QUOTE]
He created Deus Ex, i'm pretty sure he's arguing for the exact opposite
[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;24115701]Because he sees the problem in the industry? When some layperson thinks of games they prob think either cartoony (Mario, Zelda, Nintendo in general) or mindless killing and stupid machismo (Most every FPS for the past two decades)
He wanted videogames to break out of the mold in a more than indie fashion, and make the mainstream a more creative and different place, so that people would associate VGs more with a perception of complex art such as cinema rather than a perception of simplistic and mindless art like comics
He created Deus Ex, i'm pretty sure he's arguing for the exact opposite[/QUOTE]
have you seen the latest movies? OR music for that matter? The mainstream tends to DESTROY that artistic flair and quickly dumb things down. Modern Warfare 2 would be my example.
When I think of video games today I think of Mass Effect.
[QUOTE]He's undoubtedly referencing the seemingly endless supply of popular franchises, such as Halo, Mass Effect...[/QUOTE]
Since when were fucking two Mass Effect games considered as "endless supply"?
Fuck that dude.
[QUOTE=Haxxer;24115841]Since when were fucking two Mass Effect games considered "endless supply"?
Fuck that dude.[/QUOTE]
Call of Duty? Medal of Honor before it disappeared off the radar...
Ok actually you didn't read the article at all, or even look at it, because your title is completely wrong. Where the hell does Spector argue for mainstreaming video games in the style of the content currently out there? He's saying we need to make them non-niche in a specific content way, as in moving outside the boundaries of comic book style storylines.
[QUOTE]
Speaking to a crowd of developers, Spector said the industry finds itself "in the center of a cultural firestorm." Because of that, the onus is on game developers to build better games that bring the industry into the mainstream, like film, rather than the niche, like comics.
"If we don't break out of the big buff guys with swords, and guys in tights, and space marines in armor, we're going to get marginalized the way that comic books have been in the United States," Spector said, according to reports. "I hope we can break free of the content of comic books."[/QUOTE]Look at this. He means cinema is seen as a mainstream and widely varied artform, whereas comic books, and potentially games, are seen as a one dimensional, simplistic art, and he wants video games to both be and be perceived as more than that.
EDIT: Seriously did NONE of you read this beyond the title? He's arguing directly against the current mainstream style in video games, he outright says that here:
[QUOTE]"If we don't break out of the big buff guys with swords, and guys in tights, and space marines in armor, we're going to get marginalized the way that comic books have been in the United States," Spector said, according to reports. "I hope we can break free of the content of comic books."
Although Spector didn't mention them by name, he's undoubtedly referencing the seemingly endless supply of popular franchises, such as Halo, Mass Effect, and Gears of War, that attempt to bridge that gap between comic-like themes and film-like storytelling.
[/QUOTE]
-snip-
[QUOTE=Chopstick;24115437]I like the games how they are now, I haven't seen as many glitches or gamebreaking bugs as I have in the games from the 90's or 00's compared to now if anything they are still improving.[/QUOTE]
But those glitches were fun.
[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;24115884]Ok actually you didn't read the article at all, or even look at it, because your title is completely wrong. Where the hell does Spector argue for mainstreaming video games in the style of the content currently out there? He's saying we need to make them non-niche in a specific content way, as in moving outside the boundaries of comic book style storylines.
Look at this. He means cinema is seen as a mainstream and widely varied artform, whereas comic books, and potentially games, are seen as a one dimensional, simplistic art, and he wants video games to both be and be perceived as more than that.
EDIT: Seriously did NONE of you read this beyond the title? He's arguing directly against the current mainstream style in video games, he outright says that here:[/QUOTE]
So he's saying comic books are simplistic art? He's talking about big bulky space marines. Not the simple soldiers of MW2 or of CS:S.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.