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Does the game industry really get it now?

Posted May 17, 2007 at 3:49PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC Gaming Tags: Chris Taylor, Electronic Arts, Quantic Dream, THQ

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In a recent report we covered, Electronic Arts' Gerhard Florin mentioned that the industry is now focusing on better storytelling and emotion in gaming. This was due to the fact that the processing power and graphics capabilities of consoles and PCs have advanced so far and so quickly that developers no longer have to worry about the appearance of their games and just focus on delivering "entertainment value." He added:

Everybody gets carried away with the technology. When the technology gets more usable ... then the story tellers get more to the forefront. My hope is, but I can't tell you when it will be, that we reach the peak in perfection so that the consumer doesn't see the difference in technology anymore -- then it is a pure race for entertainment.

But is the industry really gearing up to duel in the creativity side? We know that Electronic Arts had mentioned a long while back about stepping off the "franchise spam" business model and delivering new ideas and concepts, but forgive us if we cannot buy into that. Aside from a few games, hardly any other titles have pushed the creativity envelope recently - or is that already their best?

Midway Games' Steve Allison particularly uncovered why game developers cannot cater any new content to their line ups: "We all get trapped in the hardcore gamer's mindset." That and the fact that successful games, according to the industry's eyes, are not judged by the quality of the game throughout but by how many people buy the game.

But a few game industry entities, such as less popular Quantic Dream and critically successful giant THQ, have gone out of their way to allow creativity to blossom. Quantic Dream, in fact, is quite the revolutionary developer studio today. Their new title Heavy Rain slaps gorgeous games in the face with a deep story, complicated artificial intelligence mimicking human emotion, and a horrifyingly realistic emotion engine.

THQ in the other had may not be the greatest example to cite for game creativity advocates, but because they allowed legendary developer Chris Taylor to "build what [his] vision of Supreme Commander is," they have suddenly become top in this blogger's "List of Publishers to Work For in the Future."

There's a reason why the hardcore gaming bracket is mainly the adolescent bracket. Older gamers who have already tasted the sweet nectar of games by legendary designers such as D. W. Bradley, Sid Meier, Chris Roberts, "Lord British" Garriott, Peter Molyneux - among others - can't see new games today the least bit comparable to what they've experienced before.

Does the game industry really get the avid gamers' point? Or are they still lost in the chaos of the creativity subdivide which brought about the true anti-storytellers, the true storytellers, the true cinematographers, and the true theorists? That dear readers, is open for you to discuss.

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If by the games industry you mean the West is finally learning that storytelling and emotion are important in video games now, then I'd say yes. Japanese developers, more so the RPG developers, have implemented stories in their games since back in the SNES days and have learned that storytelling has a huge benefit; it adds replayability and cinematic value...at least to those who enjoy the best of both worlds.

# In My Opinion... — Guest 2007-05-18 06:53

I think that games should show creativity and deep storytelling. One of the many reasons that I loved Twilight Princess was because of its deep storyline and the emotion that is shown in the game. I hope that game developers put more of this into games in the future.

# ... — Barakku 2007-05-18 13:32

I've been seeing deep storyline and emotion in games for years, and much more so than in Twilight Princess. Tales of Symhonia, Silent Hill 2, FFX, Xenosaga...maybe serious plot, ect, haven't been seen in certain genres like FPS and platformers, but it's nothing new.

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