Why Gaming Has Gone Downhill

In my lifetime, the gaming industry has done everything in its power to destroy good video games. Yeah, sure, there are good games that come out every month such as the upcoming Halo 2. But how long do the games put out today really entertain you? What's their replay value? I can't think of a single game (even Kindgom Hearts, from the previous post) that's captured my imagination for longer than a single pass thru the game. And even after beating the games, I just feel like an empty husk of a gamer. There's no heart in games anymore. And here's why:

In days of old, video games were limited due to hardware. You had an 8-bit (or less!) machine that was capable of doing only so much. You didn't have things like FMVs (Full Motion Videos), fully-rendered 3D worlds with surround sound. You had 8-bit colors (255 colors, or, if you were smart, a palette that you could swap in and out as needed), and mono channel sound. So how did game companies capture gamers? With storylines, that's how! If the graphics suck, and the sound sucks, then they have to make the story great, otherwise the whole game sucks.

But in today's world, gamers are pampered by very realistic looking worlds with surround sound and other pieces of eye candy. The gaming industry has decided that they should focus their attentions on making each game push the limits of the hardware out there. So each game that comes out is prettier to look at than the last. Unfortunately, in their haste to make the newest, most lickable game, they've lost focus on the storyline! The story for most games today is totally uncaptivating and the only reason a lot of games ever get purchased is because they look pretty.

Take Doom 3 for example. You need a damned super computer just to play the game -- and once you play it, you're left slack-jawed at how horrible the game really is. It's a flop. There's no story, so you could give a rat's ass what happens in the game. And don't try telling me "but it's a first-person shooter Aaron! Those don't have story to them!" since that's total bullshit. Go back and play the original FPSs like Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake -- then tell me about storyline.

I think the whole industry took a turn for the worse when Final Fantasy VII came out. Don't get me wrong, the game had an OK story to it. It certainly wasn't anything to write home about, but it wasn't horrible either (like Final Fantasy X was). But that was the first PlayStation game to have FMVs in it -- damn they were stunning for the time too! I recall seeing commercials on the TV for this game (which, I may add, was the first time I had ever seen a video game advertised on the television) and thinking to myself, "wow, that game looks gorgeous, I must have it!". So I went out and bought it (being an avid Final Fantasy fan) and played it. I did enjoy the game since it had an alright storyline, but was blown away by the graphics.

Since FF VII was such a hit with gamers, every gaming company took the strategy of mind-boggling sensory input == amazing sales. And I think Squaresoft (now Square Enix) has been the biggest whore of this line of thinking. Every game since FF VII in the Final Fantasy series has sucked more than the last. But die-hard FF fans like myself continue to go out and get their shit in hopes of it being just as amazing to play as Final Fantasy II and III were. And we're continually let down since the story might as well not even be there, but boy, it sure is pretty with the realistic hair and all. I mean, come on.. who the hell cares about how realistic someone's hair or clothes are when the "story" makes you want to hurl the game into traffic?

I just hope the gaming industry pulls their collective heads from their asses and starts putting out games that have feeling in them again. Especially Square since they have the chance to recapture the hearts of many disenchanted old-timers like myself.

Here's to hoping!

What is your favorite game of all time, and why?