"It'll never happen, trust me" -
March 8, 2001 - Chris Jones
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed
within this column are those of the participants and the
moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the
GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive
material afoot.
How come Huckleberry Finn doesn't make more unexplained cameo
appearances in fiction?
Don't say we didn't warn you.
I would talk about Hoshigami here, but there's a letter about it. I
would talk about The Bouncer here, but there's a letter about it. I would
talk about the topic here, but...
Onward.
| We ain't goin' nowhere |
| Steve Tran wrote in with some interesting points about where RPG's will end
up in 5-10 years... I figure I'd add my comments:
Group 1: Game designers who are currently in the industry - Possibly, but if
we keep seeing Final Fantasy 13 with the same mechanics system that's always
been with the series like navigating, (notice how little time you *actually*
spend wandering between towns on the overworld map? Minus the time flying the
airships/flying devices) then how will the games evolve??
Group 2: Non-gamers who are attracted to the dynamic medium that is the
videogame, and become game designers - This one sounds like the most likely
... the good thing might be is that since they've never had any previous
experience, they haven't already played hundreds of RPGs (and thus seen
what's been done to death several million times), they won't be pressured to
just copy what the experts have done.
Group 3: Avid gamers who eventually become game designers - This one is also
a likely candidate too, since perhaps there have been features that have been
implemented in RPGs in the past, or not implemented properly, or maybe they
wondered what if they combined the elements together?
So unless somebody at Square steps up and says 'Y'know, maybe we should try
this instead?' we may just remain in the same rut that we have for so
long...
- JR
|
Your observations are all dead-on, except for the last paragraph,
which seems to contradict everything you just said.
Ignoring that serious logical inconsistency tho, I'm personally most
in favor of group 2 doing interesting stuff in a game. It's true that 90%
of the time someone from one medium tries to go to work in another, the
result is less than spectacular, but the times when it does work tend to
really shake things up. FPS players have already benefited from author
Marc Laidlaw's scripting on Half-Life, so maybe console RPG players can
get something similar one of these days.
| The future's in the
past |
| Hey Chris!
If we look at past, present and future, it's always really been the
industry veterans that innovate. I mean, just look at Miyamoto, Mitsuno,
Kojima, Suzuki, Molyneux, Sakaguchi (don't tell me you think he doesn't
innovate) : it's the veterans that will keep innovating the most.
While it's convenient to think that new kids on the block will bring a
breath of fresh air to the genre, it most often just doesn't work that way :
look at Craveyard's only effort, Shadow Madness, and Sacnoth's Koudelka and
you won't see the gaming innovations jumping off the screen. I mean,
inventiveness needs money because of the risk, and you need trust and
respect to get money, so to begin developing, game makers will mostly do a
visually remarkable game with tried and tested gameplay.
Sir Farren, staying the hell out of game development. |
The current group of game developers still have a lot of worthwhile
ideas, mainly because they're still getting new technology that allows them
to get progressively closer to their original ideas - check out some of
Miyamoto's comments about the original Zelda, for example.
But the current group of game developers isn't gonna be around forever -
Yamauchi may be an immortal demon king, but as the late Gumpei Yokoi
showed, developers are only too human. And at that point, somebody else
will have to step in. The question is, who?
| Redemption |
| Heya.
I'm going to be in Japan this summer with a student loan and a large
propensity to buy stuff. I've never gotten into imports before, but
games such as Game Boy Wars Advance (which looks similar to the TG-16
Classic Military Madness) have convinced me that I need to have the
system before I return to the US.
Here is my problem: do portable devices normally have area codes in the
ways that DVDs and PSX games do? If I buy a GBA in Japan, will I never
be able to link with my friends back in the states? More importantly,
will it refuse to run US games?
I didn't know where else to turn for this info. Gomen. :)
Maxwell. |
Now this one I can answer: nothing's been stated yet, but none of
the existing Game Boy systems have had any kind of territorial
lockouts, and it's not very likely that this one will either.
Still, there's a small enough release gap between the Japanese and US
systems that it doesn't really seem worth it, especially since game prices
may be slightly better in the States.
Ok, slightly better in the North American continent.
| That was fast |
| Yo Chris,
I got The Bouncer demo and beat it in under an hour and a half. Do you know
when the full version is coming out?
--The Steve |
July 13, 2017.
Come on, seriously, how much more did we expect? It's primarily a
fighting game, that much should have been clear from the beginning. IGN's
review made several good points, namely that there's a lot more to the
game than just the story mode.
But "demo" is actually a good way to describe The Bouncer - the graphics
and presentation are about what we can expect from Square (or any other
top notch developer) on the PS2, and it's something to mess around with
until the company's serious games start coming out.
| Eggheads control your
gaming destiny |
| Chris,
If there is to be a revolution, it will come from none of the three
groups mentioned. The designer of such a revolution would need a few things:
skills, dedication, and vision. Today's designers don't have the vision (or they'd
have done it already). Non-gamers don't have the skills (since they're not
in the industry). And "avid gamers?" Well, that brings me to the subject of my
letter.
Being an "avid gamer" qualifies you to be a game developer just about as
much as being an "avid eater" qualifies you to be a chef. The overwhelming
attitude everywhere is to play "armchair developer" and believe that daily
letters to the GIA qualify you to develop games.
I just don't think that's true. Game development is really, really hard.
Game design is possibly even harder. I think the visionaries of the future
are the people who are dedicating themselves now to actually learning the skills
necessary to succeed in the world of gaming. Look to universities; that's
where you'll find the next greats.
Ian |
Let's have some counterpoint here:
- Today's designers are still inventing the canvas, as it were - they
haven't gotten us exactly where we'd like to be, but they're getting there.
- You're absolutely right, nobody but video game developers have skills like
writing, design, cinematography, layout, programming...
- I do think there's an argument to be made that US gamers aren't likely
to be influential on future games, but that has less to do with the fact
that they're gamers and more to do with the fact that they're US
gamers - most RPGs are made in Japan, and that won't be changing anytime
soon.
And I have no idea where you're going to school, but I've never met a
university researcher who I'd trust to program an entertaining screensaver,
let alone an RPG.
| By gamers, for gamers |
| Chris,
I think that if new concepts and ideas will be brought
to RPGs, it'll be from the hardcore gamers. Much like
Ian said yesterday, the PSX succeeded from the age
group of people who played the NES, so in about,
oh....5 or so years, those people will have gone
through college and gone on with their careers.
That's where the innovation will come from. People
who have experienced the full cycle of gaming, from
blips and bleeps to orchastrated masterpieces with the
budget of some movies. We'll know what makes a game
work, what doesn't. It'll be an exciting time.
Maybe then, we'll see more of what the gamers want in
games. Like another FFT type game...or sequels to
some of our old favorites that didn't get the
attention they deserved. That'd be pretty cool.
Terminator
*Bought FF Tactics as his first PSX game, Waited on FF7* |
Hate to break it to you, but the first group raised on games
won't be out of college in 5 years - they're already out. The NES came
out when people my age were 9 or 10, and unfortunately, most of the
hard core gamers I knew back when have gotten regular jobs and are
living regular lives, no gaming involved. Maybe there are one or two of
us who are still working their way up through the programming ranks,
but since even Square's US studio's aren't doing that much anymore,
I'm not much holding my breath.
| I always said it'd be
released, didn't I? |
| howdy Mr. "Hoshigimi will never be translated". I just thought I'd rub
it in your face that Hoshigimi is getting translated. So, on that note,
Hoshigimi is getting translated.
yours cruelly,
opultaM Forward
ps. hmm, Double Dragon meets The Warriors: is that Double Dragon
Warrior?
pps. Hoshigimi is getting translated |
I don't think you folks realize the great sacrifice I've been
making for the greater good - I'm purposely making these statements so
that fate will humiliate me by proving me wrong. And everyone benefits
from my misfortune, so be happy, ok?
Closing Comments:
Free topic day again tomorrow, and then I'm outta here for a week. Not
much more than that to say - see you Friday.
-Chris Jones, always
right, even when he's not
|
