4 ms·

Games are richer in terms of both content (“things to do”) and visual imagery, but the stories and gameplay are much more uniform now than 20 years ago (which i

by sidlls 6y ago

Games are richer in terms of both content (“things to do”) and visual imagery, but the stories and gameplay are much more uniform now than 20 years ago (which is long after my childhood video game playing period ended). There is some subjectivity here of course, but I occasionally replay games from when I was in college or even elementary school (hello Apple II, Atari and Nintendo). The graphics and limitations are clear, but within those constraints it’s hard to say games have improved that much. For all the advances in the tech we’ve had I don’t believe we’ve seen equivalent gains in actual gaming experience.

polytely 6y ago
See IggleSniggle's comment above https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944816 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944816 I would recommend Outer Wilds (2019) for a game that displays a real advance in gameplay mechanics. There is alot of exciting stuff happening in the indie game scene.
- sidlls 6y ago
  Game mechanics is definitely one area that seems to have been lacking. Aside from that, there's a certain homogeneity to games these days. I think that's attributable to the fact that there are more of them and that to reach a broader audience there has to be some generalization that occurs.
  - Retric 6y ago
    Going 3D is a huge limitation on what kind of mechanics you can do. Decent was reasonably popular, but showed how much difficulty many people have given full freedom in 3D space. Sonic style fast scrolling or precise platforming games really don’t translate well. VR is even worse in that respect as people get seriously disoriented much more easily.
    - hnick 6y ago
      Going 3D (and HD) also consumes far more budget for art and level design, so companies are less willing to take risks in other areas.
- egypturnash 6y ago
  Outer Wilds does some amazing stuff. Utterly brilliant in how it constrains your path through it’s small, polished world, and makes it feel incredibly dense. Hades is also utterly amazing, with similar attention to repeated play.

by sidlls 6y ago

polytely 6y ago

See IggleSniggle's comment above https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944816 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944816 I would recommend Outer Wilds (2019) for a game that displays a real advance in gameplay mechanics. There is alot of exciting stuff happening in the indie game scene.

sidlls 6y ago
Game mechanics is definitely one area that seems to have been lacking. Aside from that, there's a certain homogeneity to games these days. I think that's attributable to the fact that there are more of them and that to reach a broader audience there has to be some generalization that occurs.
- Retric 6y ago
  Going 3D is a huge limitation on what kind of mechanics you can do. Decent was reasonably popular, but showed how much difficulty many people have given full freedom in 3D space. Sonic style fast scrolling or precise platforming games really don’t translate well. VR is even worse in that respect as people get seriously disoriented much more easily.
  - hnick 6y ago
    Going 3D (and HD) also consumes far more budget for art and level design, so companies are less willing to take risks in other areas.
egypturnash 6y ago
Outer Wilds does some amazing stuff. Utterly brilliant in how it constrains your path through it’s small, polished world, and makes it feel incredibly dense. Hades is also utterly amazing, with similar attention to repeated play.