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This is something I've been dwelling on for a while now. And judging from the amounts of people expressing their doubts about the future of gaming I think a lot of other people have as well, just that most don't want to say it. I suppose I've always been to one to be blunt, so I guess its my job to express out loud what many are thinking inside.
In technical terms current gen video gaming is better than ever. Huge titles like Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War and Spore all look, sound and play great. Some refer to this age as the golden age of gaming and while I certainly agree that these and many more games are fantastic, there are some troubling signs for the future. Gaming is becoming more than ever about the money, a lot of developers either being forced to go multiplatform, develop titles for the less expensive platforms and handholds or merge with another corporation. In the modern gaming industry things for us consumers looks great, but on the inside I can't help but feel a ever bigger burden is being placed on developers.
GTA IV, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy XIII. What do these titles have in common? They cost millions to make, hundreds of employees to build, and a development time of years to create. Creating a video game is quickly becoming something only the big companies can afford to do. So what's to happen in the next generation of video gaming comes around? The PS4 and Xbox 720 are going to have make another big jump in terms of processing power and RAM to make the consoles an actual step forward from their predecessors. And while everyone will surely be drooling over the screenshots and trailers Sony and Microsoft show us, how many more hundreds of employees will each project take to get done? How many more millions of dollars will be spent on development to create a game which is above the average? How many sales will each game need to become profitable? Will we the consumers force the gaming industry into extinction because of our ever rising high standards? Perhaps.
Basically I'm saying that while gaming technology has certainly got more powerful and will continue to do so. Games have not got much easier to program or develop in comparison. In fact if anything they have got more complex. The PS3 is the worst example, sure it has the most power but it also requires a lot more time and effort compared to other platforms to create a top notch game. The Wii is a sort of exception to the view I am describing, its game development cheap and easy. And while I don't propose the 360 or PS3 either go down this route, not focusing on raw processing power and graphics so much might well be a step in the right direction next generation. Programmers can only render a level or input AI so fast, and short of getting the machines to do work for us we can't continue on in our current fashion.
Perhaps none of the things I predict will come to pass. Technology is a difficult thing to anticipate. After all when the Wright Brothers first developed the aeroplane many people were saying within 10 years we would all own one, and to this day we are still firmly on the ground. This article likely sounds pessimistic but if I came off that way I would just like to say that I am not like that, and that I did not write article with the intention of going on a emo rant.
Comments
I imagine that's what will happen in the future, that the younger generation will adapt to it better, grown into it. There's no limit to the human mind, and perhaps someday, these consoles will hit a huge level in graphics, making the characters look so detailed you'd think they are actually real. As far as the prices go, inflation is inevitable. The need for better products, supply and demand will always be there, and it likely will get more cost-effecient in the long run (else there'd be no one to buy these new products). Look at the 360, a $50 price cut and sales did rise for a bit, and $50 will soon be like nothing. To me though, the Wii is complex in it's own way. To get the games to work with the sensor bar and such doesn't seem like an easy task, not to mention that these games are trying to get our attention by being as unique as can be.
I think that the problem with the PS3 comes not only with it's more complex coding, but also because the gaming companies haven't had enough time to fully grasp it, to sit down and learn this technology. As you mentioned Silver, timing is a problem these days for gaming developers. They have deadlines to meet, and don't always get to complete the game as best they can or want to. But as newer, more powerful machines are invented, so will come programmers and others affilitated to best understand it and make use of it, like finding a 'loop' in the system...an easier way to work with a particular machine.
Yikes, typed too much. But I have to say, you bring up some interesting points, sure did get me thinking. Planes do cost too much money as opposed to a car, can't believe people were saying that back then. But, if I was living in that time period, I'd likely have agreed. xD
Also, for future reference, please don't bite my head off for anything I've said. I hope I put up "I think" or "I believe" enough here not to get flamed, haha.
I've noticed that with many modern games, a lot of developers tend to focus mainly on graphical appeal, gameplay mechanics, or online multiplayer components. My hope is that these things will become such standard that, when creating a game, there will equal focus across the board or, at least, more focus on artistic value, creativity, well-written stories, more interesting interaction methods (ex. Guitar Hero/Rock Band, the Wii, the new playing a game with your mind concept), etc. Of course, how graphical appeal will become standard and not take hundreds of people to make a visually appealing game with high quality cutscenes and such is the question.
As a potential future game developer, I'm simultaneously pleased and displeased with the need for a growing team when making a game. Sure, it may give me a better opportunity to land a job, but then again, as technology grows, it's not necessarily more designers that are being brought in. Also, as the number of people behind a game increases, so do the factors that decide the quality of the game; at that point you'll more often run into people that are just there for the paycheck and essentially couldn't care less how the game actually turned out.
Well, here's to hoping some sort of advancement is made to give future game developers a more efficient way to cut down development time and make the process a bit easier without simply having to rely on being born into more advanced technologies.
Also I think people shouldn't be worrying at all. Its not as clear cut as some may think.
Using the Wii is a shitty example Silver especially how much shovelware that gets produced and how many Wii owners are pissed about it. Thats the thing about the Wii, its complex and not directly competing with the PS3 or 360 and because of this they will never make anything spectacular cause they're not competing. Where as PS3 and 360 are directly competing thus more involved with the Console war, which also makes the developers work that much harder to produce quality titles which in the end benefits us. I think people shouldn't worry so much about the devs and money issue, cause in the end the consumers buying these games benefit more.
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