Sports Games Can Take Lessons From Grand Theft Auto IV

[RaychelSnr]

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnnytheSkin

"Games are meant to be played however the users want. So why are companies still limiting our choices in terms of options?" What games have you been playing? EVERY old school arcade game (Pac-man, Space Invaders), EVERY glory days NES/SNES sidescroller (Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong Country), EVERY Japanese RPG from every era, etc. are all designed for you the user to play the game with parameters set by the developer...not the user. Sure there were advances in camera control in the 3-D era (often badly done in the early days) but you still had to beat Bowser, defeat Ganon, save the world in FFVII in the EXACT way the developers designed. With the exception of World 1-3 instead of 1-4 the "choices" offered to the user are often nil...need I even mention Mega Man and the pretty much required method of beating the bosses in order to advance. Really, who are you kidding?

The fact you mention a bunch of old games kind of brings home the point that the old linear based gameplay is something that is fading to the wayside as games like Grand Theft Auto come out. It's hard to accomplish non-linear type of gameplay with sports games, but still limiting users to certain options is something which drives me batty. The games of the future, IMHO, need to get away from this linear based approach in order to really be successful as the technology continues to improve.

[JohnnytheSkin]

Quote: Originally Posted by MMChrisS

The fact you mention a bunch of old games kind of brings home the point that the old linear based gameplay is something that is fading to the wayside as games like Grand Theft Auto come out. It's hard to accomplish non-linear type of gameplay with sports games, but still limiting users to certain options is something which drives me batty. The games of the future, IMHO, need to get away from this linear based approach in order to really be successful as the technology continues to improve.

That thinking, while understandable, is also the thinking that drives critics of the gaming medium to tell gamers to "go outside" and do your own thing.

Everyone plays games for a different reasons, and in sports some want strict sim and others want simply a "fun" representation of their sport (do you as a sports gamer really want to deal with crap like Pacman Jones and Terrell Owens' driveway sit-ups in your 'chise?).

To play a game in a "new" world that reveals magic and mystery and new game types based on a specific timeline and progression as opposed to a speed run or free roam style makes those moments much more special in my opinion.

To tie it back to GTA, getting to Algonquin by stealing a heli is great fun...but it pales in comparison to the mission(s) that bring you there in the story.

[JohnnytheSkin]

I would also wager that when you pick up GTAIV in ten years the magic will be long gone, and yet I know of several gamers here who've downloaded 'Super Mario Bros. 3' on the Wii's Virtual Console and have had an utter blast reliving their old memories and that the magic and simple yet extremely functional gameplay is still intact.