[fistofrage]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

Online gaming is one of the best things to happen to video games, period. It's enabled the assembly of communities around games in specific and as a whole and increased interest in what used to be dismissed as a loser-teenage-male-living-in-a-basement activity. In turn the increased interest has earned gaming more popularity and acceptance in the mainstream as a legitimate artistic medium. The design-by-numbers problem you allude to in AAA occurs regardless whether games have online functionality. That's entirely a function of a publisher controlling the purse strings, being risk-averse, and wanting to ensure return on their investment. You'd still have game publishers analyzing industry trends and copycatting successful mechanics and designs if online gaming didn't exist. Heck, this practice dates back to at least the 1990s; all single-player PC first-person shooter games used to be dismissed as "DOOM clones". On a similar note, as I alluded to in other threads - the demonizing of the tourney crowd as an enemy of "sim" (whatever that is anymore) feels entirely misplaced to me. They ultimately want the same thing we do - a more authentic NFL experience from Madden.

I disagree with that last statement. Seems to me they want the best stick skills to prevail always. No random occurences. Fumbles and penalties that are not directly caused by the player they are controlling is taboo.