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Jan 1, 2008 at 09:20 AM PST

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OpTiMuS Observes : Gaming Priorities

Posted by: OpTiMuSNY

As videogames are more quickly becoming an alternative medium for high production value projects originally associated with that of the movie industry it's become rather easy to lose sight of whats the most vital ingredient to a fantastic gaming experience. Some want the much simpler easier to get into kind of games that they can just relax and have fun with while others are constantly on the look out for epic adventures or the videogame equivalent of a hollywood blockbuster. Which one of the two categories do you feel you fall into and is there really a right or wrong category to be among?

The answer can be a bit more involved than it truly needs to be and the reason for that is primarily because both sides can very easily be wrong, but then again, they can also be right. To explain a bit more about what I mean I'll describe how either one of the two could be wrong.

First I'll begin with the hollywood/epic aficionado. It's very easy to find many hardcore gamers that are guilty of this very thing. They will have probably dedicated so much of their time seeking out games that are more in line with the likes of God of War, Ninja Gaiden, Gears of War, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls : Oblivion, Halo, Mass Effect, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted : Drakes Fortune.. you get where I'm going with this right? They will have spent so much of their time only seeking out such games that they will, without even realizing it, develop an instant disregard for the smaller videogames that aren't attempting something nearly as ambitious. Suddenly great smaller games are viewed as insignificant or simply not the real deal next to the big budget behemoths. The problem with this is that a lot of the smaller under the radar games that are getting released on something like the Nintendo DS these days are very much inline with the incredible classics many of us grew up with and loved so much, except now they are more advanced these days and in a lot of ways more creative as well. For the truly nostalgic among us, they will very likely even be pleased to learn that the best possible means of re-visiting certain old favorites is by embracing these portable platforms.

In retrospect, the only thing a narrow stance like this guarantees is that such a gamer is more likely to miss out on a new generation of classics, which would be a shame since there are so many to choose from. It would be truly ill-advised to underestimate the ability of a smaller less extravagant game to challenge or immerse you in a similar fashion as the bigger games can. Whether that be on an intellectual level, a desire to test your skills with a nice fulfilling challenge or simply just pass the time by having some fun. All of these things can still just as successfully be accomplished without the need for a videogame that attempts to compete with hollywood level productions. Somewhere along the line there are gamers that completely lose sight of this fact and even I myself have been guilty of it. The only reason someone should ever want to play a game in the first place is to have some fun and I believe it's safe to say smaller or simpler videogame titles most certainly haven't yet lost their ability to do just that.

There is also something else that deserves a bit of mention here because I feel it is quite possibly the biggest culprit as to why so many gamers sometimes end up losing their way. The constant and often stunning evolution of technology. We've all been there haven't we? When you lay your eyes on a game that looks so incredible that you find it very difficult to go back and play something that doesn't look nearly as impressive?



Suddenly you have all these nitpicks and complaints about a games graphical presentation that didn't exist before and the cumulative effect of your newly acquired appreciation for graphics technology is that suddenly you have a very narrow-minded view of what constitutes a great looking game and unless the game meets your unspecified pre-requisites then it isn't worth the time or effort. So it is important to keep in mind that the beautiful eye candy we all love so much can take on the form of a double edged sword if we aren't careful. This fact is only made more true when we factor in the the non-graphical specific benefits that can come as the result of more memory or processing power.

Next up we have the group that has absolutely no idea what they're missing. These are the gamers that may never know the greatness of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, may never know the greatness of games like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War or Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. There are many other incredible titles I could list to serve my current purpose, but hopefully some of those get the message across. Videogames are truly only all about accomplishing one thing and that is to have fun, but the very thought that there would be gamers out there that will never know of, much less experience, the brilliance present in some of these games is just hard to fathom. It is often said videogames can't be considered "art" and yet so many of them are the exact epitome of it to such a degree that they can be just as compelling as any Golden Globe nominee.

Videogames are one of the fastest growing entertainment mediums in the world and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon. Gaming is no longer in it's more infantile state where it can strictly be defined as a mere children's toy. With newer technological innovations comes a more powerful means to recreate the very things in videogames that we often take for granted in our day to day lives or usually never miss in videogames because well.. they are videogames right? Suddenly videogames are able to more accurately represent the feeling of being in an environment or the mannerisms of a living and breathing human being and with that ability comes the ability to better convey true to life human emotions which then leads to an increased ability to evoke similar kinds of strong feelings from a gamer that was more commonly associated with that of the movie industry. Suddenly videogames are more than just a means to have fun, they are now a way to interactively involve the intended audience in a serious, exciting or emotional story or in the role of a character in a way that no movie is able to. Before you even realized it, videogames have ballooned into a stage for the work of a writer, artist, director or musical composer in a way that no other medium can lay claim. I'll admit, there is most definitely much to be said about watching a cool or interesting hero face many dangers and experience many hardships on his way to saving the day, but I assume even more can be said about not sitting on the sidelines and instead actually playing an integral role in that hero's path to glory. There are many breathtaking experiences to pick and choose from in the world of gaming, but one only needs to open their eyes to see them.

Now I won't dare attempt to insinuate that choosing one side while ignoring the other won't yield a happy gamer, but when there is so much to be appreciated on both sides of the fence don't you think it pays off in dividends to keep your options open to any and all possibilities?

Thank you for reading and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!


#1

January 1, 2008 at 01:40 PM PST

scoobs
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optimus is my hero.

#2

January 1, 2008 at 01:50 PM PST

kidgonesmall
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nice read

hermit - level 80

#3

January 1, 2008 at 02:08 PM PST

OpTiMuSNY
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Staff Member Staff Member

Thanks a lot you guys.


#4

January 1, 2008 at 02:49 PM PST

Aimazed
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good read.

#5

January 1, 2008 at 03:47 PM PST

choster
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Wooo OPTIMUS!
3D Fan since 2006

#6

January 1, 2008 at 05:34 PM PST

BotMaN^
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Referenced post #1 by scoobs
optimus is my hero.
#1
LOL haha ffunny comment

Last modified on 1/1/2008 at 5:35 pm EST

UG - UnitedGamers [ http://www.UGAMING.org ] #UnitedGamers #UGamers

#7

January 1, 2008 at 08:47 PM PST

NITRO
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NICE , good shiz

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect But Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

3D Fan since 2003

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