Lack of originality?

[ShotgunShy]

Hey guys, I was just thinking about a lot of the games that we can't wait for that are due to be released within the year and I realized almost <b>all</b> of them are sequels... there's Half Life 2, Doom 3, Deus Ex 2, Max Payne 2, Gothic 2, Hidden and Dangerous 2, all the sports games, etc. etc. etc. Is it just me or is the gaming industry lacking in original and creative ideas these days? The only "original" game that comes to mind (that is of interest to me of course) which is soon-to-be-released is Far Cry.

Are there any others you can think of?


oh yes... there's XIII and STALKER as well.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Hey guys, I was just thinking about a lot of the games that we can't wait for that are due to be released within the year and I realized almost <b>all</b> of them are sequels... there's Half Life 2, Doom 3, Deus Ex 2, Max Payne 2, Gothic 2, Hidden and Dangerous 2, all the sports games, etc. etc. etc. Is it just me or is the gaming industry lacking in original and creative ideas these days? The only "original" game that comes to mind (that is of interest to me of course) which is soon-to-be-released is Far Cry.

Are there any others you can think of?


oh yes... there's XIII and STALKER as well.</div>

I disagree. Games I'm waiting for that don't have/aren't sequels...

Guild Wars
Savage
Knights of the Old Republic
Halo
Chrome
Stalker
Battlefield Command
Republic

I could list a dozen more that I am interested in, and don't even want... the ones above are the games that I plan to have in my collection as soon as they hit the shelves, but aren't super popular on anyones radars here, but elsewhere, there is interest.

[ShotgunShy]

Oh I could list a dozen or so too, but my point is are we seeing way too much more sequels than original stories? Hell, even the adventure games coming out are sequels (Broken Sword 3, Syberia 2, Sam n Max 2, etc.)I'd have to say the only game on the list you have up there that I'd really want to own is Republic. I'll want to play Halo too just to see what the fuss is all about :D .

Oh, another original (and I believe this is <i>pretty</i> original, at least for the PC) game that I really want to get my hands on is Call of Cthulu. I really think the gaming industry is waiting for that next big epic and/or creative game. Like the next Half Life or the next Warcraft or something.

[E.T.]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Hey guys, I was just thinking about a lot of the games that we can't wait for that are due to be released within the year and I realized almost <b>all</b> of them are sequels... there's Half Life 2, Doom 3, Deus Ex 2, Max Payne 2, Gothic 2, Hidden and Dangerous 2, all the sports games, etc. etc. etc. Is it just me or is the gaming industry lacking in original and creative ideas these days? The only "original" game that comes to mind (that is of interest to me of course) which is soon-to-be-released is Far Cry.

Are there any others you can think of?


oh yes... there's XIII and STALKER as well.</div>


If HL2, DX2, H&D2 measure to within 75-80% of their prequels, originality will not be my gaming concern.

I think there is a ton of pent-up originality available within the game developers [pc] circle, just not the resources to implement them. If game dev's were Hollywood, us gamers would drown in a flood of new titles & some new concepts in gaming to boot! Its gotta be about $!

[DBS]

Remember, sticking your neck out in something different is a risk that only a few devs do from time to time. When the economy is iffy you find less originality and more of the safe bets.

I just loaded up Undying and it had alot going for it from what I have seen so far. It sold poorly though ........not sure why at this point.

[Aim69]

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If HL2, DX2, H&D2 measure to within 75-80% of their prequels, originality will not be my gaming concern.

I think there is a ton of pent-up originality available within the game developers [pc] circle, just not the resources to implement them. If game dev's were Hollywood, us gamers would drown in a flood of new titles & some new concepts in gaming to boot! Its gotta be about $!</div>


Ah... you mean like all those great original movies we saw this summer? Terminator 2, Hulk, Bad Boys 2, Freddy vs Jason, Matrix: Reloaded, Charles Angles: Full Throttle, Legally Blonde 2, X-Men 2, Swat, Fast and Furious 2, American Wedding, etc...

Out of the top 10 movies of the Summer of '03, only 3 are originals. Then look at whats coming down the pike..

Starsky and Hutch, Spider man 2, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original remake), Jeepers Creatures 2, LoTR 3, Star Wars 3, Shazam, Mission Impossible 3, Blade 3, Scooby Do 2, Seriously Due 2... plus many many more that I care to post.

And console games are suffering from sequelitis as well.... Halo 2, Soul Caliber 2, Silent Hill 3, GTA (series), etc... I don't play console games, but all you need to do is take a look at the upcoming console games and you will notice a ton of sequels.

The reason were seeing sequels in gaming and movies is because that particular show, movie and game has a built in audience. So the risk factor is low. Look at most of the original movie content that get's put out. Quite a few get rejected by the public, because it's unfamiliar to them. Then Hollywood has to eat the loses.

It's not just PC games that are suffering from sequals.

Finally.. And Steve is right. There are a ton of promissing original games coming are way. You just have to look a bit to find them. Tron 2 was just released and it looks very promising.

[ShotgunShy]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Remember, sticking your neck out in something different is a risk that only a few devs do from time to time. When the economy is iffy you find less originality and more of the safe bets.

</div>

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the phrase "iffy economy". From what I've heard and read, the gaming industry is the fastest growing market right now and it reaps in a load of dividends. New and small devs are popping up here in there all the time, and it's these guys that dare to venture into new territories, like Croteam did with Serious Sam and the guys behind STALKER. For their risk taking decisions, I respect them and I only wished that the bigger companies could do that more often too.

I might sound like I don't like the sequels that are coming out, hell no, that could'nt be any farther from the truth. It's just that having fresh new material with fresh new characters wouldn't hurt.

Aim69 makes a good point with all those movie sequels that came out over the summer and that are still to come into in the near future. Since when did the public get too scared to try something new (movies, games, etc.)? I fear there's more of a commercial thing to it rather than just fitting to consumer demand. In my mind, just because someone will pay to watch the sequel to, say, Bad Boys 2, doesn't mean he/she won't watch a completely original movie. All form of entertainment grow a fan base, the better and more mass appealing that product, be it a game or a movie, the bigger the fan base. But if we keep getting sequels that basically target a specific fan base, how can newer ones come to be?

[Suicides-by-Steve]

<div class=\"smallfont\">...Oh I could list a dozen or so too, but my point is are we seeing way too much more sequels than original stories?... I'd have to say the only game on the list you have up there that I'd really want to own is Republic. </div>

No, like I said. The only thing you want to see is Republic... however, I know there are thousands clamouring for the list I presented, and it's why I added to my original post... "but aren't super popular on anyones radars here, but elsewhere, there is interest." You obviously haven't been doing your homework if KotOR, Guild Wars, and STALKER don't pique your interest in the least...

[ShotgunShy]

<div class=\"smallfont\"><div class=\"smallfont\"></div>

No, like I said. The only thing you want to see is Republic... however, I know there are thousands clamouring for the list I presented, and it's why I added to my original post... "but aren't super popular on anyones radars here, but elsewhere, there is interest." You obviously haven't been doing your homework if KotOR, Guild Wars, and STALKER don't pique your interest in the least...</div>

Ok, first thing's first, I'm quite aware of what you said in the earlier message, however, I don't think I was too clear that I was mentioning <i>my</i> own personal interests. I wasn't trying to talk on the behalf of others. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. And I probably also wasn't clear enough to show that I <i>am</i> interested in STALKER. And yes, I have read up on KotOR and Guild Wars and no, I'm sorry, they don't interest me.

[Aku]

There's lots of original pc games. People get a distorted impression because a handful of sequels to popular games like Deus Ex and Half-Life generate a lot of hype.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

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Ok, first thing's first, I'm quite aware of what you said in the earlier message, however, I don't think I was too clear that I was mentioning <i>my</i> own personal interests. I wasn't trying to talk on the behalf of others. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. And I probably also wasn't clear enough to show that I <i>am</i> interested in STALKER. And yes, I have read up on KotOR and Guild Wars and no, I'm sorry, they don't interest me.</div>

You made yourself clear enough, as did the others... it seems some tend to disagree with you concerning the matter. I certainly do. There is enough original content out there if you look, and are interested. You don't seem to be interested, nor have you looked hard enough... I on the other hand am talking on behalf of others, so the slant on my comments are a little different... but really, that's what we're talking about, no? Original content for the masses, not for just you or I... It's just that quotes like this "...a lot of the games that we can't wait for..." are misleading apparently.

[wolfbiscuits]

Those games coming up we all know about HL2, Dx2, T3, D3, get flogged to death in the "anticipation" stakes simply because the main body of gamers dare I say the masses are waiting for them and obviously will make the most $. However theres large groups of gamers who probably would not have any of those on their wish lists. If you ask a die hard flight sim gamer what he's waiting for he'll tell you either LO-MAC which is the most anticipated Jet sim for 5 years or Knights over Europe which will be the first WWI combat sim for over 5 years, theres thousands of gamers out there who only play these types of sims and wouldn't touch an FPS if you gave it to them free.
I'm not one myself I rate action games very highly and I'll be up for HL-2, H+D2 and STALKER mainly. On originality, well it does get difficult to find new subject matter or presentation but theres plenty of Dev teams at least striving for it, but publishers are a problem in most cases they're not going to take the risk of putting out your game if its content is an obscure, unporven genre. Maddox games are developing a Motor torpedo boat sim which is certainly a risk, or theres a game called Full Spectrum Warrior in development where you control a team of army specialists in urban combat by issuing orders only exactly as a commander would er...no shooting on your part. Theres also an FPS in deveopment called XIII this is an original concept of comic strip presentation but not everyones cup o' tea its based on a French/Belgian comic, a belgian shooter, what a hoot.

[E.T.]

<div class=\"smallfont\"> If you ask a die hard flight sim gamer what he's waiting for he'll tell you either LO-MAC which is the most anticipated Jet sim for 5 years .</div>

LO-MAC, something to anticipate using my new Saitek stick on.

re thread: Does a new game release have to be original to be fun, or in reverse, Does a sequel a poor game make?

[ShotgunShy]

Usually the production values of a game serve well to garner attention to its upcoming release and it's usually sequels of successful games that have the higher production values. So I guess that's one of the reasons why all the sequels coming out are getting most of the attention. One of the reasons why I posted this thread was to find out about any upcoming game(s) that I might've missed that I (myself and me alone!) could get a kick out of (cuz I don't play games for the pleasure of others, you know). And so far, STILL, my wishlist consists mainly of sequels (with a few original ones here and there). I just wanted to see what others felt about it.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

<div class=\"smallfont\"> One of the reasons why I posted this thread was to find out about any upcoming game(s) that I might've missed that I (myself and me alone!) could get a kick out of (cuz I don't play games for the pleasure of others, you know). </div>

Well, in that case you should have mentioned what types of games you like to play before hand, and we'd be able to help you out better. So what games do you play, and I'll tell you a few that may strike your fancy?

[ShotgunShy]

I think it'd be easier to say which genre of games I <i>don't</i> like to play all that much, and they'd probably boil down to RPG's (cuz they just take too damn long... although I did like Dungeon Siege ;) ), turn-based strageties and flight sims. I pretty much like to play a bit of everything else.

Oh, and it's not only a list of games or anything that I want, I was also curious as to what others thought about this "sequelitis" (to use Aim69's word) thingamajig that's getting bigger.

[wolfbiscuits]

<div class=\"smallfont\">[QUOTE=E.T.]<div class=\"smallfont\"></div>

LO-MAC, something to anticipate using my new Saitek stick on.

I need to get a new one myself, I've got an old Saitek st330 which only has 4 buttons, I've heard great things about the the Cyborg 3D Gold so I must get around to it. :D

[DBS]

The digital entertainment world is fairly strong but the people who run these look at the big picture. Not the creative people but the suits who deside what is marketable. When things are not solid and people are not spending thier money you will see less new ideas implimented. But as stated there is plenty of gaming greatness out there even some great older games we missed out on. The mega season should be coming soon and we should be all enjoying that. I just loaded up Wizardry 8 and it is a gem I am enjoying now.