The Plight of Modern Gaming
The Plight of Modern Gaming
This piece was authored in a class listed as Editing for Publication (listed on Georgia State University’s catalog as ENGL 3140) as a contribution to the class journal named From The Panther’s Mouth. The full text is shown below.
What does the word “gaming” conjure? Perhaps playing Candy Crush Saga or sitting in front of a screen playing a shooter. Or someone watching a cutscene in a role-playing game and immersing themselves in a story. Despite societal appearances, gamers are a varied group with varied wants. Regardless, gamers are typically treated similarly by society and gaming corporations, even though this may contradict their wishes.
From the eyes of a big corporation, the reception (and outlook) of recent games paints a grim picture. Consumers believe gaming as a medium has stagnated, and this view differs from what review sites show. For example, a yearly release like Call of Duty will continuously garner medium to high scores from big sites such as IGN, Polygon, or GamesSpot. However, players’ reviews consistently suggest that lower scores may be warranted.
Alternatively, a stark contrast exists on the other end of the spectrum. Smaller titles with less budget – colloquially called “indie games” – see rave reviews from consumers and reviewing sites. There have been quite a few well-known indie hits recently. Games such as Undertale, Hades, Celeste, and ULTRAKILL are all reasonably recent indie games that have received critical acclaim and success. So why does this discrepancy exist? One possible answer is the change in wants from gamers. Consumers are used to the typical release cycles of Call of Duty or similar games. What is more, many of the games still play similarly to their recent predecessors. When this year’s Call of Duty gameplay is indistinguishable from last year’s, it may be stagnant.
Gamers prefer innovative and different experiences. The aforementioned indie games aim to do just that. When ULTRAKILL is compared to a game like DOOM Eternal, you can point out significant differences – the most prominent being that instead of healing the player through typical health packs or memorable kills, you can only heal in ULTRAKILL through being close to damaged enemies. In a typical RPG, you are tasked with defeating anything that blocks your progress. In Undertale, you are given the option to and even encouraged to, complete fights without harming others.
Along with innovation, consumers want to enjoy games with care put into them. Hades has had a reputation for consistent and polished games since 2011. Despite that consistency, Hades pivoted to a rouge-like instead of a typical RPG. Celeste, a platform that lets you retry quickly, differs substantially from their preceding game (a multiplayer platforming party game). Nevertheless, the critical things remained: tight controls and polish.
In spite of the differences between big-budget and indie games, the former still sells well yearly. Indie games will continue to be occasional flashes in the pan. Unfortunately, it is overwhelmingly clear that gamers’ preferences do not meaningfully change revenue – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II earned one billion two weeks after release despite mixed reviews. Perhaps the desires of gamers will shift again in the future, and those shifts may disrupt the industry. Until then, we still have the same games to play.
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