Occasionally, we like to get some original content up here that isn’t about the latest screenshot fest or killer game. This is one of those times. Here’s a new Evil Feature, published Monthly, about our failure to demand better gaming experiences from the folks who make them.
There is a spectre that is haunting the gaming world – the spectre of complacency. All of the powers have bought into it – the developers, the media, and the gamers themselves. That is not to say that every individual belonging to these groups has fallen prey to this spirit; those who have not are our brothers. Nevertheless, far too many have fallen victim and now spout the rhetoric of complacency, and to them we say enough. Today we take our stand.
For far too long we have been sitting on the sidelines as developers have repackaged the same tired gameplay and the same tired concepts. Rather than innovate, they stagnate, and we have let it happen. Machines of destruction have rolled through, and these machines have names: marketing, profit, deadline. Once used for good, they have been captured by the enemy and used for nefarious purposes.
We accept a world where a motion controller is innovation. Not I. I say, it is what a developer does with that motion controller that makes it innovative. We accept a world where high-definition graphics are innovation. Not I. I say, a good looking pile of manure is still a pile of manure.
"If you fall in this battle, there are no continues."
The time has come, my dear gamers, to take back that which is ours. We do not have to accept the hand-me-down games that we are getting, no matter how beautiful the wrapping paper. We shall no longer be haunted by a developer’s blocked creativity; we shall not stand for it.
To the media – gaming is no longer a children’s hobby reserved for Saturday mornings. If you consider your calendar, you will notice that the children who had that hobby throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s are now grown adults, and gaming has become a big part of our lives. As such, please realize we are adults. We do support your wish to keep mature content out of the hands of children, so please respect our wish to keep you out of our content. It only embarrasses you. We can handle both sex and violence in one game. Furthermore, please respect your own journalistic integrity enough to fully research your stories before lambasting us. Do you really want a repeat of the Mass Effect drama? Additionally, in respecting said journalistic integrity, please keep in mind that the same brain scanning studies done to note increased aggression caused by playing violent video games have also been done with violent movies; the results were the same. As Bandura, Ross and Ross noted in 1961, witnessing aggressive behavior increases aggression. We, as gamers, accept this. We do not dispute this. What we dispute is the invisible link continually made between video games and horrific violent behavior.
To the developers – Your machines of war shall be your own deaths. Let loose the reigns and watch what happens. Pull some money from marketing and put it into development, push the deadlines back a bit, and your profit will come. Your experts know that marketing over-saturation ultimately leads to a fall, but they will be long gone with their pockets full before that happens. Trust your development teams – they are the creative blood of this industry – and trust your audience. If you give us a worthy game, we will shout it from the mountain tops.
"We do not care about your profit margin."
We do not care about your profit margin. We do not buy your games to increase your revenue. We buy for us. If you go away, someone else shall take your place, so lift your heads and deflate your egos. Gaming is about the gamers, not the developers.
And to the gamers – do not allow yourselves to be led by the nose any longer. As has been mentioned, gaming is about us. We do not have to accept garbage just because we are told it is treasure. Ask for more. Nay! Demand more. Do not sit idly by as you are fed information from an advertisement. A beautiful pre-rendered cutscene does not a great game make. Previews, gameplay footage, early-access reviews. These are your weapons, and they all reside within your reach.
It is time to move forward. Do you realize the power that we gamers hold? No developer can tell us what to play, but we can tell them what we will not play. We can force their hand. They will give in long before we do. They have their eyes on a temporal, tangible prize; that being the lure of the coin. If we promise to cut the bottom of their coin purses, they will give us what we want. But, if we continue to feed them coins and quietly mutter our complaints, they will smile as they count their money.
The banner has been raised and the proclamation made to the leaders of the industry – we want you to survive, but we will game in your rubble if we must. If you fall in this battle, there are no continues.
(for more on this topic, visit our portable site, The Portable Gamer)
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