A Remy Rant: Five Things I Pray For In The Next Generation Of Gaming

I couldn’t beat Skyrim. Not because it was too tough, or because I kept getting lost in the massive game. No, I couldn’t beat Skyrim because I was one of those people you read about who had a game-breaking bug. I couldn’t open up a door I needed to go through to finish the game because a crucial NPC fell through the floor, in the EXACT second the game auto-saved, and I never saw him (nor ever got to get the door open) again. Considering the hundred plus hours I had spent with the game, the final conclusion I had was that was just not okay. If a game is not finished, what right do developers have releasing it to the public? I may be a small sect of the game playing population, but as awesome a Skyrim was, every single person I know experienced atleast one glitch in that game.

Granted, most of the time the glitches were kind of funny, but in my case, they sucked out the enjoyment and made my OCD ass go crazy because I LITERALLY could not finish the game. That was the single moment that really got me thinking what I want out of the slew of next generation systems coming out down the line. With PS4 announced, and the newest addition to the Xbox family being announced later this month, I thought it an awesome time to write out a wishlist for what I would want from the future of gaming. Keep in mind a great deal of this is based solely off of speculation, and is merely me just dreaming out loud, but feel free to take to the comments and let me know what YOU want out of your next generation of gaming. The future is now, people, but maybe it’s not too late for us to help mold it.

NO MORE Fetch Quests

” Hahaha, do you believe he fell for that “rib of Lord Sweltbottom” bit? What a buffoon!!”

So Sir Tarkenbling of the Northern village, Gaberhell, has a cloak you need to infiltrate the mountain of deceit, but once you go to attain such cloak, Sir Takenbling informs you that, to properly utilize the cloak’s magical abilities, you need to get the secretion of the lady toad of gillfalls swamp. The thing is, gillfalls swamp is located INSIDE THE GUT of the hulking whompbeasts, and everyone knows to open the mouth of a whompbeast you need to tickle its left leg with the feather of a mindsparrow, which is only located in the hills of Grungaria, which are said to be haunted by the ghosts of the “firechildren”, whom, in turn, can only be beaten by an ice spell you need to acquire by fighting the Lung Wizard. But first, you need a sword.

Yes, fuck that shit.

Can we please NEVER AGAIN have to wade through such trite shit to get to our desired location or item? If you feel the need to lengthen your game, lengthen it with storyline, and water cooler moments, but you don’t need to pile on quests that end up making me seem more like a mailman than a warrior. If I wanted to play a courier, I would play New Vegas. Atleast that game was honest about it. But seriously, enough with that shit.

Begone Shitty A.I

Yes, Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a great game, but not without its massive flaws. A.I was either psychic, or Helen Keller.

I know this is a big complaint for everyone, but the fact that in brand-new games that have just come out in 2013 I am still randomly find enemies (or even worse, A.I from my side) blindly shooting at a wall or running in circles (screw you, RE5) is beyond unacceptable for the forthcoming generation in gaming. Think about it, for Playstation 1, this is fine. We get it. Back then it wasn’t so much A.I as it was a bot, magnetized to find and inflict damage upon your character. I get that. But how can A.I still be that bad, sometimes?

I say sometimes because there are certainly games that have shown a huge improvement in these terms (looking at you, Bioshock series), but how about A.I that is so sharp, it does stuff even I am not capable of? I want to be in a game and get killed by a bad guy in such a way that it shows it was “thinking” way outside of any box I think in, That is the beauty of A.I. it evolves. Show me that in gaming.

Well, if it does get that good, atleast make sure I can still pick my own difficulty, because I don’t need A.I so good it borders on cruel. Fine line, people.i I admit, I am hard to please. Not sexually, though.

Gameplay Over Graphics

Fez not only looked AND played beautifully, but that soundtrack was the stuff of pure dreams.

I know visually is the way we judge things in this society, and ESPECIALLY in our games, but I think indie gaming has shown there can be a real shift in that thinking. First of all, games can be visually stunning without needing to look like Far Cry 3. A game like FEZ stands as a testimony to this. And FEZ stands as a testimony to this whole idea of gameplay over graphics. Obviously, gamers love gorgeous games, but I think developers have come to realize gorgeous mean different things. While it can mean a game like Halo 4, it can also mean a game like Bastion, which hearkens back to the lush visuals of old school gaming.

A great example of this already being implemented is the forthcoming game, Watch Dogs. Yes, it LOOKS great, but that is not what stands out about it. What stands out about it is the fact that there seems to be so much we can do in that game. Imagine a Deus Ex level of open ended gameplay in everything you play. Fully realized worlds, filled to the brim with NPC’s who all uniquely affect your gaming experience? The possibilities when it comes to that just blows the mind.

Use The Medium Differently

The Unfinished Swan was another example of minimalism and originality working incredibly well. 

I cannot be the only person exhausted with the Gears of Wars tropes from this generation, right? Great series, no doubt, but by the most recent volume, it feels like I just keep playing the same game, over and over, and SO MANY other games took ideas from that series. From space marines to the ducking and dodging, it was nothing that hadn’t been touched upon before the Gears series, but the lush visuals, fun gameplay, and perfect voice acting from that series really responded with players, and other designers saw that and took advantage. While Gears was great game, let’s take a look at a game like Limbo, or a game like Asura’s Wrath, and realize, gaming does NEED to switch it up.

Enough with the space marines and angry alphas. Enough with the active reload and everything looking washed out. The worlds created in games can go, literally, in any direction, so why are so many going down the same road? Well, they want success, and we understand that, but look at all the SHIT sci fi that came out post Star Wars because all those directors who wanted success. Sci Fi just got good again in the 2000’s because directors were brave enough to escape those tropes and create their own. Moon ftw.

So how about games get that way, too? Stop following and be like Notch, forge your own path and blow our minds. If your game looks cool, that’s one small factor. But if it plays cool and somehow causes us to think differently about the whole medium, than you just hit gold.

Enough with the Sequels: Gimme New One-Shot I.P’s

Ah, Deadly Premonition. A fun, somewhat original, stand alone game.

I, as much as anyone, was absolutely ecstatic about being able to experience a new Bioshock last month. The game was breathtaking, intelligent, and beautiful. Everything we love about games. But also, in the same breath, I am aware that whatever game those developers had given us would have been up to that games quality. I mean, look at what Ken Levine did before Bioshock, System Shock 2. The games were, for all intents and purposes, blue prints for each other. But as much as I loved those games (and yes, I love those games with a love normally reserved for literature), please allow yourself a moment to imagine what he could have created for us had he let his brain go in completely different directions? I am not implying it would be better or worse, but I am stating clearly, it would be DIFFERENT. And there is nothing wrong with different.

I am not saying all games to should be one-offs, but I am saying not all games need sequels. I know this sounds funny coming from a guy who recently wrote an article about games that need sequels, but in the big picture, I think we can all agree the sequel thing has gotten a bit out of hand. A new Assassins Creed game comes out every three hours, for fucks sake. And yet, no loose ends get tied up. Screw that. I would take one open and close book rather than a series, any day.

Some Other Silly Quibbles

Finally the term “ridin’ dirty” seems to make sense to me.

Dear Bethesda, don’t release your games to us if they are broken. That is fucked up and unforgivable. I know I started this article off with that idea, but I need to end it with it as well. Releasing broken games is like gifting a sick puppy to a kid on Christmas morning.

More Indie Support: Anyone one who wants to claim that indie gaming hasn’t redefined gaming hasn’t paid much attention to gaming in the last five years. I want more of this. More free thinking and wildly creative individuals getting the support they deserve for the awesome games they make.

Kill the tropes: From exploding barrels to helicopter bosses, let’s kill ALL weak cliches in gaming and usher in some real shifting in the way we think about how we solve problems in gaming.

More Versatility: Like I said, space marines are getting old. And maybe make more games aimed at more wide variety of people then just 20-40 white males? How about some heroes and heroines who are not typical in any sense? Gimme a librarian that solves problems using distinct memories from classic literature. You know, something different and original.

Though sexual harassment rabbit may seem like a bad idea for a game, I bet the masses would play the hell out of it.

Keep the Genres we Have, but Expand: I love first person shooters, and I love action games, but I don’t always love the machismo, sexuality, and bravado. What can you do for ME? And how about some ill genre mashing?

And lastly, bring back the impact of really powerful storytelling. Some say it never goes away in gaming, but lately it has taken a back seat to the actual gaming. How about level ground? Use next generation rigs to deliver us games that have powerful stories and also are unique and fun to play. Doesn’t seem like too much to ask.