The great era of PC gaming is over.
They force elements of gameplay on gamers via an overzealous industry, and make garbage rehashed products because they have proven track records when it comes to sales.
A few examples:
Forced Interaction: How social would one assume the average geek on World of Warcraft is? Am I the only gamer that enjoys said games (Ultima Online was the best, but I digress) but still dislikes people? When did gamers as a whole say "Yes, I would love to require 4-24 other people every time I play"?
Hell, with required voice chat for many aspects of gameplay now, I not only have to cooperate, but actually speak with them. I'm not a social reject, but I also don't really wanna talk to a bunch of geeks in depth about World of Warcraft or my dungeon or ANYTHING for an hour.
Realisitic Difficulty: From modern racing and flight sims to modern shooters, every company is striving to add realism and depth of difficulty. Now I don't just have run, walk, crouch, and jump! I can also roll, spin, twirl, flip, wiggle, and shake my way past enemies. And every move is required at some point in the game! Oh how wonderful!!
The ancient games of "legend" are such because of simplicity. Mario was fun because it didn't require 15 new buttons just to manage Flying Mario. Or 7 just to throw a Fireball. It's even destroying my confidence as a gamer; flight sims where I can't un-invert the controls, shooters where "easy" is the "hard" of old games. Can't I just play a game for fun, or to wreck my car really awesomely?
Graphics over EVERYTHING: One of the largest mistakes. Don't get me wrong, I love pretty graphics. The cartoony charm of Fable, the photorealistic awe of Crysis 2. But when you sacrifice the game for it... eh?
A perfect example: Oblivion/Dragon Age. I love RPGs. Love them. Have since I was a kid. And I refuse to play these.
Ultima 6, a game made 2 decades ago, has as much depth as these games. And is better written (kudos to Garriott for being a great writer as well as game designer). And has more engaging companion characters. And didn't sell by virtue of fancy graphics, and NPCs you can bone (and seriously... everyone has the internet now. Just take care of business before you game. Ugh).
I'm losing hope!
And every game coming out is more of the same. Why don't we see innovation?
Why are no MMOs exploring how the WORLD interacts with the player, but just tacking on new classes, or "a brand new leveling experience", or better group finding?
Why is every RPG just another serious plot with realistic graphics, only topping the last by adding 1-2 more buttons to mash, and sex with 5 new characters?
Why is every shooter or flight sim HARDER than actual warfare or flying?
Is this what gamers really want? :/
