Reboot gaming
I’m really looking forward to Red Dead 2, SpiderMan, Ghost Of Tsushima, and The Last Of Us Part II – but it feels like there’s not much that is really innovative enough to make me forget about the outside world for enough time to stay in the game!
Let me tell you a bit about myself so you might understand where I’m coming from… I won the Champions League! I found the lost treasure of El Dorado! I laid down my life to protect a young girl infected with a virus who may be the only cure because she never turned! I saved the world from nuclear annihilation by battling giant Metal Gear walking bi-pedal tanks! And I even found time to win a Royal Rumble even though I was the first in the ring! Sure, I might steal cars and try to start up my own meth empire on a short budget and shorter temper!
If I could count the times I’ve been lost in a world of a videogame from ten-plus years ago, it’d probably be eleventy billion! But, ten years or less ago… it might just be half that! I feel sad that graphics are deemed so important; sadder even that because of that, the budget increases and developers are less likely to take risks!
And to me, it feels like that takes away the magic of what videogames were. Escapism! Fun, unique new worlds to explore as a winged purple dragon, or a beefed-up tough guy who looks more square than round.
Look, all I want to do is to save the world again. Surely there’s a developer out there who’s going to take a big risk and return gaming to its prime. Dylan Ryan via email
For exciting innovation, we recommend looking to indie studios, who are producing quirkier, if smaller, games than the big firms. And also try getting into PS VR, if you aren’t already: the new medium is giving devs masses of room to experiment.
I WON THE CHAMPION’S LEAGUE! I FOUND THE LOST TREASURE OF EL DORADO! I SAVED THE WORLD!