Is gaming getting too dumbed down hence why its boomed to the masses?

Ive had this feeling that games these days are very much dumbed down, ive noticed that people that previously never gamed are now hardcore gamers on COD and games alike and clock up hours with minimal skill. As an older gamer I remember games having a degree of difficulty, yes there was easy games but games required some skill to play or an interest. Now it seems that any ipod owning hipster is into games, and as a result im noticing that games are shorter and much more dumbed down like most movies these days they require very little thinking and just button pushing that a monkey could do.

The road to innovation has slowed down, graphics improved slightly for the PS3/XBOX and next gen games now they are going down hill again to show off gimmicks such as move and 3d techonology. Very rarely do we get a game that visually looks great, requires some skill and has a story line that can is brilliant that isnt so dumbed down, however games like COD look great, are fun to play (i play online and enjoy it) but it seems that they are so dumbed down in comparison to games like counter strike that require actual skill and investment of time to play and bit more brain power to play and master. I have friends who clocked up hours and hours on cod are on high levels but play like drones and just run and gun no skill just have a better weapon and youll win. Whereas when I got into COD i was using elements of stealth and skill (not camping!) and I found this was useless as it was a run and gun game where as in counter strike running and gunning would surely get your player killed.

These are just a couple of examples I can think of, does any one agree or am I becoming grumpy as I get older?

No, they have realized if they spend more money on advertising more people will buy there product

Simples!

reply to post by Pockets


I dont think its about advertising allways, games have bombed with advert campaigns ie kane and lynch not to say it doesnt help

reply to post by q_ball


What you want to worry about in the gaming market is "CON-tent"

Things you go out of your way to buy, that you will never physical own, like a shirt for an avatar

I used to play Super Metroid, Super Mario, Mega Man and plethora of other old-school games. Lemme tell you, games went from personal skill to teams online. It's no longer about how good you actually are, but how smart your team is. That's why it's boomed to the masses, cause it creates more community action instead of just clicking on a controller in your room during the night, alone.

I will agree with you on many, many levels. Gaming has become the lowest common denominator. There are still of coarse Single player RPGs that tend to have some depth. If we are talking on a larger scale however, it is that low-end balance of what producers have to include mixed with the entry level player's needs. MMOs truly shine in this field, with how 'dumbed down' does it need to be to get the maximum number of subscribers. Your console games are an entirely different beast. The market here is still primarily young men, ages 20-35. Social/Casual games, like Farmville, are the newest growing sector. They boast the highest numbers in women, age 55 and older. I would like to say that there are titles that have very steep learning curves (Eve, for example) but this is not what the gaming world is lacking. It is lacking a genuine "thinking" game. I will end this rant with a plug for a title that I, as a huge gamer, am extremely hopeful will fulfill all it claims to be.

www.citadelofsorcery.com...

P.S. Before I hear the smack about how it 'looks' know that through reading their blog postings this is all alpha art and they dont even have artists on staff yet. Look at it for what it claims it will be, just my two cents.

reply to post by Gnarly


People like to game. Doesn't mean that they've been dumbed down. (even though some are EXTREMELY retarded) You don't have to be hardcore to have fun playing games. It's popular, that's why there's gaming. And yes, I believe advertising splashed around every media outlet doesn't hurt either.

There is nothing wrong with camping...

If done correctly and wisely.

Now tubers...they need to go.

PS- Tactics and stealth play a huge part in COD...run n gunning is not the only way to play, in fact its the most amateur thing to do. Try running with a well organized clan that communicates. PLKN works for me.


MM

Originally posted by Mr Mask
PS- Tactics and stealth play a huge part in COD...run n gunning is not the only way to play, in fact its the most amateur thing to do. Try running with a well organized clan that communicates. PLKN works for me.
MM

edit on 16-12-2010 by Mr Mask because: (no reason given)

Mr Mask I would like to be in your Tactical stealthy communicative organized clan.

There are just 2 problems
1) I don't know what PKLN means and 2) I thought a Cod was a kind of fish.

Is this thread to do with fishing?


As for gaming in general, I can't say that I have ever seen a game that had a storyline that was anything like a real story, can you people point me towards one!

with out a doubt its been dumbed down to a level a monkey could play there is no learning curve unless you play and RPG which I dont as its not my style. If they do have a learning curve now there long cut scenes and interactions which cant be sped up in order to make the game seem like its got more content. You can clearly see the tricks of the trade unfortunately a lot of people are still buying into it.

Now with gimicky 3d and motion censored gaming like wii, kinect and move rather then introducing new games it will revert back bland and colorful to sell to causal gamers.

I think it is actualy harder than ever and people are just getting extremely good at it. Just look at this,back in the 90's i hit 2 buttons just to die and not even beat the game. Now i hit 34 buttons on the world of warcraft to get number one on the charts. just compare that,if someone wanted to beat me at that game they would have to hit 35 buttons,in the right order,while moving to the right spot.

I think now,people are just realising that there is no magic to games at all and figure out the game mechanics and that's it your pro.

And when i lose,sometimes not all times but sometimes i know it's simply because the opponent had a better comp/internet combo. I played the world of warcraft for so long,wondering why i got smashed so hard,then i got a better comp and just owned everyone in sight. Why did this happen just because a simple giga byte of ram.

So i realy think games are even more dumbed down knowing that if your enemy has a better set up than you they win unless their brain just simply isnt working at all. and to go past that,if your team hasnt set up strategies and isnt talking to each other on headsets,then you simply dont have the edge over your opponents.

So at the end of the day,the win you have or the loss you have is usually determined by how much you spend on your gaming hobby and if playing teams,then it is also about if your teammate spent just as much.

Originally posted by hhcore
reply to post by Gnarly

 

People like to game. Doesn't mean that they've been dumbed down.

Oh, believe it. Its been dumbed down. Games back in the 90s had much more complex and intriguing stories, not to mention that each game released in the past 5 years requires less and less skill with the exception of a few.

First person shooter games like Battlefield 1942 and Desert Combat demanded more gaming IQ then first person games do to day.

The old games were more fun because they demanded something from you. To day its all about upgrades and rank.

To day the players that are highest ranked are usually cheaters who wouldn't stand a chance against a middle skilled clan player.

Ya you could say they have been dumbed down, but personally in fps or any competitive online games like gow or halo stf or cod it does not really matter all that much since all the fun and the meat of those types of games is in the online or lan component of the game.

But in rpgs or adventure games, games that are story driven or just a 30 hr play through and thats it, yes I would say those have been dumbed down, and some have pretty graphics but are basically just a walk though till you reach the end of the game, basically just watching the scenery and pressing button's. I guess there was something about those old games like ghosts and goblins, or earthworm jim, or contra or battle toads, those games were not only fun but some of the levels were, a throw your controller at the wall in frustration hard....but you always came back for more and they required lots of focus to complete.

Not saying all newer generation games are all to easy, or just walk though's with no real story, but a lot of them are just that, sometimes companies change the entire story or gameplay mechanics to cater to the pick up and hit a few button's and presto you beat the game crowd, it is a business after all and they got to reach more people, and not everybody is all that into hardcore videogaming.

But there are some games out there like ninja gaiden on the hardest difficulty is freaking almost impossible hard or games like demon souls, which would technically be a short game to beat probably about 15 hours for an rpg, if it was not for the whole getting killed often and restarting part, and the you have to be cautious part. But yes they are trying to reach more people that would be the main reason which would lead to time constrains and other problems to whoever is making the game, second, I would say is that it's really hard to come up with something new and fresh, which makes companies stick to the tried and true formulas for both financial reasons and the former reason that making something new is not easy, and could fail if the game does not sell, the company loses money, or even can go bankrupt if it's a small company, also I think the dumbing is just because most games have been done and redone before, so those who have been playing games for a while they have seen it before, just in not as good graphic's.

Or it could be a generation and youth thing, as in things are way more funner when your younger, and have less cares in the world, and offcourse were a couple of feet shorter and not as knowledgeable about things, and everytime you look back at a game you really enjoyed 15 years ago your also looking back on whole different world/universe that you were in really. Or it could be all of the above. I got to go with all the above and then some.

Its partly the recycled element and also when things to do hit the mainstream they all ALWAYS dumbed down, like most movies that are having current made sequels or reboots.

reply to post by q_ball


I agree 100%.. I've always wondered what the appeal of CoD was especially when there ARE some really great, original games out there, basically being ignored..

Right now I'm playing Assassins Creed: Brotherhood and there isn't a whole lot of people playing the online, at least compared to Black Ops..

IMO Assassins Creed series are some of the best games.. You learn about history, geography, art and the details of the cities are amazing..

But all my homies and cousins are stuck on CoD.. It's the exact same game as the last one.. Actually, it's been the same for ten years.. At least every Madden game seems like a whole new football game with all of it's changes.. I ask if they've played The Force Unleashed or Fable or even Fallout and they just look at me with a stupid stare..

These games have great storylines, great graphics, easy but can turn the difficulty up, but people just play one or two games

Originally posted by davespanners
As for gaming in general, I can't say that I have ever seen a game that had a storyline that was anything like a real story, can you people point me towards one!

edit on 16-12-2010 by davespanners because: (no reason given)

The Assassin's Creed series, Fable III, Fallout 3 (and the Add-Ons), Fallout: New Vegas, The Force Unleashed (the first one), Batman: Arkham Asylum, Army of Two (make sure have a friend, am 18-pack, and the day off ) . Dante's Inferno (Not original in gameplay or story, but they made the original story friggin awesome, and fun to play) Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and The Damned is like playing a Sons of Anarchy video game..

There's gems in every Medium, you just gotta know where to look

truthfully, only Veteran gamers know what the "dumbing down" of video games is all about. RPG's today can't compare with the ones released back then. Shooters as well. Actually, that goes for almost every genre.

Originally posted by Cassey222
I will agree with you on many, many levels. Gaming has become the lowest common denominator. There are still of coarse Single player RPGs that tend to have some depth. If we are talking on a larger scale however, it is that low-end balance of what producers have to include mixed with the entry level player's needs. MMOs truly shine in this field, with how 'dumbed down' does it need to be to get the maximum number of subscribers. Your console games are an entirely different beast. The market here is still primarily young men, ages 20-35. Social/Casual games, like Farmville, are the newest growing sector. They boast the highest numbers in women, age 55 and older. I would like to say that there are titles that have very steep learning curves (Eve, for example) but this is not what the gaming world is lacking. It is lacking a genuine "thinking" game. I will end this rant with a plug for a title that I, as a huge gamer, am extremely hopeful will fulfill all it claims to be.

www.citadelofsorcery.com...

P.S. Before I hear the smack about how it 'looks' know that through reading their blog postings this is all alpha art and they dont even have artists on staff yet. Look at it for what it claims it will be, just my two cents.

I checked it out and I like the concept. Although I won't hold my breath. I am constantly being let down by MMO's that have caught my eye, either being pushed back consistently or having them put on hold indefinitely.