Sean Halliday of Pixel Gate writes:
''here are a number of things that a lot of modern ‘horror’ titles get wrong. For example, the player isn’t treated like a victim; they are the one in control of the situation. This is often a result of arming the player to the teeth and throwing waves of enemies at them. There’s nothing scary about out-gunning everything that comes after you.
The elements of horror have become too tightly entwined with the staples of the action/shooter genre. Players are often put in a position in which they are exposed to the enemy regularly. The enemy itself is often one of many, further detracting from any sense of horror they may carry. The player is often equipped with various firearms that are more than capable of killing anything in sight, and the resulting experience is more ‘intense action’ than ‘heart-pounding horror’. But this just seems to be the modern day method–’action horror’ rather than just ‘horror’''
"While the 20 year anniversary edition of Nordic Game, NG24 Spring's homepage on 21-24 May in Malmö, Sweden, is getting closer, the organizers announced that more than 150 speakers are now lined up for the show." - Nordic Game.
The gaming industry has drifted away from offering full-fledged games to putting unfinished titles that are jam-packed with microtransactions on the market.
It's not the fault of the gaming industry. Gamers were told what was happening, were warned about where this would lead, did nothing, and now are acting like it's the fault of publishers that they kept buying these games and investing in MTX. If only those gamers at that time felt as strongly about these things as they do Helldivers 2.
I don't think MTX target the common gamer but instead predate on the so called "whales". It's gambling pure and simple.
Oh, so it's okay to buy MTX-laden games as long as you don't spend money on MTX, which has led to even more MTX-laden games with even more predatory practices where content that used to be unlocked is now behind paywalls?
C'mon now people. You gave the corporations and inch, and they kept taking and taking. Community members told people that investing in these things alone would only lead to more and more MTX and putting more and more behind paywalls. But it's only the fault of the corporations, not the people who kept supporting it with purchases as more and more was taken away?
@Christopher that's a straw man, I didn't say any of that I just added context.
Well exactly
People stand up for something which seems small to them and they get called whiners or negative. Then years later the shit hits the fan and they all go “why is this happening?” Like they are innocent.
The issue aswell is younger gamers who grew up with all this thinking it’s normal and we all just look like old farts yelling at clouds when we’re trying to help us all, even them.
It all started with that damn horse armour. Back then I thought nobody was stupid to buy into that crap. How wrong I was....
I like how people move the goal-post. First it’s, f*ck any game with MTX’s, f*ck GaaS games, f*ck this game with “optional” MTX’s (Dragon’s Dogma 2), Helldivers 2 is ok because it’s fun and even though it has Battle Passes or Season Passes and MTX’s it’s ok because… you don’t need to buy them? 🤷♂️
HellDivers 2 is the best selling game this year. Just think about that, games like FF7 Rebirth sold poorly, but a continuous game that lives off recurring revenue sells extraordinarily well. Then we’ll hear everyone b*tch about a GaaS future.
I really wonder what this industry would’ve been like if we never gave into this crap, and yes I’m saying “WE” since I’m guilty of it, but man it’s literally no closing the door once it’s been opened.
This is what amazed me the most when playing hours upon hours of stellar Blade version 1.00.00 no bugs, no crashes, no sudden drops in frames, no screen tear, no falling from the world, just a complete package on a game under 50GB.
I think Korea will play a major role in gaming in the long run , because they're releasing banger after banger.
Still pretty common to find if you stay away from the AAA publishers, in the last 10yrs ive probably only bought like 3 games combined from EA/ACTIVISION/UBISOFT. Even now i still buy games that work right out the box perfectly fine. Just recently got like 6hrs into Alone in the Dark, and not a single sign of any of that bs, really enjoying my time with it.
There's such a misconception about every game needing a patch,this and that when in reality it's not even close. You nailed it isarai
And we as gamers have to accept our role in that. Constantly never being satisfied. Constantly demanding more while paying less. Constantly demanding better frame rates, better graphics, more modes and faster faster faster…. Then review bombing the product when a demand isn’t met. Meanwhile those same demands are making games more difficult, complex and more expensive to create than ever before, on shrinking timelines that burn out employees and make their lives miserable.
You wanna know why so many games get delayed? Cuz the original release dates weren’t realistic to begin with, but you can’t tell a gamer their game is further away than they want to hear. Some dev or game designer will be threatened physically. That builds even more pressure and rushing. We are officially squeezing water out of rocks and still complaining about that how hard you have to squeeze the rock be just waiting for rain. Most of the time we take it out on the developing studio, when it’s the publisher making the calls.
All you need to do is read the comments on most websites and social media to see how toxic, entitled and petty the gaming community at large is, and realize how that transforms into impossible expectations on the parts of game makers.
Nope. Some gamers are to blame. Never demanded anything you mentioned.
A fully finished and functioning product is a standard. It's not demanded. If someone sells you a tv that only works 60% of the time are you going to recommend it OR write a review calling out the obvious problem...it's not a demand...it's a standard.
A standard triple A publishers can't seem to hit consistently.
This is one battle that gamers have never won, hahaha. They were parading recently for their "win" against Sony. Where's the energy for this one, guys? LMAO!
"The most important games event of Latin America, gamescom latam, has unveiled the finalists for its flagship award ceremony, the gamescom latam BIG Festival, which celebrates the best in the global market of games." - Gamescom.
Action horror just sucks...
Just go back to its roots...
Too many zombies
You must of missed the horror genre's resurgence on PC over the last few years.
This article was spot on in the sense is true indie game developers are the ones that bring horror games the major studios not anymore unless "the evil within" turns out to be a huge success. I am looking forward to play Outlast, among the sleep, Constantine, Asylum, Dread Out, etc so many indie horror games so little time.
AAA horror sucks nowadays. The indie scene are the only places that offer a horror feel but even then most of them just offer scares and lack storytelling and good character development. The golden age of horror will always be PS1-PS2 era.