a sad realization about video games

Red Crayon Aristocrat

Red Crayon Aristocrat

Member
People complain about Woke, DEI and feminism in games, while all these complaints are valid, I've noticed that gaming has been in trouble for longer than that really has been a thing.

I look at photos online of E3 2013 or 2014 and it's mostly all so... dull? Compare them to the E3s of 2003 and 2004 which were like one big party with the booths, the booth babes, the celebrity sightings etc, then ten years later it all feels kinda low energy, just sorta perfunctory and going through the motions (tbf, now ten years later there's no such thing as E3 period)

We did have some real classic bangers come out in the mid 2010s still, but by that point, the jump to HD had killed countless developers, the rise of GAAS was soon after, even if all the political in fighting had never happened, there would still be troubles with modern gaming and it seems like there was this real peak in the early 2000s that it just hasn't been the same since.
 
Life was fun pre-2010, then the androids appeared.

1745px-Android_robot.svg.png


Thanks Google.
 
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I think early to mid 2010s was one of the dullest periods. We had all sorts of AA and weird games before it, though they gradually lost space to the "big ones". Those didn't came back until mid late 2010s as indies rose to prominence thanks to digital distribution, effectively becoming the new AA industry in terms of creativity and quality.
 
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I don't know you or anybody else but for me there I'm still getting tones games I love almost every year.

If you are talking conference shows got boring yeah maybe but I personally don't give a fuck, all that matters is games and I'm getting that.
 
Red Crayon Aristocrat said:
We did have some real classic bangers come out in the mid 2010s still, but by that point, the jump to HD had killed countless developers, the rise of GAAS was soon after, even if all the political in fighting had never happened, there would still be troubles with modern gaming and it seems like there was this real peak in the early 2000s that it just hasn't been the same since.
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Echoed the same thing before. As much as people might fondly remember games from the 360/PS3 generation, and it grew the audience massively...the budget increases of that gen put out a number of developers, certain genres and sub-genres stop getting made because they couldn't return the larger investments.

You got this growing corporate influence and bureaucracy, along with sanding down the edges of their products to try to appeal to everyone by not offending anyone. I would call the 2010s a bad decade for gaming if not for the growing indie scene with digital distribution that was able to make games at lower costs closer to the PS1-PS2 eras. We're seeing more success from the smaller studios because they can take a risk with better tools, and not waste 8 years on a shit Dragon Age game (or Concord).
 
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Danjin44 said:
I don't know you or anybody else but for me there I'm still getting tones games I love almost every year.

If you are talking conference shows got boring yeah maybe but I personally don't give a fuck, all that matters is games and I'm getting that.
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Name five this year.
 
I would be curious if anyone playing on Steam, Itch.IO, or even the indie spaces of console would agree. AA is super strong and indie shit is wild these days. To me, STEAM NEXT FEST feels like year ONE of E3 in 1995, walking around with almost NO CLUE what you'd see around every corner, well before the press had already covered 90% of the things that would be at the show.
 
davidjaffe said:
I would be curious if anyone playing on Steam, Itch.IO, or even the indie spaces of console would agree. AA is super strong and indie shit is wild these days. To me, STEAM NEXT FEST feels like year ONE of E3 in 1995, walking around with almost NO CLUE what you'd see around every corner, well before the press had already covered 90% of the things that would be at the show.
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Uh? He's clearly talking about the mainstream, high-profile, "institutionalized corporate" aspect of the industry
 
davidjaffe said:
I would be curious if anyone playing on Steam, Itch.IO, or even the indie spaces of console would agree. AA is super strong and indie shit is wild these days. To me, STEAM NEXT FEST feels like year ONE of E3 in 1995, walking around with almost NO CLUE what you'd see around every corner, well before the press had already covered 90% of the things that would be at the show.
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Nope.
We have been eating incredibly well out here. All kinds of weird and innovative shit. Too many games to play, really.
 
ChorizoPicozo said:
Uh? He's clearly talking about the mainstream, high-profile, "institutionalized corporate" aspect of the industry
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tbf, that sort of thing hadn't taken off yet in gaming circa 2003/2004. I remember it becoming more common when the x360 came around, especially with Halo 3. Before, it was still a very nerdy enviroment.
 
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davidjaffe said:
I would be curious if anyone playing on Steam, Itch.IO, or even the indie spaces of console would agree. AA is super strong and indie shit is wild these days. To me, STEAM NEXT FEST feels like year ONE of E3 in 1995, walking around with almost NO CLUE what you'd see around every corner, well before the press had already covered 90% of the things that would be at the show.
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NextFest has been really good for me too, and I was very cynical toward indies up until the end of last generation. But now with their scopes expanding and Half-Like becoming a UNICEF Globally Recognized Video Game Genre, it's really blossoming. Not quite to the level of a top tier E3 but getting close and I do expect them to reach it one day. Especially when small teams learn how to use AI to enhance asset quality and complexity. Like Dusk with Doom Eternal assets. Or Lunacid with Elden Ring assets. I can appreciate some good lo-fi with visionary direction, but the cutting-edge graphics part of me has to eat too. I'm excited for single digit teams to be able to compete on that level. No vision can survive executive producer by committee.
 
You're right. Gaming culture was more fun and free-wheeling back then, less serious. Times have changed. Unfortunately, there's no going back.

I still find games to enjoy, but it's much harder, and the culture itself is less lighthearted, more serious. Political correctness took the wind out of a lot of sails, but I think the big factor was the financial success of the industry itself. As gaming became more popular and financially lucrative, it attracted the "suits." It's been downhill ever since.
 
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ChorizoPicozo said:
Really doesn't make sense, when the "woke" and the bastardization of the industry go hand in hand around mid 2010s in gaming.

Just remember when the industry was pushing back on booth babes for example.
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I'd say they're more the one and the same. The woke push post mid 2015 was really just a collection of the biggest companies overcorrecting to respond to the metoo movement. "Oh, we're being crucified on the internet because a couple of employers acted inaproproately? Lets fire them and replace them with a bunch of 'socially aware' gender studies women"

All the funny hair pronoums people are basically shields these companies built against industry enviroment criticism.
 
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You don't see those at car shows or other tech events anymore either. Times change. Industries evolve. Enjoy the time you're in.
 
It was before trying to divide people based on identity politics. There was less racism too. Humanity peaked around then. Hell even Asmondgold talks about it.
 
Ya right.

All the hentai games on steam is something only early AOL gooners could've dreamt of.
 
davidjaffe said:
I would be curious if anyone playing on Steam, Itch.IO, or even the indie spaces of console would agree. AA is super strong and indie shit is wild these days. To me, STEAM NEXT FEST feels like year ONE of E3 in 1995, walking around with almost NO CLUE what you'd see around every corner, well before the press had already covered 90% of the things that would be at the show.
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I get what you're saying. AAA has been formulaic and focus tested for at least a decade because they have to build stuff that sells more than they get to build stuff they actually want to play.

Most of my gaming is in the retro, AA and indie space right now because it seems like those are the only places where I can get the edgy and fun games I'm looking for.
 
Guilty_AI said:
I'd say they're more the one and the same. The woke push post mid 2015 was really just a collection of the biggest companies overcorrecting to respond to the metoo movement. "Oh, we're being crucified on the internet because a couple of employers acted inaproproately? Lets fire them and replace them with a bunch of 'socially aware' gender studies women"

All the funny hair pronoums people are basically shields these companies built against industry enviroment criticism.
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Lets fire them and replace them with a bunch of 'socially aware' gender studies women" Diverse people. (Before the word "woke" gained popularity, we had "Forced Diversity")

One of the core ideas of "the woke" is about reaching more diverse demographics within your company and through your products. They sell this by saying that:

1. Diversity makes you more competitive
2. Brings you more money.
3. Makes you ready for the future.

Movements like Me Too, Gamergate, or BLM expedited and made the process more aggressive. It was reactionary, but the "replacement" has always been the plan.

So, along with this "doctrine" and the growing consolidation of the gaming industry, it was only natural that big publishers would become more risk-averse and focus on fewer, "high-impact" IPs . "The Woke" just made things way shittier and clearly more expensive, less competitive, dysfunctional and counterproductive; a shitshow.
 
bender said:
Name five this year.
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I'll bite, you robot bastard.

Expedition 33
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo
Donkey Kong Bananza
Hades 2
Silksong

And we all know Metroid Prime 4 is gonna be the greatest game of all time, otherwise I'm gonna have to kill myself.

But honestly I felt like 2025 has been pretty solid.
 
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Dacvak said:
I'll bite, you robot bastard.

Expedition 33
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo
Donkey Kong Bananza
Hades 2
Silksong

And we all know Metroid Prime 4 is gonna be the greatest game of all time, otherwise I'm gonna have to kill myself.

But honestly I felt like 2025 has been pretty solid.
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Now 7 from 2018.
 
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