he market that surrounds gaming is one of the strangest, and remains a difficult beast to tame. This summer has seen a dearth of decent video game releases. This sets to change with the release of Halo: Reach in a matter of weeks. The rest of the year features a flurry of releases. Drowning in shovelware or relishing in a wave of Triple-A titles: it's been hard to be a gamer.
Titles from four months ago still feature as new releases on popular sales sites, proof of an uncertain market. Over the next three months this will change. Each week a host of new titles will have us champing at the bit.
Developers cannot take too many risks. Ingenuity is risky. Risky business is bad business. This vicious circle may be more detrimental than you would ever think. Like any other hobby gaming can become tiresome. This sense of "burnout" comes when you've had enough of the countless first-person shooter clones and standardized, open-world titles. There are many more anecdotes of developers hitting the same wall.
Other factors add to this effect. Every year a new Call of Duty is released, they're solid titles, yet they completely lack originality. All their hope is put into the same fans, over and over again. Many gamers are locked into a repeating cycle, scared to branch out. The market is its own worst enemy, forcing them into a cycle that generates cash but not quality. However, whilst I hate this cycle I understand that its existence is a necessary evil. Developers cannot take too many risks. Ingenuity is risky. Risky business is bad business.
The threat of saturation is constant, yet there is one practice that helps defeat these blues and gives you a deeper respect for games. Choose a game completely at random, buy it and play it. It's deeply satisfying to experience something fresh, something you'd never normally go for. One practice helps defeat these blues: choose a game completely at random, buy it and play it.I do this on a regular basis, more now than ever, usually with an Xbox Live Arcade title or PlayStation Network title. Even if it's something I'd never usually play, I throw myself fully into it. It's this that has saved me from becoming disillusioned with games and kept me struggling with an industry that grows more tiresome in spite of how much I care about it.
Plants vs. Zombies will shortly be released on XBLA. This game is an elixir. Time after time it's restored my faith in games. I highly recommend it. It's titles like this that deserve so much more. Their recognition is coming but it will take time, meanwhile, me should play and appreciate.
It's strange to think of gaming as any real strain on us, but at times, it is. A relatively young media, it still faces growing pains — pains that will see us facing offensive shovelware, promising vaporware, dry spells, and floods. It's important to try and train yourself to be easily pleased and appreciate smaller details, so when gaming plateaus, you'll seek smaller virtues. It's also wise to try and vary what you play. It's healthy and will do more good than you would ever know for both you and the media of gaming.
I totally agree about this year; the last game I played was Limbo and the last game I truly, deeply enjoyed was Alan Wake. It has been months since I really felt inclined to pick up a controller. Yesterday I told a few friends "i'm done with realistic shooters." I'm sure I'll play Reach and like it, but I'm already tired of it--tired of mindless competition without some sort of greater purpose or narrative.