Hyrule Warrior
Member
I know there are some people out there who enjoy the inside look at the makings of a game sometimes. They like the whole behind the scenes look, and I thought I did too because it made me feel closer to understanding the people behind the creative process. Years and years of consuming media and coverage of the game industry though, I feel I have come to a conclusion for myself: Ignorance was bliss. Has anyone experienced this mindset recently?
I feel I enjoyed a greater variety of games, and I enjoyed the games I was playing more when I didn't have knowledge about how a game is created, or what it takes to make a game. That might sound selfish of me, but it's not like I want to be part of the industry, I enjoyed being a consumer. Years of visiting game forums though ,you can't escape the topics regarding the budgets of games, sales numbers, who is responsible for shitty ports, or poorly developed games. Some of this knowledge might help make some smarter decisions with my purchases, but it also detracts and makes me depressed about the state my favorite past time is in.
In recent years, on one end gaming seems healthy, we got indies making great games, we got PS4 and Xbox One selling fairly well to ensure that there is demand for game consoles still, and we got kickstarter success stories for games I grew up loving to play.
Then on the other end though, it looks like gaming is not quite so healthy. Budgets are skyrocketing, and you can't count on a game ever reaching its full potential without a massive budget, and massive budgets are harder and harder to get when big publishers are so risk averse. When I was growing up, it seemed like games were created where developers were able to push the limits of hardware, and had to work within their boundaries. Most games these days don't even attempt to push hardware, and I feel like we're going to reach a brick wall because necessary budget for better visuals is going to exceed potential sales or demand for such a game. Developers won't be throttled by hardware available, but by if it's feasible within the budget.
Then we got the tragic downfall of Japanese games (tragic to me at least). While I still find enjoyment in the games that Japan puts out, with some exceptions, the future for Japanese games is bleak to me. I grew up with Japanese games, whether I realized it or not at the time. Konami put out some of the best games of my childhood, and we already know that story. Capcom has to tip toe development decisions, because it seems like a few more failures on consoles will send them to the mobile market as well. I find it to be a sad state of affairs when a publisher can't even justify funding the development, and publishing of one of their own games (referring to Street Fighter V). Deals like that have happened before in the past, but not with one of the most recognizable game franchises in history.
Knowing these facts often leads me on a thought process where I feel I HAVE to buy games, because I have to support those developers I love, right? That sucks when I think about it though. I shouldn't have to hold that responsibility. Publishers use it as a tactic sometimes though to push sales even, where if someone doesn't buy a game on day one "well, you might not get a sequel", or in my case as a Wii U owner "you might not get DLC if you more people don't buy this". That fucking sucks, and puts stress on my mind that I would rather not hear.
Even if I wasn't kinda bummed about the larger picture when it comes to game publishers, ignorance is bliss when it comes to indies as well. You hear about a game being made by a small team, or one guy, and I like a lot of people couldn't help but want to admire and hear more about these people. Sadly sometimes though they are just people, and sometimes people can be assholes. I would've been so much happier if I had never been aware who was behind some games sometimes, because I am robbing myself of enjoying the game. However as a prime example, I cannot in good conscious bring myself to ever play Fez because of how much of a dickhead that Phil Fish sounds like he is, and I will not support him now. That might sound like a decision I have every right to make, but I don't feel happy about it. I don't like feeling annoyed with the guy, and I would have been better off ignoring the internet, and just playing the game, but since it's hard to avoid certain things sometimes when you visit game forums, it just enters my awareness anyway.
It's not just the world of game development that seems to have ruined some of my enjoyment too. Unwittingly, I feel my opinions sometimes get molded into something based on something I read, or another person's opinion without even realizing it. I end up deciding "well, the majority says this about a game, so I should just ignore it". That doesn't always happen, hell I just beat a game recently that was outright banned on gaf, but I still enjoyed. It's not always a 1 to 1 reaction either. I'll find I'll despise things just because it's popular with people online. For a long time, I thought it was just because I didn't like things that are usually popular, but that's not true. I realize when I was younger, I loved plenty of games that are considered hugely popular in retrospect. It's just new stuff now that I don't like that's popular.
Maybe this is just a symptom of being an adult, and I feel like some people here might even say that, but I don't think that it is. I think it's a symptom of being a "hardcore" gamer, where I consume it so much that I feel passion for it I guess. I also know plenty of adults who get enjoyment out of games while still being exposed to the same information and media as me. The difference is, they don't keep track of the industry as closely as me. I still get great enjoyment out of some games, but learning about the development team, or what other people think often has not seemed to help in the long run. I find I enjoy games a lot more when it's something I experience, that I felt I discovered. Naturally when I have those experiences I want to share them, and I go on a path of trying to find out more about it, but I'm starting to think that's a mistake.
I don't have a definitive conclusion on what the answer is, other than maybe avoid forums all together, which is a difficult one. I love talking about video games, but I have no friends to share them with which is why I have gravitated towards forums a lot in years past. That being said, how can one avoid too much insider information in the process? That stuff has been toxic to my enjoyment of games, and I feel I can't be the only one.
I feel I enjoyed a greater variety of games, and I enjoyed the games I was playing more when I didn't have knowledge about how a game is created, or what it takes to make a game. That might sound selfish of me, but it's not like I want to be part of the industry, I enjoyed being a consumer. Years of visiting game forums though ,you can't escape the topics regarding the budgets of games, sales numbers, who is responsible for shitty ports, or poorly developed games. Some of this knowledge might help make some smarter decisions with my purchases, but it also detracts and makes me depressed about the state my favorite past time is in.
In recent years, on one end gaming seems healthy, we got indies making great games, we got PS4 and Xbox One selling fairly well to ensure that there is demand for game consoles still, and we got kickstarter success stories for games I grew up loving to play.
Then on the other end though, it looks like gaming is not quite so healthy. Budgets are skyrocketing, and you can't count on a game ever reaching its full potential without a massive budget, and massive budgets are harder and harder to get when big publishers are so risk averse. When I was growing up, it seemed like games were created where developers were able to push the limits of hardware, and had to work within their boundaries. Most games these days don't even attempt to push hardware, and I feel like we're going to reach a brick wall because necessary budget for better visuals is going to exceed potential sales or demand for such a game. Developers won't be throttled by hardware available, but by if it's feasible within the budget.
Then we got the tragic downfall of Japanese games (tragic to me at least). While I still find enjoyment in the games that Japan puts out, with some exceptions, the future for Japanese games is bleak to me. I grew up with Japanese games, whether I realized it or not at the time. Konami put out some of the best games of my childhood, and we already know that story. Capcom has to tip toe development decisions, because it seems like a few more failures on consoles will send them to the mobile market as well. I find it to be a sad state of affairs when a publisher can't even justify funding the development, and publishing of one of their own games (referring to Street Fighter V). Deals like that have happened before in the past, but not with one of the most recognizable game franchises in history.
Knowing these facts often leads me on a thought process where I feel I HAVE to buy games, because I have to support those developers I love, right? That sucks when I think about it though. I shouldn't have to hold that responsibility. Publishers use it as a tactic sometimes though to push sales even, where if someone doesn't buy a game on day one "well, you might not get a sequel", or in my case as a Wii U owner "you might not get DLC if you more people don't buy this". That fucking sucks, and puts stress on my mind that I would rather not hear.
Even if I wasn't kinda bummed about the larger picture when it comes to game publishers, ignorance is bliss when it comes to indies as well. You hear about a game being made by a small team, or one guy, and I like a lot of people couldn't help but want to admire and hear more about these people. Sadly sometimes though they are just people, and sometimes people can be assholes. I would've been so much happier if I had never been aware who was behind some games sometimes, because I am robbing myself of enjoying the game. However as a prime example, I cannot in good conscious bring myself to ever play Fez because of how much of a dickhead that Phil Fish sounds like he is, and I will not support him now. That might sound like a decision I have every right to make, but I don't feel happy about it. I don't like feeling annoyed with the guy, and I would have been better off ignoring the internet, and just playing the game, but since it's hard to avoid certain things sometimes when you visit game forums, it just enters my awareness anyway.
It's not just the world of game development that seems to have ruined some of my enjoyment too. Unwittingly, I feel my opinions sometimes get molded into something based on something I read, or another person's opinion without even realizing it. I end up deciding "well, the majority says this about a game, so I should just ignore it". That doesn't always happen, hell I just beat a game recently that was outright banned on gaf, but I still enjoyed. It's not always a 1 to 1 reaction either. I'll find I'll despise things just because it's popular with people online. For a long time, I thought it was just because I didn't like things that are usually popular, but that's not true. I realize when I was younger, I loved plenty of games that are considered hugely popular in retrospect. It's just new stuff now that I don't like that's popular.
Maybe this is just a symptom of being an adult, and I feel like some people here might even say that, but I don't think that it is. I think it's a symptom of being a "hardcore" gamer, where I consume it so much that I feel passion for it I guess. I also know plenty of adults who get enjoyment out of games while still being exposed to the same information and media as me. The difference is, they don't keep track of the industry as closely as me. I still get great enjoyment out of some games, but learning about the development team, or what other people think often has not seemed to help in the long run. I find I enjoy games a lot more when it's something I experience, that I felt I discovered. Naturally when I have those experiences I want to share them, and I go on a path of trying to find out more about it, but I'm starting to think that's a mistake.
I don't have a definitive conclusion on what the answer is, other than maybe avoid forums all together, which is a difficult one. I love talking about video games, but I have no friends to share them with which is why I have gravitated towards forums a lot in years past. That being said, how can one avoid too much insider information in the process? That stuff has been toxic to my enjoyment of games, and I feel I can't be the only one.
