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[The Technomancer]

Are you kidding me? We've barely tapped the surface of what games can be. We barely know what they can be

 

[AESplusF]

No, there is no pinnacle to be reached.

 

[outunderthestars]

No, we are at a state where business and profits are more important than the content itself.

Umm, games have been that way from the very start. Don't let nostalgia distort history.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

Nah. The limits are based on so many developers focusing on the same exact types of games, like the dual stick 3D TPS/FPS. The kinds of interaction in games have, IMO, regressed quite a lot from the spectrum of gametypes that console market used to offer when things were more abstract and less obsessed with character-based, 'grounded' (Hollywood-action) cinematic experiences. So, things are far more refined in terms of gameplay flow, camera design, and control for a narrower type of gameplay, but the macro scale has shrunk to accommodate that focus. Game design can be as vast and untapped as any creator's vision and ambition level, but most people making games seem to be only interested in past video games and movies rather than drawing from the analog world outside and from their own imaginations as early game designers had to.

Nice read. Maybe I'm too small minded to see what could be possible with a traditional controller. To me, it's all been done. But then maybe everyone here has a different idea in mind when they read the OP.

 

[cHinzo]

Still haven't seen a game with great AI yet... They're always so dumb.

 

[ghostjoke]

We really were spoiled in the late 90s / early to mid 00s with every game coming out seeming to be a zenith for their respective genres. I think the best is potentially still to come - definitely a lot of stuff that makes me go "oh, that's interesting" - but there's been a lot of devolving outside of graphics, Bioware being the obvious example. Things like the nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor definitely keep me excited for what could come if more risks were taken. Indie/lower budget games, while not always sending ripples through the industry normally output a few games per years with something new and interesting. I'm still waiting for that next game that makes me feel like a kid again though - I think this is harder to come by now that I understand the basic ideas of how a video game is put together, no more illusions of giant sprawling worlds outside the borders of what I can see.

 

[foxuzamaki]

Almost all of the OP's examples of ground breaking games were simply the first 3d versions of 2d franchises. While good games they were not all that revolutionary.


I'd argue that Minecraft and Wii Sports were more revolutionary than any of the games in the OP.

I agree, I believe nostalgia hits gamers the hardest and we remember all our old childhood games like they were innovative but in fact it was just a graphical change.

Are you guys.....devaluing the jump from 2D to 3D? You do know Mario 64 and OoT basically set the groundwork for 3D systems and camera movement right?

 

[outunderthestars]

We really were spoiled in the late 90s / early to mid 00s with every game coming out seeming to be a zenith for their respective genres.

Now this is just silly noataliga. There was a ton of garbage that came out during that era as well.

 

[Choomp]

Nope. If you ask me, the pinnacle of game design was when games weren't conceived by people in suits. The indie scene is a breath of fresh air.

This is true in a way, the indie scene is the best right now. But I have faith in the people with money in the biz to take up the new stuff eventually and revolutionize games.

 

[ReBurn]

More like we've reached the plateau.

 

[Steel]

We had a big blowout of ideas in the ps2 gen and it carried on into the next gen for a few years till AA died. Now you have a few interesting ideas coming out of indie development while everything else, even most indies, is evolutionary.

 

[Dodecagon]

Still haven't seen a game with great AI yet... They're always so dumb.

AI advancements to me is going to be the biggest jump we notice in the near future when it comes to game design. The simplicity of AI is such a handicap to the types of games you can create. I'm excited to see the first AI that exists in a game and utilizes something beyond a shallow learning algorithm or pre-set bank of reactions.

 

[Gnome Scat]

I hope not.

 

[Geist-]

Virtual Reality has a lot of potential to give us some revolutionary gameplay if the flaws can be worked out (mostly the nausea).

Other than that, if Star Citizen can live up to it's promises it has a pretty good chance of being considered "revolutionary" from an immersion stand point.

 

[GobFather]

I genuinely believe that Final Fantasy XV will be this for JRPGs.

Near the beginning of the game we have:



Imagine how ridiculous the bosses at the end of the game will be? I'm expecting a gargantuan multi-stage final boss similar to Kefka, but completely three dimensional. It's going to be amazing.

i am ready to be blown away, can't wait!

 

[Platy]

More crazy ideas like minecraft and less AAAA games please

 

[ghostjoke]

Now this is just silly noataliga. There was a ton of garbage that came out during that era as well.

When I say all games I mean the ones I played. I did not single handily play every game (though I did play Daikatana and oh boy, screw that). Maybe it is nostalgia but I don't (personally) see those great strives in innovated and new game play these days, graphics sure but these are games not CGI movies, and definitely not anything that makes me think "this is a game changer" (at least not in a good way, I'm sure pay to use cheat codes is alive and ticking in certain dev's minds).

 

[Rain City Gamer]

OP have you seen Titan Fall..?

^^^ Came for this, leaves satisfied.

 

[Sunnington]

This is the real answer.

However, there are two sides to this. If game AI became too good the games would become less fun. I remember hearing that MGS Ground Zeroes had to be dumbed down a bit because the AI was too unpredictable.

Who need AI when you Counter-Strike and LoL?

 

[revolverjgw]

Anybody with imagination (and some experience in the Rift helps) knows that virtual reality has the potential to change everything.

 

[Dark_castle]

Dragon's Dogma reached the pinnacle of ARPG design by allowing us to just directly grab onto larger sized enemies and attack them there. Only been done before in SOTC, but it was too good.

 

[Geist-]

^^^ Came for this, leaves satisfied.

For all the faults with that game, it was pretty damn revolutionary when I first played it.

Titanfall 2 can't get here soon enough.

 

[Sub_Level]

Not even remotely close. Interactive digital entertainment will continue evolving as long as humans exist.

Virtual reality alone will be a huge game changer, pun intended.

 

[Rain City Gamer]

For all the faults with that game, it was pretty damn revolutionary when I first played it.

Titanfall 2 can't get here soon enough.

I have no beef with TitanFall, and I am looking forward to Titanfall 2 hopefully coming to PS4, but it was impossible to live up to that hype. Which is why I knew that Titanfall would be mentioned in this thread with a sarcastic tone.

Unfortunately I think No Man's Sky is getting to the point of no return with this as well. I hope I am wrong because the game looks fantastic but it is likely biting off more hype than it can chew at the moment.

 

[Freeman]

Lol not even close. Most games are really rudimentary if you stop and think about it.

 

[Host Samurai]

I think we have regressed since the ps2 era

 

[Astral Dog]

I guess a more reasonable question would be, will we get another "revolutionary" game?

It seems to me that we will never have anymore ground breaking games such as Half-life, OoT, Super Mario 64, MGS, World of Warcraft, or GTAIII.

It seems that we will keep getting refinements and evolutions of existing concepts and genres. I am not really complaining as we will still get AAA titles, but it would be interesting to think about a next breakthrough in gaming. I can't think of anything that has not been done yet.

Thoughts and ideas, GAF?

Reached the pinnacle? of course not, if you mean there isn't going to be new game experiences, or innovations, thats wrong, this generation is just beginning, give it a chance im sure some game is going to surprise us eventually.

But the industry has matured, design wise there isn't going to be as many novel concepts as before, and with the budgets of AAA games less risks will be taken, give a look to games like Wonderful 101, as even with their flaws they are something new and special.

Are you kidding me? We've barely tapped the surface of what games can be. We barely know what they can be

I think he means in terms of genres, there are much that will evolve, or change, but also many things that are the same.

 

[Geist-]

Unfortunately I think No Man's Sky is getting to the point of no return with this as well. I hope I am wrong because the game looks fantastic but it is likely biting off more hype than it can chew at the moment.

The game looks good, but I have a feeling it's all gimmicks with no substance. I mean, the key selling point of a universe of explorable planets already prevents any sort of plot, I have a feeling it's going to tend towards tedious more than fun.

Procedural generation just isn't good enough yet.

 

[ghostjoke]

The game looks good, but I have a feeling it's all gimmicks with no substance. I mean, the key selling point of a universe of explorable planets already prevents any sort of plot, I have a feeling it's going to tend towards tedious more than fun.

Procedural generation just isn't good enough yet.

There is hope it could create lore/story like Eve does, via player actions. Depends really on what mechanics are in place for PvE and PvP. I'm tentatively optimistic about it.

 

[videogamephilosopher]

Not even close. Maybe not in our lifetime but when we can ditch external interfaces and control things with our mind and have games or experiences catered to that, then we would be able to start questioning game/experience design. game design is also limited by computational power and persistence. Since My gaming started with the Tandy 1000, every generation I have questioned if design would improve and every generation has its star and raises the bar. We are still in design infancy.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

Not even close. Maybe not in our lifetime but when we can ditch external interfaces and control things with our mind and have games or experiences catered to that, then we would be able to start questioning game/experience design. game design is also limited by computational power and persistence. Since My gaming started with the Tandy 1000, every generation I have questioned if design would improve and every generation has its star and raises the bar. We are still in design infancy.

Really? You couldn't tell way way back that design would most definitely improve?

 

[Clefargle]

No, anyone who says otherwise either doesn't have much of an imagination or is stuck in the past.

 

[Japanmanx3]

Shhhhh, no pinnacle, only games now...

And even if there was, FFXV and KHIII haven't even come out yet sooooooooo...

 

[Abounder]

Video games are still in an awkward phase like pre-Pixar CGI; so no we have not reached the pinnacle yet. Plus virtual reality could be a game-changer

 

[videogamephilosopher]

Really? You couldn't tell way way back that design would most definitely improve?

When I started I was young and a young mind doesn't always fathom future possibilities, they live in the now. Frontal lobe type stuff.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

I think VR will open up a lot of possibilities for game design that haven't been utilized in quite the same way before. Especially once you achieve "presence" where you feel like you're really there, some elements, especially narrative ones, will create a much deeper impact on the user than before. I'm hoping for something along the lines of a TLOU first person game, not the same gameplay necessarily but with the same strong emphasis on atmosphere and character building. Once input is figured out just the ability to see your "hands" and reach out and touch the world around you and manipulate it in a way previous games never allowed will make for very compelling experiences. Combine that with state of the art 3d scanning for characters and good animation and you've got something truly incredible...

Spoiler

HL3 confirmed

 

[gafneo]

I have ideas for groundbreaking games. First graphics is not the idea. No motion or Vr required. You take something like Shemue and take it to a level where you can interact in such a way that you can whipe your ass as a mini game. A game that gives you choices so much that you can shit in a bag at a candy store.

 

[SkyOdin]

No

Game design is about a lot more than just obvious revolutions in new feautres or genres. Even then, it is highly likely that the great genre that will be super-popular twenty years from now has yet to be invented. A lot of genres that are incredibly popular are still pretty young, such as the MOBA genre. Other genres, such as the monster hunting genre, are still seeing a ton of innovation from new entries in established franchises and new series trying to establish themselves.

Outside of big innovations, we will continue to see a ton of refinement of game design in smaller parts of games: level design, UI design, ability design, play control design, and so on. Even games in well-established genres such as RPGs or FPSs have changed in a lot of subtle but significant ways over the last ten years. I think we have every reason to expect this evolution of game design to continue.

 

[outunderthestars]

I have ideas for groundbreaking games. First graphics is not the idea. No motion or Vr required. You take something like Shemue and take it to a level where you can interact in such a way that you can whipe your ass as a mini game. A game that gives you choices so much that you can shit in a bag at a candy store.

Those are two very odd examples of what you'd like to be able to do in a game.

 

[Stealth_Cobra]

Nope... Just started in the industry... Let me some time xd...

All joking asides ... We only scratched the surface of what games can accomplish...

 

[Dark_castle]

I genuinely believe that Final Fantasy XV will be this for JRPGs.

Near the beginning of the game we have:



Imagine how ridiculous the bosses at the end of the game will be? I'm expecting a gargantuan multi-stage final boss similar to Kefka, but completely three dimensional. It's going to be amazing.

You and I are both excited for the game, but let's not jump ahead here, we haven't see how those fights go.

 

[videogamephilosopher]

The design community still has not explored sensory feedback to a satisfactory level (temperature, vitals, eye dilation, facial scanning etc) or on a massive consumer scale yet either. A.I still has a long way to go also.

 

[MrCunningham]

More crazy ideas like minecraft and less AAAA games please

There's crazy game concepts that are released all the time, but of of them are generally small and unknown releases. Like this for example:

"It's a Unix System, I know This!"

 

[Nanashrew]

I think we have regressed since the ps2 era

I feel similar. The homogenization of gameplay and refinement of it has left a lot to be desired by ignoring other aspects that would make different games more distinctive. But hey, at least Batman FINALLY turned out decent because of this. I feel this has really only helped licensed products to be decent. Gameplay and design in the AAA has become incredibly rigid overall that it has, in my opinion, stalled.

 

[gafneo]

Those are two very odd examples of what you'd like to be able to do in a game.

Not that I would like to, but given the option to do the most unnecessary thing. Imagine a Wii U game pad with tiny boxes with custom commands laid out for you. You could tap on the tasks that you would do the most. You could organize your own routines. Kind of like the Sims meets Shenmue.

 

[BPoole]

VR is going to open a whole lot of new capabilities and immersion.

 

[King Tubby]

We have far, far to go from reaching the "pinnacle" in game design. Most of our games are still treading along the same basic ground for at least a decade.

 

[Nanashrew]

VR is going to open a whole lot of new capabilities and immersion.

I still don't believe this. I know we'll get some imaginative stuff from indies but we're going to get much of the same we already get now from bigger publishers. I think a lot of people expect that big pubs will finally get that kick in the pants and to do something different but I seriously don't think it will. They'll stick to what works and gets them the most profit.

 

[ProfessorLobo]

Considering the slope has been down hill the last fifteen years I would have to go with "yes"

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

If you play alot of EA/Activision/Ubisoft games then you are probably going to be very frustrated and cynical about the industry.