‘Creativity. That’s what we expect from E3’
So, it’s been done. Both the major players in the next-gen console race have been announced, and while not a lot has been talked about in terms of what we, as gamers, are being offered by the majority of both consoles (though that’s more towards Microsoft and lesser so towards Sony), we are now in a position to sit and ponder on what we’d like.
New IPs aren’t just a naming fad The Xbox One is supposedly getting eight new IPs in its first year, and we have no doubt that the people at Naughty Dog, Quantic Dream and Media Molecule are also working on new, unseen franchises for the PS4, but is that enough? In other words, is new IP=good game? I don’t think so. A new IP merely means a fresh world, new characters, and new settings in which to do things. If we observe a rehashing of old genre archetypes and other tropes being employed and pasted onto new names just to rake in the fact that it’s a new franchise, I think everyone’s going to be left a little disappointed.
We might not necessarily need new names. Even the same shared universe would probably do. What is needed desperately from new games is the desire to show us narratives and gameplay that add meaning to what and why we’re doing what we are. In other words, justify to us why things have been revamped the way they have, and I daresay we might even pick up a Call of Duty. A clear example of what I’m trying to say is best displayed by the attempts of the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry franchises, where lots of things change, while keeping core mechanics rooted.
I don’t know if I’m the only one who has this problem, but whenever I see gameplay demos at E3, I’m left befuddled by just how perfectly it seems to be going. Not a misstep by any player at all. No goof ups. No one dies. It’s a little suspicious, mostly because no one really plays like this. Come on, guys, we don’t want to see trailers up there. We want to see how the game reacts to emergent situations. Granted you want to show the game in its best light, but if your game can adapt to real world mess ups, that’s great proof in itself. Be a little creative.
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