There could be an exploration into video game series that release new games every year. It can be an investigation into whether or not consumers are tired of annual releases and how game franchises can suffer because of annual releases. Assassin's Creed is a perfect example because its games have either been hits with gamers or disasters such as Assassin's Creed 3.
Another example could be the Kingdom Hearts series. It seems that game companies have gotten a bit comfortable with keeping gamers strung along with "filler" titles and their overall projects fall by the wayside. But, there are also games like Call of Duty that release every year and sell regardless of their poor ratings. This is an interesting topic to explore. – TreyHerron8 years ago
"Gashapon" is used to refer to capsule toy vending machines that are popular in Japan. People are able to see which characters are featured in a machine, but won't know who they'll get until they put in money. Multiple mobile games from "Pocket Mortys" to "Puzzle & Dragons" use this system, where premium currency will offer a chance to obtain a rare and powerful character at the cost of getting an entirely different character. What is it about this system that gets players to spend their money once or multiple times? How many of top-earning mobile games use this system? Is there a "good way" or "bad way" to implement this system in a mobile game?
Undertale is a game that has exploded to absurd levels of internet popularity since its release in September of 2015, especially considering that the entirety of the game was created by one man, Toby Fox. Playing it myself, I absolutely loved the game–its mechanics, the writing, and the story as a whole. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I may have only liked it because of all the parallels and references the game made to other games and game genres. In other words, I'm not sure I would ever recommend Undertale to someone who has not already played a lot of video games.
I have lots of questions surrounding this topic. Is Undertale only good because of all of its in-jokes? As far as it relates to modern internet humor, that seems to be an essential part of that brand of humor nowadays. Is it a good/bad/neutral thing that this extremely compelling video game is really only accessible to a seasoned gamer? Are there other game genres that are ripe for the type of commentary and inside jokes that Undertale pulled on the RPG genre? Can anyone come up with an idea for a game to poke fun at another genre of game?
Interesting idea! I also loved Undertale, but I am not a huge gamer and I didn't get many (if any) of the major game references. So I wouldn't say that is the *only* reason the game is good. I personally loved it for it's exploration of the whole concept of games (which I suppose ties in to the "making a joke at the expense of games" idea), and the story as a whole. Perhaps, though, this article could still use the concept of the "in-jokes" as examining different ways that the game has been or could be appreciated. E.g. some people love the story, some the in-jokes, some the art. Or discussing the idea of Undertale as a parody of games, instead of making it out to be the only reason the game is good. – Mariel Tishma8 years ago
I suppose the question I'd have to ask is whether or not deconstuction is, by its very nature, an inside joke. Undertale isn't all that heavy on direct references, but it does rely heavily on leaning against preconceived notions of how video games, JRPGs in particular, work. It is, in a way, a conversation about how we play games in game form. That said, like many conversations, it can be hard to participate if you have no context on the subject matter. This is certainly a limitation, but I suppose the question then is if that limitation is so dire as to reduce the value of the work as a whole. – John Wells8 years ago
It seems the last years have brought several games that are merely multiplayer platforms for running and gunning, or some other vaguely unique multiplayer archetype. Rainbow Six Siege, Titanfall, Evolve, Battlefront, and the like. In previous years, these games may have simply been considered unfinished or still in progress; they wouldn't have, or shouldn't have, been released. In addition to games without campaign or story-mode, many titles have taken to increasingly short stories that can be completed in a day or two. Call of Duty and Battlefield are perhaps the most blatant offenders; and though most don't buy a CoD game for its story, I can still remember the days of Call of Duty 2 and Modern Warfare 1 & 2, and the enjoyment of playing their campaigns. They may not have been exceptionally long, but they were far more thorough than what we see today.
One could argue that not every developer has the money to implement a quality campaign and multiplayer platform, but this could be, in part, because most try to issue a new iteration, sequel, or game relatively every year. Is this good? I enjoy both story and multiplayer modes, though I hardly consider a game worth its money (especially $60) if it has only multiplayer. This is not to say there are not very long story modes that fall prey to repetitious mechanics and gameplay.
One issue people need to get over is the idea that every game needs a in-depth story-driven campaign, or campaign at all...As you mentioned, certain games, especially shooters, or played by people who buy it strictly for the multiplayer and don't care that the campaign was lacking or not there at all....You bring up a great point in this article, and it is something I believe is overlooked when it comes to the game design process. – MikeySheff8 years ago
I think the value of a game is often called into question in multiplayer only games or games that don't have a "single player component". I think this is not always a good thing but it is part of the some gamers consciousness. Additionally, thing to think a bout is how hard it is for a developer who specializes in making mutiplayer parts of a gam ego suddenly try to create a single player campaign, it is difficult to switch gears as it takes different things to make a single player campaign good compared to a multiplayer experience,they can be vastly different experiences. Amazing topic! – SeanGadus8 years ago
I love this idea! 'Super Bunnyhop' has a video related to this idea of story modes and multiplayer only games. I used to feel very strongly about games having some form of single-player content. However, after becoming obsessed with Rainbow Six Siege I have totally become convinced otherwise. It might be interesting to show how this idea of 'multiplayer only' started and how the trend evolved over time. – Daonso8 years ago
Video games often rely on story-telling not only through playing the game itself, but from the use of cut-scenes. Many cut-scenes stay true to the visual style throughout the game, while others have 2-D animated shorts. Either way, video game cut-scenes serve a variety of purposes, from enhancing appreciation of the artistic design of the game (such as close-ups on individual characters), to taking away direct control of the action from the player. Looking at cut-scenes in successful (or not-so-successful) video games, what purpose does the cut scene serve? What are its most essential components to make it a successful addition to the game itself? (Note: there are of course many examples of video games that have cut-scenes that “stay true to the visual style” as I mentioned—with 2-D animated shorts examples from Atlus’s Persona series comes to mind. That being said, this article may be better written by someone with a wider range of video game knowledge than myself.)
Analyze the use of alternate history in video games. Why is this a common trope? What are the effects on the player? What are the implications of doing this? Great examples would be Bioshock Infinite with it's alternate dimensions ending, as well as Fallout 3's alternate history which separates from ours in around the 1940's. Thoughts?
I love this idea! My favorite video game of all time is Bioshock simply because the alternate histories and realities are so mind-blowing and it makes my head spin with possibilities. – Jenae8 years ago
You could do an entire article on Assassin's Creed! Bioshock and Infinite are great examples because they capture the look, feel, and sounds of their distinct eras! Great Topic Idea! – SeanGadus8 years ago
Several wartime FPS games like Call of Duty would also be a good example. – SarahKnauf8 years ago
Great topic! It's engaging and would definitely interest a lot of readers. I believe working on 2 to 3 examples, analyzing the effects of the alternate histories, is a good way to write about this topic. – klepa8 years ago
Very interesting idea. It could be said that the alternate timeline set in the game's story allows the combination of "the present-day," with elements from another distinct era, giving players something familiar, yet totally new/different.
You could also bring in other game examples like "Wolfenstein" and the "Command and Conquer" series. – Jaeb5128 years ago
What about Wolfenstein? I took this topic as more about the "what if's" of history. Wolfenstein asks, "What if Germany had won WWII?" and creates that as an entirely separate history. It asks us to consider how different things could've been then and now. – Christina7 years ago
Talk about the concept of grinding in video games (Single-player console games. MMO's would be an entirely different topic). Often RPGs, especially JRPGs, require players to spend time mindlessly fighting enemies to up their level enough to advance the plot. Is that still warranted in today's game environment? Was it warranted in the past? Is the level-up system outdated?
Use examples of RPGs from the older generations (SNES, PS, PS2, Gameboy, etc) and modern generations (WiiU, PS4, XboxOne, etc). Did technical limitations play a role? Is it an old tradition that's stubbornly clinging to life? Am I wrong in suggesting it's outdated and it is still an essential part of RPGs?
Wow! This is a really really fascinating topic. I think you are really diving into a very deep area of discussion with this topic! But it is one that merits alot of discussion. One question I might ask the writer to think about is this: "when writing this topic is how deep will this conversation be?" Will a casual reader be able to read an article about grinding and understand the article with little to no knowledge of RPGs or will does the writer have to include alot of background to help clear up information and make this topic more clear to people not immediately familiar with rpgs. Just some food for thought. Regardless, this is an AMAZING topic to address in an article! – SeanGadus8 years ago
As a gamer, having played a certain amount of mmorpgs, and other games which require a grind, I am sure you can relate to all the other gamers that have probably been familiar with it. Today I feel there is a more of a "Pay2SkipGrind" option in all games. I am not sure that level up is outdated but it gives players a goal to get to feel that their countless hours atleast got them something. – Fluxz8 years ago
Honestly, this might be a little too philosophical, but I have always appreciated grinding. It has always felt a little closer to true life than a lot of aspects of video games. For instance, grinding seems to connect closely with practicing sports. When you practice something like baseball, you simply need to go to the batting cages and hit a baseball at a certain speed over and over and over again. It might get a little boring, but only by crazy amounts of repetition can you ever expect to improve and advance as an athlete. I think this is true of almost all areas of life--the necessity of practice to perfect a craft. You know, the whole 10,000 hours, Malcolm Gladwell thing. Anyways, I feel like I would argue FOR grinding because of this idea that it connects the game a little more closely to the real world. – Squirrels8 years ago
I think it would be worthwhile to address how grinding has "evolved." For example, turn-based RPGs like the older Final Fantasy games are nostalgic certainly, but probably too outdated for today's modern gameplay. FFXV and Kingdom Hearts (to name a few games), while still RPGs, took out the turn-based gameplay and integrated more seamless gameplay while still forcing the player to grind. I think the difference between these grinding methods lies right there, in the seamless-ness. – Christina7 years ago
Write about how morality plays an important role in the story of a video game
Interesting topic. A discussion of morality in video games could cover both aspects of the game that lurk in the moral grey areas or are blatantly immoral and whether players might feel remorse or hesitate in performing an action (i.e. just because you can doesn't mean you should). – S.A. Takacs9 years ago
Grand Theft Auto would be a suitable reference for this topic. Munjeera – Munjeera9 years ago
I think this is an interesting topic. I agree with Munjeera about Grand Theft Auto being applicable to this category. In fact I think a whole article could be written about morality in the GTA series.
Side note, I think choice based games could be looked at as well because it puts players on the spot for situations that may highlight their morality. – Lexzie9 years ago
No other medium demands a more intimate relationship with the audience than video games because the player is perpetually required to progress the story forward. In this way the player becomes an active participant in the world as opposed to a passive observer. This is why being the player on your last heart in "The Legend of Zelda" will feel incredibly epic but will look like a bunch of cheesy blips and beeps on a screen to anyone else watching. Creating a game in which it's central mechanics would rely on the players morals would be so effective because of how emotionally invested the player feels already. – mynameisreza9 years ago
I agree with Lexzie about the importance of choice-based games when it comes to morality. Games developed by Telltales (like The Walking Dead) might be suitable examples. – faezew9 years ago
If you're gonna write about morality in video games, what better example to use than the Bioshock series? There's still a lot to explore there. – Tanner Ollo9 years ago
This raises questions about what exactly should be allowed to be shown in certain films to certain audiences. There is much scandal surrounding violence in video games and films especially involving young people. This scandal sparked from the Columbine massacre and has become more and more controversial. Maybe change the aim of this topic to 'the influence of ethics from video games' – Brandon T. Gass8 years ago
Are you considering working anything like Half-Life 2 or Portal into this? I feel like these games could be a fertile ground for analyzing ethics within a video game medium. – Matt Sautman8 years ago
It would be interesting to explore the idea that Fable 2 starting with "mortality". I remember it being a huge deal that, instead of dying, the character would just receive facial scars. It took away that "punishment" that gamers either love or hate. – kaseyshaw8 years ago
Bioware games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect games would make great references for this. – hagenb8 years ago
It's important that games don't label their moral choices as "good" or "bad" each action should come with its own package of pros and cons and the player should make their decision based on which set of pros and cons they feel better about. – JacksonAP8 years ago
It seems to me that game studios are becoming more "moral" the late 80's and 90's produced really violent games for the sake of being violent, now at least (most) games give a proper context as to why the violence is needed and is less for the sake of creating a hype around violence or sexual content. – LelandMarmon8 years ago
