Is Innovation in gaming dead?

There was a period in gaming history when developers consistently sought out new and fresh approaches to making games. Some games were so great it changed the face of gaming. Games such as: Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto 3, Gears of war, and 2K5 football not only pushed the boundaries of their perspective genres, but also became measuring sticks of sorts. When a new fresh game hits the scene and it is so well put together that not only everyone wants it, but it enhances why we play games it helps the industry. When a game sets a new standard for others to be measured against everyone benefits. The question here is: Is innovation in gaming dead? What’s the last game you remembered that shook things up so to speak? Well let’s take a look at why innovation is important in the first place.

What is innovation? Well Webster’s defines it as: the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs. With that being said let’s look at some innovative titles. When 2K games arrived on the scene many opposed them, because the favorite EA sports had been dominating sports gaming for quite some time. The biggest sport title, (and still is) at the time was Madden football. Sega’s 2K sports soon began to gain steam and with the release of NFL 2K5 the stakes were at an all time high. NFL 2K5 did so many things that no other football game had done before to include its own predecessors. Never before had a game used an ESPN license in such a manner as this game did. The TV style presentation was super real. The half time show boasted interviews with on the field players and included a full blown sports cast. With a wealth of other features it pushed Madden football into a corner. On top of all the things it did; it offered an irresistible price tag of 19.99$. It forced Madden football to also drop its price. Madden football had to come up with similar features in order to compete. In short NFL 2K football changed the way football games were being made at the time. Isn’t that innovation by definition? If you followed things from that point until present day I’m sure you have seen how things have turned out. EA frightened by true competition, and unwilling to lose its cash cow bought the NFL license. Effectively silencing its competition and killing future innovation in the football gaming world.

Let’s move on to another game that set the bar higher. First person shooters are probably one of the most improved upon gaming genre. Over time various games brought new standards to this category. Doom, Halo, and Duke Nukem all changed FPS’ in different ways. For a while somehow FPS were stuck in the era of WW2. For a time things were exciting. Playing Medal of Honor and Call of Duty became normal and standard. Several sequels of these titles passed before the programmers at Infinity Ward had a bright idea. That idea was “What if we took FPS into a modern era of war?”. Thus producing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare which while not doing anything new by way of control it made massive head way by simply changing time frames. Never before had any war related games been based (however loosely) on a modern conflict. It presented a new dynamic which allowed for different and more realistic weaponry, and a plethora of other things. To a greater extent albeit not the greatest game Medal of Honor (2010) was the first game to be totally based on a real world conflict EVER! That still is a form of innovation. It’s doing something that hasn’t been done before. It met market needs. With all that being said the modern war fighter game is now a forgone area.

Now that we have examined examples let’s talk about why is innovation needed. Think about this: If you went to school every year and learned the same thing from the same teacher would you still want to go? If security measures weren’t continuously improved would you stay with it? We once had Myspace, but things got old and people thirsted for new blood which gave birth to Face book. Innovation is needed to not only keep things fresh, but also to meet new demands. It’s there to improve things for the better not just for the sake of change. So let’s address the main question: Is innovation dead in gaming? Well to answer that think about what the last true game that changed something. They are far and few between these days to be honest. Grand Theft Auto 5 was cookie cutter. Every Madden is cookie cutter. Titanfall....remove wall jumps, and some mechs you have cookie cutter.

So is innovation dead in gaming? I’d answer no, but it sure is on a big hiatus. There a few games trying to shake things up, but for the most part game developers are fine with playing it safe. So devs will stick with tried and true methods to sale their games. We as the consumers aren’t demanding new and fresh titles like we should so until then we will get what we get. Chances are if an innovative game burst onto the scene these days it’s because a game maker was passionate about producing a high quality product either out of the love of gaming or because they wanted to make a superior product to sale. So the answer is: No! Innovation is not dead in gaming, but it sure is taking a heck of a vacation right now. Well until next time if you can’t be GOOD be GOOD at it. PEACE!

[TH3BR3W]

Last game I remember that set a new standard of how you play the game as well as it's immersive feel with the controls was skate and skate 2. Since then I have been underwhelmed by the lack of new and refreshing ideas. My hope is that star citizen and no man's sky bring something new to the table not just controls either. What I mean by that is both those games are to be multiplayer online and we've been there and done that with the vast majority of new fps titles as well as mmo's. They look to bring something new and I have pledged money to both of them in hopes they set a new standard and way of thinking about how you should develop a game and it's experience.