A perspective on exploration in video games and how little of it we have today.
Mojang has partnered with Merlin Entertainments to build the world's first Minecraft theme park in the UK.
Ben Porter from Newzoo explains that the player base has very little overlap with mainstream hits such as Assassin's Creed: Shadows and Ghost of Yōtei
I used to buy cheap games thinking I’d play them later, but I always ended up returning to my favorites. Now I skip the deals unless I know I’ll play the game soon.
This is very true, my nephews grew up on these two games and whenever I introduce them a AAA game whether old or new, it's like seeing an alien try to make sense of it and then quickly lose interest in it.
Can’t really expect a 8 year old Roblox kid to go buy resident evil 9 lol
Gaming trends are so weird to me now. Like, I’m old school and games were consumed essentially how movies were. You play through a title and look forward to the sequel or other things that came out. Now, that is so not the norm.
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Interesting article. It is fun to go exploring through different worlds, than to follow a pre-destined linear path.
I don't know if I necessarily agree with this - there are games like Fallout 3, Oblivion and the upcoming Skyrim, and in terms of non-RPGs, GTA and the Harvest Moon series (for instance), that are essentially aimless experiences.
That said, it was a very enjoyable read - thanks for writing it!
-Oblivion
-Fable 2
-Fable 3
-Mass Effect
-Mass Effect 2
-RDR
-Just Cause 2
-Risen
-Divinity II :Ego Draconis
-Arcania
-Fallout 3
-Fallout: NV
-Crackdown
-Crackdown 2
-Far Cry 2
-Borderlands
-Crysis
-S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
-Red Faction Guerilla
Those are the open-concept games that I've played this gen, that offered/encouraged exploration...no idea what I might have missed. I didn't include GTA4 or Saint's Row, because outside of being able to drive around, there's no "exploring" to do, really....they're still pretty linear. I'll soon add Two Worlds 2 to that list, as well as Skyrim.
The games with vast and interesting worlds to explore are still there, you just have to look closer, and that list of yours proves just that. I'd add The Witcher and WoW, as well.
These types of games were known as Adventure Games back in the day. Adventure is a category that no longer exist today.