Do people want it? Or does the gaming industry believes that people want it?
I’ll give you an example: Minecraft. It has no story whatsoever, unless you count as “story” those lame excuses for lore (like the ender dragon). And yet it’s the best-selling video game ever.
Same deal with Pokémon main series games. The series started out strongly gameplay-driven, to become gradually strongly story-driven. Guess which are the best selling gens? Gen 1 (Red/Blue/Green/Yellow) and Gen 2 (Gold/Silver/Crystal), that are far less story-driven than the rest! (And if you look at player ranks, Heart Gold and Soul Silver are often near the top. Gen 2 gameplay and story, Gen 4 visuals.)
So… really, I don’t think that people want gameplay-less games. It’s just that the industry is shoving it down their throats nonstop. And the ones who do want a story will look for it elsewhere - like visual novels, movies (as you said) or the good old books.
Games that are usually criticized by this, also tend to be games that sell really well. Think Sony exclusives like Uncharted, TLoU, etc.
Some of the most beloved games by the communities are also story heavy, like Bioshock, Mass Effect, System Shock, etc. These games I mentioned have passable gameplay even when they were released, case in point, whenever you talk with someone about these games, they won’t talk about the gameplay, they will talk about the twists, the characters, etc.
Then there are games that are the antithesis to this post: interactive movies and visual novels. Quantic Dream’s games (detroit become human, heavy rain, etc) despite all their faults, sold well. Telltalle’s put their foot in the industry with the first season of The Walking Dead, and they would still be in business today if it wasn’t for their one trick pony game design and biting more than they could chew. Visual novels tend to be in the grey area and some people argue they aren’t games at all, but some do feature gameplay, and people don’t play those for the gameplay I can promise you that.
I do share the opinion that many publishers & studios in the gaming industry have the wrong idea that they need to be like the movie industry and have cinematic games. They don’t. But the demand for those types of games exist too
Taking what you said into account: perhaps the industry is generalising too much a diverse market, and leaving unsatisfied players who drift too much away from said generalisation.
Do people want it? Or does the gaming industry believes that people want it?
Seeing as how those types of games are some of the most hyped and sell the most copies: people want them.
While simultaneously, games that actually have compelling gameplay with next to no story also sell like crazy when people realize they do want that too. But they’re not generally hyped up before they come out, nor do I see a lot of people asking for those types of games very often whenever the question of “what kind of game do you want” comes up.
Do people want it? Or does the gaming industry believes that people want it?
I’ll give you an example: Minecraft. It has no story whatsoever, unless you count as “story” those lame excuses for lore (like the ender dragon). And yet it’s the best-selling video game ever.
Same deal with Pokémon main series games. The series started out strongly gameplay-driven, to become gradually strongly story-driven. Guess which are the best selling gens? Gen 1 (Red/Blue/Green/Yellow) and Gen 2 (Gold/Silver/Crystal), that are far less story-driven than the rest! (And if you look at player ranks, Heart Gold and Soul Silver are often near the top. Gen 2 gameplay and story, Gen 4 visuals.)
So… really, I don’t think that people want gameplay-less games. It’s just that the industry is shoving it down their throats nonstop. And the ones who do want a story will look for it elsewhere - like visual novels, movies (as you said) or the good old books.
Both.
Games that are usually criticized by this, also tend to be games that sell really well. Think Sony exclusives like Uncharted, TLoU, etc.
Some of the most beloved games by the communities are also story heavy, like Bioshock, Mass Effect, System Shock, etc. These games I mentioned have passable gameplay even when they were released, case in point, whenever you talk with someone about these games, they won’t talk about the gameplay, they will talk about the twists, the characters, etc.
Then there are games that are the antithesis to this post: interactive movies and visual novels. Quantic Dream’s games (detroit become human, heavy rain, etc) despite all their faults, sold well. Telltalle’s put their foot in the industry with the first season of The Walking Dead, and they would still be in business today if it wasn’t for their one trick pony game design and biting more than they could chew. Visual novels tend to be in the grey area and some people argue they aren’t games at all, but some do feature gameplay, and people don’t play those for the gameplay I can promise you that.
I do share the opinion that many publishers & studios in the gaming industry have the wrong idea that they need to be like the movie industry and have cinematic games. They don’t. But the demand for those types of games exist too
That’s a good counterpoint.
Taking what you said into account: perhaps the industry is generalising too much a diverse market, and leaving unsatisfied players who drift too much away from said generalisation.
Seeing as how those types of games are some of the most hyped and sell the most copies: people want them.
While simultaneously, games that actually have compelling gameplay with next to no story also sell like crazy when people realize they do want that too. But they’re not generally hyped up before they come out, nor do I see a lot of people asking for those types of games very often whenever the question of “what kind of game do you want” comes up.