Here Endeth The Whining

If you will excuse a momentÂ's vulgarity, IÂ've been talking out of my ass a lot lately. Though IÂ've fought the characterization hard, thereÂ's really been a part of me thatÂ's perceived and parroted doom and gloom for PC gaming; worrying about how much money the suits with the thick pockets have been proportionally spending, and entirely ignoring perhaps the most important aspect of gaming altogether. IÂ'll get to that in a minute.

I really should be forgiven my transgressions, for they were neither severe, nor malicious. In fact, my ennui was entirely a product of my deep passion for PC gaming – which may explain why my only console is an Xbox (rimshot) – and so when I see console developers spending like George Steinbrenner, I can't help but feel a bit like the Expos. ItÂ's not that my platform of choice is exactly the Mets (for this analogy representing Macintosh gamers), but you look at those pinstripes and you canÂ't help but get starry eyed. As it turns out, reading the market solely through the perspective of spending and mainstream trends is every bit as flawed as describing gaming through a baseball analogy. And, it took the spring gaming slump to remind me why.

I know itÂ's unpleasant to not have oodles of freshly released games to drool over, particularly after the perennial glut of Christmas releases, but to be honest a brief respite is, as usual, a welcome relief. If youÂ're anything like me – though I admit itÂ's entirely possible that that none of you are - then in the fall and winter you buy games faster than you can possibly play them. You donÂ't intend to squander your savings, diligently setting out carefully considered budgets, but within a week youÂ're at the EB with a look of horrible shame on your face and your naked bank card laid out on the counter. You make excuses about how those tawdry gaming boxes were just sitting on those shelves giving you bedroom eyes from across the store, and explaining to a stern faced spouse how you just couldnÂ't resist. Then you remember why you should be seeing a therapist.

IÂ'm sorry, what was I saying?

Oh, yes, so after Christmas is come and gone, you sit spent in your creaking chair surrounded by discarded boxes and a hard drive filled with half played games. You are a victim of a transitory gaming experience, biting happily on market trawled bait, hook jutting from your cheek, swimming impotently in the wake of a furious rush to get absolutely anything on the shelves for Christmas. Well, maybe this doesnÂ't describe you after all, but it certainly does me. Problem is, despite the volume of games released around Christmas, the season is not guaranteed nor even likely to feature the highest quality PC gaming has to offer.

Through all this, itÂ's too easy to change your perspective on the industry, particularly if you spend any considerable amount of time analyzing it. You start measuring dollars, study proportional spending, watch market trends, and think far too long and far too hard about what the big boys in the black suits are doing. And all the while, you fail to realize you're watching a dazzling and dizzying sideshow.

The argument, one that IÂ've both made and supported, has been not that PC gaming is failing, but that itÂ's become stale. The concern being that all the worthwhile games are either a cookie-cutter FPS – where the only description of value exists in rendering potential – or a MMOG. The fear being that the PC is no longer the place where passionate innovative developers go to create great games.

And itÂ's all totally wrong!

WhatÂ's finally occurred to me lately, a thing I knew intrinsically not so long ago, is that industry analysis based on dollars and trends is fundamentally flawed. We can all generally agree that at best the marketing suits who dictate how the money in the largest publishing houses gets spent probably have different priorities than a dedicated gamer, and at worst are completely ignorant about what makes gaming great in the first place. The error IÂ've been making is in paying too much attention to the decisions these clowns make. Sure the market trends of the PC have favored the FPS and MMOG lately – and, as IÂ've said before, I am looking forward to some of the games in those genres – but that certainly doesnÂ't mean the passion to create great and innovative games for the PC has diminished. It just reinforces the fact that big house marketing execs are more passionate about cash than innovation. So what? DoesnÂ't mean anything about gaming.

Some great games that everyone talked about came out in the last year on the PC. Games like Max Payne 2, Rise of Nations, Jedi Academy, and Call of Duty for example. Each of those games were backed by dollars and hype, and succeeded for it. But they donÂ't represent the sum total of quality PC games released, in fact, they are a mere fraction. One need look no further than SpuniorÂ's weekly examinations of games from smaller developers to see that a great wealth of talent is making competitive games that deserve to be played. There were also fantastic games like Port Royale, Hearts of Iron, Gothic II, Wolfensteing: Enemy Territory, Patrician III, Silent Storm, A Tale in the Desert, Korsun Pocket, and even Railroad Tycoon III that go to the heart of what is and can be great about PC gaming with barely a breath of mention in the mainstream press. And, letÂ's not forget the mods and user made content that augment already great games. While console gamers sit through months long waits for _any_ downloadable content, PC games see incredible creativity within days of release. I guarantee that before Xbox gamers see the new content for Project Gotham Racing 2, a game thatÂ's been out since last year, IÂ'll have access to dozens of user-made Unreal Tournament 2004 levels.

IÂ'm a fool! And, really, so is anyone else who is sitting around worrying that PC gaming is in serious trouble. Even if Electronic Arts were to close their entire PC development teams tomorrow, thereÂ'd be no serious issue. In fact, it might not be a bad idea. Worrying about how the big name publishers are spending their money is a bit like being a fan of cinema and getting worried about how much money Jerry Bruckheimer spends on his latest exploration of vapidity. Which brings me to that all important edict of gaming that in my recent hysterics IÂ'd completely forgotten about, which is: money has nothing to do with quality!

Now, that declaration isnÂ't necessarily true for consoles, as the big three control which companies receive what is essentially permission to develop for their systems. To develop for the consoles, you must be sanctioned by the manufacturers. ThatÂ's not necessarily a criticism of the console business model, as thereÂ's obviously no dearth of great games on any of the three major platforms. However, as weÂ've seen with projects like A Tale in the Desert, Half-Life 2D, and Starshatter – just to name 3 off the top of my head – the PC is the only platform where a few guys with a vision, some talent, and determination can produce games that rival the quality of anything available on the market. And all without needing to ask for permission, or being restricted by corporate oversight. Here is where innovation and creativity are born!

The point is, simply, that thereÂ's no time where a PC gamer shouldnÂ't be able to quickly find themselves moments away from dozens of worthwhile gaming. It may come from the shelves of an EB, or downloaded content for your favorite games, through modification and total conversions, or an independent developerÂ's site, but itÂ's always out there, quickly available, and regularly innovative. To complain about PC gaming is to be, for lack of a better term, lazy and narrow. For those who want to sit and wait to see what carbon copy the major publishers are going to promote next, then yes things might not look great for PC gaming, but that perspective is born of a lack of effort. It bears repeating that money doesnÂ't define quality, and itÂ's a point proven by independent developers and passionate fans everyday.

I have seen the error of my ways, and my faith in PC gaming is renewed!

- Elysium

Comments

Well that didn't take long for you to snap back. And I agree, to an extent. It's like saying that because there's a million reality tv shows on right now (most of them are awful), there's no good TV on anymore. That's not true, there's plenty of good TV and even some good reality shows. You just need to know where to look for the quality.

Yup, exactly my point, bagga. Games like UT2k4 (I'm assuming), Max Payne 2, and Rise of Nations prove that the big business of gaming can still produce diamonds in the rough, while small developers and individuals can really stretch their imaginations and creativity and push the proverbially cliche envelope.

Well that didn't take long for you to snap back.

It was a dark time. Let us never speak of it again!

It's about time!

I was afraid we were going to have to take you out back and shoot you like an old horse.

Now if I could just get people to stop FREAKING OUT because there isn't going to be a traditional HD in the next Xbox.

You just need to know where to look for the quality.

Precisely. Directly at the Xbox ;).

[size=9]"Whadya mean we can't have penis-waving platform wars in here?"[/size]

Yes, I am 100% completely joking. I am platform agnostic. Hell, if I could have every console, a killer PC rig, and a GameBoy I'd be there.

There were also fantastic games like Port Royale, Hearts of Iron, Gothic II, Wolfensteing: Enemy Territory, Patrician III, Silent Storm

That game single-handedly restored my faith in PC gaming.

I don't know... the best games I've played this year have been old ones I found on my shelf from years ago (right now its Giants: Citizen Kabuto which came free with a sound card) and Mechwarrior 4. Mechwarrior 4 is a sequal and high priced (Microsoft) but Giants I think was one of those low budget ones. I could be wrong since my disk has Creative writen all over it and I don't ever read the manufacturer splash screens in games.

That game single-handedly restored my faith in PC gaming.

It could be a coincidence but Silent Storm is the game I'm playing right now, and my faith is also restored. Expect some thoughts on this game soon.

Heartwarming article and - what a surprise - I agree with it. Although almost threating my elite indie pimp status in the staff. ¬_¬ Kind of embarassing though since it probably should have been me to pin that down a while ago already, but I'm not good at... er I didn't have that much time. Yep.

As already mentioned in my post in the thread to Pyro's article, I'm convinced that almost any gap will be filled through other, new developers. In some cases indies already benefit from the mainstream even before there's a gap. Ask Brad Wardell and he won't hesitate to admit that Stardock's GalCiv, a great game, appealed to those who were disappointed with Master of Orion 3. (And that one ad flyer in the MoO3 box sure didn't hurt them. ) And if nothing else helps, it's the community to jump in, fix things and expand a game - just look at Falcon 4.0 or Red Baron 3D.

PC gamers in the US simply have to get used to the fact that the next smash hit may not be provided by companies like EA or Activision, rather by publishers like Encore, Enlight, Strategy First or those who are selfpublishing it. (Don't get me wrong though, the bigger ones still produce tons of PC games.)

We probably wouldn't have seen a game like Anito on consoles simply because it would have been hard for such a small team to get into the business without taking an even higher financial risk. Not to mention freeware/fan projects like UFO: Alien Invasion. Let's not forget about the mod scene, a result of the fact that it doesn't take much equipment to get things done. Just last week someone released a 400MB mod for Gothic which adds tons of things to the game and features voices for all new characters.

I wholeheartly recommend browsing genre/type specific websites to those of you who are still looking for inspiration, sites like RPGDot, RPGCodex, SimHQ, BioHazCentral, Do it Yourself Games, Gametunnel, IndieGamer, AdventureGamers, WarGamer, BlackHoleMotorsports just to name a few of them. And keep an eye on those games mentioned at Blue's or HomeLAN whose title doesn't sound familiar, because the "don't know it, haven't really heard about it"-'effect' often kills actually worthwile games by companies that cannot afford advertising them at a large scale.

baggachipz wrote:

Well that didn't take long for you to snap back. And I agree, to an extent. It's like saying that because there's a million reality tv shows on right now (most of them are awful), there's no good TV on anymore. That's not true, there's plenty of good TV and even some good reality shows. You just need to know where to look for the quality.

I know this thread is full of shiny happy feelings, but this analogy proves the point Elysium seems to have turned his back on. TV sucks right now. Good shows are getting cancelled and very few ones are getting started to replace them. When a good one does take off, it gets shown out of order and cancelled. In fact, the only shows I can think of on TV right now that I like are Stargate, Chappelle's Show and The Shield. And The Shield is the only one I would sit down and watch for an hour. Just because there are still good shows on doesn't mean that everything is fine in TV land, or that there's nothing wrong with the way things work now.

There is good TV out there, just like there are good games to play out there on the PC. It doesn't mean that the gaming industry has a whole isn't having serious problems with creativity right now.

Everybody seemed to misinterpret what I said yesterday and I think the same thing is happening here. Saying "The PC Gaming industry is facing a crisis" is not saying "PC Gaming is dead let's all go hug our consoles now". It's not the same thing. There are good games out there to play. Hell, there's plenty of good sequels out there to play that I'm really jonesing for. I want my UT2004 SE DVD as bad as anybody else. It still doesn't change the fact that the large American PC gaming publishers are having financial trouble, creative trouble and are closing developers left and right.

I'll admit, I probably should have said "American" when I was talking about that in my article because Europe doesn't seem to be having a problem with it at all lately. The indie scene, as usual, has some really good games. They will always have them. There's even the occasional American dev team that comes out with an original, kickass game. There's damn good games to play out there, and that has nothing to do with what I was saying.

I just don't want anybody thinking I'm all doom and gloom about playing games. I'm still looking forward to paying off my credit cards (1 week left, woot!) so that I can use my money to buy a sh*tload of games. I've got all kinds of good PC gaming to catch up on, a list of things to get. I don't even have a problem with derivitive games or sequels if they're done well, I loved Call of Duty even though it was a really well done Medal of Honor.

My point was that PC gaming is having serious problems with creativity recently, at least in America. I still think that point's valid, even though Elysium seems to have hit the crazy glue today. In fact, I definitely think that point is valid now that Elysium has abandoned it.

So in short, I'm going to keep thinking I'm still right. I know, big suprise.

I don't really think TV plays out as a fair analogy for the PC scene to the fullest. In fact, if you were forced to put TV in as analogous it would more aptly fit the console scene, precisely because of the point I was trying to make, which is independent companies and individuals can create and distribute for the PC in a way they can't for consoles, or for that matter, Television. It's really not feasible to create a well produced television (or console titles for that matter) without extensive backing, a problem which is not prevelent in PC game development. A crisis of money is not a crisis of quality.

We'll turn you from the dark side, Repressed-Good-Pyro, don't fear.

I wasn't expecting an article like this, I am surprised.

No...

I'm sorry...but theres very little upside for PC gaming as a platform..

Sadly... I suspect one day PC gaming will be viewed back as quaint..much like we'll view PC's as quaint.

I sat in a meeting yesterday with a technology being developed by a Professor and one PHD student at the U of Maryland that will blow your socks off... It was a glimpse on how we'll view all computing one day. It's so much better than how we do things today...and so far removed from icons and GUI that you sit and wonder "Gee...why didnt someone think about this years ago" Think Minority Report.

"Oh...you used to sit in front of a 19" Monitor and play with your keyboard and mouse?"

But in the end..its about the games..not the platform.. Consoles will get more powerful and flexible... 60" HD Panels will be the norm.. and we'll enjoy serveral input devices...

Games are all that matters...everything else doesnt.

Games are all that matters...everything else doesnt.

The only point we agree on. And one that supports my argument quite nicely, thank you.

Elysium wrote:
Games are all that matters...everything else doesnt.

The only point we agree on. And one that supports my argument quite nicely, thank you.

I agree that PC is still the place where innovation can most easily happen for the points I've said in the past and you stated..

The problem becomes when the PC ceases to exist in a form we currently see a PC as...and thus no longer becomes a viable gaming platform. Currently theres less upside for the PC as a gaming platform than there is for the console..

It is inevitable. But we can be happy that what eventually exists will probably so blur the distinction between the two that we will all not care a less.

The problem becomes when the PC ceases to exist in a form we currently see a PC as...and thus no longer becomes a viable gaming platform. Currently theres less upside for the PC as a gaming platform than there is for the console..

I see. I misunderstood your perspective on that point. However, I don't think that's a serious issue for the foreseeable future. And, honestly, by that time I'd expect the consoles to have changed so dramatically that we have to talk about both in an entirely new dynamic.

Elysium wrote:
The problem becomes when the PC ceases to exist in a form we currently see a PC as...and thus no longer becomes a viable gaming platform. Currently theres less upside for the PC as a gaming platform than there is for the console..

I see. I misunderstood your perspective on that point. However, I don't think that's a serious issue for the foreseeable future. And, honestly, by that time I'd expect the consoles to have changed so dramatically that we have to talk about both in an entirely new dynamic.

certainly...it would be very cool for a manufacture to develop an open source console that would be powerful enough to compete with the big boys and yet completely open to develop for with PC/Linux based tools.

Give the open source guys a stable consistent platform to develop on...

I suspect it would become very interesting.

HEY! theres an idea....

TheGameguru wrote:

I sat in a meeting yesterday with a technology being developed by a Professor and one PHD student at the U of Maryland that will blow your socks off... It was a glimpse on how we'll view all computing one day. It's so much better than how we do things today...and so far removed from icons and GUI that you sit and wonder "Gee...why didnt someone think about this years ago" Think Minority Report.

You gotta give us more than that, chief. How do you mean? Did the prof's futuristic Lexus look like it was driving backwards?

baggachipz wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

I sat in a meeting yesterday with a technology being developed by a Professor and one PHD student at the U of Maryland that will blow your socks off... It was a glimpse on how we'll view all computing one day. It's so much better than how we do things today...and so far removed from icons and GUI that you sit and wonder "Gee...why didnt someone think about this years ago" Think Minority Report.

You gotta give us more than that, chief. How do you mean? Did the prof's futuristic Lexus look like it was driving backwards?

I can't really...but keep on the lookout at USA Today.. .they'll possibly be using an earlier technology that they developed...but the one they are working on is way better...

It's like the leap from the telegraph to the telephone.. its that much a paradigm shift

ack! I said paradigm.

That's all well and good, but where is my flying car?

I think I get it, and if it works like it should then that will be great. I'm just wary of it actually working

I've been patiently waiting for my space car for like, four or five years now. I'm not believing in another god-damned thing until I'm flying over Milwaukee with my ass firmly planted in a zero-gravity seat.

Until I get something like neural nanonics from Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy, I will not be happy. All these mere pedestrian display technologies can bite my dong.

All these mere pedestrian display technologies can bite my dong.

See, guys. It's that kind of salient commentary that gets you on staff here at GWJ!

The staff selection criteria can bite my dong!

Dont forget the joy that is penguin whacking, spear chucking and a billionth variant on Tetris.

It would be a huge oversight to dismiss the innovation and inspiration in javascript and flash weblet games.

Beauty is often found in simplicity!

I think it is possible that the big publishers and develpers may lose interest in the PC. I think independent developers will fill in the gaps however. If EA and Atari are too clueless to realize the potential of the PC, someone else will.

Just a month of so ago I was thinking about just how much you can do with a PC. Your only limitation is what you know, and what you are willing to learn.

TheGameguru wrote:

It's so much better than how we do things today...and so far removed from icons and GUI that you sit and wonder "Gee...why didnt someone think about this years ago" Think Minority Report.

Hmmmmmmmmm, I think question that needs to be asked is: "Which part of the Minority Report, Tom Cruise image browsing, or psychic trio part?"

Hoohah!

Elysium wrote:

I don't really think TV plays out as a fair analogy for the PC scene to the fullest. In fact, if you were forced to put TV in as analogous it would more aptly fit the console scene, precisely because of the point I was trying to make, which is independent companies and individuals can create and distribute for the PC in a way they can't for consoles, or for that matter, Television. It's really not feasible to create a well produced television (or console titles for that matter) without extensive backing, a problem which is not prevelent in PC game development. A crisis of money is not a crisis of quality.

We'll turn you from the dark side, Repressed-Good-Pyro, don't fear.

That's a good point about the TV/consoles analogy.

However I wasn't even talking about a crisis of money. I'm talking about the American PC gaming industry, the traditional innovators and leaders, being creatively bankrupt. They may have the money, but they also used to be innovators, which is why I bothered talking about them at all. I don't really think anybody disagrees with me, because everybody keeps saying "they'll give up and go to consoles and someone will take their place". I agree with that statement, either that or they'll pull their head out of their collective asses (hey there's a first time for everything). I just wanted to clarify what I was saying in my article, because yesterday everybody seemed to misinterpret what I was saying. Crisis does not mean dead and the mainstream industry does not mean everybody. I think I didn't clarify the last point enough in my article.

Also, since you've changed your opinion from to I thought I'd point out that I haven't changed mine, further clarifying the distinction between you and I. So to summarize Pyro == always right, Elysium == wrong quite often and also bearded.

el_dino wrote:

Hmmmmmmmmm, I think question that needs to be asked is: "Which part of the Minority Report, Tom Cruise image browsing, or psychic trio part?"

Hoohah!

Or the part where Tom Cruise goes back home and has sex with a pile of women? Because that's the kind of future I can get behind. And on top of.

Amen, Pyro.

Amen.