Certain FPS games (such as Quake) are simple, no-brainer games. However, the few that try to go beyond that (Deus Ex, Half Life, etc) offer an interesting perspective on the potential that games possess.
As for your comments on “the gamer zone,” yeah… I heard about that. I think I get that way when playing Gitaroo Man. There’s no way I can beat Master Play mode without “zoning out.” It got to a point where I didn’t see individual button icons… I just saw the entire screen as a whole. Was very zen-like
I was actually just talking to a friend about the marginalization of gameplay, heavy-handed storytelling, etc. I don’t mean to say that all games should end up like Xenosaga, where the gameplay is de-emphasized in favor of more cinematic storytelling. If anything, I believe games need to blend the two together, so they are inextricable. The story should come about from the player’s actions, not because it is strictly scripted to do so. Sure, there will always be room for those types of games, but as a medium, it must evolve before anyone takes it seriously.
And let’s just say that I have, uh… personal interest in this sort of thing, and leave it at that
right, i didn’t mean all FPS, just the particularly shallow ones
that sounds right. you definitely play better in that altered state. it almost seems like you become more in tune with the game’s systems and action - not like slow motion or anything, just a greater clarity to the action. if you have a craving for more of that zen, 2D shooters and certain 3D shooters are your hook up
so we are in agreement… do you think the industry will be more accepting of these types of games any time soon? i’d like to be making games now, but i can stand to wait a few more years refining my ideas if my chances of success get better.
Well, there are those in the industry who believe in that direction, and there are those who are simply trying to keep their head above water (and those who simply want to make millions and millions of dollars :D). Where the industry will end up, nobody knows. Eventually, though, I think the game industry will end up mirroring the movie industry, in terms of structure and whatnot. It simply needs to become that big of an establishment in order to pull off the kinds of projects that people will come to expect. However, if you look at the movie industry now, independent films are on the rise… a good sign for things to come
As for getting into the industry, it’s hard to say when is the best time. It’s good to get in early, because it’s always a matter of time before someone thinks of the same idea and does it first. Hell, I’d been working on an idea with some friends for a kung fu RPG game, and look what happened… Bioware beat me to it. It would also help you get your feet wet so you could figure out whether or not your ideas are even possible.
On the flip side, you’ll get entrenched in the “way things are.” You’ll run into a lot of old thinking, a lot of red tape, and, simply put, reality. If you can come out unscathed and uncalloused, then you might yet accomplish something
I’d say get in as soon as you can. It’s not uncommon for people to come up with the same game ideas independantly of each other. Abadd’s right that you’ll run the risk of getting entrenched and settling into the way things are (espcially if you end up spending several years at the same company), but at the same time you’ll be learning about what is or isn’t possible.
And you can look at it this way, if you spend some time laboring over someone else’s game, earning their trust and learning from what they do, you probably have a better chance of getting some support when it comes time to making your game. Some companies will hold gong shows or competitions where anyone can pitch an idea, but given that there are more ideas than staff to implement them, you may need something of a track record to get people to listen to you and make the games you want to make.
it’s always funny to see the odd game listed at imdb.com - i guess the media can’t ignore when games start beating movies in success.
some of what i had envisioned was a bit ahead of the game when i came up with it, but seeing things like the world of BG&E or GTA:SA told me that the huge worlds with long draw distances that i had wanted were possible. but i’ll definitely keep that in mind beyond technical issues.
it would be very disappointing if someone came up with the same idea that i had… but i wouldn’t be as upset if they did something even better than what i had in mind. would you guys suggest trying to get hired in as anything they’ll take me as? or should i better my skills until they accept me for a specific level of position?
i don’t want to get stuck at the bottom of the ladder but i think that if i could just get some time to get to know a dev and present an idea to them, then i could get right to what i want to be doing.
i would love to work on someone else’s game (as long as it wasn’t something that i would be ashamed to have my name in the credits of). there are a couple devs that i know i would fit in perfectly with - our design philosophies are in harmony, which is probably because i grew up playing their games. i’d even be willing to learn japanese just to get in with whatever team the people of smilebit are part of now.
[quote=“Rune Lai”]you may need something of a track record to get people
to listen to you and make the games you want to make.[/quote]
certainly there are those that have earned their place but i think many of the lauded developer elite are only where they are because there wasn’t any competition when they started out.
i see a lot of money being poured into a lot of games that have no real chance of being a market success and usually fail at pleasing the gamer. i see a lot of ideas being praised as revolutionary genius but i personally don’t see any genius in them at all. basically, i see a lot of bad games out there and i can’t fathom how my idea could do worse (in any way!) if they were to trade places. that’s the main reason i don’t consider my cause a hopeless one - i think i would be successful if i got the chance.
I’m not sure if getting hired as anything they’ll take you as is the right route. I know people who have done it and successfully moved on to bigger and better things, and it will certainly introduce you to the industry, but I think if you know something specific you want to do, it’s probably a better idea to build up your skill set and then apply. That way you might get something closer to what you want instead of anywhere they can fit you (which is usually the QA test lab or customer support).
If you’re good and you learn the ropes, you won’t get stuck at the bottom of the ladder. But you may have to start at the bottom. I can think of a couple people who have skipped rungs in the ladder, but they were coming from other professions outside of the game industry and moving into similar positions. For instance: an animator trained in the movie industry could conceivably leap to video games as a lead artist without having to start out lower on the rungs.
Sadly, that happens sometimes. Abadd knows where I work and probably can well imagine some of the stuff I’ve touched. But when it’s fun, it’s cool. You take the good with the bad and hope that there’s more good in it when the dust settles. Nobody wants to work on a game they’re ashamed of, so you can take some solace in that most people will try to at least make the game presentable. ^^;
But when it’s fun, it’s cool. You take the good with the bad and hope that there’s more good in it when the dust settles. Nobody wants to work on a game they’re ashamed of, so you can take some solace in that most people will try to at least make the game presentable. ^^;