Why, an great creator, of course! (What makes a great video game?)

Member Name: BTlover

Product:	What makes a great video game?
Date:	10/12/07 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: There is hope provided, thanks to WiiWare and PSN

Disadvantages: So many closed minds who bury us in WWII shooting games.

As far as games go, one must consider the following things:

1. There are too many World War II shooters within the entire first-person shooting range. Why even bother making a WWII shooter when 8 of them are going to be released at the same time as your game, not to mention that 65 of these games are already out on store shelves? Truly, graphics should not mean ANYTHING in this case when video-gamers have gone through World War II so many times that they're starting to recognize the beach levels are looking exactly the same. It is this that needs to die before the designers die from being so lazy on their own work. Allow me to give a suggestion. Instead of focusing on WWII so much, how about you give us different wars to try? The Crusades could make for a rather captivating scenario. Heck, there's your route for the sequels! It'd be like Harry Potter games, but without the kiddy things. (P.S. Yes, I know, interesting that I'm telling all WWII games to go to hell when there is a picture of Call Of Duty 2 right next to this discussion. So sue me.)

2. Better graphics do not solve everything. Not even buggy gameplay. Ask the developers who made "Lair (PS3)". You see, when this game was being developed for the PS3, the graphics were these beautiful things. The mountains looked so good you'd want to step onto them and therefore cause your TV screen to break. Your opponents were so ugly and angry that you wanted to kick them and therefore break your TV screen. And your dragon was so cool-looking that you wanted to make it breathe the awesome fire.....and therefore break your TV screen.

But, in all seriousness, this was actually the only thing the game had going with it. What people did not know until they bought the game was that the. controls. SUCKED. Truly, they did. The game required the Sixaxis controller to be tilted again and again, but the game would not respond to the motions you made. In fact, after gaming websites posted slandering reviews of how horrible the game was, Sony actually sent, and I'm not kidding you, a "Lair: Reviewer's Guide" to all of those critics that put bad reviews on Lair. You see, because of the large amount of publicity being put towards the game, there was no way the company wanted the game to fail. Yet, it did. And why? The graphics were the only good thing.

Now, that should be a good example for you companies, but I'd like to add even more to this long list. Another thing that I have also noticed is that most games that tend to get masses of publicity, due to similarities and controversies, are the more modern games that 'simulate' real life. For example, the Grand Theft Auto games have gotten such outcry for being a simulation of a criminal's life. Personally, I feel there should be none, but why have these modern games come out with graphics that supposedly 'reflect life exactly'? Honestly, if I wanted to see anything similar in the game and life, I would prefer to see real life. My reason is that there are those who claim that games are becoming so close to reality. If so, then they wouldn't be able to tell between what is real and what is not. Hallucinations, in other words. It's already happening to kids, is it not? You see, this is why games that are made up completely from the mind, and not the actual settings we currently are in. The world of "Myst", for example, is what turned it into an absolutely beautiful game, made with rich and pure graphics for it's time. Why? Because it was not similar to real life at all. It was made completely from the creator's mind. Their imagination created this whole world into the game, not deriving from anywhere on our planet.

Do you need proof that games can be made like that? Of course, and with my own pleasure to introduce, "Spore". This game is being created by Sid Meier. "Oh, but what's so important about it?" Well, for one, it allows you to make your own species and civilization. Yes, you will be able to make your own worlds and make their lifestyles. Not only that, but you can visit other people's worlds and observe what sort of creativity the human mind carries (unlike most video game developers). It is, I think, one of the most innovative and unique ideas for a game EVER.

3. Repetition is one of the most annoying bits in games because, as the word means, you have to do things over and over and over and over and over and......over. So what exactly can you do to make your game not be like that? Well, for one, let the player decide what to do in these situations in order to learn from them, not decisions that are on a linear scale. Also, rewards wouldn't be too bad to put in. Truly, when I finish a game, I want some major payback in return for the effort I put into it, not for me to go through the game in a harder version. Make videos, create minigames, do whatever it takes to keep the player interested in your game.

With these ideas in mind, I recommend you video game creators start developing games immediately. New options are present for those who wish to make games, like the Nintendo Wii is now showing "Wiiware" and PS3 is showcasing user-made games on their "PSN". Games are like all other media, including books. In fact, I quote Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Book are meant to inspire, not to be divine." Therefore, allow your creations to inspire future creators for their own inspirations.

Thank you for the time,

Aaron Frederick

Summary: We need more great video games, seeing as most are lazily made and linear