So the big revelations for this year's E3 are out there. EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda and Square Enix have all shown off their stable of games with a lot of excitement generated and yet, it all feels a little hollow. Are we in 2015 or 2009 or somewhere in the 2002? What I mean is that it seems like it's the same titles, the same games, the same characters coming back yet again.
Let's take a look at that list, shall we?
- Dishonored 2
- DOOM
- Mass Effect 4
- FIFA XXXX
- Dark Souls III
- Fallout 4
- Deux Ex
- Gears of War 4
This is but a partial list of games that have been presented this year and there are many others that could be added.
Don't get me wrong. It's not that there's anything wrong with any of these games or that they will be bad games or that most, if not all of them, won't bring new and even innovative features to gaming. Far from it, in fact. For one, I can't wait to get my hands on Mass Effect 4 and Fallout 4 among others.
But my point is that it feels like developers and publishers have found IPs that work for them and that they're unwilling to "think outside the box" with regard to at least the framework of the stories and games that we know and love.
Maybe it's something that is purposefully designed to take gamers on virtual trips down memory lane, to bring back beloved IPs from the past to cause players to wax nostalgic. It's hard to say, really and it's not as if gaming is the only industry that seems to be "suffering" from this fascination with the past. All one has to do is look at some of the top-grossing movies of recent days to see that it's represented there as well.
So the question begs to be asked: What's next? How to break out of this seeming malaise in game development? Where do we go from here?
