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Now: Hollywood-style hackers didn't access E3's kitchen appliances and terrorize attendees with magical toasters or anything, but the specter of hacking certainly loomed heavy over the show. Sony, especially, had to publically yank its pants back up after hackers caught the publisher with said trousers around its ankles for a painfully lengthy month.
The Forecast: Sad to say, hackers didn't send the gaming world an apology cookie basket and ride off into the sunset after pulling the plug on PSN. Nope, that whole debacle pretty much painted a target on the gaming industry's back, and in just a few weeks, hackers (by which I mean mostly LulzSec) have punched nice, big holes in Nintendo, Epic, Eve Online, Minecraft, BioWare, Battlefield Heroes, and more. You'd think, then, that reading between the lines would be simple. But since hackers keep barging in with relative ease, it's evidently not. So here, let me spell it out: Get better security. Dig a moat. Plant landmines. Breed a giant, three-headed dog. But don't just leave customers' data flapping about in the breeze. This sort of creaky complacency kills user trust, and in an increasingly online-centric environment, that may as well be a death sentence.
As for Sony itself, I can't complain too much. Yet. Initially, the console-maker dropped the ball, grabbed a shovel, and attempted to direct the ball into the center of the earth, but it at least acknowledged its screw-up. After that, Sony smartly dedicated most of its press conference to a solid-ish game lineup, forgoing a two-hour grovel-fest in the process. Because, seriously, what would have been the point? You can only say “sorry” so many times before everyone decides you're an extremely broken record (See also: Microsoft's track record with Games for Windows). On top of that, the gaming industry is – for better or for worse – quite forgetful. As a result, a large number of gamers are quick to forgive, even if they don't mean to, per se. So then, depending on where you're standing, Sony's either moving forward or sweeping its problems under the rug. Maybe a little of both. Regardless, it looks to be on a decent (if not exactly mindblowing) track so far.
Now: Quick! Press “A” or this paragraph will throw snakes at your face! Oops, too late. But it's OK, because a roving honey badger snatched the snakes out of the air at the last possible second. So what was the point of all that again?
The Forecast: For years, gamers and critics alike have derided “pointless” mechanics like quick-time events. For years, the gaming industry has somehow misconstrued that as “Oh yeah, we totally love those stupid, terrible things. We also enjoy punches to the gut and long walks on the beach shortly after having our legs broken.” During this year's E3, though, things reached a fever pitch, with games like Need for Speed: The Run upping the ante with “variable quick-time events.” In other words, even if your fingers grab a nearby phone and dial 911 for crimes against decent game design instead of hitting the “A” button in time, the QTE still goes on – just with a slight variation. Oh no! Your character sustained a minor wound, etc. Meanwhile, Tomb Raider was an especially harrowing series of QTEs and – shortly before the show – LA Noire frustrated players with oftentimes nonsensical “everybody wins anyway” interrogation sections.
Why? Why do these things at all? Sure, I'm all for cinematic flair and allowing a wider audience to experience your game, but this is just lazy. Instead of designing an engaging game, you're just putting the whole thing on autopilot. If you're so worried about non-gamers dropping dead and then dropping their controllers, you could always make some sort of optional QTE-heavy “cinematic” mode. But don't use accessibilty and whatnot as an excuse to skip out on the part of game design where you, you know, design a game.
Comments are closed on this article
mountainmanxl
July 30, 2011 at 10:55pm
Or you could, ya know, accept that PC's superior graphics dont make up for inferior sales vs. consoles and the fact that those better graphics mean a PC with a price tag 6x as much as new PS3 or 360...
Ghok
November 14, 2011 at 6:28pm
If you're spending that much, you're getting ripped off...
What do you mean "make up"? If I judged what games I bought on how much they sold, I'd be something of a tool. Most PC gamers know that consoles are the major platform for games. We just don't care, in fact, for me at least, I enjoy the benefits. It's called a niche market, and it has its advantages and disadvantages. Not all of us are anti-console. We just prefer our games on PC because we have good PCs. You figure there might be some people like that on this site, right? Usually when we bitch, it's about a crappy port or not getting a title at all. I think consoles are the better gaming platform for most people... just not me.
I try not to get too excited about this boom in PC gaming. When the new consoles are released, we'll start getting ignored again. For a while. It's a cycle. There are enough of us that will buy PC games that someone will always be making them for us.
sladeofdark
July 29, 2011 at 6:53am
I may be influenced by the academic writing class i am taking right now , but this guy talks too much. He needs to get to the point of his article.
sojrner
July 28, 2011 at 1:59pm
Anyone remember that "game" from the early 80s, Dragon's Lair? An entire game of QTEs. Nothing else. For the time, was cool... but mainly because graphics then sucked and Don Bluth (IIRC) did the animation. It was a good story. It was not a video game though IMO, it was more a participatory cartoon. (or maybe "video" game is the proper term for that, and what we currently have are "graphics" games? lol) That's where this is all going though... a choos-your-own-adventure movie rather than a game.
bloodgain
July 28, 2011 at 10:17am
I hate QTEs for one big reason (among the other good ones) - arthritis and repetitive motion. You know, some of us take cutscenes as a cue that we can put the controller down for a minute and flex our hands out of the static position game controllers put them in. Not everybody who plays games is a 14-year-old with perfectly undamaged joints -- and I'm only twice that age. Imagine how the older gamers feel!
bingojubes
July 28, 2011 at 9:15am
Indigo Prophecy, or the uncut verstion, Farenheit, was all QTE. besides the Mass Effect style of dialogue, the QTEs i think, as cheap as they were often, were quite engaging. some games i guess implement them into cutscenes to keep players engaged, instead of "press(ing) B to skip".
I also enjoyed the Guitar QTE mini game in The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile. Maybe QTEs can be incorporated into higher difficulty settings in games, instead of Easy or Normal modes, or give an in-game option to "disable cutscene QTEs" or something. Give a choice, and possibly extra rewards for players that turn the feature on, besides narrowly escaping danger.
LatiosXT
July 28, 2011 at 8:18am
If they're going to do "variable QTEs", they should embrace the idea of branching paths.
The one thing that really boggles my mind with a lot of American game design is the illusion of chioce. Giving players the idea that they're choosing something when in reality, it's about as good as ordering steak... and choosing whether or not you have plain, with some seasoning on top, or a douse it with A1. In the end, you're still eating steak.
But for some reason, American game design doesn't like the idea of bad endings (I can't name a game as of late that features a bad ending). If you're going to get a bad ending, it's going to be a game over.
TommM
July 27, 2011 at 3:21pm
Don't know if I read Pt 1, so you may have already addressed this, but I think delivery options are making a big difference in developer's mindsets when it comes to PC games. Steam has reduced pirating down to a shadow of what it used to be.
The low point was when Crysis had 8 million illegal downloads in the first couple of weeks of release. And their developer's stated point blank that as a result they would move away from PC-first development. And it happened (console port Crysis 2 was a result). I thought PC gaming was going to be dead within 2 years after that. Now it seems to have rebounded and I don't hear developer's talking much about piracy any longer.
ABouman
July 28, 2011 at 10:15am
Hey TommM, you can read part I here: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/gaming/game_boy_future_gaming_predicted_e3_2011_pt_1?page=0,0
(although I don't believe that Steam was mentioned)
Biceps
July 27, 2011 at 2:50pm
"Battlefield 3. Metro: Last Light. Far Cry 3. Those are the names of major triple-A releases that are eschewing the conventional “all PC gamers are pirates and also probably horrible racists” mantra in favor of a PC-first mentality."
Three games I will be buying :)
Maktaka
July 27, 2011 at 2:46pm
"But don't use accessibilty and whatnot as an excuse to skip out on the part of game design where you, you know, design a game." Hear, hear! A QTE is not gameplay, it's just making a mildly interactive movie. Shovelware companies first did that when the CD-ROM came into existence. Those companies are not remembered and are no longer in business, and the gaming industry would be wise to learn from this precedent.
