Column: The Death of Innovation in Game Development

[James]

Column: The Death of Innovation in Game Development

Chris Kemp discusses the lack of originality in today’s games…

[tpex]

Very well said, personally (CoD4 being the exception) I think all franchises should be culled off after their third game, for the sake of innovation.

Big +1 here

I’ll never forget my panicked sprint through the bowels of that cargo tanker in the first mission, while I foolishly cocked my head sideways with the camera as the ship rolled, the whole sequence climaxing in the Rambo-esque leap for the helicopter.

[Necuno]

...or maybe it's hard to be innovative when about everything has been done, and done to death it has. It's a bit foolish to say there was innovation back in the day, because then you had to luxury to be first in some areas with some ideas. You can only preform set actions in so many different ways then it's been done.

I'd be quite interested to hear how to be innovative in say the following:

1) shoorters
2) mmo
3) rts
4) quest/rpg

...I'd bet you will have a hard time doing something that has not been already done.

[Tank]

...or maybe it's hard to be innovative when about everything has been done, and done to death it has. It's a bit foolish to say there was innovation back in the day, because then you had to luxury to be first in some areas with some ideas. You can only preform set actions in so many different ways then it's been done.

I'd be quite interested to hear how to be innovative in say the following:

1) shoorters
2) mmo
3) rts
4) quest/rpg

...I'd bet you will have a hard time doing something that has not been already done.

i have to agree here, everyone moans innovation is dead but honestly folks what's the next big innovation?

skiet met n titel and let's discuss this. honestly i can't think of anything new

[tpex]

there is no excuse for lack of innovation, just because you can't think of anything doesn't mean its not possible.
if you need evidence look at art over the last 8 thousand years

[Necuno]

there is no excuse for lack of innovation, just because you can't think of anything doesn't mean its not possible.
if you need evidence look at art over the last 8 thousand years

Cute, but you have not given me examples of how you would be innovative

[tpex]

Cute, but you have not given me examples of how you would be innovative

well I'm not a game designer so I don't have to, just because you can't design a space rocket engine does that mean its impossible?

[Necuno]

well I'm not a game designer so I don't have to, just because you can't design a space rocket engine does that mean its impossible?

/cop-out noted.

so because it's a rocket engine, lets make one and you will say I'm not innovative ? lol...

:edit
we can only make 3 types of rockets blue, green and yellow. developer a does blue ZOMG innovation !!! and so it goes till yellow has been made. /innovation over. Still we can mix the colours, but alas rockets has already been made so now we just have zomg innovation and not any more ZOMG innovation !!!.

times goes along and we combine the rockets to get 2x rockets at same time, now we are at like just innovation and not ZOMG innovation !!! or zomg innovation.

point is which you seem to fail to understand is that once it's done it's done and you can only skin the cat in so many ways till it's all been done. thus saying innovation is dead is fail imho.

[Tank]

the only major innovation i can think of currently is cross genre mixups

fps/rpg's ala border lands, action/rpg's ala mass effect, first person platformers like mirror's edge

[tpex]

You are taking my analogy a bit to far, I was simply saying just because you can't do it doesn't mean it can't be done.

Video games are art, art never fails to produce something "new." but the definition of new is relative to the person, some people may think each iteration of CoD is "new" I feel its the same old story and game play with slightly updated graphics, actors and actors. so its not "new." (IMO)