Videogame research

[Ed209]

It was a load of one sided bullcrap. They only visited socially retarded teenagers who spent their whole time playing WoW and were like ... hey look at this once normal boy who now spends his day killing boars and drinking potions, aren't computer games evil?

Err ... no. These kids just need to get a life and get laid.

[Greeny_Musicchild]

So, just watched Panorama. WHAT THE f**k.

Pretty much anything is addictive if you do it all the time and enjoy it enough on inception. Psychological addiction is something that, in my opinion, says more about the person than whatever it is they are addicted to.

I have quite an addictive personality but it doesn't mean I'd play a game until I'm pissing in a bottle or kicking in my siblings door.

All I could see when watching all those parents talk about their kids issues was "Why the f**k are you LETTING your son play for 20 hours a day?". I've been into video games for pretty much as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I might have wanted to play for days on end from time to time but would my mum let me do that? Of course she wouldn't, because I went to school and had friends. When someone is young you need to TEACH them how to manage their life. Isn't that the job of parents in this world????

Some of these people are from another world. "He was playing computer games for 20 hours a day, not going to school, not speaking to the family", Oh, yeah, and what were you doing about it?!? Blaming that the game is addictive! If you don't like it take the f**king console/PC/handheld away! If you command so little respect from your children then you need to sort out your parenting skills, not a fantastic industry that's progressive, innovative and already under appreciated in this country.

f**king hell...

[worm]

not a fantastic industry that's progressive, innovative and already under appreciated in this country.

[Greeny_Musicchild]

I wouldn't ga'an that far like. Otherwise, canny rant.

[jump]

Personally, I would. It's an industry where we are quite literally world leaders yet the industry receives none of the tax breaks enjoyed by the British film and music industries, amongst others (They were going to implement such things in Labours last budget but they didn't survive the cuts).

As a medium it's come on more than any other in the last 10 years. As a young person in this country it's one of the few industries I am genuinely excited about and want to get involved with. The forward movement of video games in this country, with Britain's waning prominence in most areas, is a beacon of hope for our economic future and it's chronically under appreciated.

Also, I saw an excellent comment on the Guardian website today.

[Greeny_Musicchild]

I wouldn't say we are world leaders as Japan still has it over everyone, but we certainly got it over the rest of Europe and possibly America.

They really should invest in tax breaks for the inustry as the profit margin with average selling games is thin due to the high production costs and if you look at studios like Traveller's Tales, Rare Ware, Edios etc. they procuced a lot of crap before hitting it big.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Greeny_Musicchild

[jump]

I loved the Timesplitter games, f**king brilliant. Whatever happened to no.4?

I always liked Conkers Bad Fur Day, that to me is a very British game. A poor red squirrel wakes up with a hang over from the pub and fights singing poo monsters & nazi teddies.

[Greeny_Musicchild]

Rare were an amazing company before they were taken over and all the good devs left. Conker's, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64...all excellent.

Incidentally, Conkers Bad Fur Day was a fantastic game, the multiplayer modes blew my mind when i first played it, but It has not aged well.

The prominent designers left Rare before/during/after said takeover and went on to form a Nottingham based company called Free Radicals. They were the ones who made the three Timesplitters games in my fair city but sadly folded a year or two ago when the recession first hit. They were bought out by the makers of Crysis, Crytek, and are now making games for them. So sadly it's extremely unlikely that we'll ever see a fourth.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Greeny_Musicchild

[worm]

Personally, I would. It's an industry where we are quite literally world leaders

[Greeny_Musicchild]

We? So it's a great industry because Britain leads the way in it?

I meant that I wouldn't go so far as to say that the games industry is fantastic or that it's a particularly good example of progression and innovation. Like most other industries, it's a fine example of exploiting and creating consumer demand. Not much else.

[worm]

Yes, this countries games industry is great because it's really good at doing what it does. I think the exploration of interactive media in the games industry over the last 40 years is progressive and innovative. Maybe it's not moving us forward as a whole species but as far as technology goes it's on the forefront of innovation.

[Katster]

I am in love with the world of Zelda.

[Greeny_Musicchild]

Then we'll have to agree to disagree I think. Nursing is fantastic. Medicine is progressive. Design is innovative. Games are harmless fun.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Greeny_Musicchild

[worm]

I find computer games fantastic, I think you know that it can't really be compared to Nursing.

Edited December 7, 2010 by worm

[Greeny_Musicchild]

It was a perfectly fitting comparison to illustrate the point. You just missed the point. Probably because you're biased.

[jump]

Yeah, fine. I am biased, I just didn't think we could only use the word fantastic when on a scale with all other aspects of human civilization. Does everything in this world feel insignificant to you?

[worm]

Yeah, fine. I am biased, I just didn't think we could only use the word fantastic when on a scale with all other aspects of human civilization. Does everything in this world feel insignificant to you?

[Purple Monkey]

I would be careful about calling the videogame industry fantastic. At its best it's progressive and pioneering. At it's worst it's cynical, greedy and careless. It's a broad spectrum.

I would say that both Panorama and the games industry are both equally guilty when it comes to cynically reducing its output quality to fit the lowest common denominator in the name of maximum exposure and ultimately, profit, at the expense of good taste.

As bad as each other. The BBC is capable of making content for complete idiots, but so is the games industry.

The thing I find offensive is the lack of reason. People seem to want there to be a demon on one side so that they can champion another. The trouble is that it's more complicated than a piece of shit television show can cover while videogames companies also need to understand that washing their hands of all responsibility is actually short-sighted and ultimately counter-productive for the industry. Take it from an insider, the games industry is like the wild west at the moment; it's incredibly immature and as a result so is the vast majority of it's output. There's a minority of people making all the money while those who actually make the games face redundancy on a regular basis, even on successful, profitable titles.

There is a schism happening in the industry right now, where monolithic titles like Call Of Duty take 90% of all new games sales and where mid-range games die on their arse and put the company that made them out of business. The indie scene will thrive, while the block buster Hollywood games will become incresingly competitive as publishers target their must-have titles with greater focus. Anything in the middle will be killed, and that means a lot of UK developers. This shift has already started. Publishers are pulling out of the UK left right and centre and it will continue.

I foresee the UK sufferring terribly in the next four years. As a result I predict the vast majority of developers in the UK will be making shite like Jordans Brain Training while the blockbuster studios set up shop in Canada where the talent pool is becoming healthier every day. Codemasters will probably somehow prevail through viscous outsourcing and keeping their tightly run ship tightly run. There are very few in Codemasters position, if any.

All the government seems to be doing is promoting games-hate and seems to be orchestrating the UK industry's demise on purpose (refusal to get with the times, refusal to give the industry tax breaks etc etc) and this Panaroma episode just confirms that the media is now doing it's part. All it means is all the best talent will leave the country. I'm already making plans to get the hell out of here and take my job with me, because this place will resemble Fallout 3's landscape real soon. Canada or mainland Europe here we come!

Edited December 8, 2010 by Purple Monkey

[worm]

There is a schism happening in the industry right now, where monolithic titles like Call Of Duty take 90% of all new games sales and where mid-range games die on their arse and put the company that made them out of business. The indie scene will thrive, while the block buster Hollywood games will become incresingly competitive as publishers target their must-have titles with greater focus. Anything in the middle will be killed, and that means a lot of UK developers. This shift has already started. Publishers are pulling out of the UK left right and centre and it will continue.

[lost]

going into somewhere like cex, the clientele looks very different to what you'd see in computer game shops 15-20 years ago..

game of the year should go to heavy rain, thought flawed at least it did something different well.