I've tried writing about this before but just ended up folding it in and quitting for more enjoyable articles. However the subject refuses to leave me alone, even in the presence of awesome and fun things to discuss. I'm talking about the blame on FPS all over the place. I recently visted an IGN podcast snippet where they discuss a fan question about "what happened to 3D platformers" and they talk about it for a couple minutes and note the really big open enjoyable experience rather than say... Crash Bandicoot or the new big mario game that had cats. At the time the first and most popular comment simply said "The FPS generation killed it". Its lost that place to better comments but sits with growing upvotes past 56 and has a follow up upvoted comment about how those guys "aren't gamers". Oh my, what a familiar mark of ignorance. I've seen this time and time again. Some people remorse about "better days" or a new FPS is announced by an interesting team (its never the mainstream ones for some reason) and everyone jumps on the bandwagon of pretending all they ever see at wal-mart, gamestop, and bestbuy is FPS because apparently that's the only thing the market puts out today. Really!? Its not even a clear majority, most of the games are 3rd person action, or RPGs, sports games, and FPS sits alongside them as those combined bring together the most popular income into the market. That's just shelf space though, when I open the possibilities up to more PC games and digital releases across all platforms we've also got various random indie games that get a lot of attention and MOBAs making a huge scene. Oh yeah and MMOs are still all over the place and litter the internet ads like a stubborn confused salesman that just wont leave your doorway. But lets go back to shelf space for a second....
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| Remember that time where I sniped someone in guitar hero? No!? Oh right, it wasn't an FPS. |
*I still insist that Ratchet and clank isn't completely a 3D platformer. Its more of a hybrid between so many different ideas melted together perfectly with 3D platforming and RPG themed shooting taking the front of it all. However by most people's standards, especially in the article about platformers, it is considered one of the few 3D platformers left.... and I don't entirely disagree with that kind of context.
Ok all sarcasm aside and trying to be more sympathetic to the other side... I guess they're angry with the recent years of high hype trains over shooters. Of course that doesn't explain why they I don't see their comments on high profile games like Destiny, Battlefield, and Call of Duty, but still that seems to be the general message I'm pulling out of their slanted extremist views on an entire genre. You know what, I'm tired of it to. I'm tired of media biased towards certain games, I'm tired of the hype train being shoved in my face, and I'm tired of "me to" shooters appealing to one lowest common denominator demographic. However you know what'll actually fix that? Finding the core problem and demanding a solution, not asking to axe an entire genre or blaming it for crushing something else totally unrelated. Its not there to be your scapegoat, its there to please an audience, and if that isn't you then you need to find your game. If your game isn't present, figure out why (Hint: it has nothing to do with something totally different existing). Chances are your ideal game doesn't exist either because its too edgy to exist yet, or its because it wasn't an expensive high production game with a mass appeal ready for millions of sales because that's all triple A wants to put out now... and that is a massive problem hurting jobs, multiple genres (including types of FPS like arena shooters), and the chance for innovation in what is still left. After you've found or maybe even fixed the problem, let people know there's a customer like you in desire something and you want the industry to fix that. Maybe one day something good will come out of it and you'll find it suddenly coming back. Sly 4 popped out of nowhere and delivered an amazing 3D platformer experience, and similarly Wolfenstien came out and shocked veteran FPS fans and even some new people with a thrilling FPS adventure set up like an old school corridor shooter like we almost never see. Oh and how about the multiple upcoming marketed indie horror games alongside a new and potentially jaw dropping Silent hill return alongside a new horror IP from the director of Resident Evil (before it went down the gutter). Oh and Unreal Tournament is finally coming back since its last game in 2007. Either way though the answer isn't in blaming some other totally unrelated genre. PS2's period had plenty of FPS games just like we do today (Killzone, Halo, a Timesplitters trilogy, two Red faction, several UTs, a trilogy of medal of honor games on consoles parallel to a separate few exclusive to PC, COD, Black, Turok evolution, a weird spin-off serious sam, Area 51, etc...) the only difference is they're higher on production and return rates, higher marketed, and far less diverse... because again that's how Triple A decided to run things. Those shooters didn't stomp on your platformers or Horror games and prevent those from happening, its the fact that the industry and media changed in a big way with some growing pains that are still going on. I don't blame Skyrim or Dota 2 (two massively popular games representing totally different genres) on there not being more games like wolfenstien or Spyro, I blame the guys calling these shots that introduce dumb or uninspired mechanics, and the condition of the industry that lead to the death of developers like Krome and Free Radical that could have made another Ty or Timesplitters if they were still around able to own and seek out a publisher for their own IPs. I blame the guy in killzone 3 who implied gamers were too stupid to comprehend such vital features as server lists and instead going with what everybody else is doing just to play it safe... even if that means ripping out something that's objectively better for the game.
Oh by the way that game (killzone 3) sold less than its other copy and I'm not sure Shadow Fall sold better than Killzone 2 either, because what both certain triple A and the ignorant masses of the anti-FPS bandwagon don't get is that there is no magical "FPS generation" buying every generic shooter while destroying everything else. That doesn't happen, it doesn't exist. FPS games are still flopping all over the place, disappointment is still loud and blunt on some of those games, and other genres are thriving and co-existing with shooters. Not every game is lucky, but there's so much coming out or different things being played its hard to sit there and tell me with a straight face that it didn't happen. Valve games are still massively popular, hearthstone is being played by just about every gamer voice I know and is likely making huge money for blizzard, Diablo 3 just had a massive relaunch with the reaper on souls coming to consoles and refreshed on everybodies minds even though its the same game that already came out. Over 150 indie games are scheduled to release at some point on the Vita and I'm willing to bet there may not be a single FPS among them. Horror has two major games upcoming that are grabbing press attention insanely well. Tomb Raider slapped the typical 3rd person shooter in the face as it proceeded to gather a huge following and proceed on with its unique cinematic Metroidvania meets shooter style, and is coming up with a sequel that people are so passionate about it lit the internet on fire when MS bagged it as a timed exclusive. Multiple open world games are coming out and I believe the total will be around 6-7 by the end of the year (though Far Cry 4 is an FPS if you want to count that off), and its predicted to be a growing trend. Mirror's edge is getting a new release even though its a bit unclear so far. Trials Fusion was one of the best surprises of this spring being a unique little platforming stunt racing game, and around that time there was also a certain small niche little RPG called DARK SOULS 2 that I loved playing. Ratchet and Clank is getting a remake of the original game as well as a movie and there are rumors that despite poor sales Sly Cooper is getting a 5th game. Skylanders is still making big sales, and heavily advertising the release of each milked copy as per activision's normal standards. Soul suspect was a sloppy failure but still attempted act of releasing a unique triple A adventure game this year where as like horror its been kind of left to the indies. Oh and Nintendo has quite a good handful of awesome games for the Wii U alone, never the less its major platform the 3DS that I don't keep up with. I was just playing Mario Kart 8 today. Actually speaking of my latest catalog, even as an FPS biased fan I've been playing a ton of PS3 games lately and almost none of them have been an FPS. The last FPS I recall playing was Killzone HD that I might have played at the beginning of this month (EDIT: Nevermind, I actually did play an hour of Blood Dragon while listening to a podcast... honestly that's still not much at all). Since then: Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, Quantum Conundrum (I'm LOVING this one right now), Minecraft, GlitchHiker as well as a demo for unrest (exception to the rest, these two were on PC), Cel damage HD, and Dishonored. I'm thinking next I'll either play one of the tomb raider games I own, great big war game (an interesting turn based strategy game), or Spyro. ...That is of course if I could tear myself away from the alternating course of minecraft and QC that I'm in right now. Do you know how mind numbingly boring it would be to be a part of this "FPS generation" that doesn't actually exist? You'd miss out on so much, and for what? To stare down the barrel of a gun, weave in and out, and shoot all the time? People need breaks from their stuff, even the ones they have a biased favor in. Unless its an addiction, I'm sure they do take breaks. There's a ton of other games out there, and its hard not to shake it up a little bit. In what medium does someone restrict theirselves to only one genre? Nothing. People learn, grow, and progress by trying new and different things, and if they don't alternate somehow they burn out. Even my dad who's a casual player and almost always on either COD or sniper elite when he plays chooses to sometimes go into GTA, football, or grand turismo instead for something a bit different.
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| A high profile, mass selling game without guns! Quick, pretend it doesn't exist! |
You hopefully get the point by now. Look at your shelves, look at the pictures of shelves posted previously, and look at how many games are on the websites of steam, gamestop, or simply being discussed in some kind of general games forums. There is no FPS monopoly or some looming giant here to take your goodies away, the genre is doing now harm at all. There's far more out there coming out to. You've got piles upon piles upon piles of games both past and present that are nothing alike to this supposed genre that floods you. There's no flood, no dam was built up and then broke by anyone. Instead there's an ocean of games... not a specific genre of game, just games. That doesn't mean there aren't problems with this ocean, or droughts in regions where there should be water. There's plenty of problems still going on, but its mostly in the publisher's hands rather than an inanimate genre that can't do anything but wear a label and smile. There are genres being overshadowed and butchered, then when asked about it publishers pretend it doesn't sell even though nobody is giving it a good shot to show this. Calling for the end of an entire genre though is just causing the same problems, especially on the page of those adding diversity like wolfenstien or cliff. Using that genre as your scapegoat is... for a blunt but much needed word, stupid. However its a type of stupidity that doesn't just last in that knee jerk emotional wreck moment I'm guessing it started from, it keeps happening again and again and again. People are somehow actually convinced that because TitanFall, wolfenstien, Far Cry 3, and Call of Duty exist, there can't be another 3D mario game and that the genre is evil for that.... even if there totally was just another 3D mario game. I guess its because we're in this age where people are confused and a bit entitled. They feel like they they don't get their way, someone else can't either, and something must be destroyed or taken down or blamed. Its really just a stupid and hazardous mindset. They don't care how hard someone works on this genre, who's involved, who helped it to grow in the first place, or who enjoys it or may be introduced to gaming through it. Its also disrespectful to those who compete against the opposed genre, because all of a sudden their work means nothing and isn't recognized to these hateful comments. Suddenly Grim fandango's remake, hundreds of indies, Mario, etc don't exist because all they can see is an FPS flood that doesn't actually exist. They can only see and hate on one genre, and its a sad state of hysteria I'm fed up with. On top of that I wonder how many are hypocrites who don't support the games they preach for. I'm sorry for this rant and its gone on quite long and I'm sure its far from my best work, but its been coming for a long time and people kept pushing it... and pushing it... and I've just had enough. Its like I said in the topic about a "well needed break" staying away from comments is therapy. Going back... well it'll send you into some weird fits. This is why I was giving the advice I did... its just not worth seeing those comments again. Its just kind of sad I can't read about something as nice as 3D platformers without seeing this sort of rage inducing ignorance and disrespect again.
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