When New Was New

So, I'm watching some videos over at Rooster Teeth and I come across this ad.

Let me stop right there.  I hate ads.  They make me want to buy things less.

Back to the story.  So, this ad was for a new game coming out.  It's called Guardians of Middle-Earth, and for you Lord of the Rings fans out there, this is basically taking the entire concept of LOTR and going "meh."  Let me save you the trip to their website.  It's League of Legends.  With LOTR characters.  It's LOLLOTR.

This got me thinking about Halo 4.  Halo 4 is taking everything I liked about Halo, and replacing it with everything I hate from Call of Duty.  And then there is an entire genre nicknamed "Diablo-clone." I decided to look at some lists of upcoming video games, just to see what was in store in the near future.  Sequel, sequel, sequel, Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (AKA Super Smash Bros), sequel, sequel, Dishonored (read a previous post to see why I don't care to look this up), and more sequels.
Two games caught my eye: Dust 514 and The Last of Us.  Both of these games, from the previews thus far, seem to be trying to do something original.  Now, don't get me wrong, sequels are fine, so long as your not beating the IP to death (cough, Halo 4, cough).  The troubling thing here is when you take a game that already exists (League of Legends), slap a preexisting IP over it (Lord of the Rings), and call it new.  That's just uninspired.  That's just lazy.

Video games cost a lot of money to make, which is why there are so many sequels up-and-coming.  Developers want to make what will sell, and sequels often do that.  It's a feat of bravery to try and release a new IP with a new concept of play.  To simply copy others, however, is almost cowardice.  Granted, there will be some differences, I hope, that will make the experience different, but it won't be fresh.

Some games can't help but overlap.  Most RPGs have some form of leveling system, an inventory, and progressive gear.  Shooters will have guns and you and your enemies have an unnatural resistance to bullets.  These are genres, though, not games.  Genres exist and we expect overlap.  Some genres are better left as games, especially when a game tries to enter a genre only to be defeated by the dominant game.  Mostly, this is in regards to content producing genres, such as the MMORPG where World of Warcraft is king, and the DOTA genre, where League of Legends reigns.  I don't understand the logic of opposing one of these titans with a world that's already been told, like this Guardians of Middle-Earth garbage, or the Star Wars MMOs.  They could at least consider the concept of the genre and then throw away past ideas to embark on new ones.

For example, MMORPGs are designed to bring a massive amount of players into a roles that they play (roleplay) within a given world.  Levels aren't necessary.  Gear isn't necessary.  So long as there is content within your environment that has people wanting to continue playing, you don't need to regurgitate what is considered norm.

The DOTA genre (that's Defense of the Ancients) is about bringing ten players in a five versus five player-versus-player to an environment where positioning and strategy are key to victory.  Not every game of this genre should be "three lanes with two towers per side each, then a base with some key building that needs to be destroyed."  If that's the genre, then its not a genre.  Its a diablo-clone.

Diablo's concept is simple.  Charge, hack 'n' slash, loot.  Yet, there are so many games that play the exact same way, such as games like Torchlight.  There is no genre if you just recreate the same experience and slap different art on to it, with maybe a few changes and additions (such as Torchlight's pet system).  You are not creating a genre, you are creating a copy, or clone.

Developers: this is lazy.

Consumers: don't pay twice for the same product.

Movies and video games and television, heck all forms of media, are SCREAMING for something new, something bold, something less "safe."  But, hey, at least we can count to ten by naming off Call of Duty titles, right?