Games have come a long way since the quaint, bygone days of Tetris and Asteroids. These days some attempt to challenge our thinking, others to make us laugh or cry.
Even with such a broad range of games, people often narrow the field to one possible future. For example: All games will become completely open-ended. Games will never tell stories effectively. And so on.
In reality though, unique genres have emerged in which all of these (and more) possibilities are being explored. The old FPS and RPG genres just don’t cut it anymore. Video games cover more ground than people realize, and these new game categories will eventually encompass games as distinct from one another as sculptures are from oil paintings.
Whether you’re shooting zombies, terrorists, aliens, or Nazis it seems that most first person shooters all follow the same simple formula.
Pit a player in an epic environment with a desperate conflict in which his/her faction or side is losing. Then have their respective faction enlist their help to somehow turn the tides of war.
The player then must slaughter their way through countless armies and foes in order to achieve victory and save the world. Now throw in some explosions and engaging firefights throughout the game and you got yourself a FPS.
Predictable? Yes, and many have complained as a result, but will the FPS genre change anytime soon?
As I’m sure some of you have figured out already, thanks to Google’s lovely theme, today is Magritte’s birthday. (Google combined “Golconde” and “The Son of Man” to create their splash, not a clip from the “It’s Raining Men” music video as previously purported.) Video of the Day doesn’t always have to be funny–or attempting to be funny, as just demonstrated–and because Magritte is one of my all-time favorite artists, he gets a little spotlight here at GotGame, as well. A portion of his oeuvre is displayed below (with music by Nina Simone). Or, you can just check out this amazing parody on his “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” (”This is not a pipe”), gamer-style.
Whether you’re shooting zombies, terrorists, aliens, or Nazis it seems that most first person shooters all follow the same simple formula.