Gaming's End Part One

I used to play games a hell lot.

From after breakfast until almost bedtime, my butt will be comfortably fitted on the computer chair, leaving only for meal times and when I take a bath, etc. Twelve hours a day, easy. Destroy two Zerg hives in the morning, assassinate the rival Don in the afternoon, unite Asia under the Japanese banner by sundown, and level-up my Barbarian twice before bedtime.

Gang war in Mafia

Two or three games completed per week. Longer games might take up the whole week, or, in some cases, the better part of the following week.

That was many years ago, when I didn't have an Internet connection, when my computer was still on top of the technological curve, and when Homework was only the size of a small speed bump. Also, that was when CDs didn't suffer from manufacturing problems like they do these days. Fuck you, Soulstorm.

These days, I consider myself having too much free time if I manage four hours a week.

But there's another problem that I find in the present Gaming Universe. At least, I am one of the only ones who sees it as a problem. The whole world seems to be enjoying it. I call it...

Liberatus Demandis Inflictus. Penyakit Minta-Terlalu-Banyak-Kebebasan.

It seems that gamers nowadays seem to think that the more open-ended a game is, the more fun it is. Loud is the clamor for games that never end; equally loud is the cry for games that allow for gamers to do whatever they want to do. The result? A flood of MMOs (for the uninformed, that's the acronym for Massively Multiplayer Online games) sweep through the games store racks. World of Warcraft, Everquest, Ragnarok Online. These are the titles taking the world by storm today. What's so special? "A living, breathing world for players to explore!", "Be a part of the continuation of the epic of the World of !" sometimes this isn't even featured, "Play with people from all over the world!", "With over customization options, no two players will be the same! Be unique in a unique world!".

These games used to be called Evercrack due to their life-sucking properties

Blah, I say.

What these claims did NOT point out is that:

1. There may be a living, breathing world to explore, the world never changes unless the developers will it to. Nothing you do makes a difference (probably the only exception is EVE Online, where the player governs the game itself). Kill a thousand goblins today and they reappear the instant you complete your quest. Burn down a tree and it'll still be there tomorrow. Playing an MMO is like creating an art masterpiece on a Magnet-o-matic board. You painstakingly produce your greatest drawing on it, and then someone comes along, give the board a shake and everything gets reset to its original form.

2. Continuation of an epic? More like doing random things (like collecting random trinkets, delivering random items and killing a random number of monsters) that has little or no impact on the story at all while waiting for the developers to release the next patch or expansion that moves the story along. And you do it for a monthly fee. I might as well do this on my personal copy of Diablo - also finding items, delivering items and killing monsters - and read the plot updates on Wikipedia.

3. "Play with people of the world"? It's more like "being in the same game with people of the world". Just because I happen to be in the supermarket at the same time as other people doesn't mean I am grocery shopping with them! And at most times, online multiplayer experiences are crap anyway. I'm better off going singleplayer or, if I feel like I need that human rival fix, go on LAN. It feels much better to play with a group of friends than duking it out with strangers.

4. Customization options. I just don't freaking care. I am just as unique a character when I play the singleplayer mode.

Think about this. With the advent of MMOs, what are we missing out on? Rich game plots. Unique characters with PERSONALITIES (looking different doesn't count!). Actually making a difference in the game worlds we involve ourselves in.

What is the purpose of games? To be interactive movies. To allow gamers to be the main characters. Games are NOT about having gamers become one among millions - to throw pebbles at an unmoving wall until the developers say, "it's time we let them in", just so that they can proceed inside and start throwing pebbles at yet another unmoving wall hidden just behind the first one.

Homeworld boasts one of the most moving stories around. A question of where home is.

It saddens me to see that with the current mindset gamers have, good-quality games are in the decline. Lately, developers can't seem to avoid the temptation of appending the word 'Online' to the names of their game titles. Warhammer Online. Fallout Online. Middle Earth Online. Oh God. MIDDLE EARTH Online! Next there's gonna be Harry Potter Online.

Believe it or not, this guy's name is 'Illidan'. He's a DEMON HUNTER. Not a SOULKEEPER.

My point is, games, especially MMOs, are becoming more pointless by the day. Games have now become a collection of tasks with no consequence. Get soaked in blood killing a horde of monsters only to have them haunt the village the very next day! How pointless is that? I miss the days when Homeworld required me to send my puny fighters in an all-out assault against three enemy Capital Ships bullying the defenseless installations carrying the last survivors of my dying race. And when I have managed to destroy the enemy bullies, I let out a breath of relief, for I know that I have saved thousands from death - and that I have made a difference.

A scene from Homeworld 2. Desperately saving my home planet from planetary bombardment

Gone are the days when my Level 76 Assassin is the single most-feared person in the gaming world and the person most-sought after in times when a hero is needed. No. In the game worlds of today, there are hundreds more Level 76 Assassins in the "You are our only hope" category during desperate times.

In the game worlds of today, everyone is special.

And therefore, nobody is.

I have more to say. But I'll save that for another post. Counter-strike and GTA. You're not spared yet. Oh no.

These are the rants of a gamer. This gamer stepped into the gaming world in the days of Doom. He bases these rants on his own preferences of games. He likes games with engaging plots and interesting characters. He also likes games for the Thinking Man. Among his game picks are Homeworld, Homeworld 2, Mafia, Warcraft 3 and Starcraft. He understands that everybody has different tastes and therefore understands that this post should not be taken too seriously.