08-18-2012, 06:49 PM
A few days ago, something hit me: Most first-person shooters suck.
I am young, but old enough to have grown up playing Goldeneye 64, Perfect Dark, Quake, Unreal, and the Jedi Knight series. What did they all have in common?
A) They emphasized gameplay, leading to endless hours of fun by yourself or among friends. Replay value over novelty.
B) They all tried to offer something by being unique experiences, with lore or a great story to back them up. Substance over graphics.
Halo: Combat Evolved, Battlefield 1942/BF2 (before EA had a monopoly over the servers), and Counter Strike are all great FPS games--who represent another era of FPS themselves. However, the most FPS has been flooded by mediocrity. Although I am putting forth an abstraction, I would say there is a rift between the "modern generation" and the previous two generations. The modern generation boils down to:
A) Graphics, graphics, graphics! Developmental resources that go towards graphics, thereby detracting from other elements within the game. As a result, the games' replay value suffer. Graphics usually act as bragging rights and selling points, rather than being directed towards improving the gaming experience.
B) Leveling up/Ranking systems. During deathmatch, your teammates could care less about you dying, and the team winning. They are only playing for achievements and that extra suit of armor. The infamous grinding principle ensues, and teamwork, communication, and strategy are thrown out the window. Unlike an MMORPG, party play detracts from achievements, because it's all about the kills. So "teammates" are essentially competing with each other, while competing against the other team! And you won't be getting those kills you need, unless you grind. Starting out as a newb, everyone else has better weapons and perks, which places you, as the newb, into grinding hell.
C) DLC's that offer very little in the way of content, but give the people who buy them power over those who don't. Battlefield 3 is known for this. If someone purchased a unique pass, they receive over-powered weapons. Your skills are for naught in the face of a repeater shotgun without kick and a +10 round magazine. Once again, don't expect anyone to come to your aid. They just want to level up.
D) All FPS try to be like the most successful FPS, which right now, is Call of Duty: a game that cranks out the same gold-plated turd with every release, only with a different title, new weapons, and more fanboys. D) isn't about the game developers, so much as it is the market dwindling into copycats putting out games for quick cash. The monopoly effect is also occurring to some extent, and EA is one of the big dogs who deserves a lot of the blame.
In spite of these grim times, I need not to merely return to old favorites to play a good FPS. There is a community alive and well right here. I can't devote a lot of time to this community, but I want to be a part of it. Hopefully, my critiques and opinions serve to better things here. Xonotic is an awesome game, with an able-bodied crew of developers who can circumvent the corporate politics. There is absolutely nothing stopping Xonotic from having a bright future, and the players from having something legitimately fun to do.
I understand these introductions are supposed to be about the OP, but I simply wanted to convey my intentions for the sake of transparency. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or PM me.
PS: Great choice on MyBB. As a web designer, I have used it myself. It's an excellent tool.
I am young, but old enough to have grown up playing Goldeneye 64, Perfect Dark, Quake, Unreal, and the Jedi Knight series. What did they all have in common?
A) They emphasized gameplay, leading to endless hours of fun by yourself or among friends. Replay value over novelty.
B) They all tried to offer something by being unique experiences, with lore or a great story to back them up. Substance over graphics.
Halo: Combat Evolved, Battlefield 1942/BF2 (before EA had a monopoly over the servers), and Counter Strike are all great FPS games--who represent another era of FPS themselves. However, the most FPS has been flooded by mediocrity. Although I am putting forth an abstraction, I would say there is a rift between the "modern generation" and the previous two generations. The modern generation boils down to:
A) Graphics, graphics, graphics! Developmental resources that go towards graphics, thereby detracting from other elements within the game. As a result, the games' replay value suffer. Graphics usually act as bragging rights and selling points, rather than being directed towards improving the gaming experience.
B) Leveling up/Ranking systems. During deathmatch, your teammates could care less about you dying, and the team winning. They are only playing for achievements and that extra suit of armor. The infamous grinding principle ensues, and teamwork, communication, and strategy are thrown out the window. Unlike an MMORPG, party play detracts from achievements, because it's all about the kills. So "teammates" are essentially competing with each other, while competing against the other team! And you won't be getting those kills you need, unless you grind. Starting out as a newb, everyone else has better weapons and perks, which places you, as the newb, into grinding hell.
C) DLC's that offer very little in the way of content, but give the people who buy them power over those who don't. Battlefield 3 is known for this. If someone purchased a unique pass, they receive over-powered weapons. Your skills are for naught in the face of a repeater shotgun without kick and a +10 round magazine. Once again, don't expect anyone to come to your aid. They just want to level up.
D) All FPS try to be like the most successful FPS, which right now, is Call of Duty: a game that cranks out the same gold-plated turd with every release, only with a different title, new weapons, and more fanboys. D) isn't about the game developers, so much as it is the market dwindling into copycats putting out games for quick cash. The monopoly effect is also occurring to some extent, and EA is one of the big dogs who deserves a lot of the blame.
In spite of these grim times, I need not to merely return to old favorites to play a good FPS. There is a community alive and well right here. I can't devote a lot of time to this community, but I want to be a part of it. Hopefully, my critiques and opinions serve to better things here. Xonotic is an awesome game, with an able-bodied crew of developers who can circumvent the corporate politics. There is absolutely nothing stopping Xonotic from having a bright future, and the players from having something legitimately fun to do.
I understand these introductions are supposed to be about the OP, but I simply wanted to convey my intentions for the sake of transparency. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or PM me.
PS: Great choice on MyBB. As a web designer, I have used it myself. It's an excellent tool.
![[Image: 4XODR.png]](http://i.imgur.com/4XODR.png)
![[Image: 542.png]](http://stats.xonotic.org/static/badges/542.png)
