Tim Cain believes that not only has the way we play games changed, but also the way they’re made.
In the video below, the veteran RPG designer outlines how he has seen the internet transform games and game development, from the first forums to the rise of streaming content. He expressed deep concern about the state of public discourse surrounding games. Overall, he describes a trend that moves developers from opportunities toward restrictions and players from openness toward a closed mindset. He believes that the 1980s provided a much freer environment for developers in the absence of a unified discourse. This environment was free from rigid genres and the burden of consumer expectations.
He said he first noticed a shift in gamers’ tastes due to the internet in the late 1990s. The proliferation of forums and guides replaced the earlier “do-it-yourself” spirit when the only supplementary reading material was the game manual and perhaps a printed magazine. According to Cain, the next significant change was the rise of video content and influencers. Regarding the latter, he notes that the importance of short videos and streamability influences what is made, how developers think, and which parts of their games would make good video clips. Much of the video focuses on Cain’s views on trends in video game taste formation. He pointed out that, for most players, parasocial relationships and identification with favorite influencers have replaced informed, critical evaluation.
It’s healthy and natural to look for shared taste in a critic. If we know we share someone’s taste, it makes sense to seek their opinion. However, this fragmentation extends beyond preferences and entertainment to the point of general moralizing and hysteria surrounding game design – the phenomenon in which people form strong opinions about games they will never play. We noticed how people either cheer for or oppose the current player statistics of games they don’t play yet either enjoy or despise their atmosphere. This can encourage designers to place too much emphasis on how individual influencers might react to their work, which is probably not a healthy approach to game design.
“Many gamers don’t look to influencers for reviews; they look to influencers to tell them what to think about games. People don’t form opinions from online videos; they’re handed an opinion from the channel they’re watching. I’ve seen reviews go from ‘This game has less combat and more puzzles and dialogue for you to interact with than that other game,’ to ‘This game is stupid, slow-paced, and made for casuals. I think you should skip it.’ That’s a huge difference in how games are presented. People find someone they like, and then that person’s opinion becomes their own. More people seem to be abdicating their own judgment to people they see online. I don’t want to think about it. You tell me what to think,” Cain said.
As for the future, Cain said he has no idea what the 2030s will look like. Can we expect further isolation and consolidation, or a conscious backlash from consumers against the current situation? We’re counting on the latter, though the former is almost certain to happen.
Source: PCGamer
