Valve has stated outright that their design of City 17 was influenced by Victorian Architecture, so there's definitely a lot of validity here. I could be wrong on that point, but I'm almost completely sure they did state that in an interview or commentary.
Also, interesting article, I enjoyed it. A couple of thin conclusions here and there, but the part of the nature of art is to be subjectively interpreted (with evidence) so that's a moot point. I'd love to see a series of articles on artistic direction in games connected to real world influences.
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I am looking forward to the day that the CoD series finally fizzles out (MW2 was already a little stale to me, though I loved CoD4), but I'm not sure a game trying to compete head-on against the series by copying what it does well is the way. We've seen plenty of that already, but while those games (Bad Company 2 and the new Medal of Honor primarily) were relatively successful they still didn't dethrone CoD.
I think the CoD series will be usurped once Activision beats it mercilessly into the ground (pretty good chance of that eventually) or semi-realistic military FPS games step down for the next big thing. Or a game could come and do what it does better, but it's hard to argue with aggressive branding.
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I played for about a year total during the end of BC and beginning of WotLK and in that time I felt the same way about it just being a grind after awhile. I have felt that twinge to go back, but I know it's only a yearning for that first playthrough magic that'll never come again. Exploring Azeroth for the first time through was probably one of my favorite gaming experiences, but once the magic (during top-level endgame for me) wears off it's hard to find a reason to stay.
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While ghosts and demons rarely scare anyone anymore, the fear of the absolute unknown is still just as scary. Like you said in this article, someone breaking into a house with unknown intent, emphasis on unknown, is scary. If said person were to break in with a known intent then you could react better based on that knowledge. One of the problems is, in my opinion, that with horror games that use ghosts or demons the player has learned that these creatures are fallible in game logic, that there is always a set way to defeat them. A truly scary game would be one where the logic of the game world or its denizens changes, where it is unknown. Of course this is an immensely difficult obstacle to overcome, as games are restricted by the logic that programmers can implement in them, but I'm sure if a developer really put some thought into it, a new breed of horror games will arise. Hopefully it won't be based on clunky tank controls and awkward camera angles though.
(Edit: I'm aware that Eternal Darkness messed with the player by throwing unexpected meltdowns of typical game logic at them, but I haven't played it nor have I seen that design in a game since)
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I definitely agree with this article wholeheartedly. Some of the most visually striking games that stick with me are those that eschew realism for a stylized approach. To this day I still demand that World of Warcraft is absolutely beautiful and one of the best realized atmospheres in gaming, despite the fact that I haven't touched it in over a year and its graphics are technically half a decade behind. While realism has its place, as with any art form, I love when a game takes a stylistic leap, such as Jet Set Radio. You can just tell when a designer has really put their heart into a certain style and it pays off so well in the end.
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It's the same thing that happens with any 0-10 review scale for any medium. Look at album reviews, or even scores for voting on user submissions to a site like youtube (which is why they use the like/dislike system). 9's and 10's abound, 7-8 becomes average, 6 is passably mediocre, and 5 or below is just horrible (Pitchfork's use of the 10-point system is the one thing I think they do right in reviews). The other problem is instead of reading about the game and figuring out if its right for them, most readers of reviews (me included, sometimes) will just straight up look at the score. These two attributes of a 10-point system feed off of each other and necessitate a continuation of inflated scores because the expected 10-point system of 7-8 average is different than what the 10-point system is supposed to mean, where 6 would be something with flaws, but still definitely able to be enjoyed.
I personally don't think hype is the problem as much as that; hype should be encouraged but also realized to be a natural reaction of excitement for something new and should factor in as little as possible into an actual score of the game. However, in a system where the score is the end-all-be-all result, actually giving qualitative praise- that the user will recognize without reading the review- to a game that fails certain objective criteria is difficult, if not nearly impossible.
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Well I mean maybe on a more abstract level, not directly about specific languages, such as discussing technical difficulties in AI algorithms, lighting engines, etc. It's really only out of a personal desire to learn that I'd like to see stuff like that in a gaming magazine, but I guess that's what the internet is for. I can't fault modern gaming mags for not including stuff like that because of their intended widespread audience, but it would be nice to see more intelligent discussion such as that in gaming journalism is what I'm getting at.
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I actually physically cringe every time I fall to my death in Mirror's Edge. The sensation of the wind picking up speed, rushing in your ears, vision blurring, only to be met by the brutal impact of bones and flesh slamming against the pavement below... it gets me every time.
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Really interesting article here. It makes me wish that they'd include more technical details-- (e.g. the workaround for 3-dimensional arrays in Atari BASIC) outlining certain problems developers had programming their games-- in modern gaming magazines without dumbing it down; for all the readers uninterested in the column there could be plenty more that are, and the uninterested could just skip it anyway.
Also, having more details about game design theory is something else that I feel is much too lacking in them as well and I'd like to see a lot more of it. I find that I really appreciate a game more when I see the thought process, failures and all, behind it, and also it would add a much needed element of objectivity if incorporated into reviews.
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@Bryan: Yeah, Bioshock mixed up exploration with linearity fantastically. I found myself lost countless times just exploring Rapture and finding all the hidden items and areas and, on the flip side, it also had some very good scripted events as well without overusing them.
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