tourgen

some of it is about perception. Pricing a game at $40 is like saying, "yeah, it's not all that great and doesn't have the scope and scale of a Real $60 game. Go ahead and pre-order, or not, whatever." When so much of the industry is about convincing people to buy a product before they can evaluate it's quality you don't want to give any hint up front that it's not a top tier product.

Things are starting to change though so who knows. Torchlight II seems like it is doing alright with pre-orders at $20. But a "full" console game, on a disk? No way.

I wouldn't worry about it. It's not going to happen anytime soon - not in the next 10-15 years. With the way broadband companies are switching to pay-per-GB pricing models and colluding to hold the industry back while raising prices, it's just not going to happen. That doesn't mean we won't see more "innovative" DRM techniques that rely on constant connections and dubious server uptimes.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but are you familiar with ProgressQuest? The source code (Delphi) has been released. There is also a HTML/Javascript version you can play with and look at the source. There is some good stuff in there.

https://bitbucket.org/grumdrig/pq

I usually don't buy it because it's just not worth the time and money. Fallout 3 had some good DLC releases. Mass Effect 2 did too but it was generally over priced except for Shadow Broker.

@PandaBear said:

@believer258 said:

@Ariketh said:

@tourgen said:

I'd love to see Miyamoto tackle something really dark. Take his thoughts on mortality and moving on to the next stages of life and just see what the dude comes up with.

I'm seeing something like Brutal Legend without the fun & snark and with the self-seriousness of Demon's Souls. Guitar bass chugging, rivers of blood, Link wading through bodies with a double-edged battle axe.

Maybe it's just me, but that actually sounds unappealing to me. Gore and dark are two different things. You can make something dark without gore, and you can make something bloody as hell but not dark at all.

I would like to see Miyamoto start a new project, like a new Nintendo horror game, and see what they make. Not something disgusting or bloody, just something that is genuinely terrifying.

It's not just you. Gore doesn't bother me, but gore for the sake of gore doesn't really float my boat. If you want to add some extra blood for effect, sure, but someone doesn't need to wade through piles of bodies in order to make something "dark". And then we could, but hopefully won't, delve into the difference between darkness and depth - the two are different concepts.

But yes, Miyamoto's take on a deeper subject would be interesting at least.

He did this already. Donkey Kong. It's about facism and it's negative affect on blue collar workers. Read between the lines.

awesome! fascist monkeys are the WORST

also, finally! someone who took my idea as seriously as I meant it.

It's alright to enjoy the original RE games for what they are and just move on. You just set yourself up for disappointment when you expect sequels to recapture that original joy and feeling of discovery you had with the first RE games, or really the same with any franchise.

Anyway, I don't think they lost their way. I think they tried some new ideas and some of them didn't work out all that hot. But devs need that freedom to try something new with sequels. I'd rather they tried something new and failed than stick to the original formula too closely.

EDIT: alright, to answer your question though - pretty much a cliche now but for me it was Mass Effect. I had such wild-eyed optimism for a series about planetary exploration and a strong RPG system mixed with an awesome dialog/choices system mixed with the very early signs of a space sim and galaxy/planet exploration system. Then was let down as it devolved (in my mind) into a straight forward cover-based shooter.

@Video_Game_King said:

@tourgen said:

I want a dual-stick shooter. With muppets and a vengeful god that rains down retribution in the form of razor-Frisbees.

Who wants that action movie bullshit in their games?

alright, well I'll take a thoughtful point and click adventure with a misunderstood talking cat who's trying to help a 3 legged dog find his blind owner.

sci-fi > fantasy for me, every time.

I want a dual-stick shooter. With muppets and a vengeful god that rains down retribution in the form of razor-Frisbees.

You asked.

I'd love to see Miyamoto tackle something really dark. Take his thoughts on mortality and moving on to the next stages of life and just see what the dude comes up with.

I'm seeing something like Brutal Legend without the fun & snark and with the self-seriousness of Demon's Souls. Guitar bass chugging, rivers of blood, Link wading through bodies with a double-edged battle axe.