The Cargo Cult of Game Mechanics (Destiny)

by Fuertisimo, Thursday, January 15, 2015, 05:12 (3402 days ago) @ Blackt1g3r

Tedious grind disguised as content which exploits a users drug like addiction to "achievement" to keep them coming back for more... Interestingly enough a lot of the people caught in this vicious world of warcrack like feedback loop would say that they're having "fun" whenever they get they take a hit off the completionist bong. To me they look more like hamsters running in a wheel who occasionally get to hop off and take a sip out of their opium infused water bottle.

Engaging read, I like the scope that he brings to the discussion. He manages to cover a lot of ground but has an economy of words that prevents it from becoming a TLDR situation.

If I were to toss a couple more thoughts into the ring regarding problems with modern game design, I'd say that there's a certain homogeneous nature to games these days. RPG elements like skill trees and experience are shoehorned into every game. Crafting, quests, loot systems... they're everywhere. My eyes just about rolled right out of their sockets the first time I harvested a plant in Destiny.

I have another theory that I haven't read anywhere else but it might be discussed places, and that's that larger development teams make for less interesting games. Sort of a too many cooks in the kitchen scenario. When you have a dozen people working on the same thing, as opposed to one or two people, the ideas and execution almost have to be watered down somewhat I think.

I've worked on levels and mods and whatnot for a variety of games over the years, nothing really successful or noteworthy but when I imagine trying to do the work I was doing, except having a whole room full of people also working on the same thing and having their voices heard in equal part, I can't imagine ending up with something other than a bland and generic product at the end. Compromise is a killer, I think, in an artistic endeavor. The best games have bold ideas and have a strong, unique character to them and I think that's impossible to achieve when things are focus grouped to death.