Are Games Getting Too Complex?
I have been playing some old classic games such as Frogger and Street Fighter II, and have been wondering if games of late are getting too complex. What I mean by that is that there are so many buttons for each game now that it takes a lot of time just to get the hang of the controls, whereas in the past games that had only four buttons allowed you to focus your efforts on mastering the game. I am hoping with the new Nintendo system, which has few buttons and is mainly controlled by your movements that kind of gaming can return, and allow game players to have more fun playing games as opposed to just trying to learn how to control them. An example of this is Madden 2006, a game I have played a lot of. There are a couple of buttons I don't even use when I play, simply because having to do so would make every play I run so complex that it would take my focus away from the game itself. The xbox360 controller has 12 buttons on it. The gamecube controller has eight buttons. The SNES controller has eight buttons. The NES controller has four buttons. These numbers include start and select buttons. I think the SNES controller was probably the perfect controller in terms of allowing the player to have more control over the game, but not being overwhelmed by the number of actions one could perform. Here's to hoping the Nintendo Wii will bring back the enjoyment to my gaming experiences that has been lost among the sea of buttons I have to swim through!
2 comments:
There definitely is something to be said about the simplicity of old-school controllers, but I think that video gaming is just like any other technology in terms of the complexities of advancement (hence old people's aversion to computers, cell phones, etc.) Sure, the most modern controllers may have more buttons, but they add a new dimension to mastering video games, one that arguably focuses more on an intricate knowledge of the system rather than the game itself. Of course, this is all coming from a girl whose favorite game is the 1990 NES version of Dr. Mario, so obviously it's not all about fancy controls and glitzy graphics-- it's more about strategy, fun, and playability-- those are the games that can truly stand the test of time (despite superfluous buttons on new-designed controllers).
I think your right about the direction Nintedo is going in, trying to put more users back into gaming, and putting console gaming back in to the mood of the late 80s/early 90s.
But I think that it all depends on what type of game your playing. Take an RPG for exmple, you need all those buttons or trying to control the game would drive you crazy. And there is a large enough market for those button crazy controlers. The Final Fantasy series has a giant gamer base and without all those buttons, it'd be impossible to create such a game. Or take Shenmue or Shenmue II (which I'm playing right now). With out all those buttons, the game would be frustrating beacuse you'd have to access and shuffle through menu to get anything done. Simple controllers have their place, as do complex controlers. I think Wii may have found the balance, have the standard basic controller, but allow for add-ons for more complex games.
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