Fun, Fun, Fun

..until her daddy takes her GTA away?
One of the things that have become even more abundantly clear in the transition to next-generation consoles is how the concept of fun is quite divorced from what we consider a quality game. Quality games must be fun, of course, to a point. They don't have to be too fun, though, and originality in this arena carries an enormous and intolerable financial risk. High-end games must be beautiful to look at, slick, contain vast quantities of content. Frequently, they require online experiences. These types of games must sell millions to recoup development costs. Because risk is so enormous, there is a lot of copycating of successful models.

Let me provide an example. I loved GTA III, liked GTA Vice City, found GTA San Andreas boring and True Crime, Saint's Row and even Crackdown dull, dull, dull. Fun usually requires novelty (or nostalgia), and there's no more novelty left in stealing cars and ramming them into other cars and pedestrians until they explode (the cars and the pedestrians).

Of course, this is something that everyone involved with games knows. But sometimes it's useful to state what's already widely understood.

(Updated 7/10/07)

Grand Theft Auto IV

Ok, I know what I said about GTA-type games getting boring. Still, GTA IV looks awesome. And of course I'll have to play it.

If I get bored by it I guess I'll only have myself to blame..