If anyone you’re anything like me, you have gamed for almost all of your life. If you’re one of the older generation, your Childhood was filled with scores of memories sitting in front of your television. The screen would light up, and a joy would overcome the heart. We were serenaded by the sweet sounds of annoying jumping sound effects as well as poorly orchestrated theme songs, and we ate it up like kids at a candy store.

As the original gaming generation grows older, the industry continues to change around us. Gone are the days of simplistic, yet annoying, boss fights. Save codes (if you don’t know what these are you aren’t part of this generation) are an archaic technology, and the brutally unforgiving games of old (MegaMan X brings back memories) can no longer stand toe to toe with the new age of gaming. But, where has the industry taken its ideology?

Gaming today presents us with pretty graphics, engaging battle systems, and hordes of enemies for us to mow down. With the continually changing technological time bomb that is our society, gaming has severely altered its face. It is undeniable that people, especially as they grow older, are unable to devote the hours we put into games in our childhood. Work, marriage, family, and life itself have taken over our passion, yet the gamers of new and old still crave the same adrenaline rush. Therefore, games have been catered towards a new audience, an audience that no longer wishes to spend hours on a single boss. The same audience that wish to only play for 20 minutes at a time. People that have what the real world calls “lives” (I know, it’s a term I myself only learned recently).

With this new change in audience from the hardcore to an entire market of new gamers, the industry has altered the games being released dramatically. Games are being developed that put you right into the action; instant gratification is a must. Games are designed to be shorter, easier to beat, and overall more enjoyable from the casual standpoint, which is a severe turn from games of old. No Mario does not count. It wasn’t that hard back then, and it isn’t hard today. If you must see an example of what I’m talking about, go dust off the old Game Gear and play Sonic 2. You’ll soon succumb to the pain we masochistically brought on ourselves (when Sonic games were actually good).

So, with these new age games catering towards what some “hardcore” gamers consider to be “noobs”, is the industry taking a turn for the worse? Most oldschool gamers, myself included, will tell you that games today are too easy and cater towards the non-gaming community, but in reality, all the industry is doing is adapting to the influx of the “new age gamer”. These “new age gamers” can range from any age range, and all demographics. They include anyone that wants to sit down and enjoy something they cannot do in real life, and these kinds of gamers will play games that are easy to pick up and not brutally unforgiving. They are the epitomy of the social aspect of gaming. “New age gamers” go to social gatherings, have parties for games, and generally only enjoy playing with friends, and by parties, I don’t mean those Goldeneye parties we all enjoyed as kids. These social gatherings usually consist of simple games including Wii Sports, Super Smash Brothers, and Mario Party.

With the induction of these players to the industry, gaming as a whole has simply changed to fit the demographic that it now serves. The “new age gamer” desires only to be mildly entertained as a form of diversion from life. They lack the passion that many of us “Hardcore” gamers so loudly boast (probably a bit too loudly at times). It’s not their fault, however, because they are only treating the medium as everyone treats anything entertaining in the world of today. It is only something mildly interesting, and it can easily be cast aside at the influx of anything even remotely as enjoyable. This is the sole reason that so many developers make their games short, intense, and easily understood. Complexities work against developers. The harder, more complex, or generally less easily accessible a game is, the less it will be accepted by the “new age gamer”. Although this does seem to enhance overall “fun factor” of games today, it detracts from one key item that all gamers (yes all) play games for: Role Playing.

Now before you start foaming at the mouth about how you hate RPG’s and would never play such an abomination as Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, or Grandia, let me explain exactly what I mean by “Role Playing”. All gamers play games for the effect of doing things we could never accomplish in real life, and this can range from entering a fantasy world, saving the world, or simply picking up a gun and blowing our friends up. When we play games, we play the role of whoever it may be. One day I am the Master Chief saving the universe from the Flood, the next I am a simple warrior in a fantasy world populated by thousands of others on the internet, and the final day I am a rockstar playing my guitar for hundreds of people cheering for me. The point is that we all play games to do something different, assume another role.

As games become more and more catered towards casual play, we are unable to immerse ourselves in this role, and inevitably, we begin to view the game as just a fun item that takes up a small amount of time. Yes, for “new age gamers” this second point is exactly for what they search, yet a problem is arising because of this. Developers realize that these “new age gamers” make up a significantly larger portion of the market, and when deciding what changes they must make during the development of a game, they must take into consideration what profits will arise. Although we would all like to believe that developers create games simply for the love of it, we would be naive to assume that they do not wish to have profits. There then arises the dilemma of making a quality game that will most likely not be accepted by the general population or making a game that caters solely to “new age gamers”.

There are quality games that do achieve legendary status amongst all gamers, yet it cannot be denied that generally more poorly made games provide huge sales than quality ones. This can be from a number of reasons ranging from uninformed status of buyers, cheap developers, or better advertising; however, the fact remains that developers must usually decide what demographic they are shooting for when designing a game. Because profit drives business, companies will continue to choose to cater towards sales rather than quality, and this movement of sales is changing the industry slowly before our eyes.

Although it may not be apparent as of today, the game industry has taken a sharp turn towards catering to the masses. While I welcome this new addition to our market share, I am afraid of the changes it will bring forward. I fear that quality games that bring forth a quality story and great gameplay are fast being replaced by cheaply made and mass produced copies.

One of two things will eventually happen. Quality games will continue to be made regardless of their sales and overall acceptance in the population. Developers will realize that their endeavors to make engaging, exciting stories goes thoroughly appreciated by a good size portion of the gaming population. Or, the trend towards catering to the “new age gamer” will continue until it has ruled out all quality game developers through the process of competitive behavior, and this will change gaming from an art to a tacky media of diversion from reality.

That’s all for now.

-The Gaming Guru