How games remain just the same as they have always been.
Although I will use FPS as an example in this article, I realize that Resident Evil: 5 is not one. I compare to that genre because AI need is often strict, as are graphics (closer adjusted view = higher GPU requirements, texture fidelity, etc.) and large levels to keep pacing. Also, FPS games (for some, like myself) offer more immersion, (first person = me, not some puppet I control) yet, many will submit that they can cause motion sickness or sometimes feel like they are ‘looking out a window.’ Many sub-genres have been done ‘FPS-style’ a few times with muted success, but I still personally find little to be immersed into when staring at any 3rd person character’s butt (or even over a shoulder).
What I will be discussing here and critically pointing out is gameplay fundamentals that have not changed. This translates to elements that remain exactly the same as when the very first games were conceived.
Graphics
Graphics can be pretty, people are wowed over them. Reality-wise, only a minimum of feedback is required in this area to perform or achieve any desired effect. Graphics have become like the too popular big breasted girl syndrome – offering mass cleavage but no personality underneath. The true requirement graphics must meet falls into feedback, but is typically delivered via beautiful texture mapping or special effects.
Primary purpose of Graphics = player feedback.
Artificial Intelligence
Sad to say – there is no such thing. “A.I.” actually refers to the illusion of intelligence, created by commands telling animated objects to go through a command set like “If this = this, then, go do that.” As complicated as pathfinding (pre-placed game world paths for “AI” to follow) can be, it is remains just a set of commands that those objects follow to ‘search’ for the player. Game AI has changed very little since the very first video games were created… thats nearly 40 years.
Primary purpose of Game AI = Direct opponents, followers or objects of rescue or protection.
Manipulable objects
These give the player the illusion of having control over and interaction with the game world, whether they are merely objects to destroy (like mushrooms in centipede) or bricks to bump (Super Mario) or statues to move for some reason (like Resident Evil).
Primary purpose of Manipulable Objects = player interaction.
Sound effects
Audio can be important, interesting, intriguing, haunting, scary, thrilling and heart pounding. Yet, sound effects primary purpose is to reveal information to the player and deliver feedback so game play can proceed.
Primary purpose of Sound Effects = player feedback.
Controls
Well thought out control systems (like ease of comprehension in button use & placement) universally connects players via immersion into the the game world, promoting the ‘illusion of actually being there.’ Bad controls force difficulty, frustration, impede and obstruct any effort on the players part to try and enjoy, destroying any possible seamless interaction in said world.
Primary purpose = game world connectivity.
Arenas and areas: linear hallways or free form, open worlds
Open areas containing places to go, things to see, interact with, use as cover, etc. From a simple open rectangle having only a few squares, to the most realistic 3D map, the principle remains the same, it is the area in which game play takes place. While some are confining & claustrophobic, others are open, freedom promoting vistas.
Primary purpose = game world & environment.
Music
Music can provide feedback and foreshadowing, yet as a rule should not be forced upon the player (like Halo). Ideally, the player will be offered choice to allow or eliminate, and therefore the game will have a separate ambient track, if such elimination is chosen.
Primary purpose = immersion into game world & environment, and setting of feeling and ‘tone’.
Story
This is usually the reason to play, the tale, the main characters story, what causes interest, or the backdrop for the game. It is not necessary to pay attention to the story, as many stories can be ignored and still enjoy the game; yet it still provides a base framework around which the game is constructed, no matter how simple.
Primary purpose = backdrop.
The typical videogame generally will have all these elements in some amount and variety, from the most simple to the most complicated. These are the elements I am speaking of when I discuss gameplay fundamentals, as they do not have to be complicated in order to exist. They can be created and utilized in very simple and creative ways, and nearly every successful video game that was created before games that are now being published had these elements too.
