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Les_the_Sarge_9_1 -> RE: Is the Wargame Genre Killing Itself? (6/12/2004 5:05:15 AM)
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The Avatar threw me a clue, funny thing is I know a few guys using that one too Miclogic hehe.
Regarding dumbing down games guys, hmm well all should have heard the term "rules lawyer" I would assume.
Normally it is a term used derogatively. But in this conversation, it is actually different in how I want to employ it.
Ok computers are handy, in that they remember the manual with complete perfection, flaws included.
The only reason computer games come with tutorials, is because sometimes you just can't play the game the way you can play a pinball machine.
Insert quarter, begin playing.
The arcady shoot em ups are no different. Spawn, run about, kill things. Did I miss anything?
Dumbing down implies the game has gotten dumber.
To imply a game is dumber because it is more serious me thinks speaks volumes about how little one might actually know about old style wargaming.
Oh the good old days of wargames that were board games, that came with manuals, that you either read fully, or tough luck, go back to playing checkers and Monopoly.
I remember reading closely the manual for games like Advanced Third Reich.
I can recall the discussions on the forums for Third Reich, and the questions that arose.
And often you could tell that most questions were originating from people that clearly could not speak english well at all.
And that was the thing, if your grasp of english sucked, your grasp of the game sucked.
But computers are handy, in that it won't let you play outside of the boundaries of the game's mechanics. A Lot fewer rules required to master. No you can NOT save movement points unspent to suddenly use up next turn.
But the game on the computer still had to be as good as the board game with the manual.
Why is it that everyone upon hearing Matrix Games was trying to port World in Flames to computer, suddenly thought the world was a better place all of a sudden :)
It was because the computer game would have to be as good as a humble board game, or they weren't interested.
You can't have it both ways might apply here.
If you want an arcady shoot em up, fine start off to make one.
If you want a serious historically accurate military history simulation, stop kidding yourself that bells and whistles will turn them into games that can sell like arcady shoot em ups.
I could fill a gym with guys that will play the arcady stuff with no effort.
It would be easy.
Invite the schools males into the gym.
Ask all the guys that play board game wargames to leave.
The rest are the arcady shoot em ups.
And half the board gamers might have counted as well.
But those board gamer types, won't likely buy your second game produced if you tried to sell them barely credible stupidity the first time.
And all the industry standard cutting edge spiffy graphics design won't change anything.
You better have a wargame first, before going and playing with the graphics.
Graphics can help a wargame, but they won't suffice to be the wargame.
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