Therefore, one can surmise that the biggest factors in the success both The Witcher 3 and Uncharted 4 are twofold; firstly, the modern gaming studio itself, packed with the assets capable of rendering the impressive detail of its game environment; secondly, the will and desire to nurture a game’s development in such a way that every loving detail and aspect of the game’s creation shines through in the final product. While the latter is commendable and somewhat special, it’s not unique to this era in video gaming and not representative of progress.
Moreover, the former is merely the advancement of technology. Thus, the only real difference between a game born in the 1990s, the late 2000’s, or this year is the steady, gradual and inevitable improvement in graphical fidelity and, presumably, the accuracy of the programmes that render those improvements.
Of course, it would be madness to try and conclude that both of these examples are games not worth playing, because they absolutely are. It is quite odd, however, to think that two titles that have both received universal acclaim, multiple game of the year awards, and are now considered one of leaders of their respective genres, actually do not play that well in terms of pure gameplay. Indeed, if you’re after a game that plays well simply because it’s a very entertaining game, then you probably wouldn’t choose The Witcher 3 or Uncharted 4. Indeed, need of these titles are particularly gratifying to actually control and engage with on that level, and that isn’t necessarily their goal either.
If you’ve played games such as Rocket League, Resogun and Shovel Knight, you’ll know that plenty of modern indie studios know how to produce stellar gameplay experiences. Interestingly, these independent studios share common ground in their lack of budget and available assets. Is it therefore safe to assume that by being forced to work with restrictions imposed on them, indie studios tend to produce titles with the better gameplay and design?
Certainly, we’ve seen plenty of examples of indie games outperforming their AAA counterparts in this aspect. In similar regard, we’ve also been disappointed by hugely anticipated big budget titles such as The Order 1886 by their over reliance on graphical fidelity and lore in place of decent gameplay and creativity.
As new technology such as VR, hololens and the increased raw power of consoles such as Xbox One Scorpio loom on the horizon, there is an understandable collective excitement for future game development via these new assets. But based on the progress made by the current generation in comparison to the innovations that first moved the games industry forward, is there cause for trepidation that these technologies will move further away from the superb gameplay experiences that used to define the very best video games as well? Quite possibly.
Let us hope that while the scale of modern gaming environments and the polish of their high budget production continues to afford us the tremendous level of immersion, as found in great games such as The Witcher 3 and Uncharted 4, that those same studios, and others with similarly ambitious upcoming projects, seek to combine those impressive attributes with the emphasis also firmly on gameplay.