-Half LIfe 2 and Halo killed FPS for a decade at least (going from frenetic wide-open maps to linear piss-easy corridor shooters), only just now recovering with "boomer shooters" and indies.
-WoW and the MMO gold rush killed single player RPGs for a decade, and even now with successes like BG3 the industry kicks and screams at making any type of RPG other than a linear cutscenefest and/or brainless casualized button masher.
-Ten+ years after Skyrim there's still no better Skyrim. While most people I know consider Skirym to be a severely flawed dumbed down disappointment, the rest of the industry views it as impossibly complex and out of reach, to the point attempts to copy it fail miserably (e.g. Avowed).
The world will never see a proper sequel to Arcanum, Thief 2, Deus Ex, the real Fallout 3, or another game with the design of Wizardry 8 from a major studio ever again, and it's not because those games don't sell. It's because making them is TOO HARD and the industry doesn't want to even try. Pajeets can only make cargo-cult "gameplay loops" that superficially mimic a real game and SJW programmers only view gaming as a vehicle for their sick festishes. It's pathetic.
Half life 2 is an example of a good game that ruined the industry by focusing on the wrong things.
Turning FPS into a storyline is shortsighted and requires constant diverting development assets away from gameplay and into narrative. The story people eventually take over the game design and ruin it in favor of pushing messaging. Developers mistake the appeal of a story in a videogame. Half life was cooked the moment it became Mulatto girl crying drama and not creepy alien sci fi horror.
Consider Diablo 2, one of the best games of all time, the leads had so little interest in story they left it up to the cinematic department to make up whatever they wanted.
The difference in story focus in Diablo II and Diablo III was annoying as fuck. Shoving the story into the forefront and making it trash hurt that game so much.
But also, the company couldn't finish the story. They could not move forward because so much had happened and they didn't know how to continue. They had an ending for the episodes, but that just twisted things more. Level design became so important they were hiring actual architects and people with knowledge to design areas to actually feel like the area.
There is a feeling that it needs to be better than the previous game, so they have scrapped more version than we have any clue about. They scrapped stuff or changed ideas for Half Life 2, and that was fine, so it felt right to keep seeking a greater form of perfection. Because of that, nothing was released.
The creators of the game have slowly left the company. Apparently the older members still demand it be this great vaunted thing. Tons of ideas have been scrapped. Heck, I'm fairly certain there have been several versions of Source Engine that had various Gordon Freeman ready to not talk. Newer members are going in a new direction, but that is still rare and feels kind of weird.
Half Life 2 was so good, no one knows how to continue it. It defeated itself.
-Half LIfe 2 and Halo killed FPS for a decade at least (going from frenetic wide-open maps to linear piss-easy corridor shooters), only just now recovering with "boomer shooters" and indies.
-WoW and the MMO gold rush killed single player RPGs for a decade, and even now with successes like BG3 the industry kicks and screams at making any type of RPG other than a linear cutscenefest and/or brainless casualized button masher.
-Ten+ years after Skyrim there's still no better Skyrim. While most people I know consider Skirym to be a severely flawed dumbed down disappointment, the rest of the industry views it as impossibly complex and out of reach, to the point attempts to copy it fail miserably (e.g. Avowed).
The world will never see a proper sequel to Arcanum, Thief 2, Deus Ex, the real Fallout 3, or another game with the design of Wizardry 8 from a major studio ever again, and it's not because those games don't sell. It's because making them is TOO HARD and the industry doesn't want to even try. Pajeets can only make cargo-cult "gameplay loops" that superficially mimic a real game and SJW programmers only view gaming as a vehicle for their sick festishes. It's pathetic.
It's amazing how Half Life 2 defeated itself.
Go on
Half life 2 is an example of a good game that ruined the industry by focusing on the wrong things.
Turning FPS into a storyline is shortsighted and requires constant diverting development assets away from gameplay and into narrative. The story people eventually take over the game design and ruin it in favor of pushing messaging. Developers mistake the appeal of a story in a videogame. Half life was cooked the moment it became Mulatto girl crying drama and not creepy alien sci fi horror.
Consider Diablo 2, one of the best games of all time, the leads had so little interest in story they left it up to the cinematic department to make up whatever they wanted.
The difference in story focus in Diablo II and Diablo III was annoying as fuck. Shoving the story into the forefront and making it trash hurt that game so much.
Well, to start, what Guy said.
But also, the company couldn't finish the story. They could not move forward because so much had happened and they didn't know how to continue. They had an ending for the episodes, but that just twisted things more. Level design became so important they were hiring actual architects and people with knowledge to design areas to actually feel like the area.
There is a feeling that it needs to be better than the previous game, so they have scrapped more version than we have any clue about. They scrapped stuff or changed ideas for Half Life 2, and that was fine, so it felt right to keep seeking a greater form of perfection. Because of that, nothing was released.
The creators of the game have slowly left the company. Apparently the older members still demand it be this great vaunted thing. Tons of ideas have been scrapped. Heck, I'm fairly certain there have been several versions of Source Engine that had various Gordon Freeman ready to not talk. Newer members are going in a new direction, but that is still rare and feels kind of weird.
Half Life 2 was so good, no one knows how to continue it. It defeated itself.
Did you pick up the can?