The world of playing video games in the last decade has been changing at a break neck speed. The innovations, ideas, and overall structure of online gaming has been through more twists and turns than an M Night Shyamalan movie. Have we come to gaming’s final form? Is there more to go? Have we gone too far already?
I can’t predict the future, but I can give my two cents on the current landscape of gaming and just how far it’s come. I used to be a big gamer; I mean BIG. I played COD till my fucking eyes bled. In between sleeves of Oreo’s and bong rips, many a night you could find me in 2008 curled up in front of the TV yelling expletives at the screen, having the time of my virtual fucking life. In between that time and now, I kind of went into a decade long gaming lull. I just stopped being interested in the flickering screen, the anxiety, and the peaks and valleys of adrenaline as a kid in the Philippines fucks me up again with a head shot. I stopped gaming for quite some time, but now as the quarantine has put us back in the house for an extended period of time, I’m back baby. Oh, and how gaming has changed.
The first and possibly biggest change to date would be the Battle Royal style of play and “freemium” model taking place. If we go back, gaming was fairly stagnant until the popular Fortnite changed the landscape practically overnight(puns!). The game was FREE and it took the style of PUBG by giving players the same opportunity in a giant Battle Royal styled shooter. Now, I think Fortnite walked so that GIANT names like Call of Duty could run. See, since the time of Fortnite’s popularity it seems like every game creating studio wants a piece of the freemium, battle royal styled play. It accomplishes two things that I just don’t know if the industry was aware of prior. Those are connecting players that might not be able to afford a nice game with all the add-on’s and putting them in a giant battle royal game, it puts the rich and the poor on an equal playing field. Maybe the idea has been used before, but Fortnite put this style of gameplay into the industry and truly created a new life, and standard for gamers.
But those aren’t the only big-ticket items. Just the two that stood out to me. Cross-platform-play is something I dreamed of as a youth, the customization of the games, and just the overall structure. Look at Skyrim, GTA V, and Red Dead Redemption 2. Those open world games have made it so players can be whoever they want, wherever they want. Games now have given us true freedom in a virtual world without the fear of being targeted or judgement.
I’m not sure that games have reached the final level, that is when we get some WestWorld type shit going on. We seem to be on our way though.
Gaming is exciting, I’m back in it and see the wonders of it all. Keep watching the gaming world, the Esports fanatics, it’s not some little niche or trend anymore.
Anyway, that’s my take on it. Until next time. -GS
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