Do labels hurt games?

[Korgoth of Barbaria]

When I play a game, whether it be a computer game or console video game, I don't buy the game for what it is labelled as in terms of its genre; I buy it based upon if it looks fun to play to me; I don't even tend to usually read reviews because those are just subjective opinions. Some of my favorite movies (such as Highlander, Dragon Heart, The Prophecy or The Warlock) don't have high ratings by the 'professional critics'.

If a game is fun, and is an enjoyable experience, that personally is enough for me. I find that categorizing games by restrictive genres or restrictive categories inhibits what a game can be - it limits the possibilities. If for example we say an Adventure Game is defined by X, Y, and Z characters and only those characteristics - that limits the potentialities. If we say an RPG is only characterized by A, B and C elements, it limits the game experience.

I think the ideal game should be a mix of everything - not haphazardly, but each element having its place in the game and flowing naturally. If we limit say an Adventure Game to "NO COMBAT EVER IN ANY SCENARIO", that limits things way down. If we say "AN RPG MUST BE TURN BASED OR IT ISN'T AN RPG", that limits the potentialities for some really great games. For me, the gameplay is just a means of experiencing a game - it's not the end. It's the means.

I find that as the industry has gotten more and more diversified, the label has become the end, and we've become very purist in our tastes and we limit ourselves by the false labels of various genres. The whole idea behind games is to experience something beyond daily life - that's the most basic idea; to have anything be possible and be able to step into the shoes of a character who lives in a world we'd never experience in real life. I don't think it should get any more complex or restrictive than that.

Does anyone agree?

 

[Kazuki]

No

 

[Jick Magger]

No

 

[Neanderthal]

Only when they say Bioware.

Nah seriously I see what you mean, there were a time when devs put whatever they wanted in their game, and dint gi a shit about genre or way its supposed to work, but now theres a shitload o expectations. Some are good to av, but some are fucking worth gettin rid on, such as RPGs aving fuckin romances or combat being only form o gameplay, or thieves being rogues now or every class needs to be equally viable in combat.

One o reasons why I like MCA, he challenges some of this thinkin, turns it on its ead.

 

[Baron]

If for example we say an Adventure Game is defined by X, Y, and Z characters and only those characteristics - that limits the potentialities. If we say an RPG is only characterized by A, B and C elements, it limits the game experience.

Yes. You're very creative and an individual who doesn't walk the same path as the mainstream have a banana.

Yes. By freeing itself from established genres game design may produce an occasional gem.

But consider this...

I used to play D&D with Fighters, Clerics, Wizards, and Thieves.

Years later I logged onto Neverwinter Nights servers alongside Shadow Dancing Dwarven Defenders... Fighter/Weapon Master/Red Dragon Disciples.... Druid/Monk/Shifters....


And Fallout 4 is now a FPS / base building sim.


Perhaps those shackles were meant to stay on / OMG what have you unleashed?

 

[octavius]

For me the genre label is not that important, but I don't play games with anime artwork, and I generally don't play games developed for consoles, games with 3rd person view instead of 1st person view, or strategy games that are real time.

If a game like Diablo is labeled RPG or Action is irrelevant to me, although labels are of course useful to describe a game in general terms.

But if a game is labeled as Adventure game I will probably not give it a second glance.

 

[I'm Big Into Anal]

depends on how strong the adhesive is

its really annoying to try and peel the price label off just to find the whole thing tears apart and all youre left with is ugly residue and thin slivers of paper

 

[Excidium II]

depends on how strong the adhesive is

its really annoying to try and peel the price label off just to find the whole thing tears apart and all youre left with is ugly residue and thin slivers of paper

Alex

 

[J1M]

No

 

[Grimwulf]

No

 

[Angthoron]

No

 

[Perkel]

Only when it is whitelabel.

Fuckingbacklog would be way easier to manage without those.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Fuckingbacklog

funkin naive people thinking they finish these games with work (not to mention family+other responsibilities. how stupid you need to be to believe it).

 

[Spectacle]

Back in the DOS era, I came home with a brand new game I'd just bought, opened the box and found that one of the disks had the label stuck on overlapping the protective cover thingy so that it wouldn't slide. That's what I call a game hurt by labeling, had to carefully peel that thing off before I could install.

 

[Carrion]

But consider this...

I used to play D&D with Fighters, Clerics, Wizards, and Thieves.

Years later I logged onto Neverwinter Nights servers alongside Shadow Dancing Dwarven Defenders... Fighter/Weapon Master/Red Dragon Disciples.... Druid/Monk/Shifters....


And Fallout 4 is now a FPS / base building sim.


Perhaps those shackles were meant to stay on / OMG what have you unleashed?

You might get a Fallout 4, or you might get a System Shock 2 or a Deus Ex. Some (if not most) of the best games ever are ones that transcend multiple different genres and break the established rules, and FO4 is shit for many other reasons than just breaking a formula. It'd probably completely suck even if Bethesda tried to make a carbon copy of the first Fallout.

 

[Melan]

Some games. They don't hurt games which fit into established genres and don't defy expectations. They can hurt games which try to do something new. For example, is The Lords of Midnight a strategy game or an RPG? Is Mirror's Edge an FPS if you don't shoot people in it (much)? Is Outcast a 3rd person shooter, adventure game or RPG? Is Bioshock a game that wanted to be an adventure game, could have made an interesting adventure game, but ended up as a shitty FPS because "adventure games don't sell"?

So yes, I kinda miss some of the experimentation which went on into the 1990s and tried to develop new forms of interactive gaming. To develop something utterly new, you have to let go of the limits. Like Sim City, a non-adversarial game; or Thief, an FPS where you preferably avoid enemies instead of confronting them.

Of course, just because something is original, it can still be utter shit. Evidence: 90-95% of any retrogame library.

 

[Sceptic]

No

 

[Zarniwoop]

Oh gawd we let another millennial snowflake in.

 

[Korgoth of Barbaria]

Oh gawd we let another millennial snowflake in.

No, has nothing to do with SJWism or any hippie nonsense as I am not either. I just think placing games, which are meant to be really freeform shit, into restrictive categories, is limiting to games. It goes against the entire idea behind a video game to me.

 

[Siveon]

No

 

[GewuerzKahn]

If we limit say an Adventure Game to "NO COMBAT EVER IN ANY SCENARIO", that limits things way down. If we say "AN RPG MUST BE TURN BASED OR IT ISN'T AN RPG", that limits the potentialities for some really great games. For me, the gameplay is just a means of experiencing a game - it's not the end. It's the means.

Who does that? Is it even an issue?

The whole idea behind games is to experience something beyond daily life - that's the most basic idea; to have anything be possible and be able to step into the shoes of a character who lives in a world we'd never experience in real life. I don't think it should get any more complex or restrictive than that.

Stop that.

 

[Zarniwoop]

No one does that. Ever. Like I said, we have a millennial. They are obsessed with this "label" bullshit.

 

[Beowulf]

Counter Strike: Global Operations is one of the best selling strategy games on steam.

I kid you not, just browse steam store ->strategy games - > best selling.

 

[Spectacle]

Counter Strike: Global Operations is one of the best selling strategy games on steam.

I kid you not, just browse steam store ->strategy games - > best selling.

Well, the monetization strategy for that game is second to none.