Why I dont like playing computer games as much as I once did...

BEWARE..... ***** LONG RANTING ***** post alert.

I’ve come to the horrible conclusion that I just do not enjoy playing computer games as much as I once did.

I don’t think it’s because I’m getting old though. I think it has more to do with a lack of originality in the games of today.

While sitting at work this afternoon, I was thinking back to when I was at school, and how I would look forward to rushing home after the last lesson of the day to load up The Last Ninja on my Commodore 64 to see if I could get any further, or spending hours trying to discover a new room to explore in Castle Master. I just don’t seem to get that feeling of ‘wonder’ and ‘excitement’ anymore. I know that being married and having a young child means I don’t get to spend as much time playing games as I did before I met Michelle, but even when I do find the time to start up Tomb Raider Anniversary (my favourite game at the moment), or any other game from my rather large collection, I just can’t get ‘into’ the game like I did with the old classics.

Back in the 80’s and early 90’s there was a much larger variety of game genres available while today all we are left with are the countless number of first-person-shooters, racing sims, football and sports games.

Don’t get me wrong, I love shooters (especially Half Life 2 etc.), but at the end of the day, I’ve seen it all before. Ok, so the graphics may look prettier, but the game is still essentially a first-person shooter just like Doom which was released way back in the early 90’s. I've seen it before, show me something I've never played before!

What has led the game industry to this constant barrage of clones?

I think it was the demise of the bedroom programmer. Back in the days of Mastertronic when you could buy a game for £1.99, those games were programmed by talented young individuals who programmed simple yet entertaining games that would keep you coming back for more. These programmers were not afraid to try new things.

Can computer games evolve any more? We’ve got very close to having games render almost photorealistic environments in realtime but at the end of the day, are graphics the most important thing in a game? What about originality and gameplay?

Generally the way we play games now is no different than how we played games 20 years ago – sat in front of a television or monitor with a controller or joystick. The Nintendo Wii has attempted to try something different with its remote controller and nunchuk but at the end of the day are these that much dissimilar to the light gun?

Do you remember 20 years ago they told us that sometime in the near future we'd have computers that would project realistic virtual-reality worlds that we could interact with by using special VR helmets and gloves?

What happened???

How long before technology like that of the Holodecks used in Star Trek become closer to reality?