Game design by numbers.

Having seen both the Sony and Microsoft conferences over the last 24 hours, I can't help but feel a worrying convergence in the games market.  Only a few of the games weren't big number sequels or copies of other, already popular games.  Playstation All Stars: Battle Royale looked like PS3 Super Smash Brothers (with less lovable characters), as I said yesterday Forza Horizons looks like Need For Speed or Burnout and the similarities between COD, Battlefield, MOH Warfighters and Ghost Recon Future Soldier are startling.

Some of the stand out games of E3 (Beyond, Watch Dogs and The Last of Us to name the top three from Sony's conference) were new IPs and both doing something different to the rest.  With many of the games sticking to accepted formulae how do we expect to find the next big thing?

I worry we're stuck in something of an 80s action movie era.  The films came thick and fast with various muscle-bound, wise cracking heroes and sure, there were some hits, but the majority were forgettable movies with a by the numbers plot that could practically be interchanged.  Save the world... blah blah... kills the bad guys... yeah yeah... get the girl... and so on.  This could be said of many of the current set of hits.  Take a heroic protagonist/group of soldiers, put them in a world ending conflict and blow stuff up.

Why does this problem exist though?  I can only suggest that it's our fault.  Probably not yours if you're reading this as it's a pretty obscure gaming blog and only likely to be read by hardcore gamers.  But is it the masses of gaming that cause this.  Call of Duty sells like the proverbial hot cakes every year no matter how bad it's considered by the majority of players and why wouldn't EA, Ubisoft and co all want a part of that action?  Forza 3 (Metacritic 92) sold less than 4 million copies but Need for Speed The Run (Metacritic 68) sold around 4.6 million, it must be noted that NFS, whilst much worse, is on all formats.  Why wouldn't the excellent Forza try to become more like the mediocre Need for Speed if it can boost sales?

How do we change this problem then?  I implore everyone who reads this to try something different in gaming.  Go and download Journey on your PS3, The Walking Dead on everything, To the Moon or Frozen Synapse on PC.  Support smaller developers and let them give us games that take risks.  This has happened in movies with smaller indie film makers rising up to give us such film beauties as The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation and Up In The Air.  I'm not saying that I don't want to play the next Splinter Cell, (I really, really do want to play it) but I am saying get out there and try something little and give it a chance. it may surprise you.

E3, can't wait to see

I have to be honest and admit that I've wondered whether I enjoy the world around gaming almost as much as I enjoy the playing. I eat up previews, new releases and anticipation of new things. As many gamers do, I await E3 with a keen excitement each year to find out what's coming. Here are my hotly anticipated games this year (everyone else writes one, why not me?).

The Last of Us (Naughty Dog)

Following up Naughty Dog's Uncharted trilogy is a task for a brave set of men but like pioneers embarking on a trip to uncharted territories the California based company look like they might pull it off. What little I know of the game so far can be gleaned from a few short videos although they show a well crafted game world and solid believable characters. Joel looks like the sort of character that I want to spend some time with. He's a brutal killer who has been surviving for a long time in a world that seems set to try to kill you.

It will be interesting to see how Naughty Dog balances the question of which is more brutal, the monsters that roam the world, your fellow humans or your own character and his loss of humanity. Whilst Joel is a brutal survivor, his fellow young survivor, Ellie, might be the heart in the story. I don't expect Joel to have Nathan Drake's wisecracking demeanour but hopefully Ellie can give us something worth fighting for in this desolate world.

Looking like it's one part Uncharted, one part I Am Legend and one part The Road, The Last of Us looks like one to eagerly look forward to. Whilst we're about it though, if Naughty Dog want to announce Uncharted 4 then that would be pretty good too.

Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar)

Sadly we're currently working on even less with GTA 5 than we are with The Last of Us. Just one video that has been doing the rounds for 6 months and a bucket load of, 'What we want from GTA V' pieces on websites. After the hours I put in to GTA IV and its expansion DLCs, how could I not wait expectantly for this.

Hopefully this keeps the more serious and realistic tone of the previous game but it looks like having a pinch of humour and in game jokes with the glimpse of a tired and drunk Niko Belic-alike. I can't wait to find out a little more at E3 and hopefully, with a rumoured release before the end of the 2012/13 financial year then now is the time for Rockstar to stop hiding the goods.

The Last Guardian (Team Ico)

Sure, this may not be at E3. In fact, it may not even exist anymore. It has been a long time since this game was first seen (E3 2009 for those that are counting) but how could this story of a boy and his massive bird, dog, cat creature not be near the top of everyone's most anticipated list? Rather upsettingly for a gamer with the commitment I have, I only played Shadow of the Colossus and Ico when they were re-released on PS3. However I found both to be remarkable games. Fumito Ueda is a designer who tells stories written very specifically for games. Unlike many other designers he doesn't appear to be a frustrated film director but understands the medium he works in. With open-ended and interesting tales to be told Team Ico's next game could well be a classic; should it ever appear.

On that note Sony recently stated that progress was slowly continuing and that Ueda worked on the game on a daily basis. This is from a team that assured us in February of 2011 that it would release during that calendar year though. When it comes, will it be worth the wait? After playing earlier Team Ico games, I sure hope so and in the mean time bring on the Colossi... again.