Games are all about ideas & their execution. Different ideas from
different aspects of games like gameplay ideas, narrative
ideas, presentation ideas all come together to create a single game and
behind every successful game there is one or several ideas that have
worked it's magic. Some ideas work, some do not, some are promising but
because of poor execution are forgotten quickly and while some ideas are
intriguing in the time of their debut, loses their value in the long
haul. But there are very few ideas that not only worked when they
debuted, they created a vision for other developers to expand further and
helped push the boundaries of videogames. In some cases, these timeless
ideas even helped create new genres of videogames.
Below are the ideas that in my opinion, created the foundation, the lifeblood of the present gaming industry with their innovation & ingenuity. These ideas have been used & abused from the time of their inception & the debt that gaming owes to them can never be paid.
7. Regenerative Health (Halo 2----2004): Since
it's introduction in Halo 2, the idea of regenerating health has been in
pretty much everywhere. This presents a sharp departure from the earlier
methods of regaining health like using medkits or other health
items. The increased leaning towards delivering a more cinematic
experience by many fps' would never have been the same without this
feature. The downside of this feature is it can make a game feel like a
sequence of disconnected gunfights where all you have to do is get
behind cover for a few seconds to regain health. Needless to
say, regenerating health forms a polarized view among the gamers but for
the sheer popularity of it gets a place in this list.
6. The Gravity Gun (Half Life 2----2004): There was a time when the idea of the weapon to end all weapons seemed running out it's course. There were already weapons like The Rail gun, Big freaking BFG's and other means of mass destruction. Then came HL2 with it's gravity gun & changed the whole paradigm of videogame weapons----the gravity gun introduced the idea of turning the whole environment into a weapon. Beyond ushering a new wave in the physics department of later videogames, the idea of the gravity gun has also successfully found it's way in other great fps' like Bioshock in the form of the Telekinesis plasmid.
5. Extreme Combat System (Devil May Cry----2001): Devil may cry first brought the idea of a relentless, free flowing combat system where players can utilize multiple melee & long range weapons effortlessly to take down enemies. Since then, the third person action genre has changed forever. The twitch based, stylish gameplay of devil may cry had opened the door for all other third person games featuring a combat system. Games like God of War, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden & many others owe their existence to this masterpiece.
4. Stealth (Metal Gear Solid----1998): This is the game that almost single-handedly popularized the stealth genre of videogames. Metal gear solid introduced the idea of the player having to avoid being seen by enemies rather than fight them and using the environment actively to avoid detection. Crawling under objects, hiding behind walls, using boxes for cover & making noise to distract enemies----all these elements made their first appearance in this game. Detection in the game was triggered by moving into an enemies field of vision. All these elements have been used for countless times in every other stealth based game. Simply put, there would've been no Splinter cell or Assassins creed without Metal gear solid.
3. Scripted events (Half Life----1998): It was Half Life which first introduced scripted sequences in videogames, which enabled the story to be told entirely in the first person viewpoint of the player without ever taking control away. Compared to many other games of it's time which told it's story through cut-scenes, the scripted sequence was a huge leap forward in terms of narrative in videogames. Since then, this idea of keeping the player at the centerpiece of the storytelling has been a staple in fps's throughout the ages. This makes Half Life one of the most influential games ever made.
2. Open World (Grand theft auto 3----2001): Grand theft auto 3 revolutionized gaming forever with it's open world & sandbox elements. The idea of a world where players can roam freely & approach any objective the way they want is one that redefined gaming. GTA3 helped usher a new era of open world games which presents the player with a wealth of options to encourage exploration in a huge virtual world. Beside creating the slew of games or GTA clones which attempted to emulate the sandbox gameplay, GTA3 paved the way for legions of open world games that make up a large percentage of games to this very day.
1. Role playing elements (Dungeons & Dragons----1974): Question----what is the most used element in the history of modern games? Short answer----RPG elements. Long answer----the elements of role playing games like XP's, level-up systems & perks. These elements have jumped out from the realm of RPG's into mainstream gaming. From class based online multiplayers to fps's like Farcry 3, from the famous Deus Ex series to self proclaimed R.P.S.(role playing shooter) like Borderlands, even in third person shooters like Gears of War 3----rpg elements are almost EVERYWHERE beside their own genre. The reason is that these elements stop the games from becoming repetitive by granting the player more options to enjoy the same game different ways.
Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) was the first modern RPG which established many of the conventions that became the characteristics of the genre like numerical attributes, the dice mechanic, the XP system among others. D&D started it all----the snowball, the wildfire & whatever name you may call it. The visionary designer behind D&D was the late Gary Gygax, who pioneered the genre & was known as the father of role playing games. Without the groundbreaking mechanics of D&D, the videogame industry would've been totally different.
The influence of an idea is best realized when you take it out & imagine the whole spectrum without it. The more difference it makes, the more influence it has. That is why role playing elements deserves to be listed as the most endearing innovation in modern videogaming.
But all this is just my view and I'm eager to find out yours. Let me know in the comments section.
Below are the ideas that in my opinion, created the foundation, the lifeblood of the present gaming industry with their innovation & ingenuity. These ideas have been used & abused from the time of their inception & the debt that gaming owes to them can never be paid.
- must...get to.....cover
- like a hot knife through butter
6. The Gravity Gun (Half Life 2----2004): There was a time when the idea of the weapon to end all weapons seemed running out it's course. There were already weapons like The Rail gun, Big freaking BFG's and other means of mass destruction. Then came HL2 with it's gravity gun & changed the whole paradigm of videogame weapons----the gravity gun introduced the idea of turning the whole environment into a weapon. Beyond ushering a new wave in the physics department of later videogames, the idea of the gravity gun has also successfully found it's way in other great fps' like Bioshock in the form of the Telekinesis plasmid.
- bring it on
5. Extreme Combat System (Devil May Cry----2001): Devil may cry first brought the idea of a relentless, free flowing combat system where players can utilize multiple melee & long range weapons effortlessly to take down enemies. Since then, the third person action genre has changed forever. The twitch based, stylish gameplay of devil may cry had opened the door for all other third person games featuring a combat system. Games like God of War, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden & many others owe their existence to this masterpiece.
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| Don't look now |
4. Stealth (Metal Gear Solid----1998): This is the game that almost single-handedly popularized the stealth genre of videogames. Metal gear solid introduced the idea of the player having to avoid being seen by enemies rather than fight them and using the environment actively to avoid detection. Crawling under objects, hiding behind walls, using boxes for cover & making noise to distract enemies----all these elements made their first appearance in this game. Detection in the game was triggered by moving into an enemies field of vision. All these elements have been used for countless times in every other stealth based game. Simply put, there would've been no Splinter cell or Assassins creed without Metal gear solid.
- don't worry...it's all scripted
3. Scripted events (Half Life----1998): It was Half Life which first introduced scripted sequences in videogames, which enabled the story to be told entirely in the first person viewpoint of the player without ever taking control away. Compared to many other games of it's time which told it's story through cut-scenes, the scripted sequence was a huge leap forward in terms of narrative in videogames. Since then, this idea of keeping the player at the centerpiece of the storytelling has been a staple in fps's throughout the ages. This makes Half Life one of the most influential games ever made.
 |
2. Open World (Grand theft auto 3----2001): Grand theft auto 3 revolutionized gaming forever with it's open world & sandbox elements. The idea of a world where players can roam freely & approach any objective the way they want is one that redefined gaming. GTA3 helped usher a new era of open world games which presents the player with a wealth of options to encourage exploration in a huge virtual world. Beside creating the slew of games or GTA clones which attempted to emulate the sandbox gameplay, GTA3 paved the way for legions of open world games that make up a large percentage of games to this very day.
1. Role playing elements (Dungeons & Dragons----1974): Question----what is the most used element in the history of modern games? Short answer----RPG elements. Long answer----the elements of role playing games like XP's, level-up systems & perks. These elements have jumped out from the realm of RPG's into mainstream gaming. From class based online multiplayers to fps's like Farcry 3, from the famous Deus Ex series to self proclaimed R.P.S.(role playing shooter) like Borderlands, even in third person shooters like Gears of War 3----rpg elements are almost EVERYWHERE beside their own genre. The reason is that these elements stop the games from becoming repetitive by granting the player more options to enjoy the same game different ways.
Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) was the first modern RPG which established many of the conventions that became the characteristics of the genre like numerical attributes, the dice mechanic, the XP system among others. D&D started it all----the snowball, the wildfire & whatever name you may call it. The visionary designer behind D&D was the late Gary Gygax, who pioneered the genre & was known as the father of role playing games. Without the groundbreaking mechanics of D&D, the videogame industry would've been totally different.
The influence of an idea is best realized when you take it out & imagine the whole spectrum without it. The more difference it makes, the more influence it has. That is why role playing elements deserves to be listed as the most endearing innovation in modern videogaming.
But all this is just my view and I'm eager to find out yours. Let me know in the comments section.
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