Today everything is worse.

Well, not everything is worse. But it's different. Games, like other media, have changed. They are a mass medium, they give us more possibilitys then ever. But this "more" is no generell thing.

When I got my first console in 1992, a Super Nintendo, there were all kind of games. There was a lot of variation and there were so many things to explore.

The magic moment "waterfall". I walk through it, find myself in a cave with a faerie princess and and she rewards me with a better boomerang.

Zelda - A Link to the Past, correct. I'll fast forward some years.

I stop my horse, this waterfull looks just amazing. I can't resist, I go closer, and closer... right, and drown. In Red Dead Redemption I DON'T get zora's flippers to swim and the waterfall is just part of the background. Ok, wild west and scuba diving maybe don't match that well anyway, but that's not the point. The waterfall has lost it's magic.

To be fair I need to say that RDR is full of things to explore. But this happens barely today and mostly the rewards are kind of useless.

I destroy all M-Coms in Bad Company 2. My reward? A few gamerscore.

Where I get tons of rubys in Zelda, here a few points on my profile must be enough.

[Note: Gamerscore or Trophy, the point is the same.]
 

"Yea, but gamerscore are sooo awesome! It's the best motivation to really play a game to 100%!"

Uh-hu. But gamerscore don't happen directly in the game. I don't get the reward in the same place where I did the job. And just as a side note: your little brother mostly earned YOUR gamerscore. So much about honesty.

[Note from the author: you n00b.]

If I get just 200 points for every game I've played in my life (pretty fair, since that's the standart for an arcade game), I had to buy a larger TV to display that score. But I got better rewards in about 20 years of gaming than just a few numbers.

I need to admit, I smiled about "royal with cheese" (Modern Warfare 2), just cause of that name. And it didn't have much to do with Tarantino anyway. And to get an achievment just for downloading a game was a nice thing with Chime.

By the way, OneBigGame, your very welcome. Good game, good idea behind it, everytime again. And now make me another game, just like that. More level, more Moby, and pleasepleaseplease with Daft Punk next time. Luv ya. ^_^

Back to topic. I like NextGen. I really do! It's not my first "NextGen" anyway.

Battlefield online, 24 players, collapsing buildings, teamplay. Vanquish, fast action, smooth graphics, awesome battles. Heavy Rain, modern storytelling, deep emotions.

But I also liked to open treasure box number fivehundret in Zelda. Hanging out with my friends on the couch, playing Mario Kart all night long. Or, after so many hours, sitting there, watching the credits from Secret of Mana with tears in my eyes.

Mario Galaxy does right now what it also could do great back in that days, having some really innovative ideas with a perfect gameplay. And Final Fantasy 7 let the player experience real, deep emotions long before HD-graphics.

What boths have in common: there is much to explore beside the main path. And if I find something, I get an reward. I mean, a real one! Not just a few numbers without any usefull meaning.

So, dear game developer, please let me explore again! No, I don't wanna shot hundret birds again in GTA4. Oh, and Namco...? If the next Soul Caliber comes again without a mission mode, I'll stop talking to you. And you can put Kilik's staff up somewhere else then. Oh my, just cause of you and this wonderfull game I bought a dreamcast, damit! I want more variation, not a stupid tower again!

I have nothing against online modes. But they shouldn't be the only reason why I play a game for a long time. And instead of giving me just a gamerscore, how about rewarding me with some extras? The bonus missions from Perfect Dark (N64) were real fun, or the making of's in Fahrenheit. Or the "Beyond"-mode from Rez, THAT'S what i want.

Just that you get me right, not everything was better then. Things were just different. I'm pretty sure you will handle this.

And maybe next time this cowboy-guy wears at least some water wings. Link also learned how to ride a horse... 


Dears,
Redmaker