Ben-DutkaOf all the video game genres that exist, which is the one that requires innovation and originality the most? Which desperately needs some fresh ideas and new concepts?
Many would be quick to point out the FPS category but "first-person shooter" can be a broad category, depending on your definition. And besides, there really is a fair amount of difference between something like RAGE and Battlefield . Plus, you can toss other more interesting – but less popular – titles into the mix; Singularity is only one such example.
Perhaps you'd go with the sports and racing genres, just because they seem to have lost some traction this generation. But I believe that loss of popularity was inevitable given the direction of the industry and really, besides getting more realistic, what more can be done to sports games? They are, after all, confined within the limitations of their real-life counterparts. Or maybe you'll say the action genre, which might need something more than running around with a sword or a gun…then again, that action category is pretty damn huge, too, so that could in fact be the most diverse section of the industry right now.
Role-playing opens up a whole new can of worms, because you'll have a dozen different definitions for that genre. At this point, it might make the most sense to simply say that we need more unique experiences in general; i.e., experiences like Journey that defy labeling of any kind. Right now, the only true innovation might involve games that don't easily fall into any given genre and that could be the ultimate goal- No "genres," just games that do a little bit of everything. Aren't we close to that now…?
