Editor,
I would like to respond to Rhian Hibner's column in the Nov. 2 Daily Lobo regarding gaming. The argument that today's games and game developers are only interested in graphics is completely off base. I don't pretend to know Hibner's credentials as an industry analyst, but as a former employee of NC Soft, I can say with confidence that he is completely out of touch with the industry.
Today's gaming industry is full of devoted, educated and motivated individuals striving to make quality products. Hibner commented on the new Family Guy game. I have not played it, and it may be poorly produced, but to use one game to make blanket comments regarding the industry displays ignorance regarding modern games.
While Hibner identifies a major push by developers to reach the absolute limit of the graphic potential for a game, he fails to recognize that other elements of game play get their due attention. Dynamic lighting, world size, sound, musical score, story line, artificial intelligence, environment interaction and physics are all elements of modern games on which developers spend droves of time.
Artificial intelligence has improved path finding and behavior, and environmental sounds are richer and more dynamic, allowing a crash sound to change based on sets of parameters. Dynamic lighting, world size, environmental interaction and physics are all combined into one confused category called graphics.
Physics and interaction with artificial environments are such important developments that soon players will have to add a physics card to their computers just to ensure the game can be played properly. Games supporting this new technology, such as City of Villains, have unprecedented particle effects, allowing smoke and explosions to be more accurately simulated. Dynamic lighting provides players with light sources that move and provide more realistic lighting conditions, as can be seen in the Splinter Cell franchise or almost any other next-generation shooting game. New game engines such as Halo 3 can support game worlds in excess of 14 game miles, previously unprecedented and only possible with the hardware in next-generation consoles. Next-generation consoles also allow players to interact with the environment in new ways, such as destroying objects or parts of the game world.
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Aside from using the capabilities of new consoles and computers, game developers are constantly looking for ways to set precedents and revolutionize already familiar genres. Halo did this in a number of ways, and NC Soft's upcoming title, Tabula Rasa, will change the way players look at massive multiplayer online role-playing games by allowing players to skip the grinding and enjoy game play.
Gaming today is taking a turn for the better - not, as Hibner implied, for the worse. That is not to say poor games are not produced - one only has to look at Just Cause to know some developers cannot produce a quality product. However, players should be encouraged by next-generation consoles and should look forward to the onslaught of new titles being released in the next year.
Brian Plauche
UNM student
