Elements of game design have changed over the years. From set and sound design to backend coding to story development, the new generations of games look nothing like their ancestors. With these changes, nuances arise in the history, trajectories and development of certain game styles. This isn’t Pong anymore – you now have a player base that is attuned to and understands the different options they have regarding gameplay style. We have decision-based games that emphasize player interaction and integrate customization into the story, such as Detroit: Become Human. We have high-octane action games like Devil May Cry V that rely entirely on quick player input to satisfy their cool aesthetic. There are farming simulators, strategy-based games, point-and-click adventures, management sims, and gacha games like Genshin Impact that pair lottery-based collecting systems with RPG-style gameplay and monetize them.
Functionally, these all exist to provide the same thing: active involvement in our entertainment. Not all games offer the same depth, as playing Dark Souls looks very different from playing Arcade Paradise, but there is a level of user input that games strive for to keep the players’ attention. Not all focus will be the same, and in a market where time matters, it’s why player immersion is so essential for creators working on long-running, high-budget submissions. Why do you want to sit in a chair for hours and play the same thing? Novelty? Story? Gimmick?
Everything.
The ubiquitous presence of cell phones in pockets and bags, as well as the ability of mobile video games to be played for only a few minutes at a time (in stark contrast to most PC and console video games, which last even more than a few minutes) to begin with) mean that casual mobile video games are often played by a ‘body-in-waiting’ in environments where the player still pays some attention to the real world around them, even if they also pay attention to (and build) the virtual world presented on the small screen the size of a hand: sitting on a bus, waiting for a friend in a cafe, waiting for the end of a commercial break. – “A Game of Bodies”, Brendan Keogh, 2018
Sitting and playing is no longer what it means to game. Gaming is a diverse and abundant pastime, with more people engaging in the hobby than ever before. The popularity of a game like Elden Ring is still a niche, while the number of people actively playing a MOBA title like League of Legends continues to grow. These games are fundamentally different, but they are examples of how popular games are changing the landscape we have come to know.
Times are changing
As game development cycles have lengthened and while the tools used to develop them have become more widely available, there is often an understanding that major studios marketing AAA or even mid-budget games have an obligation to fans. , one that didn’t exist prior to the modern cultural gaming movement. Now, more than ever, it is a must to combine tradition with new and improved game design in a way that intuitively fits the needs of the audience.
This isn’t easy for franchises that have built up fan bases that depend on the parameters of certain aspects of game design. That is, the personality or individuality of a particular game series sets it apart from others, and fans of that style often play the following games. Since these are taste preferences, it’s hard to argue why one style is better than another. But as our relationship with gaming changes and the complications of immersion, time, accessibility and cost weigh on the market, whether a particular franchise is moving in the right direction increasingly depends on who you ask.
The popularity of the Pokemon franchise cannot be underestimated, and its safe play style is often cited as why. It takes a comfortable place, with a simple, turn-based combat system with a monstrous premise that is aimed at all audiences. Every entry in the series has the same template, except for the Wild Area in the Sword and Shield items that experimented with a new open-world concept style of play, one that leaves behind the tradition of random encounters. This is explored in more detail with Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the most recent entry in the series that allows players to roam an open world and catch Pokemon on the fly.
The franchise’s success is largely dependent on the old formula, but the worldwide phenomenon of Pokemon Go! continues to influence the future of the series. The current marketability of large, open-world games is probably why the upcoming Pokemon Scarlet and Violet promise a more “choose your own adventure” playstyle in addition to the casual, mainstream appeal of the old “feel”. Fans of the franchise are notoriously excited to see a departure from the status quo, but the direction is also often contested, questioned and dissected by them.
While certainly not nearly as recognizable, the Final Fantasy series has also had its fair share of growing pains. The upcoming FFXVI has promised to deviate from the series norm, but unlike Pokemon – which is often referred to as play at Safe – Final Fantasy has the opposite problem: people are questioning the integrity of this decision because it has been stated very clearly that a shift in mainstream game design is to blame.
“For different console generations, all character expressions can now be done in real time. Actions such as ‘pull the trigger and your character shoots a gun’ and ‘press the button and your character swings his sword’ can now be easily expressed without using a command system. “It is now common for gamers younger than me to love such games. As a result, there doesn’t seem to be any point in making a decision at a command prompt, such as ‘Battle’, during a battle.” –Naoki Yoshida, Video Game Chronicles
And it’s true that the ranks of the series’ fans are always growing (Final Fantasy XV has sold over ten million copies, more than most other games in the series, continuing its slow creep towards cult classic) even if it also retains longtime fans. There are Final Fantasy fans who have played every entry in the series, fans who have never played the original VII but have played Remake, and some who were born after FFX was released. Anecdotally, my first completed entry was XII, and it remains one of my favorites alongside XIV and the oft-maligned XV.
But there are two different factors at play here when it comes to expectations for future games, and I think they are equally important to discuss: the expectations of the fans and the market.
As an outsider to the Assassin’s Creed series, for example, my first impression of Black Flag was that it was perfectly usable but didn’t capture my interest, and I found myself drawn to Syndicate’s style and characters much more. While playing Syndicate, I was armed with my own little checklist of ‘what it means to be a game’, but I didn’t have one specifically labeled ‘what it means to play a good Assassin’s Creed game. to be’. This, I would say, drastically lowered my expectations of and my connection to the history of the series. But playing a single item in a long-running series isn’t all that strange — outside of the insular fan chat rooms, most people who play games tend to pick up on what looks interesting.
“This is not an argument about what is good or bad, but there is a difference based on the player’s preferences and age.” – Naoki Yoshida, Video Game Chronicle
Often it comes down to that: a matter of taste. And yet the conversations about such things tend to focus on specific franchise staples as an indication that it’s a good entry or not. Unlike standalone games, contribute to a larger flagship series should maintain a certain branding. But what does it mean to maintain tradition? In the case of a series as popular as Pokemon, does risk lead to loss? Can the loss be limited under the right circumstances? It looks like the team behind FFXVI is hedging their bets entirely on risk, as this upcoming entry will likely be the first adult-rated main game in the history of the series.
This is already a concern that the fatigue of such a grim, dark fantasy may not have manifested itself in Japan as it has in America. The spread of adult fantasy may be less noticeable and therefore less of an influence on story decisions. But Final Fantasy is still a global franchise and I’m confident that research has been done to lay a foundation for expectations and trends.
The truth is that Final Fantasy goes back to its oft-lauded roots as a purely historical fantasy, with the traditional setting being vaguely medieval. The problem is, there are already a wide variety of these types of games to choose from, and concerned fans are rightly aware of the fulfillment of a traditional gaming environment juxtaposing a very different fighting style. But for fans of the modern Final Fantasy games, it’s not all that different – it’s all they’ve known. And while XV and XIII are fun, you may want to play other entries, not all fans want to be historians of a series, sometimes they just want to be entertained.
Game design and games themselves are changing, as are our relationships with and interpretations of them. They are, after all, a product – a product that is often forged with love, but also with the intention of creating sales. This is no different from other creative projects that have to balance market demand, franchise integrity, cost and manpower. There’s a lot more to say about this, especially in regards to Yoshida’s comments following the showing of the FFXVI trailer at the Tokyo Game Show. He talked about how creating more accessible gaming experiences was crucial to them when designing FXVI, but it seems like blatant proof: this game was designed as an overarching entry-level, adult rating be damned.
And besides: what is the feeling of a series? Is it the gameplay or the art? Is it in replicating and perfecting previous designs, or taking risks and changing the standard? There isn’t really one right answer, and FFXVI’s direction is just a snapshot of the decades-long franchise; a monumental but temporary glimpse of its possibility. But it’s also a glimpse of the current cultural landscape of game design, a landscape that will shift forever, but which at the moment seems to be captured by a certain vision.
Whether FFXVI can take that formula and experiment with it successfully remains to be seen – but as with any new attempt to shake up the old, there will be misses and hits. While the success of FFXVI has yet to be determined, there’s no denying that the way we play the games we love is constantly evolving – and like all changes in life, we have to accept them and learn from them.
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