Gaming concepts

[agentkuo]

^Must you use the word "faggot"?^

Exploring new ideas is necessary (we wouldn't have games like ICO and Shadow of the Colossus if people didn't try new things). But I also think, as pretty much everyone has already stated, improvement is a crucial part of game development. Progress, to put it simply. Games need progress. That's why, unlike with most movies, game sequels are almost always better than their previous installments (not to say classics won't still be classic); because after designing the first game, the designers have an amalgam of ideas and concepts on how to improve when making the sequel. They know what it is that made their game great, and what hurt it, and they can try new and exciting ideas to counter that. New technology also allows them to try things they might not have been able to do in previous installments.

Now, getting away from the topic of improvement/progress (we understand those things are very important), I'll give a little bit of my opinion on technology progression. I think, new technology always allows for new game concepts. Touch-Screen's, in particular, have changed gaming quite a bit in recent years, and the same can be said for gyro-sensors (at least to a degree) and movement tracking.

I think (fully immersive) Virtual Reality is still something gamers and developers hope to achieve some day, and right now we're really close (what with 3D gaming and more immersive gameplay with things like Wii and PSMove), giving us a closer feeling to being in the game. It's still a bit of a longshot from truly feeling like you're in the world of the game, but it's a lot closer than we've been in the past.

But that's all more about the progression of technology, and less about the actual concepts of games.
What would be required for a new game concept? I think an original model (a process of making a game). I think this is something that Thatgamecompany understands well. I think an original model would mean taking concepts we already understand, and using them in ways we've never considered, or in ways that aren't expected. I'll be honest, I'm really not even sure how to do this.

Anyway, another thing that I think is worth talking about is mixing genre's.