darkSpyro

I've been pondering around the internet in regarding two type of video games; Ones that take themselves seriously and one that don't.

I'm not referring to how some games get darker like Megaman X but rather the PS3 and Xbox 360 era of gaming along with this generation.
In my opinion, there's been a ton of murky brown and grey coloured video games with the most popular ones being military shooters in tight corridors but when you look at action games, most of them dry to copy God of War, not just in terms of combat but I also mean the type of protagonist we play as.

Say for example, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow can be seen as a God of War clone with the main hero being a tall, brooding violent man who accidentally killed someone he loves thanks to evil deities before declaring vengeance by killing loads of monsters with quick time events before eventually before becoming monsters themselves in the end, Kratos as the new God of War and Gabriel Belmont as Dracula. The sequel then has the new powerful villain fighting humans before losing his powers and having to seek their powers back.

It's not just that but you look at big burly brooding characters who can't seem to have fun like Kratos, Gabriel, Marcus Phoenix, Jack Cayman, Connor from Assassin's Creed III, Garret from the Thief reboot, Cole MacGrath, Shadow the Hedgehog and-My word, there's so many.

I'm not saying they can't have a place in video games, especially when you at Spec Ops: The Line, The Walking Dead and The Last of Us in which violence is a key theme, but there's just so many and not enough who can have fun. I mean when you think of the most memorable characters in the last generation, who's in your mind? To me, Nathan Drake. Okay he doesn't act like a clown but he is able to crack jokes in certain situations and is charismatic. This is might be cheating since this is a custom player avatar but there's also The Boss from Saints Row from the second game onwards who is basically a cartoon character. There's also games that are so ridiculous, there's no way developers were making the games to be serious like Katamari Damacy and Dynasty Warriors.

Some of the greatest characters of all time were mostly fun-loving and upbeat until this decade for the most part. We have Mario, Sonic, Rayman, Duke Nukem, Crash Bandicoot, Dante, Sora, Ratchet & Clank, Sackboy and Bayonetta (I know, 2010). This applies to TV as well with Bugs Bunny, Goku, etc.

While I have faith in indie developers to remember that games can still be fun, I worry how most AAA publishers came to a consensus that fun surrounded by bright colours doesn't sell and characters that are all "Grr! I'm so serious! Grr!" equals 80 tentillion dollars and 11 stars.

What's your opinion? I like to know your thoughts.

I'd buy into that. I don't really play games like that (aside from Shadow the Hedgehog, but that game WAS 4 years of my life), this could also be that I mainly own nintendo systems, not PS4 and XBONE.

Indeed, and then don't get me started on how depressing Square Enix games can be.
Actually, that's one of the reasons I love Bravely Default so much, while the story does have its darker moments (e.g. in Florem ), it still overall retains a great, mostly light-hearted, just plain fun tone, with a story that's deep but not too much.
I think we're all sick of wangsty heroes.

Seriously, everything's rated M for Money these days, it's rather annoying. I own a PS3 but really only have Ratchet and Clank and Transformers and Sonic on it, otherwise I'm Nintendo all the way. Same with television, very few shows are either family-friendly and not super immature at the same time, and those that are get cancelled (unless they have Avatar in their name, though that's by no means a complaint).

this is half the reason why i prefer nintendo

I mean those games are great and all, but they always make me depressed while playing. Sometimes I'd rather feel happy while playing a game, like Zelda for instance.

Quote: DarkCynder_543

this is half the reason why i prefer nintendo

I mean those games are great and all, but they always make me depressed while playing. Sometimes I'd rather feel happy while playing a game, like Zelda for instance.

This.

I absolutely love darker games like The Walking Dead: the Game and Resident Evil: Revelations, but most of my favorite games are vibrant and cheery, like Sonic Colors and Cave Story. Even my all-time favorite game, Assassin's Creed II, manages to put some fun into the story. Most developers are just trying to cash in on the popularity of first person shooters, even the ones who helped define it as a genre*coughCallofDutycough*. It all depends on how well a game can pull off a dark tone effectively and still be fun. A lot of games today manage to fail in that aspect.

It's also so annoying how a lot of hardcore gamers (unless Nintendo fans) tend to think if a game isn't gritty or mature (I mean as in lots of immoral and inappropriate stuff, I don't mind if there's some in games but it's pretty much just slathered everywhere as of late) or rated M then it's for kids and/or no good.

Quote: Doomslicer

It's also so annoying how a lot of hardcore gamers (unless Nintendo fans) tend to think if a game isn't gritty or mature (I mean as in lots of immoral and inappropriate stuff, I don't mind if there's some in games but it's pretty much just slathered everywhere as of late) or rated M then it's for kids and/or no good.

I dont mind a bit of nudity and blood and gore but what i really hate is what you said how is a kids game with no violence bolld no good?

Quote: Doomslicer

It's also so annoying how a lot of hardcore gamers (unless Nintendo fans) tend to think if a game isn't gritty or mature (I mean as in lots of immoral and inappropriate stuff, I don't mind if there's some in games but it's pretty much just slathered everywhere as of late) or rated M then it's for kids and/or no good.

People like them are one of the many banes of gaming existence.