I have been gone for quite a while. In this time the regularity with which I played videogames waned. I cancelled my LOVEFiLM subscription, met someone and devoted a lot of time to working.
I write this in fear, because my favourite experiences exist in superb 3D artistry and complex programming (to simplify AAA videogame development into two categories) . Mechanics, imagery and characters I'll remember forever - because they required an investment of time on the sofa with a specific piece of hardware, and a wad of cash to even purchase. They were played in solitude, and asked that I endured a couple hours training before I could fully play.
Nowadays I find myself playing smart phone games. Mechanically, they are quite entertaining. And every now and then, I find a genius little time whittler. These few games I will instinctively compare to Tetris. Not for any ludo-sensical reason, just as a reaction to them being based on one simple, yet satisfying mechanic.
These games tend to be played in the time between real life, and they fit nicely there. Because of that, they are not events, nor do they carry any meaning. They aren't played in solitude thanks to Facebook. As aforementioned, they exist with one mechanic and require seconds to grasp. They are small, never breathtakingly pretty and have very short, looping soundtracks.
So why, if there is no clear winner am I fearful?
Despite having spent £40 this year on the AAA games, and £0 on the smartphone games, I have spent hours more on the latter. And I'd assume the industry is paying attention to that little bit of less-than-anecdotal evidence.
More than that this blog post is probably about missing a big AAA game, hopefully as the summer draws to a close, and more time is spent inside, I'll see something that piques my interest.
Hope to post more soon.
Kyle
