Do gamers care about originality?

[deadpool15]

So what do you think? Do you want the same ole reliable, tried and tested games just churned out again or do you prefer something new and shiny that may not be so dependable?

I, myself feel split on this argument. I would like to consider myself to be into original games but I'm simply not. I favourite games of all time are Legend of Zelda, Metal Gear solid, Resident evil and Final Fantasy.
So, LoZ, basically the same gaming notion repeated with a singlereal major change in each. After it made the jump to 3D gaming with Ocarina of Time we were all impressed. It basically said this is what zelda is, enjoy and we did. Look how long it was offically the greatest game ever. Majoras mask was a pretty different setup, windwaker brought a new element with the whole flooded world and Twilight princess had its twilight zones, but at the core of every zelda games its basically the same; Fight Dungeons, get weapons, things go tits up, master sword, fight more dungeons, get more weapons, save bitch, kill Ganon/dorf.
MGS, Yeah its pretty similar throughout the series but it's a continuing storyline and each game brings major new factors in.
Resident evil, again continuing storyline, 0-3 were all pretty similar but 4+5 completely flipped around.
Final fantasy, I refuse to believe this game is repipition with the exception of X and X-2. Each new game comes with a fresh set of characters and and brand spanking new storyline. It has constantly reinvented itself in the form of levelling up systems and battling systems. In my opinion the only thing that remains constant in this series, is theres a guy called cid and the games title. I love it.

This year at christmas, I decided to get some new original games. I had previously enjoyed gears of war and COD4 but made a concious decision not to get the sequels for they looked so similar to the formers. Instead I bought LittleBigPlanet, Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead. I was far from disappointed.
LBP has originality pouring from it like it were a porous sackboy the game made me love.
Fallout 3 has its ingenious VATS system and extensive gameplay, though I must admit I only bought this to get a similar experience to that of oblivion.
Left 4 Dead is now one of my favourite games. Its brilliantly designed. It doesnt have top-notch graphics or new innovated gameplay, but you can play this for hours on end with your buddies and never get bored.

So what do you think? Reliability or Originality?

[desert116]

I prefer to read reviews and play demos. Then I choose. If game gets good review score and I enjoy the demo, I get it. No matter is it original or not.

[Ultran]

I love originality if it has depth and a good storyline. The "new" is attractive to me, but I generally don't go for it unless I'm seeing great reviews. I treat old repeats with more prejudice. I'm not a fan of playing sequels if it's the same game puked out again. FF X-2 made me want to throw up.

[J1989]

I would call The Darkness a fairly original game. It had great graphics, interesting story, decent creature designs and brilliant voice acting. However, I didn't like the gameplay. I found it too dull and I never finished the game.

So, between the two, I'd rather have originality but it all depends on the gameplay.

[Lost-Chances]

Originality helps a lot. Mirrors Edge was a short game with lacking AI, too much combat and a bad story-line but it was something now which allowed me to get into it enough to warrant buying it. However, if they attempt to pull the same stunt off again then I doubt they'll get much sales.

[slackerzac]

If its fun I will play it.

[Sawdust]

I think it's a good waste of money to buy a generic fps with a generic plot and generic everything.

So, yeah I care.

[WritingPad]

I personally do, i don't plan on buying a new game that has the same core aspects as another game which has virtually the same graphics and mechanics, it's a waste really. so in answer to your question, I do care.

[KartoTolmex]

On a personal level, I value originality above all else. Even if the game isn't perfect, I'll buy it anyway; just to encourage other developers to think outside the box, rather than turf out another FPS or sandbox game with collect the items gameplay so they can say it takes 50 hours to complete.

But in general (seeing as the majority of gamers are brain dead) I think reliability is preferred, all you have to do is look at sales and player reactions.

Mirror's Edge, original concept didn't do that well.
Prince of Persia, players in their thousands bitch on forums on how they dared to change the formula.

Then on the other side of the fence GOW2, Halo 3, COD:WAW: nothing more than a couple of maps, couple of guns and it sells by the millions (complaints are there sure, but you get my point

[VenomKing666]

Most companies go for the reliability and rehashing since it worked in the past, they can't affort the risk since a game costs so much to make these days.

If you want originality you have to go for indie developpers, and Valve a little bit too.

[DeIirium]

Originality is overrated, it doesnt make the game.

[FatherSuperior]

I think reliability trumps originality most of the time, gamers hate broken games that don't work. Its hard to really get into a game that freezes or is buggy.

[ZJ]

It's all about enjoyment.

If a game tries all of these brand new "original" ideas and gameplay elements, but plays like crap, then no one is going to like or play that game.

Think about Madden? That game hasn't really changed since like 1995 (The jump to 3D), but it still remains fun and playable and still manages to be a best-seller.

[PikaRobo]

At 2/13/09 03:24 PM, DeIirium wrote: Originality is overrated, it doesnt make the game.

No, no, it really isn't.

[VenomKing666]

At 2/13/09 03:24 PM, DeIirium wrote: Originality is overrated, it doesnt make the game.

It's better than always rehashing the same shit, hey wanna guess the differences between Madden 08 and Madden 09 ?

[ragingfred]

PC gamers - occasionally
Xbox360 gamers - not often
Ps3 gamers - more often then not
Wii gamers - yes.