Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Mallus" data-source="post: 6353188" data-attributes="member: 3887">Short answer: no.Slightly longer answer: No. Neither video games as a whole nor tabletop games are being 'dumbed down'. Slightly longer still: Changes made to a single popular CRPG franchise do not indicate a widespread phenomena. And whether those design changes constitute 'dumbing down' are open to debate. They can't merely be assumed. Plenty of counter-evidence exists; the rise of old-school indie (video/computer) games across many platforms which bring back so-called 'smart' features like permadeath, 'consequences', unassisted exploration, tough puzzles, and so on (the apotheosis of this would be Dwarf Fortress). In fact, there's a really-well reviewed tough old-school RPG just released on Steam -- Divinity: Original Sin (I'm going to pick it up as soon as I'm done re-obsessing over Civilization V).Basically, the idea (video and computer) games are being dumbed down only makes sense if you ignore the wealth of evidence that disproves it. Is Elder Scrolls getting dumber -- maybe. Personally I wouldn't hold any of them up as examples of smart design, but that's just me. Plug for two of my favorite (semi) recent games: Flower and Journey are two of the smartest video games ever made. The posses almost every feature on the 'dumb down' list.&nbsp; As for comparing video &amp; computer games to tabletop RPGs in the first place -- it's tricky business. I think you need to start by providing an argument/framework for why the comparison useful in the first place.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mallus, post: 6353188, member: 3887"] [B]Short answer: [/B]no. [B]Slightly longer answer: [/B]No. Neither video games as a whole nor tabletop games are being 'dumbed down'. [B]Slightly longer still: [/B]Changes made to a single popular CRPG franchise do not indicate a widespread phenomena. And whether those design changes constitute 'dumbing down' are open to debate. They can't merely be assumed. Plenty of counter-evidence exists; the rise of old-school indie (video/computer) games across many platforms which bring back so-called 'smart' features like permadeath, 'consequences', unassisted exploration, tough puzzles, and so on (the apotheosis of this would be Dwarf Fortress). In fact, there's a really-well reviewed tough old-school RPG just released on Steam -- Divinity: Original Sin (I'm going to pick it up as soon as I'm done re-obsessing over Civilization V). Basically, the idea (video and computer) games are being dumbed down only makes sense if you ignore the wealth of evidence that disproves it. Is Elder Scrolls getting dumber -- maybe. Personally I wouldn't hold any of them up as examples of smart design, but that's just me. [B]Plug for two of my favorite (semi) recent games: [/B]Flower and Journey are two of the smartest video games ever made. The posses almost every feature on the 'dumb down' list. As for comparing video & computer games to tabletop RPGs in the first place -- it's tricky business. I think you need to start by providing an argument/framework for why the comparison useful in the first place. [/QUOTE]

Verification