E3 2011. This Post is Pretty Much Overdue

Earlier this month, the E3 conference was held in Los Angeles. Same days, same time and every year. I did not watch as much as E3 as I should, considering that I'm blogging about it at this moment. However, I would say that I am slightly disappointed in the titles that are released this year. I believe that online gaming as completely dimished the quality of videogames the same way reality TV and Michael Bay movies dimished the American entertainment.

So, originally, I was going to post what I liked and would not buy until I read this article on Cracked.com . It somewhat made me think twice about which videogames I do purchase, because it's all the same. When I first started playing videogames frequently in 2001, it was "choose as many as you want. They are all different". It's now well into 2011, literally ten years later and it's more like "pick your poison because they are all the same". On message boards and video comments, hardcore fanboys fight over which title is the best such as Call of Duty, Halo and Battle Field to name a few. I saw footage of both Modern Warfare 3 and BattleField 3. Both games are first person shooters. They have nice graphics and compelling continuations of storylines. However, they are both distinct. If you want a realistic and yet cineatic experience, then Call of Duty is perfect title for the experience. If you want an ultra realistic storyline and gameplay, then BattleField 3 is the perfect game.

Some people would read the beginning of this and ask why I think online gaming has ruined everything for the game industry. I am not saying that the industry is loosing money. I would admit sells for games have dropped about 14% within the past year. Although online gaming is holding the industry afloat, the lack off creativity and over-reliance on online gaming and sequels will sink the gaming world.

Overall, if I can make a commentary about the videogame world and compare it with other forms of entertainment, I would honestly say that at least the advertisers do not have a direct influence on the creative process in the industry the same way they do with the movie and television world. There was a push at one point to add advertisement into videogames. It was considered for Halo 2. However, it did not go through. Instead, Bungie placed its name various products and companies. It would be impractical to cancel the sequel of a game because the advertisers are not happy with it. We see on television and in some cases movies this happens frequently. Series or shows are cancelled because cannot pull ratings and companies look at ratings to determine whether not they should sponsor a program.

There was a time when I did believe in the world of gaming. As I get older and start to see things from an artist perspective, I learned not to put other people or their ideas on a pedestal. As I'm taking painting classes and other types of art classes where content is placed above execution, I learned not to elevate people's ideas above my own. I had this discussion with a classmate the other day, and I think I told him it's one of the reasons why I did not get involved in the fashion industry. I can say for the most part the videogame world is not as bad as the music industry. For the sake of this article, I will post the titles that I believe have stood out fron other games at E3.













*More games will be added soon!