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General News - The Future of Immersive Sims

Discussion in 'Game/SP News & Comments' started by RPGWatch, Aug 16, 2017.

  1. RPGWatch

    RPGWatch Watching... ★ SPS Account Holder

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    [​IMG]PC Gamer thinks that the immersive sims sub-genre is in danger:

    The uncertain future of games like Deus Ex and Dishonored
    Immersive sims have been held up as the pinnacle of PC game design, but recent sales may mean the genre is endangered.

    Warren Spector is stuck in Prey. The director of Deus Ex, who has worked on many games since labeled "immersive sims"-in fact, he coined the term in a post-mortem of Deus Ex -has been playing the modern games inspired by classics like Thief and System Shock. But he hasn't finished Prey yet. Or, as he puts it: "The crew quarters are kicking my butt."

    He's enjoying it though, just as he enjoyed the other recent immersive sim from Arkane Studios, Dishonored 2. "I thought they were both excellent examples of what I think of when I say 'immersive sim,'" Spector says. "They removed barriers to belief that I was in another world and they let me approach problems as problems, rather than as puzzles. I'm really glad Arkane exists and that they're so committed to the genre. Without them I'd have fewer games to play!"

    Spector's not the only one who'd mourn their loss. Arkane is still around, but there's this uneasy feeling in the air that there's now some reason to worry. Not about Arkane, necessarily, but the immersive sim in general, this genre held up as the shining example of PC gaming at its most smartest and most complex. None of the last three big-budget immersive sims-Prey, Dishonored 2, and Eidos Montreal's Deus Ex: Mankind Divided-have broken a million sales on Steam.

    It's always been a niche genre, defined by player freedom, environmental storytelling, and a lot of reading diary entries. How long can they be propped up by the fact that some designers really like making them?

    [...]​
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 17, 2017
    RPGWatch, Aug 16, 2017
    #1
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