New Games: Why they just aren't working for me.
SO, new games then. Quite a lot of those and quite a lot that haven't been clicking with me. I think an explanation has finally emerged. Stagnation in the industry. Games are less and less frequently trying to give players a new experience and more and more frequently trying to sell players on the same experiences they already had. That I've already had. There are countless people who have not yet experienced these ideas and new media makes them accessible to them.
Bridge Over Stagnant Water
Don't get me wrong here-- I'm not trying to enact some sort of highlander rule. I don't there could or should only be one type of each game. I just think that I have played enough games that games in general are decreasingly showing me new ideas. That's not to say no games have done this, either.
It becomes and issue for me when these games copy poorly or don't try and blend things quite enough. It just reminds me of better games I have already played. Games I enjoyed more. The worst thing any media can do it remind you of another, better bit of media you already consumed. Have you ever went to a restaurant and ordered something which was fine and actually tasted nice but it just reminded you of a time you had an even better version of the same dish? No matter how objectively good the food you just had is your experience with it and your own personal feelings about it will be influenced by your past experiences and feelings.
It is difficult to separate the echelon of chicken Kiev you remember from your past from the version you just had. The bar is set high and any future chicken Kiev will probably just disappoint. In a quest for perfection you keep trying. First to top it, then to match it then to grasp as closely as possible.
Grapes
Eventually you get tired of the same thing. You want something new. You can only east so many grapes before you've had enough for a while. I know I have tired of other media this way. Many of the films I like now I enjoy because they do something different and it isn't an experience I've already had countless times. Even though some are very similar I still feel as though there's something unique to each. I can select the media to give me the exact experience I want.
What I can't seem to do well is select media to give me new experiences.
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