Please ban the word 'experiences' from E3, thanks
One thing that's been ticking me off since the Xbox One E3 a few years ago is how developers like the use the word 'experiences'. Videogames are meant to be interactive toys - we are given the freedom to move around freely and we should be given the ability to use the features and components however we please. That's what makes games great! Games that are essentially the pinnacle of openness are some of Will Wright's games. Look at The Sims. Would you say that The Sims is an "experience"? That implies that you don't control the direction and outcome of the game. And that is one thing that modern games also happen to be lacking.
Do you see where I'm going? Developers are openly advertising to you, that _they_ know how those games are meant to be played. They want you to play through the games the way _they_ designed it.
One of the things in Bethesda's games for example is the utter lack of roleplaying - you do not decide your characters backstory or destiny and the only aspect of character creation is the visual appearance of your character. No, skill numbers do not count because they don't define the character. You do not describe someones character and personality by saying "they are strong!" or "they are intelligent!". Someone can be intelligent but also a massive asshole that doesn't want to talk to you. On top of that, the exploration aspect in the games is non-existant since they show you direct markers to scenic locations with the same monsters on every playthrough. Although most dungeon crawlers are flawed, you can appreciate that you will at least have unique stories to tell from them! Just take NetHack! I could go on for hours about how I got killed in the most ridiculous of ways. Why did I bring up Bethesda's games? Because people consider them to be the most open and interactive games out there. They are defined as role-playing games but actual role-playing is impossible. The meaning of RPG seems to have been shifted - it is now a game where you only define what you look like and you have a couple of dialog choices which always tell you how to act friendly/fiendish towards someone.
And that's why I can't stand 'experience(s)' in the context of videogames. Sure, linear story driven games have a place... somewhere. But they should be the odd ones out! I want to break games. I want to use the tools the devs have given me to do things it was not necessarily designed to do! That's what makes games great. They should offer you a lot to play with. Games like BioShock Infinite may as well be on rails - because the games is so linear that it would not matter if you removed the free-moving aspect about it. They already draw a giant arrow on the floor to tell you where to go if you're "lost". Please, less 'experiences' and more INTERACTIVITY.
- Marco