[Talbain]

[Talbain]

Realistically Farmville and Visual Novels are more problematic to the medium's evolution. So in a sense, the medium probably has gone backwards rather than forward over the larger scope of what's a game.

The Last Story is actually a good example of the latter. It has all the regular trappings of jRPG, but includes a silly, linear story where you make "decisions" by deciding whether or not you want the game to progress, and what's worse is that in some cases answering Yes or No in certain situations leads straight to a Game Over, making these non-decisions meaningless. There's also the QTEs... I suppose that's another part of design that really needs to disappear. Simon Says isn't a terribly interesting game.
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[Talbain]

Except what these games are doing is using psychology rather than solid mechanics. It's relatively easy to make a game like Farmville or a Visual Novel with tragic heroes, but both eschew complex mechanics in favor of using human desire as their primary means of garnering purchases. And it ultimately doesn't end well for anyone. The players end up feeling robbed of both their money and their time. This isn't good for the medium. It's not even good for their genres, as it makes people who are aware of these strategies less inclined to be interested in them again (and in extreme cases, has led to lawsuits).
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[Talbain]

[Talbain]