In my case, it isn't that I'm feeling like an "eliticist". I just want ... I often try to compare it to museums. People just don't like museums. They must be supported here, by he state or the town, usually.
But what is popular are mass events like football. TV. In cenemas, the demanding movies are not those which generate the most profits.
Hmm, now you're making me think of computer systems, and perhaps there I can see your point. Windows is something that I hate, for example: it's technologically poor in almost every regard, but there it is, everywhere, ubiquitous. Better systems exist but are almost unheard of, save the occasional remark about Linux for better or worse. Is it the fault of the users? Well, no: at least no more than most have been indoctrinated to believe by Microsoft's slick adverts.
If I cast my mind back to being taught to use VMS (nice, but wordy), MVS (okay but clunky) or Unix (horrible but very powerful), would I want to inflict that on the average computer user? Probably not, but had they remained as contemporary as they were back in the day, they could have possibly offered a viable
and usable alternative. It's hard to know if that was ever a possible reality or if I'm just a dreamer; but in a way it parallels the way RPGs have progressed.
And I always wonder why ? Why are some games which don't even have social interaction at all so insanely popular ? Why does no-one go into museums ? Are both (PS:T and art museums) too demanding ? Do people rather prefer some sort of "light enetertainment" ? Like Mass Effect ?
I think we'll have to agree to disagree about Mass Effect since I actually rather like it, but as for why people don't go to museums... well I can't pull numbers out of a hat, but I wonder if there is a drop if it's for the same reason that people no longer go to public libraries as often as they used do--noting that our local library is sadly earmarked for closure. It's not that the custom isn't there, but that much of it has gone online. This is admittedly an assumption based on my own tendency to agoraphobia, but I prefer it as an explanation to alternatives like everybody becoming obsessed with football, soap operas or whatever.
If I think this consequently to the end, then the path of the profit is leading to this : To the smallest ever possible risks in terms of financial losses, to the greatest mass appeal in terms of financial income, and to the best audience possible, to vbuild up a good brand name for future sales.
This is sadly all to commonplace at least in generic terms, to the point where it's becoming increasingly difficult to find good quality products even as expensive niche items. I tried to buy my first mobile phone recently, for example, and it seems they're all rubbish. You can't even get a decent kettle any longer, not for any price.
But I still view this as a fault with the corporate world: everything's short term, nobody's interested in the slow-burners that could be a real investment.
Back to computer games, those that are a challenge are a tricky area to deal with: too much to remember early on makes them prohibitively difficult for newcomers (not just to the genre but the game itself) and can be off-putting; whereas lack of complexity can be boring in the longer-term. I mentioned Oblivion a while back: I came to it from the world of shooters, which had been fairly unsatisfactory to me: RPGs had passed me by, for whatever reason. And there I was, confronted with what some would regard as a "dumbed down" game, with quests galore, trading, enchanting, more types of weapon than I could shake a stick at, even more personal attributes than I knew what to do with, weird stuff like soul gems... it was all so overwhelming. Fast forward a few dozen hours of playing time, once I'd got over the learning curve, and I was wanting more: it was too basic! Fortunately FCOM banished much of that latter frustration, but really it was the learning curve that was the big problem. I know I have more issues with it than most people--I can go far, but the first steps make me falter more than most. But even more complex games? I still put them off in trepidation of what may be in store: I'm left thinking of The Witcher which really did seem to be a case of complexity for its own sake (and I've seen few people disagree with that) but it would be so easy to address it not in terms of streamlining but just making it simpler. And few people would want that.
I guess the point is that appealing to both newcomers and old hands alike is probably a sort of "holy grail" of RPGs. I don't even know if it's attainable... but the games studios shouldn't give up trying.
