Ron White, Evan Anthony

As the onset of both a New Year and decade passes us by, most gamers can easily agree that the past 10 years have brought about some of the most revolutionary, memorable and outright brilliant moments that the gaming industry has ever seen. From the birth of true online gaming via the onset of broadband internet, to the joys of experiencing nearly two whole console life spans, to the debuts of groundbreaking and hugely anticipated games such as “Half-Life 2,” the entire “Halo” trilogy, and “Grand Theft Auto,” today’s gamers should truly be proud of all that has transpired from 2000 to the final moments of 2009.

Unfortunately, the industry is starting to show signs of stagnation. Today’s developers are somewhat hesitant amongst the excellence, especially in the last few years of this decade. Part of the problem is creativity; for example, the developers of almost any shooter title felt that the need to outfit their protagonists with one or more traits from the “staid, badass space marine” school of now-overused character design all in the hope of capturing a fraction of the profit potential of heroes like “Master Chief.”

Other times, mere profitability is to blame, especially with developers like EA and Activision churning out sequel after sequel year after year for series such as “Madden,” “Need for Speed,” “Guitar Hero,” “Call of Duty,” and “Tony Hawk.” The result usually runs said franchises into the ground. As a small but still unwelcome side effect of this, game makers now feel the need to clutter both store shelves and living rooms by bundling their games with expensive plastic peripherals that serve a very limited purpose. Since Activision is now guaranteed to release around three games that include the word “Hero” and some sort of faux instrument every single year, one can likely see, in hindsight, how detestable this practice truly is.

Ron White, Evan Anthony

These factors are exactly why more video game companies should give some serious thought towards making games that pay homage to their earliest works instead of creating derivatives of their existing product portfolio. New sources of inspiration and creativity can be found in examining the grassroots of the culture and interpreting them to new and interesting means. After all, didn’t older gamers who are likely today’s developers spend most of their childhood raised by the likes of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis?

Imagine the nostalgic value of being able to play modern interpretations of favorite classics. Additionally, younger gamers would be interested in playing the products that helped their hobby develop into what it is today. Theoretically, any developer who started making classically-inspired, but original games would find profit from both kinds of gamers; thus, everybody wins.

One example of modern developers taking steps in the right direction is with the “New Super Mario Bros” (Nintendo, 2006). In essence, this was a straight-up re-imagination of the 1985 classic that singlehandedly saved and changed the gaming industry while retaining the same iconic 2D platforming structure. The release came with a graphics upgrade, several new suits and power-ups for characters to try, and, as is expected from Nintendo nowadays, mini-games. The game holds an 89 percent review score on Metacritic, and is currently the second-best selling DS game of all time. Not only does this popular re-hash cause an incidental archival of media, preserving the franchise in the process, but it also ensures that this favorite transcends generations and media.

Ron White, Evan Witek

On the other hand, not everyone can hit this same mark. Here are some examples of nostalgic fail, and here I mean the literal Latin translation of nostalgia: “pain from an old wound.” Bionic Commando (Capcom, 2009) was intended to be a 3D revival of the 2D once-obscure, but appreciated series. It involved soldiers with bionic grappling hooks for arms saving the world.

While not outright terrible — proven by its 70 percent grade on Metacritic it had terribly linear gameplay, a script full of unnecessary F-bombs, and an absolutely idiotic plot twist. It sold so poorly that its developer, GRIN, had to declare bankruptcy this past year. The developers took too many liberties with the original franchise, thus eliminating even the faintest interest. When it came down to it, it bore no resemblance to its ancestor.

All in all, the consensus one can take from these examples is that, while companies in the gaming industry have the right to remake the classics, they need to do so sparingly and in moderation in order to preserve itself while maintaining some creative credibility.

Ron White is a fourth year New Media Design Major and currently has a sample of his body work posted on newgrounds.com. Ron was kind enough to allow us use of the main charecter in his “Black Nights” series. Thanks Ron!