Fourth generation gaming systems of today have greatly evolved the immersive gaming experience. From in-depth character development and customization, to discovering your own moral compass by the decisions you make when playing, to finding true freedom in interactive worlds, the entire gaming experience has matured into a personal one. Although older games with more rigid worlds still hold a special place in our hearts, today’s games and the options provided within the games are truly remarkable. Below we explore just a few of the options you have when playing most of this generation’s games and why these options are important.
Digging Into Character Development
Character customization allows you to find a part of yourself in the character, which, Psychology Today says, can help boost self esteem. In the older days of gaming, you simply played as the default character or picked a character from a short list to start your adventure.
We’ve stepped into the age of an increasingly interactive entertainment. Today’s character customization options are so in-depth that you can even upload your rendered face onto the character you’re creating. For instance, in Dragon Age: Inquisition you can interact and get to know the personal stories of almost every character in the game. As you pass people on the street they engage with you and even compliment or critique your actions. In the earlier “Dragon Age: Origins” installments, character development began with a silent character that we could adjust to our own liking, as well as three classes, six prologues and three playable races. This helped to establish the character a bit before the story begins; however, beyond customization capabilities, we’ve seen growth in the individual characters’ personalities, as well.
Finding Yourself In The Story
The Fallout series was one of the earlier game franchises to level up their decision making engine. This meant the story changed based upon the responses you chose and the actions you took. Most storylines up this point, even ones that did enable you to ask questions and choose alternative routes ended up leading you to the same destination.
When the world’s are completely interactive, as is the case with “Grand Theft Auto V,” it leads to a greater gaming experience. Never before have we had the ability to affect change, or create destruction in our virtual worlds.
As human beings we live to create. The depth of experience to be had in these worlds gives us the chance to alter landscapes and influence how the story unfolds. In gaming we learn what we’re really made of.
The Importance Of Choice
When you get to choose you truly feel like you’re in control. Older games offered one gameplay option and that was it. If you didn’t like how the story unfolded, you would choose a new game, simple as that.
The power of gaming systems has increased and so has the ability to develop larger and more interactive worlds, with ever-evolving storylines. Now, the player chooses the direction of the game. Do you want to lead the world into death and destruction, or do you want to be the one to overcome the forces of evil?
Many gamers play out multiple storylines over the course of the game. This wasn’t possible in the past, as classic games had only one storyline to play through and although, in some, you would have to go back and replay in order to unlock the achievements, it was never as fun as the first time you played.
Most RPGs across these fourth generation systems provide you with endless storylines you can dive into, so the gaming experience never gets boring. The golden age of RPGs is currently upon us, and features worlds that sometimes seem more real than the one we inhabit every day.
I'm a published author and proud US Army veteran who happens to be a gamer, so I decided to combine the two and love every minute of it! Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments and I'll be sure to get back to you.
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