F*^%k! Are the games fun again?
Is nature healing itself?
You will find no end to the negative vitriol that is surrounding the video game industry.
The exasperated sighs of more live service games being announced.
The collective malaise when another great studio is closed.
And the schadenfreude at yet another multi million dollar game releasing in a buggy state with less than perfect review scores.
It’s grim out there.
Heck, lest we not forget Concord, a game so not-the-vibe, the cumulative disinterest of the entire internet killed it in a matter of days. That was unprecedented.
Enshitification, late stage capitalism, unrealistic expectations, wasted potential, trend chasing, blind greed. You don’t need to be Sherlock to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Living through a collective depression, one would expect us all to stop enjoying games. You would expect the industry to feel like a dying city, empty streets, boarded up windows, and a crumbling infrastructure.
And yet I can hear people.
I can hear hustle, and bustle.
A handful of new shops have just opened, their building sporting a fresh new coat of paint, the windows, clean.
I can see the beginnings of new greenery, the street has been swept, and the old bench has been repaired.
Most importantly I can see people, happy.
Not a micro transaction in sight.
I go over to see what the fuss is all about, it’s been so long since i’ve seen such a sight.
Curiosity breaking through my protective layer of cynacism.
As I get closer, I start to see more of the new shops.
I can’t quite make out the names, but the first one is adorned with poker cards and colourful jokers.
The second contains a life sized poster of a person wielding a pistol in one hand, a spell book in the other as fire washes over the players enemies.
The shops are packed, with lines trailing out the door. No one seems to be sad about their place in line, they are all just happy and excited to be part of something new.
A noise catches my attention, and out of the thirds shop merges two women, one dressed in a fantastical garb, the other something outside of a sci fi film. They appear to be acting out a scene to keep the crowd entertained.
As I walk past, I feel a smile spread across my face, it feels so good to see so many happy people, excited by the new shops in town.
I think we’re going to be okay, I tell myself.
I think we’re going to be okay.