One of the panels I attended at Comic Con was a gaming panel presented by MTV.  When I saw it on the program, the name was so stupid (something like “Versus Video Game Clash Live”) that I almost ignored it until I noticed that Todd Howard of Fallout 3 fame and Bioshock’s Ken Levine were on the panel.  It turned out to be a pretty fascinating discussion so I’ll relate it here and even butt in with my own opinions from time to time.

When asked what was most surprising about this generation of video games, Todd Howard stated that he was surprised by how huge trophies and achievements have become.  I tend to agree, it is pretty amazing when you think about how popular this whole meta-gaming sphere has grown…and I think it will only keep getting more and more popular.  Howard mentioned that achievements didn’t change anything in the way the actual game of Fallout 3 was put together.  But the team did spend time putting thought into them and trying to come up with a creative and entertaining list, even making sure the graphics matched the style of the game.  Ken Levine agreed and felt this was only “the tip of the iceberg” and that we would soon see other forms of interaction between gamers.  That had me pondering possibilities…but that’s a story for another post.

The two talked about the issues with making sequels for a bit and the fine line between giving the fans what they think they want and what they really want.  I think the most important thing is to make sure you make a really fun game.  Whether that sticks closely to the original or not depends on the game in question, but I’m not a stickler for remaining totally true to the source if a game is great to play.

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