I agree with Ian, S_B and Adrock.
It isn't so much that people are asking for blood and guts in every game. That's NOT what "maturity" is and, for the most part, that's not what people are asking for when they ask for more mature titles on the Wii (though, those kind of immature "mature" games do have their place on any system). We're asking for games that look like they're being targeted at adults, with a mature art direction, storyline and theme that aren't just scraps from other consoles. Frankly, I'm sick of the whole "well, adults can play this, too" mentality, because it's not the same. I think what some people want are games aimed at late teens/adults...and not just kid themed games that adults can also get into if they're so inclined.
What's unnerving is the lack of variety. For the most part, new exclusive projects announced for the Wii have this definite "for kids" art style. It's all, as Ian put it, Super Fluffy Cloud Land. Now, those styles have their place, but so does the mature art style. I'm worried about big name developers still believing that a Nintendo console isn't the place for mature themed games. Heck, EA's new Wii project, that people seemed to be holding hopes for, has been described as being "for the Wii crowd" and having lots of "Sunshine". Now, I could be wrong, but those two descriptors don't lead me to believe that this game isn't going to be another...Super Fluffy Cloud Land. And this new Opoona game...I'm definitely interested as it seems to be an RPG, but the art style...again, Super Fluffy Cloud Land with a Super Fluffy Clowd Land story.
Now, there are some developers who believe the Wii is truly the console for everyone and making games that cater to the mature audience (No More Heroes FTW
, Sonic, and I will credit Ubi with their one decent exclusive effort, Red Steel). But the general consensus, as it stands now, seems to be that if you're creating an exclusive game for the Wii, make it for kids but provide just enough to keep mature audiences somewhat interested. That idea has it's place, but it's
not variety, and it doesn't show increased support for the Wii over the Cube as far as
type of support goes.
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Mario game you've ever seen...UH OH, LOOKS KIDDY, GONNA BE AN EASY GAME RIGHT? And then there's Viewtiful Joe, which looked like a kiddy superhero game when it was first revealed...Just don't make assumptions...
Mario Sunshine didn't look kiddie at all, in my opinion. The actual levels looked gorgeous and it looked like a Mario game or most platformers did. It employed the same type of art style that Mario 64 did, just in a tropical island setting. I think the only "kiddie" thing about Mario Sunshine
at first was the weird island people and the whole "SHINE GET!" thing.
Same thing with Viewtiful Joe. I don't know anyone who described that game as kiddie. Sure, it has a loud, cel-shaded art style, but Viewtiful Joe is the perfect example of bright colors employed in a mature way. Interesting, kick-a** beat-em-up style gameplay with a storyline that, while pretty nonsensical, was still more for adults than it was for kids. And the art style was very contemporary and urban, yet whimsical at the same time (very comic book). It wasn't "let's make this look like something that would be a morning PBS cartoon". Viewtiful Joe, in my opinion, was the opposite of what most devs seem to be doing: it took an adult game with an adult style, and added just enough to it to make it interesting for kids.
Oh, and just because a game is hard doesn't mean it's for mature audiences. Sometimes "hard" can just be bad game design; and sometimes what makes a game mature can everything else in supplement to how it plays.
Topic: Zack & Wiki (Read 47539 times)
