Every great game starts with a dream. A visionary developer and fervent team spend years bringing that conceptual dream to fruition. And every so often, a game captures the hearts and imaginations of adoring fans that herald it as a monumental achievement. But with time, all that remains are faded memories, the whispered magic once captured by the game etched into the hearts of gamers.
How many incredible games sit on the shelf of our memory collecting dust? How many endless hours were spent playing the likes of Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, or Goldeneye 007? Can these memories ever live again?
There is a pseudo-solution that is carving — perhaps gouging — a modern trend through the gaming industry: resurrection of the classics, where golden games of bygone days are given a fresh coat of graphics, gizmos and gameplay.
But is this always good for the game or the gamer? Can redesigning, revamping and reissuing games of yesteryear really capture imaginations as they once did?
It can, as long as the passion that gave the original its magic is the driving force behind its remake. It would be wonderful if that were always the case. But in this modern age of monopolizing conglomerates like EA and Activision eating up smaller developers in pursuit of a better bottom line, it’s hard to stay hopeful that the restoration of a classic video game will be motivated by anything more than dollar signs.
Corners get cut, visions muddied and the end product seems to have but a few of the original aspects that gave it its captivating charm.
Case in point is the upcoming release of Goldeneye 007 on Nov 2. Here’s a game where the original was near and dear to my heart. Many a night in university was spent with friends crammed in a dorm room, playing four-player deathmatch on a 14-inch RCA TV. Automatics in the complex with “Licence to Kill” rules applied and no radar, as always, was standard. It was a game that revolutionized first person shooters and multiplayer gaming. It was the mother of Perfect Dark and the grandmother to Halo and COD.
Now, nearly 14 years later, it will be re-born, perhaps spawned into the latest generation. One would think this gamer would be ecstatic. One would think this gamer would have his pre-order in hand. But this gamer knows the dismal reality of this classic’s resurrection, having read the motivation behind the game’s rebirth is already being called into question.
According to the Official Nintendo Magazine, Martin Hollis, the original designer of 1997’s Goldeneye 007, doesn’t have much faith the modern version will hold true to the spirit of the original. “I imagine it is a business decision isn’t it?” Hollis states, “This name is valuable. I find it hard to picture Activision’s top management being excited about the original and wanting to do it justice.”
I tend to agree. The problem is that we are lucky if the original developers haven’t been swallowed into the moneymaking machine that is today’s gaming industry. Companies like EA and Activision continue to get larger, continue to acquire developers, forcing once thriving companies to downsize or fold completely. This means our beloved classics will have the mass production Madden mentality forced upon them, with the spirit that kindled the magic behind their legacy dying a little more each year.
For now, the sacred kinship I have for classics like Goldeneye 007 might have to remain in the past.
When he’s not teaching junior high, St. Albert Catholic High alumnus Derek Mitchell spends his free time connected to a video game console.
