Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is an incredible video game. Its snappy and responsive first-person shooter gameplay, coupled with the progression elements of a role-playing game (RPG), have changed the video game industry forever. It was the unbridled success of Modern Warfare that turned the series into an annual franchise.
Since the release of Modern Warfare, many games have incorporated RPG elements. It popularized the leveling up and loadout mechanics that many other competitive games have since adopted. Other shooters like Borderlands and Destiny have taken loot collecting and skill tree elements from action RPG’s like Diablo. Bringing multiple genres together in a single game often produces a unique gameplay experience which is part of the reason why genres are becoming less relevant.
Ubisoft has earned a reputation for blending genres across many of their popular franchises. Mechanics from Assassin’s Creed, like climbing towers to reveal activities on the map, crafting consumables, and collecting vendor trash items to sell later have found their way into another popular franchise from Ubisoft: Far Cry. Mechanics from the Far Cry games have also found their way into the Assassin’s Creed games. Some players and critics have taken to calling this trend “Assassin’s Creedification.” Mechanics from these games are also found in other Ubisoft franchises like Watch_Dogs and Ghost Recon.
Even the critical and commercial success, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, arguably one of the best games to have been released this year, has taken inspiration from games like Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. One of the reasons Breath of the Wild is such a great game is because of the addition of these mechanics. The Legend of Zelda series has more or less followed the same basic formula for more than 30 years and the inclusion of aspects from other genres has given the game a fresh feel. As more games adopt this model however, the more stagnant it becomes.
Unfortunately, game genres as we know them are fading into the background as more and more genres are amalgamated into the Ubisoft archetype. Hybrid genres can give games a unique flavor, but when every open world game relies on the same basic mechanics, they all start to feel the same.
That’s where Game Protocol comes in. Game Protocol is a platform that features a co-working community. This collaborative development environment will allow fans and crowdfunding contributors to communicate directly with developers throughout the development process. The player influence on the creation process will reduce the increasingly “market-tested” feel that has been plaguing the AAA development space.
