تطور أطوار اللعب من التحف القصصية حتى تبني الباتل رويال

I have always thought that what distinguishes video games from movies is the player's interaction with the story and changing the course of events slightly or radically if necessary. But in the fourth generation of home appliances, the manufacturers' point of view changed, so their motive was not to create a masterpiece or a novel to compete with Shakespeare, but to make a profit whatever the price, even if that meant emulsifying chains.

Dear reader, we will raise the quality of the image in order to become clear and neutral about the reality and direction of the industry, as we summarized in our article “From Pac-Man to the Confusion of Choice  ”, the  history of the industry since it was arcade games to what they are now.

The spirit of competition

In the first generation of video games (the 1970s), arcade games were limited to a party that challenges artificial intelligence (computers) or competes with a human next to it. Neither story nor play on the digital network. Imagine the pleasure confined to it remains limited perception amid the pleasures of choice in our age.

With the development of computer technology and the presence of bright color inlays in the second generation devices, game developers have directed to add elements that love the audience in their games and increase their market popularity, so they had to add more competitors in one round (2-4 players). More players means more fun (genius).

Develop the story

That novel that you read or watched a movie about it sparked your captivating emotion. Here's a game in its name that enables you to control the course of events, not only that, but it also kills the characters you do not like! Let's admit that most of the games have linear stories, so there was nothing that could be added to make the matter more exciting as an open world or side missions, as all of these things did not come until later.

Games like Metal Gear Solid and Tom Clancy add an element of stealth and gameplay as a spy in the midst of military missions only 007 can do to its story. The Legend of Zelda, with its vast world (its time) and character development potential, has proven itself as a wide-world story mode game. Crash Bandicoot and Super Mario played a linear story, no side quests or character development because your destiny is to reach and defeat the last boss. Don't forget games like Final Fantasy and Breath of Fire have embraced the RPG genre and open world that you'll find throughout most of the series. All have adopted stories as a classification that distinguishes them from others.

Perhaps the first to integrate the cooperative phase in the story is the game Dynasty Warriors, where the player can finish the story alone or share the screen with another player beside him.

The timepiece

With the advent of the third generation of home devices and cooperative and competitive play over the network, developers have to adapt to the difficult situation, such as producing a game that contains a great story and a cooperative phase. Not to mention the cost of producing games with high graphics and frame rates, as well as the two elements of online co-op and story development, as a process like this takes years of development and a lot of financial investment.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of fighting, scattered bullets and the sound of explosions, you hide among the bushes and once sheltered by exposed walls, the emotionally excited music and the joyful or sad cinematic footage in the story sequence connects us closely to the parts of the series. Games like God of War, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Halo, The Witcher, BioShock, Life is Strange have produced stories that are taught as a dramatic plot with deep and resonant dialogues that will not be repeated, although some were decorated with the online game phase so that people would not forget this masterpiece Like The Last of Us and Metal Gear Solid 4, they had a cooperative phase that I mourn the loss of.

I do not deny that the Arab world at the time did not know (online) except in the third generation, despite its limited existence in its predecessor, but I am certain that he enjoyed every second of his time in this generation, not playing and enjoying ending a story that was the motivation for playing, but forming friendships and creating competition online. Games like Call of Duty, Gears of War, Battlefield, Halo, League of Legends have had a huge fan base that organize tournaments and competitions in its name and give prizes to the winners!

Competitive phase

Perhaps the saying (develop online) is correct. Games such as Overwatch, League of Legends, have mastered the field and even gambled to enter it with the uniqueness of cooperative play without the story stage, which was an unexceptionable addition whatever it was. Like Overwatch, I decided to add what is known as microtransactions (in-game purchases), which contributed to raising the game’s revenues despite the game’s release at a price of $ 59.99 at the time, not to mention the Ranked or seasonal classification that evaluates the player on winning and losing matches and calculating points for him accordingly. An order for League of Legends that allowed the game to be free and of course to add in-game purchases (microtransactions). Nevertheless, it has built the largest online player base in history.

Battle Royale

He developed an inevitable shout out, as it is a shout that will not end soon as it appears. From the phase created by the players' hands to the phase adopted by most of the popular online games. Simply put, the phase is a group of players competing against each other over the scarcity of resources and weapons in addition to the fact that the combat area narrows until it is confined to the safety circle, and if you are outside it, you are inevitably dead. Many competitors have entered the field, including Fortnite, Black Ops 4, PUBG, Apex, and not forgetting one of the oldest games that never finished in development, DayZ. Most of these games followed the style of their predecessors, namely, in-game purchases from outfits to special colors for weapons and characters, and they even faced widespread success to the point of competing on several platforms such as Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, computer, and even smartphones.

Battle Royale has spread successfully, so international competitions and tournaments were held and prizes were allocated to it, and we do not forget the famous streamers who contribute to the marketing of the games. With the fans' love and thirst for the challenges that accompany it, major names have taken to this stage to compete in and share their share of the cake.

What's Next?

After reviewing the evolution of the stages, a glossy conclusion is that companies are trying hard to keep the various categories of players within the game space by offering various tools and additions and constantly issuing updates, making the player spend more time in the game despite the end of the story. All of this is in the company's best interest. It may seem like a global conspiracy, but it is not like that, as it is their new direction and the benefit. There are different modes such as Virtual Reality Rooms, Arena Mode, and others, but they are not as popular as the ones mentioned above.