14 DAY TRIAL // There are certainly a lot of video game genres out there, ranging from strategy-oriented to hardcore ones, like sports. But one of the most popular is the shooter genre, as it gives players the opportunity to play as some unforgettable characters that let their guns do the talking for them.
But as time will pass, shooters will slowly evolve into Role Playing Games, at least according to Epic Games’ lead designer, Cliff Bleszinski, a man who revolutionized the shooter genre through his Gears of War franchise. He recently talked with Develop magazine in the UK and revealed that he shared his opinion with other designers and they completely agreed.
“I had a conversation with Harvey Smith – one of the lead designers on Deus Ex – and said to him the future of shooters is RPGs. He said he completely agreed.” he said. Bleszinski also talked about Ken Levine, and his work on the critically acclaimed BioShock title, which, although played like every other first person shooter, had some interesting role playing game mechanics. “There was a time when the industry warmed down and then BioShock came along.”
But the Epic Games designer didn't reveal anything as to whether this direction would be implemented in his own Gears of War franchise, which is one of the most appreciated third person shooters out there. “It depends on where things go,” Bleszinski said. “I mean, one could wean that from the comments I made earlier about the future of shooters is RPGs and see where things are going with us.”
Considering how popular shooters are with hardcore gamers, and how a lot of them are starting to adapt RPG mechanics, it's safe to say that a merger of the genre might happen in the next few years. Just take a look at one of the most appreciated RPGs of last year, Fallout 3, and you can clearly see that it borrows from both genres, which, up until now, were considered to be bitter rivals.
Do you agree with Bleszinski about shooters and RPGs or do you think that they will remain distinct genres in the near future? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.