The argument for simpler games, in an industry obsessed with complexity

Back in the late 90’s, many competitive Quake players were very familiar with console commands to remove textures, effects and other superfluous visual details. This allowed them to see exactly what is happening in the game, without unneeded distractions. More than 20 years later, the practice remains.

Yet first person shooters since then became a showcase for the latest in 3D graphics and technology. Developers kept going through increasingly painful development, just to give tech-savvy, tech-obsessed players their next fix and justify their expensive hardware purchase. …