I came upon an internal question and thought I'd share it with you all. As hobby and/or independant game developers, is it good enough reason to do something different just to be different? Is it our job to experiment with a different way of designing things? I'm not so arrogant as to think we are going to come up with something totally revolutionary, but I'm talking more of things that are done less often (things like non-murder-based gameplay) for instance. Of course, doing something totally different whether it works or not is just plain rediculous, but I believe that we should try to do things differently for experiment's sake. It doesn't do us much good to mirror the rest of the gaming industry which has more money and other resources. Plus, doing something new (or at least done less often)is fun. The basic question is that, as independant/hobby developers, isn't it our responsibility to try something new if for no other reason than just to celebrate our creative freedom? A CRPG in development... Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself. Edited by - Nazrix on May 8, 2001 12:58:38 PM

It is the undeniable mission of every independent developer to be as ridiculously different as possible!

O.K., that''s pushing it a bit. But seriously, there needs to be something to force creative innovation in this industry. Too many development companies want to stick with what''s safe. And the result is that they produce boring, rehashed, shamelessly derivative games. Then they are surprised when there is no longer a substantial market for a twenty-seventh skateboard game!

Designers with major companies are often hamstrung by the decisions of corporate boards and marketing departments. Independent developers, however, are constrained only by budget and skill. So it is the independent developers who have the greatest potential to direct the industry.

The independent developers have the option of becoming the avant garde of the video game industry. It doesn''t take big budgets or Hollywood quality special effects to make a great game. Indeed, many of the best games of all time have done almost entirely without them.

Without the restraint of corporate decisionmakers, independent developers have the opportunity to develop games, not for profit, but for the love of games. And the best work is bound to be done by those whose only concern is the love for what they are doing.


Jonathon

quote: "Mathematics are one of the fundamentaries of educationalizing our youths." -George W. Bush

I agree with Jon when your independent you tend to have more freedom which = to more difference in games. Too many times have i seen a game that is no different then the others i played the years before it. I personally want to make something different not different enough to be called its own genre but different in that its something fresh that the player encounters. So if anyone is reading this try to make what you have designed not what the rest of the world expects. I have seen too many people changing something because it was never in a game before and it might be a huge risk to include it. So in other words different can equal a good game as long as u know what the hell your doing.

- Goblineye Entertainment

While I''d rather side with Jonathan on this one, I have a ruthlessly practical counter-question: What are you in this for?

Corporate or indie, you''re going to have to sell in order to raise this above the hobby level. That means that you have to pay obeisance to the market (hardcore or casual) one way or another. So if you''re being different and wanting to sell, then you most likely will want to concentrate on that which can be done well for less effort and that which the corps are ignoring. A few years ago, this would have been cRPGs. (I think it''s elf-free cRPGs these days)

Now, if you''re a hobbyist with lots of free time and money, then by all means knock yourself out. Push the envelope. Your new, experimental game may not be played by many, but it may move gaming forward (even if just an incremental step or feature-- like creeping or stealth in FPS games now).

But if you''re trying to sell, I think what you do should be based more on what''s going to give your player''s joy rather than what''s going to be new for new''s sake. Being new isn''t automatically synonymous with being fun.


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Just waiting for the mothership...

quote: Original post by Wavinator

Being new isn''t automatically synonymous with being fun.
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Just waiting for the mothership...

Yeah, that''s why I made the point that if your new or modified game design sucks then it sucks whether it''s new or not. I guess what I should have said is that we as hobbyists have the ability to try things new, test and make sure it''s fun, then implement it as long as it is a good feature. We don''t have strict schedules other than the ones we make for ourselves.




A CRPG in development...

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

quote: Original post by Wavinator

While I''d rather side with Jonathon on this one, I have a ruthlessly practical counter-question: What are you in this for?

Corporate or indie, you''re going to have to sell in order to raise this above the hobby level. That means that you have to pay obeisance to the market (hardcore or casual) one way or another....

I appreciate that solely pursuing an artistic ideal is not likely to make a game developer rich. But there is certainly the possibility of dividing time and effort between work for profit and work for personal satisfaction.

While many of the members of Gamedev have paying jobs, and work on paying projects, they still have enough time to participate in these forums. So maybe the key is not to dedicate all of one''s resources to paying projects.

quote:
But if you''re trying to sell, I think what you do should be based more on what''s going to give your player''s joy rather than what''s going to be new for new''s sake. Being new isn''t automatically synonymous with being fun.

Absolutely. And the player''s enjoyment, as well as the overall quality of the work, should be carefully considered whether the game is for profit or not.


Jonathon

quote: "Mathematics are one of the fundamentaries of educationalizing our youths." -George W. Bush

And then you get the likes of Peter Molyneux that can afford making games like Black & White