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Go to Big Fish if you think that Myst-type games are dead.

Try the demos for anything in the Dream Chronicles, Azada, Drawn, or Awakening series and tell me that isn't Myst influenced. Pretty rendered graphics, weird scenes with devices you need to figure out, it's all there. Sure, the actual find-the-object parts are new and there's WAY too many implementations of Simon and the Towers of Hanoi, but the basics of exploration and solving puzzles remains. Also, in what sense was Myst open-ended? Sure, you could freely walk between scenes, but it was still pretty much on rails.

I think it's more an issue of these games not being marketed to the "real gamer" market so they are invisible to people in that scene. Which makes sense, Myst wasn't targeted at that segment either. But there are lots and lots of them if you actually try looking. Big Fish claims that 2 billion games have been downloaded, so it's lot exactly a small market either. (Although, to be fair, I couldn't find much on conversion rates)

Check this out:

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/6408/reincarnations-the-awakening/index.html

This “game” is really a novel. The paths are pretty fixed, and it does nothing but tell a story a very long story. It took me about 15-20 hours of straight play to play/read it all it’s very engaging and feels and treats the story just like a bookwith pauses for solving puzzles that themselves help paint the story.

There’s a whole genre over at bigfishgames like this!! HUNDREDS of story gamesas they’re called. All for about $5.

They are mostly lower-budget small studio affairs, but Big Fish Games has an excellent selection of old-school-style adventure games.

Here's the link to the actual portal. (Annoyingly not included in the summary OR the Gamasutra hosted press release.)

Looks like yet another portal attempting to bank in with the same games already hosted on existing portals like Big Fish Games and Game Socks...

The more the merrier, I guess.

(Disclaimer: I work for Big Fish Games)

I've always considered myself a fairly traditional gamer.. FPS, RTS.. that sort of thing. A year ago, I wouldn't have looked twice at the casual games market.. It's only because I started working at BFG that I did. Perhaps it's a factor of getting older, but a lot of the casual games really scratch an itch for me. They're easy to get into, for one. I don't have the time/patience any more to learn all the intricate details of modern RTS games, for example. I can sit down and play for half an hour.. an hour.. and if something comes up in the real world, I can walk away from it at a moment's notice.

I couldn't be more surprised myself, but I find myself more inclined to play some Sudoku, or Mystery Case Files, or Travelogue 360 than CS, DC, AoE, etc.. these days..

You can find the games I would personally recommend on my game space (Disclaimer: Any games bought through this link will result in 25% of the amount going to charity - if you sign up for your own account, it can go to you instead).

Also, I've seen a few comments on pricing.. Most games are $19.99, but most casual games sites (BFG included) have package deals.. buy x games, get them for $9.99, etc.. Best value, for sure. To be honest, I find it better value than paying $60 for BF2, for example..

It's a huge industry, and you're going to hear a lot more about it over the next few years.

(Disclaimer: I work for Big Fish Games)

I've always considered myself a fairly traditional gamer.. FPS, RTS.. that sort of thing. A year ago, I wouldn't have looked twice at the casual games market.. It's only because I started working at BFG that I did. Perhaps it's a factor of getting older, but a lot of the casual games really scratch an itch for me. They're easy to get into, for one. I don't have the time/patience any more to learn all the intricate details of modern RTS games, for example. I can sit down and play for half an hour.. an hour.. and if something comes up in the real world, I can walk away from it at a moment's notice.

I couldn't be more surprised myself, but I find myself more inclined to play some Sudoku, or Mystery Case Files, or Travelogue 360 than CS, DC, AoE, etc.. these days..

You can find the games I would personally recommend on my game space (Disclaimer: Any games bought through this link will result in 25% of the amount going to charity - if you sign up for your own account, it can go to you instead).

Also, I've seen a few comments on pricing.. Most games are $19.99, but most casual games sites (BFG included) have package deals.. buy x games, get them for $9.99, etc.. Best value, for sure. To be honest, I find it better value than paying $60 for BF2, for example..

It's a huge industry, and you're going to hear a lot more about it over the next few years.

The common sentiment seems to be that the video game industry churns out nothing original, and has not for years. The article certainly reflects that. I suppose it isn't difficult to feel that way when you see so many licensed games and sequels on the market. Regardless, I have to voice my dissent.

If you look deeper at the underground independent games you will see a totally different situation. Just check out the one source for independents that sometimes gets kinda-sorta media attention, the Independent Games Festival. Look at last years winners such as Gish and Wik and the Fable of Souls. Intensly original and very fun. How about Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, a charming little game designed to be replayable, with each game finishing in about 5 minutes.

Go to The-Underdogs and just browse around their top-rated titles. There are tons of freebies that are top-notch, very fun, and quite original.

I feel that this situation can be compared to looking out your in your backyard vs traveling to the rainforest. If you sit at home and look in your yard you see tons of squirrels, moles, etc. You get jaded and start to say that there are no unique animals. Occasionally perhaps a deer, and you get worked up over something that isn't really that spectacular. But if you go out and really explore the more wild area you will find tons of great stuff. It is not brought to your doorstep, and it is quickly being eroded away, but it is out there. Just go look for it.

Actually while I do feel that the independent underground is the best source for creative original titles, there are tons of published games that 'fit the bill'. People loooooove to spoute Katamari left and right, and it is an original game, but how about.. Mizuguchi's line of original games (Lumines, Meteos, Rez). How about Wario Ware? How about Dance Dance Revolution? Even the Battlefield series added major innovations into the FPS genre (the huge scale of combat and variety of vehicles) and Guild Wars is an MMORPG that pretty much seems to go contrary to every other MMORPG on the market.

Finally, the 80's were not the golden age of game innovation that people give them credit for. Currently I am intently reading through a great book The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon. Long story short (I realize my post has already crossed from '?interesting? comment' into 'psychotic rant') the 80's original and innovative games were simply original and innovative because there were so few games created yet! Once any succsessful game formula was established, there were an incredible amount of clones. The fact that is true now, is true then. Popular games are copied, repeated, and sell like hotcakes. Pac-Man, for instance, was beat in coin-op sales only by Ms. Pac-Man! There is constantly an influx of new game ideas, the 80's arn't so special.

/prepares to be modded into oblivion by the legion of /.ers weaned in the arcades.