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Strange Attractor - On High Concepts For Games

Posted by simoniker on from the duke-of-earl dept.

Thanks to Scott Miller's Game Matters weblog for its article discussing how to design a game from the start with a 'winning concept'. Miller argues: "Too many games are sunk from day one because they lack a compelling concept. And even though these games may get made with the highest production values and polish, they will find only a small audience." He goes on to identify specific factors to follow, including uniqueness ("You should be able to say:'"Wow, why has anyone else thought of this?!'"), an easily conveyed premise ("e.g. Tomb Raider = female Indiana Jones"), and lack of obvious ancestry ("The concept is so distinctive that if anyone else does it after you, it'll be obvious where they got the idea from.")

2 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Concept gaming by oskillator · · Score: 5, Informative
    From the article:
    If you think about the best selling games in recent years, practically all of them have a compelling, unique concept.

    Huh? All the truly original games that I've played recently have completely tanked, sales-wise. Ico, Rez, Noone Lives Forever, you name it.

    For comparison's sake, let's take a look at some data on successful games. Top sellers of 2003, according to NPD.

    1. Madden 2004
    2. Pokemon Ruby
    3. Pokemon Sapphire
    4. Need for Speed Underground
    5. Wind Waker
    6. Vice City
    7. Mario Kart: Double Dash
    8. Tony Hawk's Underground
    9. Enter The Matrix
    10. Medal of Honor

    Of these, I know that 7 are sequels -- some to strikingly original games, I must admit -- and 1 is a (bad) movie adaptation. Anyone want to weigh in on Medal of Honor and Need for Speed? As far as I know, they're respectively Just Another WWII shooter and Just Another Racing Title.

    The 2002 Top Sellers:

    1. Vice City
    2. Metroid Prime
    3. WWE: Shut Your Mouth
    4. Tony Hawk 4
    5. Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal
    6. Madden 2003
    7. Splinter Cell
    8. Lord of the Rings
    9. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
    10. Metroid Fusion

    Six sequels, one movie adaptation, one original game (Splinter Cell) and again, two I'm unsure of, Yu-Gi-Oh and "Shut Your Mouth."

    I'm not seeing a compelling case here for practically every top-selling game having a compelling and unique concept; I'm seeing the opposite.

    ... Madden 2004, Christ.

  2. Re:Has anyone attempted a female James Bond, yet? by raygundan · · Score: 2, Informative

    My god I loved that game, and the spectacular sequel. Fighting ninjas in a trailer park while a tornado carries your trailer into the sky? Exploding robot kitten anti-personnel mines? Schoolgirl-aged assasins talking about going shopping before they try to chop your head off? A getaway sequence on a tricycle shooting evil mimes? Man-cubes as furniture? It goes on and on. I have never laughed so hard in my life. I cannot recommend NOLF and NOLF 2 enough.