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Creativity in Game Sequels
The New York Times (reg. required) has a look at two sequels that manage to recapture some creativity from the original games. Resident Evil 4 and Mercenaries aren't just knock off money makers, a refreshing note in a rehash heavy industry. From the article: "Capcom's invigorating leap into 2005 includes tossing out what had been the basic premise of the series, which centered around a manmade virus that destroyed Raccoon City."
Simply because they have to be related somehow to the previous version, so by definition they cannot be as innovative and original as the first version in the first place, which--aux de counturiarie--had to be different from anything else that came before. Ergho, if anyone says that the sequel is more crea-/innova-tive than one is lieing, simple as that.
Until I realized that for the most part, it may be that there just aren't many core game types out there, and true innovation in gameplay is rare. What Nintendo manages to do is hold on to those core game types, making some changes and additions, and still keep them engaging and fun and at the same time technologically competitive with the games that get by on newness alone. And if you have a context (franchise, etc.) in which a particular game type works, there's not necessarily a reason to abandon it. The reuse of franchises allows them to refine the gameplay experience instead of having to worry about both creating a new brand and delivering good game mechanics.
Granted, there are new and original games out there. Pikmin, for example, managed to make RTS-style gameplay playable on a console. And the gaming snobs' favorite this year, Katamari Damacy, is indeed unique and delivers both a world and gameplay experience unlike any other game.
Honor Among Slackers. A veri
The gaming industry is increasingly motivated by profits for major conglomerates (the EA sports deal comes to mind), not even just little publisher shops anymore. In an environment like that, you have to have companies that are willing to use the profits from a major hit series to fund development on more groundbreaking items. Better yet, support a studio with a history of groundbreaking games (Bungie anyone?) and let them keep doing what they do best. Even then, what the masses want is what's going to fill the shelves in most cases. We're lucky to see any creativity at all sometimes, and creativity in a sequel, well, that's just unheard of in many cases. Scott McCloud wrote about this in the context of comics. Penny Arcade covered some of this in a series a few years ago.
Do not touch -Willie
I emailed the daddypants@slashdot.org address before this story went live and informed them of exactly that point regarding Mercenaries. Looks like, as per usual, the Slashdot team treats its readers like a burden.
The notion that a game in development may one day spawn a sequel can have a positive effect on development of that game. Knowing that we don't have to fit absolutely everything into that initial game makes it easier to focus on providing a solid product without feeling that we're trashing our great ideas forever.
By way of example, during development of Inago Rage, it was clear to us that players might enjoy a multiplayer mode. This is natural for an FPS, but in Inago, since players also create their own arenas, the idea of collaborative building made it doubly interesting. But it was not something we felt we could do in the time we had. A half-assed multiplayer compontent would disappoint players and diminish the single-player component. So, we didn't add it. What kept this from becoming a disappointment to us (enthusiasm counts for a lot in game development) was the knowledge that we could always add it as part of a sequel, an expansion, or even a version update.
During the development of a game, there always comes a time when you lock down the features and put the pages of brilliant concepts and great player suggestions away. I think that some of the greatest elements in a sequel come about when developers are given the chance to implement ideas they were passionate about in the first game, but had to tuck away for later.
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Inago Rage - A first-person shooter where you build and fly
We're indie. We're working on our 14th game.
How so? I mean, Metroid Prime is a great game and all, but part of the reason folks were celebrating it when it was released was because it was so similar to previous Metroid games, and how the developers managed to transfer the basic gameplay of the series to 3D. Other than being transposed into the third dimension, it's not radically different from previous games.
To be sure, the shift to 3D is a pretty big change, but it's hardly unprecedented (and therefore not particularly "radical"): Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Mega Man X, Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto and countless other series have made similar leaps.
Mario 64 is a better case, since it did make some significant changes to the traditional Mario formula, but, even then, I'm not sure it's "the most radically changed sequel" out there. Other than the shift to 3D, Super Mario Bros. 2 (the U.S. version) is probably just as much a departure, and several other series can probably claim similar radical changes (various installments in the Final Fantasy series have witnessed major overhauls, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was a major departure for that series, etc.).
For my money, the "most radically changed sequel" I've ever played is Parasite Eve 2. But I have to admit that saying that is a bit misleading, because while it had very little in common with the original Parasite Eve, it cribbed mercilessly from other games in the survival horror genre, and ironically wound up being less "original," overall, than its predeccessor, even as it was a major departure from it.
Sean Daugherty "I have walked in Eternity -- and Eternity weeps."
I'm surprised no one mentioned this game. I assume it's because it was released about the same time as Halo2, GTA:SA, Half-Life 2, WoW.
I expected MGS3 to be a run-of-the-mill sequel. I was wrong. It's excellent. The enemy AI and gameplay have been vastly improved. The final boss battle scene is beautiful, and there's a boss battle that takes place over a huge area.
On top of this, the game story is excellent. Seriously, check this game out.