Do You Like Change?

July 28th, 2009 19 Comments

When it comes to gaming, it’s very easy to play a game that’s familiar to you.

More often than not, if I spot a new game, I’ll be comparing the gameplay to game X or the graphics to game A and the other features to game B. It’s very easy to adapt if you’re familiar with the content.

So, are game developers and designers reluctant to offer something drastically DIFFERENT to consumers for the fear that adapting to change is a definite gamble? But there are some experiments that turned out to be huge hits.

Let’s examine this paradigm shift in gaming after the break…

Is Change a Good Thing?

When RTS games such as Red Alert and StarCraft led to so-called “industry standards’, all other developers did the normal thing – design a game as close to the 2 games as possible. Most of them failed…. just by being clones or cookie-cutter builds.

But when new ideas sprung up from such RTS games as Battle Realms and even Dawn of War where they introduced new features for RTS games then all of a sudden, “change” seemed like a good thing. It wasn’t a “gamble” after all (which much of the business planners from the industry thought it would be).

Other genres where New Innovation Gambles paid off are games such as Guitar Hero, Plants vs. Zombies and the various Facebook games to name a few.

Is The Market Ready

To balance out this elusive equation on risk versus rewards, one has to look at the market closely.

Is your market ready for change? Will they go out of their limb and stray away from their comfort levels? How will you be guiding them? Will you send them off to walk on a narrow plank? or will you take them by the arm and show how fun (and satisfying) CHANGE really is?

These are just some of the million questions that will make you decide if introducing or marketing a new game is really worth your while. Sometimes change can GROW and EXPAND the market. Sometimes it WILL NOT.

Again, you’re betting on it. The more information one has, the more likely you’ll make the right choice.

What about you guys?

Are you open to new stuff in games? Do like innovation? or would you rather try and play games that you are already familiar with?

I’d be more than happy to hear your thoughts. Please comment below.

Thanks!

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  • http://www.mmogrindhouse.com captbash

    Innovation always bring a risk, even if the product or services fail, there’s still a window for a revamp or improvement. Like in the case of Atlantica Online, it’s gameplay and character builds are totally unique and innovative than the other MMORPGs sprouting everyday. Most veteran MMORPG gamers are already tired of common grinding and build leveling, so this Atlantica Online encourage people to use their brains in hunting monsters and pvp, aggressive attacking would not work that much anymore. I’ve not played any MMORPG these past few years, but this Atlantica is the one that brought me back to the massive world of gaming :)

  • http://www.mikegotgame.com Mike

    I’m looking forward to change. I’m so tired of games offering the same thing. This is why I’m crazy about fresh ideas like those used in LittleBigPlanet or Braid.

    I’ve yet to try Atlantica, so I can’t say if it’s different from the other cookie cutter MMOs out there. How is Atlantica different? You say it encourages people to use their brains, but how does this work?

    Consider me curious. :D

  • http://geekpapa.blogspot.com Robert Sanchez

    Change is inevitable. Whether it’s good or bad is irrelevant, the important thing is how we react to it.

    I think the MMO market in the Philippines is yearning for something new and exciting. I see a lot of games being published and they almost all play and “feel” the same: change the sprites and name of locations, and you get a new game?

    The problem now is, who will usher the next phase? What will the next game be? Will it be unique enough to engage all the jaded Ph gamers? So far, the only innovative and fresh game I know out there is Atlantica online, and we need more to choose from. Hopefully LUG will provide that game by “going out on a limb and staying away from their comfort levels.” as well.

  • bRO player

    Comparisons with other titles are inevitable. It’s pretty difficult to be the first of a kind. That’s not the main problem for me though.

    I think today companies focus quite a lot on graphics and forget music and gameplay and that sucks. Take our old RO friend. Who played it and can’t remember the training grounds song? On a console take Castlevania (original or ps1) – I’ll bet people remember the music. What about Mario Bros or Sonic?

    And gameplay… I bought SF4 and kind of enjoyed it. But after playing a little longer, I can’t stand having to press 2 buttons to grab – one “innovation” since SFZ3 that is horrible in my opinion. Also, I can’t stand any longer to be 5s watching the special finish sequences and not playing, every round. I can’t stand how they made some characters so bad. I really like playing Zangief since SF2 but I hate how I can kill anyone in SF4 just waiting for the person to get up and grabbing him repeatedly. As a good example take Samurai Shodown. There were awesome players and battles that didn’t use a single special move. That’s good gameplay to me. Simple and yet complex battles.

    Summary: I can take bad graphics, but bad soundtrack annoys and I can’t stand bad gameplay. Besides that, innovate all you want. :-)

  • Emil Fencer Hatsuya

    And don’t forget GhostX, and Dragonica… and also Bangu Bang Mania (MMO from Philippines)

  • Saturn5

    what this place has been devoid of is not surprisingly what korean devs dont understand yet. non-labor intensive, not just a race to level99 sandbox games!

    other than skins, there is not much difference between battle realms and red alert. it is company of heroes/total war games that brought the big leap in rts series. WOE, TSB or whatever the next game might call it, same thing under a different skin. its time to support those indie developers that are actually taking leaps to remove the stigma that is wow style of gaming. nuff said

  • http://gmtristan.com GM T

    Great inputs guys.

    I agree that change is inevitable. And yes, trying to find THAT game that will address this issue is a daunting task.

    @Robert, nice that you brought out the “comfort levels” from the business point of view. Again, I don’t have the answers right now. We need to ask the right questions and do our homework. Hopefully, patience will pay off.

    Keep them coming. The feedback really helps!

    Thx

  • http://gmtristan.com GM T

    Follow up question…

    Would you rather play in another cookie-cutter MMORPG or something totally new? Will it be good for the Philippine market and/or profitable?

    Let me know your thoughts

  • http://www.mmogrindhouse.com captbash

    Hi Mike,

    You can check my mini review of Atlantica Online here: http://www.mmogrindhouse.com/mmorpg/atlantica-online/atlantica-online-grinding-at-mmos-and-me-with-hd-trailer-video-screenshots/

    As what I said on my article, this innovative game requires gamers to think a little instead of just mashing buttons. If you are a die-hard fan of the traditional turn-based RPGs like the Final Fantasy (not the MMO version), you’ll right away immerse yourself in the witty gameplay. You’ll also explore real placed mixed with mythological and fantasy elements like you can actually tour to Manila and Davao within the game of Atlantica and see real scenaries based on those places! Looking forward to meeting you in Atlantica soon! ;)

  • http://www.mmogrindhouse.com captbash

    GM T,

    My ever first MMORPG was “Risk Your Life”(7 years ago) and got very addicted with it, that was still cutting edge to me that time. I’ve tried several more MMORPGS that time until I discovered a few MMORPGS offered by LevelUp like Flyff. Though many elements in Flyff was inspired by other MMORPGs, it introduced the concept of Flight and Killing monsters in the Air, the reason i instantly loved it. Actually, there’s not much different if it’s cookie-cutter MMORPG or totally new gameplay as long as there’s element in the gameplay or a certain character/job that no one hasn’t seen before but still can relate with it. For example, Aion is like a matured and darker version of Flyff and the Dragon Ball Z would be the anime version of World of Warcraft…they all share the same ingredients but unique in a certain level. There are people who always look for unique MMORPGS (like me) but of course there are still many of them who are comfortable with cookie-cutter MMORPG. I believe Level Up should cater to two kinds of market, as what they always say “killing two birds in one stone” means kaching! :)

  • bot hater

    i am not a game designer, producer, graphics designer or any of the people who work to create new games, i am just a Game Hunter, i liked to finish games (campaign and story games). I just finish few games like NFS(2,underground, most wanted and carbon), breath of fire IV(i love this game), grandiaII (nice story line), onimusha ( ilove the graphics and the story) Red alert (red alert 3 also i love the campaign and i am hoping i can buy the expansion The Uprising), diablo II ( nice story but poor graphics) and i am waiting for diablo 3,GTA (2,vice city and san andreas). ok enough for the intro. i just wanna say is that i am open for change some of the games that is being release is a copy of the gameplay but it improves their graphics, i am hoping i can play new games with new hero’s graphics, gameplay, modes and not a few hours story, coz, some games make me upset (kc laging bitin),.

    i hope i make a right comment!

    i love this blog.

    more power GM T.

    i hope LU release new Online games that has no cheat or bot.

    Sorry for bad grammar and spelling.^___^Y

  • bRO player

    Why my earlier comment doesn’t show? T_T

  • http://geekpapa.blogspot.com Robert Sanchez

    @GM T re: follow-up question.

    LOL! The question seems to have meaning behind it. Regardless, I think most people are ready for something new.

    When I go into these CBTs, most of the comments I read from the World chat is, “Ay, pareho lang ng PW pala kala ko kakaiba” or something to that effect.

    From the future MMOs that LUG will be putting out I think ECO has a good chance of showing something different with its possession and golem features. Yes, it also has its grinding times (esp. from level 1 to 5 is EXTREME grind) but it’s something I haven’t seen in an MMO before.

    I have yet to try HKO so I can’t really say anything about it (except my 3 year old baby wants to desperately play with it).

  • Emil Fencer Hatsuya

    And ECO promotes different kind of team work where in favor of your low-level friend, you and your hi-leveled cohorts will possess him in order for him to advance, especially if his/her class isn’t a fighting type… more like a backpacker.

  • Mark Arvin Dionisio

    Change is inevitable, true enough but I agree with bRO. Nowadays hardly see people who stay on the same game for let’s say 2 months… they always hunt for better graphics which always leads to a “ngingas kugon” attitude (hanggang umpisa lang). I have certain standards with games and as for Console/handheld games, I always yearn for a great storyline, expressive sounds and great gameplay. Some of the games I liked was Star Ocean series, Tales of destiny series, grandia series and the like… when it comes to online games I think the same criterea should be met but I think in an online game the most important part is the COMMUNITY, an online game should establish a great way to let people socialize with one another, Online games has the edge of being able to meet other people but other than that it will be left out by console games.

    I have many things to say but I guess commenting would just be too short, so till then :D

  • Paul

    I would definitely agree and adapt that change if it is actually “Better” like for example, I don’t want to play something that feels much like that of the other. It’s more like a new game, but that game seems like rip-off from another game which is definitely boring. If the change is unique, reliable, and worth the experiment and the time, then definitely, I would be more than happy to go for it

  • http://gmtristan.com GM T

    @bot hater: Your comments are welcome. Thanks. Great feedback

    @Robert: Hahaha! the question is simply that. I just wanted to know what you guys think…

    @Mark: Yeah. I agree. You hit the spot with “community”

    Thanks, guys. I appreciate the great feedback. It’s a good discussion.

    Keep ‘em coming

    GM T

  • BOT HATER

    G TM. thx.

    gusto ko lang idagdag to maganda sana ung RF online talgang nabigla me sa pag labs nun ibang ang story line 3 race fighting for reasources,ung character ng iba’t ibng race ok din.halos laht dun e bago kso sumama ung game kc gawang ang mahal ng gamit d laht maka afford sa tingin ko mas hinahanp ng pinoy e ung mura n maganda ung laro. sa tingn ko nmn lalaki ang kita ng LU pag mdami ang tumatangkilik,un lang po.

  • http://www.mikegotgame.com Mike

    @captbash
    Thanks for the review. I’m currently reading it as I type.

    @GM Tristan
    Re your follow-up question–no more MMOs please. :) But of course, that’s just me. But if we must stick to MMOs, I would want to play something completely new.


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