Post by Morreion on Jan 13, 2010 8:47:10 GMT -5
Why we don't get more innovative games (Massively)
The Innovation Paradox (Psychochild's Blog)
We’re Working Backwards (Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog)
Wrapping up my thoughts on Innovation (Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog)
Innovation is as often as not used as a blank check when asked why MMOs aren't as good as they could be. While the sentiment isn't constant, it's recurring: a vague sense that something isn't there that ought to be. Often, the answer thrown around is that we need innovative games -- but when the people hollering for them are asked to explain what they mean, usually they shuffle, stare at their feet, and reply "well, these would go to 11." We want something new, but we're not sure what, and we're not sure why we aren't getting it.
Brian "Psychochild" Green recently wrote up a post on the problems of innovation in MMOs, as well as several reasons we don't tend to get a great deal of it. In short, there are two main reasons. Innovation is risky, which makes a company more and more wary of investing money in a game that might not make any of it back. It also goes directly against another virtue that we look for in our games: polish. By its very definition, an innovative game can't be polished, since there's not as much precedent for refining systems.
Brian "Psychochild" Green recently wrote up a post on the problems of innovation in MMOs, as well as several reasons we don't tend to get a great deal of it. In short, there are two main reasons. Innovation is risky, which makes a company more and more wary of investing money in a game that might not make any of it back. It also goes directly against another virtue that we look for in our games: polish. By its very definition, an innovative game can't be polished, since there's not as much precedent for refining systems.
The Innovation Paradox (Psychochild's Blog)
Unfortunately, innovation does not mesh well with polish, perfection, or other indicators of high production values. As I've said many times before, true innovation will most likely come from independent developers. They will often develop a game with less resources, but that means the will be taking less initial risks. This allows them to take more risks in development, but it also means that they may not have the deep pockets for great artwork, or to license expensive middleware, etc. The alternative is to wait around for a company to fall from grace like Nintendo to turn around and decide to buck the trend to offer something different. And, yes, larger games will evolve slowly, adding incremental changes as they go. You'll have to be patient if you want innovation and to expect some rough edges.
We’re Working Backwards (Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog)
Why are we moving backwards? Why are the games today releasing as mere shadows of what came before them? It only makes sense that we should be moving forward and making each new game better and better, building upon what came before, in order to achieve further success. Yet, today a game releases and it’s brushed aside with comments like “It’s not as good as…” or “Why didn’t they include or learn from ….” and then the game is set aside after only a few months to wither away and be set on auto-pilot with a skeleton crew of developers as they move on to the next project. Sadly it’s looking like the MMO industry has become a salvaging operation with the mindset that there’s more money to be made in selling it for parts.
Wrapping up my thoughts on Innovation (Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog)
I’ve have arrived at the following principles:
1) If you’re using a model or framework from a past game, use what worked and discard what did not. There is little reason to continue if you’re not going to learn from the lessons of the past – both good and bad.
2) Perfect the fundamentals.
3) Do not fix what is not broken.
4) Change for the sake of change is wrong.
5) Are you working backwards? Ensure that what you are designing today is on par with or surpassing the achievements and accomplishments of yesterday.
6) Then, once 1-5 are considered, is innovation necessary to complete the vision of your design? If yes, innovate. If no, then do not innovate.
If I had to identify the point where most developers fail it would be on number five. When it comes to innovation, I have yet to see a single MMO since 2004 that has worked forward before attempting to be innovative. Pyshochild states in his blog about innovation that I am “asking for an old game with shiny new graphics”. Not quite. I’m saying that today’s games should be using the old games as a launchpad or baseline rather than the ‘ideal’ that they one day hope to achieve. Therein lies my reasoning for stating that older games are not living up to the promises of the older generation and my conclusion that we are working backwards. If getting back to the point where our ‘ideal’ future is our baseline means an old game with new graphics, then by all means.
1) If you’re using a model or framework from a past game, use what worked and discard what did not. There is little reason to continue if you’re not going to learn from the lessons of the past – both good and bad.
2) Perfect the fundamentals.
3) Do not fix what is not broken.
4) Change for the sake of change is wrong.
5) Are you working backwards? Ensure that what you are designing today is on par with or surpassing the achievements and accomplishments of yesterday.
6) Then, once 1-5 are considered, is innovation necessary to complete the vision of your design? If yes, innovate. If no, then do not innovate.
If I had to identify the point where most developers fail it would be on number five. When it comes to innovation, I have yet to see a single MMO since 2004 that has worked forward before attempting to be innovative. Pyshochild states in his blog about innovation that I am “asking for an old game with shiny new graphics”. Not quite. I’m saying that today’s games should be using the old games as a launchpad or baseline rather than the ‘ideal’ that they one day hope to achieve. Therein lies my reasoning for stating that older games are not living up to the promises of the older generation and my conclusion that we are working backwards. If getting back to the point where our ‘ideal’ future is our baseline means an old game with new graphics, then by all means.
