Currently today, there are many "indie developers." These are usually made up of a few people who share a similar goal. How do these people make money?
Today, there are many downloadable games, spanning over many consoles. These are pretty much the outlet/market for indie developers. There are many reasons for this. I'll go into a few of these.
So first of all, the downloadable market and indie developers go hand-and-hand. Why? This is because of one word; size. Since indie developers don't have the large amounts of manpower that big-name companies have, they only have enough time and effort to make relatively small games. When these are put onto a downloadable service, players recognize that these won't be too big. The games have to be small to fit on the memory space of the console. Likewise, indie developers can only make smaller games. Players aren't let down, because they know the game will be somewhat small. Each compliments the other.
Downloadable games also are made for other reasons: Pick-up-and-play gameplay, easy access, or other things. Having games on your console all the time could be the reasons why these "genres" are apparent in downloadable games.
Most indie games are unique and creative. This could be because indie developers choose to pursue creative design. This also helps them, as gamers who enjoy creative design have most likely realized that most of these are indie games that are downloadable. The market adapts. Developers fit the market. Gamers recognize the market.
SUMMARY
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Creative vs. practical
So, first off on this long-winded adventure, I am going to discuss something that peeves me and at the same time intrigues me; game design.
Over my videogaming experience, I have come to play my fair share of good and bad games. Each of these is good and bad for it's reasons, wether it be controls, story, or atmosphere. What seems to stand out the most, though, is it's level design.
"Level design", as the name implies, is the way levels are made. This, of course, is not limited to level based games, but any part of the game that the player interacts with. Level design can be split up into different sections, but I'm not discussing that. I'm discussing a simple trade; creative level design vs. Practical level design.
Practical level design is when the design is made to look A) realistic B) easy to play, or C)easy to build the level with. Creative level design is when the creator takes new approaches with the design rather than relying on the previous 3 options to make it.
In most commercial games created by big companies, practical level design comes into play first. This could be for any of the reasons. Practical level design, though, can hinder the experience of a game. Why? This is because the developers put a lot into the game, yet use them in simple ways: Enemies are generally used as obsticals, powerups are used to give an advantage, etc.
Here's an example. Super Mario World is, personally, one of the best games in the series. Not just because of the game's features, but also how deep it's mechanics are. I'm saying this because there's quite a community of people on the internet devoted to changing the levels in the game to either make it harder or just different. I prefer the previous, because it let's the creator go in-depth with something that wasn't made to be used in a certain way. Puzzles are created using glitches and tricks that existed in the engine. Of course, the developers had no knowledge of these glitches, or else they wouldn't be there. If they didn't know about them, then how could they incorporate them?
Well, that brings me into creative design- level design that is focused on creativity rather than practicality. This is most often found in A) "indie" games, and B) Puzzle games. This is most likely done because either A) the creator wanted to explore the game that they want to make, or, in B's case, they wanted to make a game that stayed true to it's puzzle format.
My example this time is the game Braid. Now, there's a lot of things I could go into about Braid, but I will stay on topic. Braid is unique because it has creative design that doesn't go too crazy. The entire game is about time, so time is encorporated into the puzzles. Each "world" of the game has a new mechanic that is used throughout the world. The mechanic is used plentifully, but never reused, unless it's part of a larger puzzle. Each puzzle requires heavy logic, and even precise movement, but overall it doesn't rely on making it accessible or inviting to the players, but instead relies on cleverness and pushing the game to it's limits.
I honestly prefer creative design over practical design, because it allows the creator to be, well, creative! It's something that I think is important to game design, and shouldn't be overlooked or discarded.
I hope this has been insightful.
Over my videogaming experience, I have come to play my fair share of good and bad games. Each of these is good and bad for it's reasons, wether it be controls, story, or atmosphere. What seems to stand out the most, though, is it's level design.
"Level design", as the name implies, is the way levels are made. This, of course, is not limited to level based games, but any part of the game that the player interacts with. Level design can be split up into different sections, but I'm not discussing that. I'm discussing a simple trade; creative level design vs. Practical level design.
Practical level design is when the design is made to look A) realistic B) easy to play, or C)easy to build the level with. Creative level design is when the creator takes new approaches with the design rather than relying on the previous 3 options to make it.
In most commercial games created by big companies, practical level design comes into play first. This could be for any of the reasons. Practical level design, though, can hinder the experience of a game. Why? This is because the developers put a lot into the game, yet use them in simple ways: Enemies are generally used as obsticals, powerups are used to give an advantage, etc.
Here's an example. Super Mario World is, personally, one of the best games in the series. Not just because of the game's features, but also how deep it's mechanics are. I'm saying this because there's quite a community of people on the internet devoted to changing the levels in the game to either make it harder or just different. I prefer the previous, because it let's the creator go in-depth with something that wasn't made to be used in a certain way. Puzzles are created using glitches and tricks that existed in the engine. Of course, the developers had no knowledge of these glitches, or else they wouldn't be there. If they didn't know about them, then how could they incorporate them?
Well, that brings me into creative design- level design that is focused on creativity rather than practicality. This is most often found in A) "indie" games, and B) Puzzle games. This is most likely done because either A) the creator wanted to explore the game that they want to make, or, in B's case, they wanted to make a game that stayed true to it's puzzle format.
My example this time is the game Braid. Now, there's a lot of things I could go into about Braid, but I will stay on topic. Braid is unique because it has creative design that doesn't go too crazy. The entire game is about time, so time is encorporated into the puzzles. Each "world" of the game has a new mechanic that is used throughout the world. The mechanic is used plentifully, but never reused, unless it's part of a larger puzzle. Each puzzle requires heavy logic, and even precise movement, but overall it doesn't rely on making it accessible or inviting to the players, but instead relies on cleverness and pushing the game to it's limits.
I honestly prefer creative design over practical design, because it allows the creator to be, well, creative! It's something that I think is important to game design, and shouldn't be overlooked or discarded.
I hope this has been insightful.
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