Anyone who visits TIGSource regularly has probably already seen this but for those who havent...
"not seeing a lot of reason to continue even trying to make games, at this point, when a remake of Frogger, one of the worst games in the history of old arcade games, can outsell Space Giraffe that we put so much love and effort into, by more than ten to one, in one week.
OK, we get the message. All you want on that channel is remakes of old, shite arcade games and crap you vaguely remember playing on your Amiga.
Although Minter is mainly angry about not selling his game, he makes a valid argument about how all people really want, is to play remakes of games they'v played 1000 times before. I hear people complain about how stagnant the industry is, but as soon as something new and interesting comes out (Psychonauts, Freedom Force etc) they rip it to shreds because its unfamiliar. Im not having a go at remakes on DC. People make these games for their own enjoyment and should not be flamed for doing so, but shouldnt we try and do something different every now and then?
I've never heard of space giraffe until I read the post on TIGS; which was only there (That specific post anyway) because he complained (Which probably made the game more recognizable a bit).
I've heard of Frogger for my whole life. It's been around in various incarnations for years.
XBLA is, unsurprisingly enough; filled with old arcade games and old school styled games.
It's kinda like guy walked into an Anime convention trying sell live action american movies that no one had ever heard of. I feel for him, but at the same time; he's got to realize where he's selling his game at. I get the feeling that he didn't do alot of audience research (on XBLA) before he started making this game.
This guy's a bit of a tit. The indie worlds going emo with all these recent rants.
I worry about this guy though. Is he saying that games from the Amiga era can't be great? I know I've had more fun on my Amiga than these current HD consoles.
And wasn't that game he made based on some old game? *I haven't played it*
He has been around since the c64 era. Ive read a lot about him in Retro gamer magazine.
He has a fixation for putting lamas and sheep in games for some reason if i recall.
It's a shame that people actually pay money for a game they can easily find for free online or in their own collection on another console.
But retro gaming is big at the moment, and we all know that you get a good feeling playing an old classic again.
Actually i never liked frogger much which i think i have a clone of for my Amstrad cpc somewhere.
Wow, I can't believe he actually said that. Wonder what the creator of Frogger thinks...
Oh, and I played Space Giraffe on XBLA and WAS going to buy it until I noticed that there was a picture of a giraffe in the background which scared the hell outta me. Seriously, it did.
"His most recent release is Space Giraffe, an action arcade game with similarities to Tempest"
lolol. So the guy complains we only buy games similar to those we've played in the past. Then he goes and makes a game of the same understanding and it flops.
It's not about originality, it's about a quintessential (whereever you stand in regards to his three-decade career of tripped-out arcade games) indie developer being bitter about a middle-of-the-road corporate remake outselling him
Indie games now days thrive on pure hype, word of mouth, and advertisement. Games like Frogger were new and fresh when they first game out, and they were the first videogames of their kind, so obviously they don't need a ton a hype to get them popular, just their existence alone does that.
In other words, if people don't know about your game, theres no way in hell it's going to even come close to outselling a classic like Frogger. Thats right, a classic. Remakes of classics included.
So its not 'doing something different' that can destroy a game, more the fact that people are already excited about a remake and therefore more inclined to play it? That might explain why people are so excited about Mario Galaxy. But no matter how much you dress Frogger up, in the end you're still polishing a very old turd.
Trouble is different isn't always good. Communism was different! Kevin Rudd is different!
Besides originality is clutching at straws nowdays, save a few geniuses. Think about it, all the best ideas have already been made. The only way to succeed in today's gaming world is through sheer brilliance or by imitation.
As some chap on some site said a while ago. He felt playing one game and then another one similarly style right after it made the "imitator" loses all its worth and quality. Regardless of if the imitation game is actually better.
See Hollywood remakes of classic films too.
Those b****rds destroyed the Italian Job and the US broke our beloved The Office.
Ugh.. I'm tired of how indie game makers keep whining about how people don't like their games. It's the same as how indie 'battle of the bands' make my head hurt.
Just face it, most indie games suck. It's not because they're too simple or ugly or whatever. It's because they're NOT FUN. True, there are plenty of good indie games like Nethack and Avernum and Uplink. But when you make a tacky looking arcade game, with tacky name like Space Giraffe, I'm not going to buy it off the shelf. I've bought way too many tacky indie games off the shelf (but Darwinia was well worth it).
The games community, both indie and commercialized seems to treat indie games much too nicely, just the way society treats handicaps and women scientists. But half of the time, they really don't deserve to be treated better than anyone else. If you want to 'make something new', at least make sure it's fun.
But then, don't get me wrong. I support the indie community. I really do. But like every other amateur community (like writing, music), 20% are introverted idiots, 5% are geniuses, but the idiots are so loud and cocky, one would think that 90% of them are idiots.
Besides originality is clutching at straws nowdays, save a few geniuses. Think about it, all the best ideas have already been made. The only way to succeed in today's gaming world is through sheer brilliance or by imitation.
> Zigzag, I have 4 somewhat original ideas in my projects folder today. I think they'd sell very, very well but I'm too lazy to work on them . True, they're not 100% original, but they're no remakes either.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
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Edited by the Author.
Parodies are always fun too, hehe.
. True, they're not 100% original, but they're no remakes either.
