I can't remember what got me started thinking about this. It might have been one of the many articles on Peter "Trust Me, This Time I'll Deliver!" Molyneux and Godus. Something put the idea of games that had something, a gimmick or unusual gameplay mechanic, that didn't seem to get used as well as it could have into my head.
I'm not talking about games you don't like because they're not like one you like better or that don't live up to some hipster gamer ideal, working only with a certain model of TurboGraphix16 controller or demanding fluency in 18th century Japanese to properly experience the designer's vision. I'm thinking of games that do something, but that either didn't do much with it, or where the game itself wasn't developed as much as it could be.
Hinterland's a game like that. For people who don't know it, it's a mix of an action RPG and city builder. You start out with your hero, found a village, and recruit people to live there. Some of those people are really only good for providing resources and some have special skills to make them useful adventurers, but you can recruit anyone and take them with you. So do you risk your blacksmith in a raid on some goblins, or take the pig farmer and lose some food production until you get back? As you get money, renown, and access to resources, you can upgrade your home and the other buildings in the town to get cooler stuff.
Tilted Mill was quite open about it being a test to see what they could do with it, and it's pretty fun for what it is, but it's not much more than a browser game. I'd love to see that concept taken and developed a bit more. It would need more depth in town development and setting and some better, slightly less frantic combat, but I think it has the potential to be a lot better. Since it doesn't fit into an established niche I can't see anyone taking much of a risk with it, though.
I'm not talking about games you don't like because they're not like one you like better or that don't live up to some hipster gamer ideal, working only with a certain model of TurboGraphix16 controller or demanding fluency in 18th century Japanese to properly experience the designer's vision. I'm thinking of games that do something, but that either didn't do much with it, or where the game itself wasn't developed as much as it could be.
Hinterland's a game like that. For people who don't know it, it's a mix of an action RPG and city builder. You start out with your hero, found a village, and recruit people to live there. Some of those people are really only good for providing resources and some have special skills to make them useful adventurers, but you can recruit anyone and take them with you. So do you risk your blacksmith in a raid on some goblins, or take the pig farmer and lose some food production until you get back? As you get money, renown, and access to resources, you can upgrade your home and the other buildings in the town to get cooler stuff.
Tilted Mill was quite open about it being a test to see what they could do with it, and it's pretty fun for what it is, but it's not much more than a browser game. I'd love to see that concept taken and developed a bit more. It would need more depth in town development and setting and some better, slightly less frantic combat, but I think it has the potential to be a lot better. Since it doesn't fit into an established niche I can't see anyone taking much of a risk with it, though.