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Rampant Games - Indie games: Be More Indie Please

Jay Barnsen from Rampant Games discusses the state of indie gaming. It's an interesting read into some of the problems with indie games:

Quote:

Don’t Give Me Something I’ve Played Before

I’m enough of both a gaming geek and programming geek to be intimately familiar with the thrill of getting stuff up on the screen that works the way you envision it in your head, or more particularly from another game. Remember: Your job isn’t done there. It’s not enough to emulate your inspiration. If you are trying to appeal to me, as a fan of the original, remember that I’ve already played that game. I don’t want a reskinned, low-budget rehash of a game I loved. I want something familiar but different.

Provide a new twist on the mechanics. Play with concepts that were not taken far enough. Hey, you are an indie on a budget, why don’t you try scaling down the mechanics and distilling the experience into an even tighter core. Maybe your idea is a counter-terrorism version of X-Com. Seize upon that theme and think about what else could be done with that concept to make the gameplay more authentic to the theme and more interesting. IEDs? Hostages? Political twists?

Don’t just clone an older game. Use it for a jumping-off point, not a destination.

More information.

I agree with his point and all, but hell, man, I'll take a decent X-com clone. No one can even seem to get that far. :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt. Huggy Face (Post 1061046535)

I'll take a decent X-com clone. No one can even seem to get that far. :p

Word! :)

(good article though)

I see his point and I agree mostly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt. Huggy Face (Post 1061046535)

I agree with his point and all, but hell, man, I'll take a decent X-com clone. No one can even seem to get that far. :p

Maybe Xenonauts will be the missing clone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neverwinter27 (Post 1061046539)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=617lGZjYyNo

Awesome!!! Thanks for that.

Do you know who the guy was that didn't get punched?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Von Paulus (Post 1061046540)

Maybe Xenonauts will be the missing clone.

If y`all are true fans then Rebelstar:Tactical Command/Gameboy Advance will cost you mere ~30$ on Amazon.

I don't know. I'd take a BG or U7 exact clone that just had a new story and setting!

I agree in some respect. Don't give me clones that there are already a hundred of, but do give me some clones that there aren't that many of or improve them just a wee bit.

I can't stand action rpgs like Diablo anymore. I'm tired of them, but if you throw in an interesting gameplay element like in Depths of Peril with factions, then I'll play that game forever. I loved factions and I hate how he hasn't put them into his game twice now.

On the flip side I wouldn't care if someone flat out made a copy of a game like Wizardry, X-Com, Masters of Magic or Quest for Glory games. There are not many clones out there for these games. There are a few mods for MOM with Civilization and of course Elemental, but still not nearly enough of them and no one is making blob games anymore except for a few like Frayed Knights. Give me some of these PLEASE. Make it decent. Maybe improve a few things like some cool spells/skills, but just make them and I'll buy them.

Drakensang would be the example of an *extremely* generic fantasy setting - but it is fun ! I think in Drakensang it's rather how it is carried out (the actual game), rather than the fact that it is basically a generic fantasy clone - from a certain point of view …

I love that video.

The guy who didn't get punched was Dan Paladin of The Behemoth (Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers). I guess at a certain point, when you apparently embody the definition of indie, you become immune…

Thanks Rampant. Was wondering who he was. The only indie I know by sight is Mark Leung.

It would have been a little more funny if it was Petri Purho or Jonatan "Cactus" Söderström. But it was still funny.

Slushie girl was great as well. She was doing just fine till she brought up that mainstream slushie :D

I have what I hope might be a great idea for an X-Com clone once the FK series is done. With luck, nobody will recognize it as an X-Com clone. :) But that's a ways off…

Don't worry, unless you post that info on an RPG forum, no-one will suspect!! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by zadokAllen (Post 1061046551)

If y`all are true fans then Rebelstar:Tactical Command/Gameboy Advance will cost you mere ~30$ on Amazon.

Never played it, but it wouldn't surprise me. After all it's from X-Com's author, Julian Gollop.

Jay, should I assume you had me in mind when you wrote this? :blush: