D
DArtagnan
Guest
Yeah, but innovation in and of itself doesn't mean great gameplay.
I do remember Populous 2 being praised to high heaven - and what can I say, I'm not easy to please. I thought it was a very pretty game with cool toys - but after a handful of levels, I felt I'd exhausted what it had to offer.
That's very much how I've felt about many "innovative" games in general - because they focus on a new idea - often to the detriment of the actual gameplay and the mechanics.
Let's take Lemmings - for instance. The concept was wonderful and it was novel. But, at heart, it was just a puzzle game with a new twist. I remember people playing that game for weeks or even months, trying to get through all the levels. For my part, I grew tired of it after a few days. The gameplay was basically contained in each of the different Lemming "types" - and once you'd completed a handful of levels - you'd exhausted the possibilities. The rest is just recycling.
I don't think a novel concept is enough to sustain a game - because gameplay isn't about new ideas. It's about challenging your mind and - at least for my part - it's about expanding itself throughout the gaming experience. Games need to evolve and grow as you play through them.
But I guess that's not a particularly high priority with other gamers? I mean, judging by the games that top the charts - most games peak during the first few hours and then they're just repeating the same things over and over until the end. I can think of few things more boring than that.
One of the biggest surprises in gaming for my part was Civilization. I remember how the game felt completely foreign to me - and how it kept evolving. It was just massively entertaining - and I couldn't believe how brilliant that design was. That way of expanding features and the breadth of gameplay from start to finish is something I wish more designers aspired to achieve.
Heck, if you look at the design of Civilization 5 next to the design of the original - you wouldn't think the game had been through ~20 years of design evolution. At heart, it's basically the exact same experience.
That's how strong the core design was.
I do remember Populous 2 being praised to high heaven - and what can I say, I'm not easy to please. I thought it was a very pretty game with cool toys - but after a handful of levels, I felt I'd exhausted what it had to offer.
That's very much how I've felt about many "innovative" games in general - because they focus on a new idea - often to the detriment of the actual gameplay and the mechanics.
Let's take Lemmings - for instance. The concept was wonderful and it was novel. But, at heart, it was just a puzzle game with a new twist. I remember people playing that game for weeks or even months, trying to get through all the levels. For my part, I grew tired of it after a few days. The gameplay was basically contained in each of the different Lemming "types" - and once you'd completed a handful of levels - you'd exhausted the possibilities. The rest is just recycling.
I don't think a novel concept is enough to sustain a game - because gameplay isn't about new ideas. It's about challenging your mind and - at least for my part - it's about expanding itself throughout the gaming experience. Games need to evolve and grow as you play through them.
But I guess that's not a particularly high priority with other gamers? I mean, judging by the games that top the charts - most games peak during the first few hours and then they're just repeating the same things over and over until the end. I can think of few things more boring than that.
One of the biggest surprises in gaming for my part was Civilization. I remember how the game felt completely foreign to me - and how it kept evolving. It was just massively entertaining - and I couldn't believe how brilliant that design was. That way of expanding features and the breadth of gameplay from start to finish is something I wish more designers aspired to achieve.
Heck, if you look at the design of Civilization 5 next to the design of the original - you wouldn't think the game had been through ~20 years of design evolution. At heart, it's basically the exact same experience.
That's how strong the core design was.