“Just Another”

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 24, 2014

This last week, I bought “just another” indie RPG and “bullet hell” shooter.

Why? Good question. I have a zillion games now, and don’t have time to play them all. So why pick up a couple of mediocre-sounding titles?

Well, in the case of the indie RPG… I like to support the indie RPG community.  And I like to at least “graze” the crop of indie RPGs to get an idea of what other people are coming out with. I can’t even come close to playing them all, let alone playing them to “completion”. In the case of the shooter – it was really cheap. The kinda money I’d put into an arcade machine back in the day in a single afternoon (before adjusting for inflation). I’ll do that, but it’s kind of random.  If I get an hour of fun out of it over the course of a month, I consider it money well spent.

But I may be a little bit of an aberration.

Sometimes these games turn out to be gems. They look like nothing special on the outside – sometimes because the developer just doesn’t know how to market their games – and it turns out to have some really cool ideas, or a really compelling story. But usually, no, it’s “just another” genre game – a “me, too” product that may still be interesting enough to play it for a while, but doesn’t really have anything special to recommend it.

Sometimes they are just novice works, freshman or sophomore releases from new developers still learning their chops. It makes me happy to support these guys. They’ve got big dreams, big ideas, but their games end up kind of … mediocre. Or worse. And there’s not only sympathy / empathy at work there, ‘cuz I know that I’m far, FAR from perfect myself, and I have to struggle to exceed mediocrity (or worse) in everything I do.

Sometimes, it is really is just a potboiler. And yeah, the indie world is full of ’em, just as much as the AAA mainstream gaming industry. As much as “indie” now has the faintest trappings of being “hip” or “cool,” (can you believe that?!?!? I can’t), there’s still an awful lot of Pablum crap out there being foisted off on the public, no matter how well-funded or mainstream the developers are.  More than ever, in fact. That means that even more potential gems are getting lost in the crowd.

I hope developers – even first-time devs – can try harder to avoid creating “just another” RPG, or adventure game. The true indies – the ones putting their heart and soul into a game because they love it, not because they’re just milking the formula on iPhone or Facebook – are putting their hearts and souls into a game. They may lack the skills (and, certainly, the budgets) to really make the final product as awesome as they originally envisioned. That’s okay.

But guys and gals – and I’ve said this many times before – don’t be average. Don’t be “just another” genre game. Don’t be normal. There’s got to be something more than, “Cool, we’re making an RPG!” that gets you excited about it. Magnify whatever it is that makes your game stand out in your minds and your hearts, and make it blindingly obvious to your potential customers. Make it pop. No matter your experience or budget, you can do something really cool and interesting that can set your game apart at least from the masses of competitors. It’s not enough to be an “old-school style RPG” anymore…. that’s almost everything these days. Even graphic adventure games – once all but buried – have been making a fantastic comeback to the point of things actually feeling crowded there again. It’s awesome, but it means you cannot just appeal to nostalgia and rarity anymore.

I’m still going to pick up the occasional “just another” indie game, especially RPGs, because I’m one of those guys. I may even play them beyond the first half-hour. But I’m not normal. You owe it to your game to really find the “heart” of the thing, and make it special, and help your audience see it.

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(Just a note on the pics – these are from some of the stand-out indie RPGs that stood out a lot in my mind – three of many that I could have included. The Real Texas, with its unusual style, setting, and characters; Drox Operative – a space-combat action-roguelike with the fantastic real-time / evolving storylines that are hallmarks for Soldak’s games, and the upcoming Age of Decadence, with an incredible focus on freedom of choice and alternatives … not to mention a very interesting world that is based more on ancient Rome than medieval Europe. While their non-generic focus may mean that they don’t appeal to everybody, they are interesting and seem relatively unique).

Filed Under: Indie Evangelism - Comments: 4 Comments to Read



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