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Games Entertainment

Non-Traditional Games On The Rise 47

Posted by Zonk from the better-than-regurgitation dept.
The Guardian Gamesblog has up an editorial looking at what the author perceives as a rise in the number of non-traditional games being developed. From the article: "There's Nintendogs, Electroplankton and Wizard of Funk. And there's EA doing a train game and all the Sims community stuff and Spore. And there's Sony larking about with EyeToy. And Bully from Rockstar. And The Movies. Is it just me or is a corner being turned? I mean, there's plenty of dull unimaginative genre regurgitation going on, there always will be. But I can't remember a time when there were so many titles coming up that couldn't comfortably be slotted into established categories."
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Non-Traditional Games On The Rise More

Non-Traditional Games On The Rise

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  • Hey, the truelly original games are a risk. You never know if it's going to be huge, or fade into oblivion.

    But hey, congrats to everyone trying. I can't wait to play something new and different.
  • FTA: "Here's the thing: at no point do you shoot the animals with a gun. You don't even kung fu poachers to death." What? No kung fu in a game based in the African Serengeti National Park? Worst. Game. Ever.
  • I thought that many have been trying different things in an attempt to attract the "untapped" girl gamers. This has been going on since the success of the King's Quest series. It has probably expanded at a similar rate to expansion of female gamers.

  • Wow. (Score:1, Troll)

    by Adapt or Die ( 697102 )
    Thanks for the non-article. Slow day, eh?

  • Yes but will they be any good? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by phxbadash ( 883828 ) on Monday June 27, 2005 @02:36PM (#12923804)
    Half of the problem with all these "new and exciting" types of games is that while the concept sounds cool, will the gameplay actually be any good.

    Unfortunately there is no way to find out but by being the first to try it. Also, if a new game genre is successfully created it will just be copied ad infinium until everyone is completely sick of it again in no time.

    Personally, I'm not really picky about a game's genre per say, so much as how effectively the developers are able to tell the story they have created, whether it's a FPS, 3rd person, rts or whatever type of game.
    • Unfortunately there is no way to find out but by being the first to try it.

      Point. And the problem is, people end up waiting to hear other people's opinions, decreasing initial sales and making the publisher believe its a failure. Which is why Katamari was so popular: at $20, people were more willing to "risk it" per se and grab the game even if they haven't experienced anything similar to it before.

  • I can't remember a time when there were so many titles coming up that couldn't comfortably be slotted into established categories.
    Its been like that for the past two+ decades since commercial computer/video game development. Its the same as everything, the ebb and flow of the universe, there's lots of innovation & improvement for a while, then things get dull for a while, then back to more innovation. In the 80's there was nothing to compare against, so it was even more innovative then.

    Damien
    • Right after he says that:

      Actually, yes I can. It was the mid-eighties. It was Sentinel, Skool Daze, Little Computer People, Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Thing On A Spring, Gribbly's Day Out, Head Over Heels, Paradroid, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Wizball, Deus Ex Machina, Revenge of the Mutant Camels...

      Helps if you read the article. Though Zonk and/or whoever submitted the article loses points for not putting the first two sentences in the above paragraph in the blurb quote.

      Rob

  • Er... (Score:4, Informative)

    by 88NoSoup4U88 ( 721233 ) on Monday June 27, 2005 @02:47PM (#12923951)
    The -real- innovation is at hand of independent developers. It's just that it gets steamrolled over by yet another game-clone-with-slightly-better-graphics : Only for gamestudios to pick up the idea 2/3 years down the road.

    The only developer overtime that still is being innovative 'till this day is Nintendo, imo.

  • EA? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by focitrixilous P ( 690813 ) on Monday June 27, 2005 @03:09PM (#12924288) Journal
    EA doing something innovative? This should be on the front page!

    Also, If you want some non traditional action, pick up a DS. The new Kirby game is a system seller, hands down. It's a 4-6 hour main quest with another 10-15 hour s of insane time trials and line trials, to get all the medals. It's the first game to actually use the touch screen really well, not feeling like a tech demo.

    As long as you are comfortable playing a game where your sole method of control is drawing rainbows, you'll like it.

  • Lets not count our chickens before the eggs hatch (Score:4, Insightful)

    by quantax ( 12175 ) on Monday June 27, 2005 @03:10PM (#12924301) Homepage
    Lets not get too overly excited until we actually play these games as several times in the past, games that were hyped as super-innovative have turned out to be not-so innovative after all. Fable comes to mind: definitely entertaining to play, but not quite what was promised. Then there's Master of Orion 3: innovation-gone-wrong. I hope these games live up to their promises, but its the end product that counts.

    It would be interesting to see game developers post a small table consisting of a list of functions promised in the press-releases, interviews, .plans, etc (note that this only applies to the publicity-related activities, and not internal company dialogue) and then a check next to each feature that was actually implimented. Shooting for the stars is all and good, but do not expect me to pay when you tell me you're shooting for the stars, but land on the moon.

    • It would be interesting to see game developers post a small table consisting of a list of functions promised in the press-releases, interviews, .plans, etc (note that this only applies to the publicity-related activities, and not internal company dialogue) and then a check next to each feature that was actually implimented.

      Why wait for somebody else to implement this? Why not do it on your own? I think a feature like that alongside a standard game review would go a long way to making a video game websit

  • Its just you. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by AzraelKans ( 697974 ) on Monday June 27, 2005 @03:49PM (#12924837) Homepage
    Actually there is little originality about those games you mentioned.

    Nintendogs-Virtual pet game.
    Electroplankton-Music generator/music game dozens of them in Japan.
    Wizard of funk-same
    Train game- 12 a dime in japan
    Sims community-OH! how original another SIM expansion?
    Spore-Sim life part 2
    The movies-Actually and this is a little known fact there were some of these games back in the pc glory days, anyone remember disney stunt island? there is no lack of movie studio simulators.
    Bully-Gta meets high school.

    Katamari damacy was really cool and original, but there are quite a bit of original indie titles, specially puzzles if you look them up.

    Those you mentioned are not THAT original or unconventional. And the industry is still heavily based in military, sci-fi and sport simulators, D&D style RPGs and movie tie-ins. Nothing has changed. (the quality and the technology have improved quite a bit though)

    Also rise or not , most gamers wouldnt choose "Katamari" or "the movies" over "halo 3", "MGS4" or (seriously there is no god) the latest NFL or Movie hype tie in.

    • Re:Its just you. (Score:3, Informative)

      by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
      Katamari damacy was really cool and original

      Katamari Damacy was just a Marble Madness clone with the stick-stuff gimmick added</sarcasm>

      Seriously, it's easy to discount something as a rehash if you abstract it enough. "Magnetic disks are just rehashes of the wheel, they spin". Calling e.g. Spore "Sim Life part 2" means ignoring a whole lot of features, each of which can and will completely change the gameplay experience. Or "movie studio simulators". Do you even remember what they were like back th
      • Nod, but the argument of the /. post is that these games are somehow fundamentally new and they aren't. I think what really is breaking tradition here is that more of these sorts of games are showing up on Playstation where in the last round of consoles it is Nintendo that has been in front for trying out different game concepts. Wild Earth, featured in the article as really new and different because it doesn't have a gun. I know I played Pokemon Snap which would definately be in the same category, though m
  • Sorry, impressionistic articles like this can mean that the reviewer is simply bored, or (maybe) got a woody for a project that reminded him of his "original game" idea, without realizing that it wasn't exactly new or innovative: there's a whole genre of "hunting games". The only difference is that this one doesn't have any hunting in it.
    Alright, that shoulda made you chuckle, but, come on, has nobody seen these deer- hunting games: what I want to know is what makes it different from a hunting game withou
  • This is still going to be relevant in a few years. http://www.costik.com/weblog/2005_03_01_blogchive. html#111069190589189590 [costik.com]

    We get a few games bending the genres, which in turn create new genres and the cycle continues.

    I'm not saying new stuff isn't bad, innovation is good but you have to wonder how long it'll be before we get the "attack of the clones"?

  • I just want my Sam and Max (Score:3, Interesting)

    by cabra771 ( 197990 ) <<cabra771> <at> <yahoo.com>> on Monday June 27, 2005 @09:53PM (#12928116) Homepage
    When will adventure games finally be on the damn rise so Sam and Max 2 will finally come out!? Syberia wasn't enough to shock that genre back to life.
  • Quote: "But I can't remember a time when there were so many titles coming up that couldn't comfortably be slotted into established categories."

    How about when when those "established categories" were being established?

  • I disagree with the common sentiment (Score:3)

    by Goosey ( 654680 ) on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @02:55AM (#12929363) Homepage
    The common sentiment seems to be that the video game industry churns out nothing original, and has not for years. The article certainly reflects that. I suppose it isn't difficult to feel that way when you see so many licensed games and sequels on the market. Regardless, I have to voice my dissent.

    If you look deeper at the underground independent games you will see a totally different situation. Just check out the one source for independents that sometimes gets kinda-sorta media attention, the Independent Games Festival [igf.com]. Look at last years winners such as Gish [chroniclogic.com] and Wik and the Fable of Souls [bigfishgames.com]. Intensly original and very fun. How about Strange Adventures in Infinite Space [digital-eel.com], a charming little game designed to be replayable, with each game finishing in about 5 minutes.

    Go to The-Underdogs [the-underdogs.org] and just browse around their top-rated titles. There are tons of freebies that are top-notch, very fun, and quite original.

    I feel that this situation can be compared to looking out your in your backyard vs traveling to the rainforest. If you sit at home and look in your yard you see tons of squirrels, moles, etc. You get jaded and start to say that there are no unique animals. Occasionally perhaps a deer, and you get worked up over something that isn't really that spectacular. But if you go out and really explore the more wild area you will find tons of great stuff. It is not brought to your doorstep, and it is quickly being eroded away, but it is out there. Just go look for it.

    Actually while I do feel that the independent underground is the best source for creative original titles, there are tons of published games that 'fit the bill'. People loooooove to spoute Katamari left and right, and it is an original game, but how about.. Mizuguchi's line of original games (Lumines, Meteos, Rez). How about Wario Ware? How about Dance Dance Revolution? Even the Battlefield series added major innovations into the FPS genre (the huge scale of combat and variety of vehicles) and Guild Wars is an MMORPG that pretty much seems to go contrary to every other MMORPG on the market.

    Finally, the 80's were not the golden age of game innovation that people give them credit for. Currently I am intently reading through a great book The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon [campusi.com]. Long story short (I realize my post has already crossed from '?interesting? comment' into 'psychotic rant') the 80's original and innovative games were simply original and innovative because there were so few games created yet! Once any succsessful game formula was established, there were an incredible amount of clones. The fact that is true now, is true then. Popular games are copied, repeated, and sell like hotcakes. Pac-Man, for instance, was beat in coin-op sales only by Ms. Pac-Man! There is constantly an influx of new game ideas, the 80's arn't so special.

    /prepares to be modded into oblivion by the legion of /.ers weaned in the arcades.
  • It's cool to see the odd games released in the US instead of needing to import them just to try them out. Densha De Go, Jet De Go, Taxi Driver, Vib Ribbon, Vib Ripple, Beatmania, Pet Station, etc, etc, etc. As long as more people open up to the "different" games and they make a little cash, more companies will bring them over and we won't have to depend on other teams of developers (Fresh Games, Eidos) to translate and ready them for American release.
  • Everyone should play it! Its the only game where you can ride around in a giant robot, wielding the severed arm of another giant robot, and smash ninjas and zombies!

    That aside, its an excellent final-fight style brawler with some RPGish character stats and abilities, and its also great fun.

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