Now that we’ve taken a brief look into what’s involved in the production of the games you love, there is another side to explore: What trends influenced our winners in the production of their games? Maybe it will give us a glance into what’s coming next!
Leonardo Montecamozzo, Founder and GM of Silent Bay Studios, told us that inspiration for some of his hit games (Metal Mayhem, Full Count Baseball, and Rumble Town) came from the video games many of us played during our childhoods. Understanding there is a real market for nostalgia has helped Silent Bay Studios stay on top. Shortening game sessions and adding a variety of game mechanics allows for deep gameplay while still only requiring a limited time commitment.
However, “not everyone from this generation grew up around technology or had access to video games of the past, so casual games reflected this with simpler game mechanics and a more forgiving gameplay. These days, with the introduction of the Wii, cell phone games and PCs, the casual gamer suddenly has a wealth of gaming content. Tomorrow’s casual gamer will demand greater challenges, better visuals and increased content than what we’ve seen in the past”, Derek Laufman, Big Blue Bubble.
“People of various ages always played games – chess, go, poker, monopoly or any other card game. Way back, games were mainly for adults (holding Ph. D. degrees working at research labs ;)) but somehow it deviated to focus on the youngest audiences. I believe it’s time to view playing computer games as any other recreational activity not burdened by stereotypes of having to be tech expert and looking at ridiculous amounts of gore. But on the other hand it’s like in the cinema – there is family entertainment and there are gory horrors movies”, Konrad Olesiewicz, co-owner of Codeminion, makers of Ancient Quest of Saqqarah.
Jim Stern, VP of Product Development at iWin, has managed to develop some extremely successful casual games by differentiating his audience of casual gamers from the more hardcore gamer. “Interestingly enough, while the ‘hard core’ gaming market has exceeded tens of millions of dollars in development costs and created more intricate gaming experiences, the ‘casual’ games have gone back to the basics of creating relatively simple games that are easy to learn, yet hard to master. Over the last couple of years, the production value has increased along with story lines and immersive environments, yet the appeal to be able to get in and out of a game quickly, are still the driving factors. A few years ago there was talk about creating multiplayer experiences across disparate platforms, but given the state of the current economy, I think you’ll find people wanting accessible games that provide inexpensive entertainment at their fingertips that will keep them amused. You’ll see the demand grow for new genres to entertain people. Expect to see some tried and true concepts with twists that will take gaming to a whole new level”. iWin has already well positioned themselves for the changes to come, having games launched and in development for all sorts of mobile platforms and social networking sites, as well as developing new yet-to-be-seen groundbreaking genres.
Differentiation is a something everyone in the games industry strives for and a great example of this is Frima Studios with the game Sara’s Super Spa. This game’s graphic quality of isometric perspective combined with a warm visual style as well as the contextual micro-games make Sara stand out above the rest. The evolution of the player and the game’s humor is welcomed and refreshing. According to Steve Couture, this differentiation combined with increased mobility and a larger bandwidth are part of what will help Frima Studios to improve a gamer’s “interconnected experience”.
Diederik Groesbeek is also aware of these economic times and the demand for more and more free online games like Burnin’ Rubber 2. At Xform, he’s trying to “create a production flow that that allows them to produce bigger and better games at a lower cost”. We look forward to more racing games to come.
Felix Maldifassi from Tevasivion Games LLC, has noticed the shift from lone gaming to those games that are more collaborative than ever. Players are now looking to play with others. The games themselves are changing to focus more on mental quickness; the games are faster, smarter and thus require a more clever, more swift and a more resourceful player. This has resulted in a shift towards Time Management games. Teravision Games, LLC’s example of this is the release of Teddy’s Toybox repair shop. What you think will be a simple game gets gradually more intricate and concentrated as the game evolves.
Besides gameplay, graphics are becoming more and more sophisticated. One case in point is the Shawn the Sheep Lamb Rover 4×4. This represents the pinnacle of the efforts from Galloping Games, with Shockwave 3D and custom coded physics. “I’m keeping an eye on developments with Unity3D. I love the idea of the motion sensor controls,” says Richard Smith (Redline Rumble 3, Best of 2008 Winner).
I, for one, am looking forward to the future of games. It’s sure to be a bright future, filled with community interaction, an increased number of gaming platforms and possibly holographic projectors (thanks Chris Holland, Kinelco) and I am welcoming it with my mouse at the ready!
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