Yes I know. It has been a while since my last blog, but I'm working on a new concept.
I'm not sure if the game idea that I'm researching is "new" enough. So I started wondering. Do you need to reïnvent the fire to be innovative?
Probably not but that doesn't mean it's easy to bring something innovative to the game industry.
I'm not sure if the game idea that I'm researching is "new" enough. So I started wondering. Do you need to reïnvent the fire to be innovative?
Probably not but that doesn't mean it's easy to bring something innovative to the game industry.
Spellwright is a book of Blake Charlton and the inspiration for my game idea. To bad I can't use the story to implement it into my game. The publisher of the books told me that Blake doesn't have the time to help me weave the story into the game. Fortunately the game idea will be far enough from the story so I won't be in trouble with the copie rights.
Anyway the game mechanics are a mix of puzzles and dragons meet word search. Instead of making combinations in colors you make words to make a spell. This will be the way to fight enemies or do other actions like collecting items etc.
If I run the concept through the BOS tools, then the idea seems great. However "word search meets puzzles and dragons" doesn't sound very innovative at all because both mechanics have been used before. So I was confused and that made me look at innovation from a different angle.
Anyway the game mechanics are a mix of puzzles and dragons meet word search. Instead of making combinations in colors you make words to make a spell. This will be the way to fight enemies or do other actions like collecting items etc.
If I run the concept through the BOS tools, then the idea seems great. However "word search meets puzzles and dragons" doesn't sound very innovative at all because both mechanics have been used before. So I was confused and that made me look at innovation from a different angle.
What is innovation in a video games anyway? Do you need innovation in video games to be succesfull? These articles below anser those questions.
Theory of gaming
Gamasutra: when it comes to game design, innovation is not no.1.
Techno buffalo
Long story short, in these times innovation = refinement and no you don't really need to innovate to make a succesfull game (at least for AAA that is).
I must agree on innovation = refinement. Almost everyone can make a game and publishing it has become easy thanks to smartphone and web platforms. Everything has been done before. Yet some games become a hit while others similar to that hit game will fail. How is this possible?
It makes me wonder why Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars didn't do as good as Rocket League. My guess is that the devil is in the detail.
Theory of gaming
Gamasutra: when it comes to game design, innovation is not no.1.
Techno buffalo
Long story short, in these times innovation = refinement and no you don't really need to innovate to make a succesfull game (at least for AAA that is).
I must agree on innovation = refinement. Almost everyone can make a game and publishing it has become easy thanks to smartphone and web platforms. Everything has been done before. Yet some games become a hit while others similar to that hit game will fail. How is this possible?
It makes me wonder why Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars didn't do as good as Rocket League. My guess is that the devil is in the detail.
True innovation
When I read the story of rocket league I noticed that Psyonix only made small adjustments. Adjustments in all elements and also in marketing.
They took a good concept that had potential and changed some details so that it would appeal to a bigger audience. It's that simpel.
I guess true innovation in games is achieved by making changes in every element of a game, mechanics, aesthetics, story and technology.
That makes me wonder, would it be benificial to let every game element go through the BOS tools? This questions tickles my mind.
They took a good concept that had potential and changed some details so that it would appeal to a bigger audience. It's that simpel.
I guess true innovation in games is achieved by making changes in every element of a game, mechanics, aesthetics, story and technology.
That makes me wonder, would it be benificial to let every game element go through the BOS tools? This questions tickles my mind.
The most important lesson I've learned from developing 4 In a Blow is not to fully erase an element or a section from your game in order to innovate.
With 4 In a Blow my first thought was to completely remove all music because many players tend to turn off the music after a few minutes of play. Erasing the music turned out to be a mistake because the game felt empty. Adding a short begin tune and some jingles for during the puzzles really improved the game quality without irritating the players.
Language of spells will target roleplay and word search/puzzle gamers. The word search gamers have no interest for stories, complicated mechanics or highly detailed art. But without those elements there wouldn't be much left to call it an RPG.
Again erasing elements from the game won't be the anser. The biggest challenge is to flavor it with enough story, easthetics and technology to please the RP gamers and not scare off the puzzle gamers.
It's like walking on a rope, you just need a good balance.
I need to find graphics that all players prefer and tell the story through aesthetics and mechanics. Hard but not impossible.
With 4 In a Blow my first thought was to completely remove all music because many players tend to turn off the music after a few minutes of play. Erasing the music turned out to be a mistake because the game felt empty. Adding a short begin tune and some jingles for during the puzzles really improved the game quality without irritating the players.
Language of spells will target roleplay and word search/puzzle gamers. The word search gamers have no interest for stories, complicated mechanics or highly detailed art. But without those elements there wouldn't be much left to call it an RPG.
Again erasing elements from the game won't be the anser. The biggest challenge is to flavor it with enough story, easthetics and technology to please the RP gamers and not scare off the puzzle gamers.
It's like walking on a rope, you just need a good balance.
I need to find graphics that all players prefer and tell the story through aesthetics and mechanics. Hard but not impossible.
Looking for concept artist
Language of spells will be a challenge to design. So I will need help from an artist to test as much as possible in the pre-production phase.
If you're an concept artist or you have a small team that is interested in a revenue shared project feel free to contact me.
More info can be found here:
unity forum
Language of spells concept pitch
If you're an concept artist or you have a small team that is interested in a revenue shared project feel free to contact me.
More info can be found here:
unity forum
Language of spells concept pitch