Why 'originality' isn't that important.

MOnk

MOnk

New member
For all the people who complain that games aren't original because you've seen elements of them in earlier games, well here is some food for thought.

http://www.everythingisaremix.info/

[video=vimeo;14912890]http://vimeo.com/14912890[/video]
[video=vimeo;19447662]http://vimeo.com/19447662[/video]
[video=vimeo;25380454]http://vimeo.com/25380454[/video]
[video=vimeo;36881035]http://vimeo.com/36881035[/video]
 
Why is Kingdoms of Amalur doing so well? Because it's fresh. It's not a sequel to something else.
 
This reminds me a little bit of Rob Pavanonian's Rant on Pachabel Canon and how it creeps into every song he hears.

 
Graal said:
Why is Kingdoms of Amalur doing so well? Because it's fresh. It's not a sequel to something else.
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Don't get me wrong I am glad Kingdoms is doing so well because it will hopefully help send a message to publishers that new IP's can do good, great even. However Kingdom's is the exception in this case. Most new IP's don't do as well as Kingdom's has thus far and that, at least inpart, explains why the industry is pumping out sequels by the dozens; they are a sure sell.
 
I don't care too much about originality. It is not the main reason why I game. The main reason is fun, as long as its fun I will play (and buy)
 
Graal said:
Why is Kingdoms of Amalur doing so well? Because it's fresh. It's not a sequel to something else.
Click to expand...

That's the thing, it doesn't need to be original to be good. It's not a sequel but all the elements have been seen before.
 
OmegaFenix said:
Don't get me wrong I am glad Kingdoms is doing so well because it will hopefully help send a message to publishers that new IP's can do good, great even. However Kingdom's is the exception in this case. Most new IP's don't do as well as Kingdom's has thus far and that, at least inpart, explains why the industry is pumping out sequels by the dozens; they are a sure sell.
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Yeah, it makes sense from a publisher's point of view. However, Amalur could just as easily have gone belly-up, but from the moment you start playing you can feel that it is a quality game. You can see that the developers poured love into it. Every little feature fits the game, is well thought out and none feel tacked on. This game is probably a monument to excellent design and development in modern times.

Then you get games like Skyrim, which are critically acclaimed, but which really isn't as deserving of the honor. For all intents and purposes, when comparing the gameplay elements, Skyrim should be considered the more immersive title. However, Skyrim feels unpolished, has fundamental issues like the AI being absolutely retarded and quite a few of the features aren't well thought out at all.

Having played both games now, if either were to get a sequel (which I don't doubt they will), I know which one I'm more excited about and likely to buy. Publishers need to realise that new IPs don't always fail because they're no good (although it happens in a lot of cases), but also because they don't receive the necessary thought, love, spit or polish that is required to make a good game.
 
MOnk said:
That's the thing, it doesn't need to be original to be good. It's not a sequel but all the elements have been seen before.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree with that, because it's just like people complaining about fantasy books all using cliche'd ideas, when there really is only so much ideas you can write about if millions of other people have also written their own fantasy books.

Something just has to receive the proper amount of attention during development in order for it to be good.
 
Graal said:
Yeah, it makes sense from a publisher's point of view. However, Amalur could just as easily have gone belly-up, but from the moment you start playing you can feel that it is a quality game. You can see that the developers poured love into it. Every little feature fits the game, is well thought out and none feel tacked on. This game is probably a monument to excellent design and development in modern times.

Then you get games like Skyrim, which are critically acclaimed, but which really isn't as deserving of the honor. For all intents and purposes, when comparing the gameplay elements, Skyrim should be considered the more immersive title. However, Skyrim feels unpolished, has fundamental issues like the AI being absolutely retarded and quite a few of the features aren't well thought out at all.

Having played both games now, if either were to get a sequel (which I don't doubt they will), I know which one I'm more excited about and likely to buy. Publishers need to realise that new IPs don't always fail because they're no good (although it happens in a lot of cases), but also because they don't receive the necessary thought, love, spit or polish that is required to make a good game.
Click to expand...

Could not agree more. Funny story the lead designer worked on Morrowind & Oblivion.
If had I had to choose between Skyrim & Kingdom's Id have to go with Kingdoms simply because its more fun to play. Skyrim was/is awesome in its own right but the combat still isn't where it can be.

Like Monk said, in terms of Originality Kingdom's should have been a total flop, I can name the games they got certain elements out of: Dialog system Mass Effect, Minimalist combat; Fable, Lock picking; Oblivion, etc. But the way in which it was put together in this unique way that just gels so well together... thats what got it the fist place on multiple charts.
 
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