RE: [GD-Design] Indie games?

[Brian H. <ho...@py...>]

>Not having a whizbang teratexel engine costs you automatically=
 on
>the order of 10 (on a 100 scale) in review score.

Yes, it does, but there's a massive -- and I mean MASSIVE -- 
disparity between reviews and sales.

There is a very strong perception that whiz bang technology is=
 what 
sells a game, or that huge reviews correlate to massive sales,=
 when 
in fact this just isn't the case.  There are many games that had=
 been 
ignored by the gaming media which sold very well -- Zoo Tycoon,=
 RC 
Tycoon, The Sims, Harry Potter -- and there are many well=
 reviewed 
games that simply didn't sell nearly as much as you would have 
expected (Homeworld, NOLF).

I'm not doubting that reviews are important, but solid gameplay,=
 word 
of mouth, and a niche genre really can compensate for a perceived=
 
lack of cutting edge content and technology.

If you look at the top 10 selling games, almost none of them=
 would be 
considered technologically advanced.  Everquest is the most=
 popular 
3D on-line game in the world, and it uses vertex lighting, 
single-pass technology ca. 1997.  BF1942 and MOH:AA both have=
 sold 
very well using fairly average engines by today's standards.

Computers are getting faster, but many consumers simply aren't=
 opting 
to upgrade.  My home system is a P3/1000, and will probably stay=
 that 
way for some time because I just don't see a compelling reason to=
 
upgrade.  Many consumers feel this way.

There are strong markets for:

- niche genres
- targeting lower end hardware
- games with lower cost and lower barrier to entry/complexity

We sell _puzzle games_ for $20 and we're surviving quite well.  
Hardcore gameers laugh at us because, hey, Candy Cruncher isn't 
1/10th as cool as Serious Sam, and yet it's the same price.  But=
 our 
consumers DON'T CARE, because they're not buying our games=
 thinking 
"Man, this puzzle game is a rip off because Serious Sam is the=
 same 
price!", they're thinking "Hey, this is fun, I finally found a=
 game I 
can relate to!"

As much as grizzled old game developers really hate to admit, the=
 
fact remains that gameplay, in the end, is what sells.  Maybe not=
 
gameplay _we_ find compelling, but gameplay that the average=
 computer 
user finds compelling will sell copies.

I'd bet almost anything that if RC Tycoon 2 had vertex-shaders,=
 it 
would have sold 1/10th the amount.

Brian