A lot of retro games are doing the rounds these days. The most celebrated video games are being re-launched to attract the 90s generation. These games are becoming successful because of the nostalgia surrounding them. Do you think the current generation finds these retro games interesting? I wonder.
Once a particular genre gets famous a lot of similar games flood the market because they sell easily. But what if someone wants to develop a simple and short game, play it safe, will it fail to compete with the graphic-intensive games from big studios?
No shortage of hit games
The last ten years proved to be instrumental in putting an end to the stronghold pop culture had on the game industry. Labels such as GTA, Uncharted, and Metal Gear Solid have compelled the industry to move towards creating cinematic experiences.
Game design took a more structured form in that different studios started associating themselves with a certain genre. This gave them the liberty to focus on any one aspect of game design. Creating a good plot became some developers’ priority while others focused more on gameplay.
These high end games in the triple A category gained instant success despite being super expensive. The market kept growing and games with fantastic visuals and heavy price kept coming in. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the perfect example of one such game.
This does not mean there is no space for the indie industry to grow. Not all the gamers look for graphics and a lengthy plot.
Can Indie titles survive against the triple A wave
Even if the triple A titles try to distinguish themselves from competitors either aesthetically or by changing gameplay there isn’t really much of a difference between the content of the game. There have been phases in the evolution of triple A games for example genres like mascot platformer, survival horrors, etc dominated for a specific period of time. So the games during a particular era end up being all similar.
So it falls to the indie titles to bring in new content. Now the focus of indie titles always has been ingenuity. They want to provide their customers a unique experience. The technological advancements have made it possible for the indie developers to rival the big studios in terms of production and create games of equal quality.
But what about the small indie titles that are falling too short of the quality triple A offers. In the same year as Super Mario Odyssey, a really good game Yooka-Laylee went unnoticed.
And that is the real challenge before the small indie titles. They must find a balance between the graphic quality and the story, which must not be too short.
