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Why are there virtually no original games around anymore? Is it because everything has been done already and there's nothing new left to do? Maybe, but I don't think so. Or is it because publishers are unwilling to take risks on what could be a financial disaster if it doesn't sell well? Most likely, but not necessarily. These are the obvious reasons which spring to mind. But is there a third reason that is not so obvious? I believe so.
Way back when home computers were still new and exciting, every person who had a little aptitude for it wrote a game of some sort. It may have just been pontoon or poker, or hangman, or something like that, but there was nothing stopping them from having a go. A few of these caught the programming bug and decided to make up their own games. These were still very basic, but many were fun and if advertised in the then new computer magazines, were sold directly to a considerable number of fellow computer owners who were eager to play games on their new machines. Since there were no publishers as such at that time, anyone and everyone who had a mind to could advertise their games on an equal footing in the magazines and because of this there were almost as many original games as there were programmers.
So returning to the present, what has changed? Well, for a start, the ratio of publishers to programmers has decreased from virtually 1 to 1, down to perhaps 1 to 50. That means that maybe 49 people who may have had a mind to write their own game cannot do so as they are tied to the whims of their employers. Of course, the complexity of games these days is such that it would take a very long time for one person to do everything him/herself, so complexity is an important factor. As soon as one publisher releases a ground breaking game, they push up the bar effectively challenging everyone else to better it. The other companies then spend longer on their new titles and the public expects better things next time round. To counteract this long development time, sequels to games are created using the same, albeit tweaked, engines and since the public continues to buy them, they continue to produce them.
I believe that this vicious circle has some responsibility for the current state of affairs. If all games were simple, they could be knocked out in matter of weeks at relatively little cost. As with all creative endeavours, there is infinite possibility leading to numerous gems of ideas for games. Since the cost of developing new games would be so low, there would be little apprehension from the publishers in allowing their employees to develop their ideas. We all know, however, that this is never going to happen. We like our games complex and may even think less of those which are too simple (with notable exceptions).
But even if by some miracle all professional programmers were allowed, today, to develop and publish their own games, I still think that the number of new, original games would be small. Why? Because the games industry is just that - an industry. Many people who work in it do so because it's a job, not because they love what they're doing. A handful may have had that burning desire to create when they started, but over the years, unless they were top dog, their spark may have been extinguished, their spirit broken as their ideas were not taken up in the way that they wanted. Only those whose will was strong enough would be left with the energy and desire to generate new ideas. So, it may be that as far as original games are concerned, the history of the past twenty years has made these rare creatures, no matter what happens in the future, virtually extinct.
Way back when home computers were still new and exciting, every person who had a little aptitude for it wrote a game of some sort. It may have just been pontoon or poker, or hangman, or something like that, but there was nothing stopping them from having a go. A few of these caught the programming bug and decided to make up their own games. These were still very basic, but many were fun and if advertised in the then new computer magazines, were sold directly to a considerable number of fellow computer owners who were eager to play games on their new machines. Since there were no publishers as such at that time, anyone and everyone who had a mind to could advertise their games on an equal footing in the magazines and because of this there were almost as many original games as there were programmers.
So returning to the present, what has changed? Well, for a start, the ratio of publishers to programmers has decreased from virtually 1 to 1, down to perhaps 1 to 50. That means that maybe 49 people who may have had a mind to write their own game cannot do so as they are tied to the whims of their employers. Of course, the complexity of games these days is such that it would take a very long time for one person to do everything him/herself, so complexity is an important factor. As soon as one publisher releases a ground breaking game, they push up the bar effectively challenging everyone else to better it. The other companies then spend longer on their new titles and the public expects better things next time round. To counteract this long development time, sequels to games are created using the same, albeit tweaked, engines and since the public continues to buy them, they continue to produce them.
I believe that this vicious circle has some responsibility for the current state of affairs. If all games were simple, they could be knocked out in matter of weeks at relatively little cost. As with all creative endeavours, there is infinite possibility leading to numerous gems of ideas for games. Since the cost of developing new games would be so low, there would be little apprehension from the publishers in allowing their employees to develop their ideas. We all know, however, that this is never going to happen. We like our games complex and may even think less of those which are too simple (with notable exceptions).
But even if by some miracle all professional programmers were allowed, today, to develop and publish their own games, I still think that the number of new, original games would be small. Why? Because the games industry is just that - an industry. Many people who work in it do so because it's a job, not because they love what they're doing. A handful may have had that burning desire to create when they started, but over the years, unless they were top dog, their spark may have been extinguished, their spirit broken as their ideas were not taken up in the way that they wanted. Only those whose will was strong enough would be left with the energy and desire to generate new ideas. So, it may be that as far as original games are concerned, the history of the past twenty years has made these rare creatures, no matter what happens in the future, virtually extinct.
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Why are there virtually no original games around anymore? Is it because everything has been done already and there's nothing new left to do? Maybe, but I don't think so. Or is it because publishers are unwilling to take risks on what could be a financial disaster if it doesn't sell well? Most likely, but not necessarily. These are the obvious reasons which spring to mind. But is there a third reason that is not so obvious? I believe so.
Way back when home computers were still new and exciting, every person who had a little aptitude for it wrote a game of some sort. It may have just been pontoon or poker, or hangman, or something like that, but there was nothing stopping them from having a go. A few of these caught the programming bug and decided to make up their own games. These were still very basic, but many were fun and if advertised in the then new computer magazines, were sold directly to a considerable number of fellow computer owners who were eager to play games on their new machines. Since there were no publishers as such at that time, anyone and everyone who had a mind to could advertise their games on an equal footing in the magazines and because of this there were almost as many original games as there were programmers.
So returning to the present, what has changed? Well, for a start, the ratio of publishers to programmers has decreased from virtually 1 to 1, down to perhaps 1 to 50. That means that maybe 49 people who may have had a mind to write their own game cannot do so as they are tied to the whims of their employers. Of course, the complexity of games these days is such that it would take a very long time for one person to do everything him/herself, so complexity is an important factor. As soon as one publisher releases a ground breaking game, they push up the bar effectively challenging everyone else to better it. The other companies then spend longer on their new titles and the public expects better things next time round. To counteract this long development time, sequels to games are created using the same, albeit tweaked, engines and since the public continues to buy them, they continue to produce them.
I believe that this vicious circle has some responsibility for the current state of affairs. If all games were simple, they could be knocked out in matter of weeks at relatively little cost. As with all creative endeavours, there is infinite possibility leading to numerous gems of ideas for games. Since the cost of developing new games would be so low, there would be little apprehension from the publishers in allowing their employees to develop their ideas. We all know, however, that this is never going to happen. We like our games complex and may even think less of those which are too simple (with notable exceptions).
But even if by some miracle all professional programmers were allowed, today, to develop and publish their own games, I still think that the number of new, original games would be small. Why? Because the games industry is just that - an industry. Many people who work in it do so because it's a job, not because they love what they're doing. A handful may have had that burning desire to create when they started, but over the years, unless they were top dog, their spark may have been extinguished, their spirit broken as their ideas were not taken up in the way that they wanted. Only those whose will was strong enough would be left with the energy and desire to generate new ideas. So, it may be that as far as original games are concerned, the history of the past twenty years has made these rare creatures, no matter what happens in the future, virtually extinct.
Way back when home computers were still new and exciting, every person who had a little aptitude for it wrote a game of some sort. It may have just been pontoon or poker, or hangman, or something like that, but there was nothing stopping them from having a go. A few of these caught the programming bug and decided to make up their own games. These were still very basic, but many were fun and if advertised in the then new computer magazines, were sold directly to a considerable number of fellow computer owners who were eager to play games on their new machines. Since there were no publishers as such at that time, anyone and everyone who had a mind to could advertise their games on an equal footing in the magazines and because of this there were almost as many original games as there were programmers.
So returning to the present, what has changed? Well, for a start, the ratio of publishers to programmers has decreased from virtually 1 to 1, down to perhaps 1 to 50. That means that maybe 49 people who may have had a mind to write their own game cannot do so as they are tied to the whims of their employers. Of course, the complexity of games these days is such that it would take a very long time for one person to do everything him/herself, so complexity is an important factor. As soon as one publisher releases a ground breaking game, they push up the bar effectively challenging everyone else to better it. The other companies then spend longer on their new titles and the public expects better things next time round. To counteract this long development time, sequels to games are created using the same, albeit tweaked, engines and since the public continues to buy them, they continue to produce them.
I believe that this vicious circle has some responsibility for the current state of affairs. If all games were simple, they could be knocked out in matter of weeks at relatively little cost. As with all creative endeavours, there is infinite possibility leading to numerous gems of ideas for games. Since the cost of developing new games would be so low, there would be little apprehension from the publishers in allowing their employees to develop their ideas. We all know, however, that this is never going to happen. We like our games complex and may even think less of those which are too simple (with notable exceptions).
But even if by some miracle all professional programmers were allowed, today, to develop and publish their own games, I still think that the number of new, original games would be small. Why? Because the games industry is just that - an industry. Many people who work in it do so because it's a job, not because they love what they're doing. A handful may have had that burning desire to create when they started, but over the years, unless they were top dog, their spark may have been extinguished, their spirit broken as their ideas were not taken up in the way that they wanted. Only those whose will was strong enough would be left with the energy and desire to generate new ideas. So, it may be that as far as original games are concerned, the history of the past twenty years has made these rare creatures, no matter what happens in the future, virtually extinct.