When Game Development Stinks

&#62; “But look at that AI… look at those colors… look at that particle explosion!”<p>Unfortunately, while I admire all of these things, there's not good selling points for most consumers anymore. Because of AAA titles, people come to expect things like good AI and good explosions, and are only disappointed when their expectation aren't met.<p>To truly break out in the indie gaming market, you've got have very unique gameplay and a good bit of luck with marketing. Two indie games that have done a really good job of this lately:<p>FTL: Faster than Light <a href="http://www.ftlgame.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ftlgame.com/</a><p>Prison Architect <a href="http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/" rel="nofollow">http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/</a><p>As far as mobile games go, most people aren't looking for depth. It's all about quick fun -- e.g. Angry Birds

Is it possible that the market is now so saturated with games of all kinds that it's simply hard to find enough customers to care about each separate product? Between smartphone app stores, Facebook games, a half dozen different consoles, an endless supply of entertainment through Steam, Kickstarter and (basically free) Bundles of all sorts, it must be really difficult to stand out without a truly unique product and phenomenal marketing.<p>As some of you folks pointed out, it's turning into a race to the bottom similar to the music industry, where people won't even play your product for free, even when it's really high quality. Think of all the games you accumulated through Steam sales and never even touched. It's a brutal war over the spare time of the average gamer, and it's highly contested space.

So few Mac games make it down the transom that I do take note when they show up on Steam's list. Ultratron was one of them, though I didn't buy it because it didn't seem like something I'd be into. Whether or not the game deserves to be a blockbuster, it indeed stinks when hard-working developers don't have much of a net or runway to finally craft the next big indie hit.<p>That said, there still seems to be opportunities to break out for developers of all sizes. Recent success stories that come to mind:<p>* Faster than Light, a space sim just made for Star Trek fans...it reached $200K on Kickstarter -- 2000% of what they had initially asked for -- and it still seems to be selling well. I just bought it last week and it has ruined my free time (<a href="http://www.ftlgame.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ftlgame.com/</a>)<p>* Block Fortress - a ingenious mishmash of MineCraft, first person shooters, and tower defense. These developers (apparently, four brothers) also made the great Heroes and Castles, a first person tower defense game. And both of these games are dirt cheap with totally reasonable/optional IAP: <a href="http://foursakenmedia.com/" rel="nofollow">http://foursakenmedia.com/</a><p>* Ridiculous Fishing - a casual iOS game made by some all-stars of iOS development, including Vlambeer and the guy (Zach Gage) who did the awesome SpellTower, one of the iOS games I've played the longest: <a href="http://www.ridiculousfishing.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ridiculousfishing.com/</a><p>* 10000000 - A match-3 dungeon game for the iOS that the creator made in his spare time as a labor of love...it caught fire when a TouchArcade editor discovered it. Addicting as hell: <a href="http://toucharcade.com/2012/08/01/the-toucharcade-show-bonus-interview-with-eighty-eight-games/" rel="nofollow">http://toucharcade.com/2012/08/01/the-toucharcade-show-bonus...</a><p>One of my favorite dev reads from last year was "Starcraft: Orcs in Space go does down in flames" (<a href="http://www.codeofhonor.com/blog/starcraft-orcs-in-space-go-down-in-flames" rel="nofollow">http://www.codeofhonor.com/blog/starcraft-orcs-in-space-go-d...</a>), in which the Starcraft dev talks about how a completely faked game, Dominion Storm, forced Blizzard to reboot Starcraft (for the better)...the game was faked at E3, where companies spent hundreds of thousands of dollars just to secure floor space and throw big BS publicity stunts, because that was the only way to get press attention.<p>At least today, as a developer, you have options of getting yourself known and your work seen without having to jostle for floor space with the big boys.

On the strength of this article I downloaded the demo, and it was a long way away from "a visual lollipop of swirling color that leaves your eyes sparkling and pixelated for hours". In fact, it was deathly dull. I gave it five minutes and encountered nothing remotely resembling challenge or interest. The graphics aren't <i>bad</i>, but from the article I was expecting to be blown away; I saw nothing that hasn't been done five years ago.<p>Maybe their sales stink for a reason. Back to Touhou for me.

A decade ago when I first released my shareware app for users of eBay, I actively participated in a video game forum. Why a game forum? I wanted my software to feel fun and exciting to use, and in 2003, nearly all software I could think of had a crappy user interface and user experience.<p>Cas complained in many forum threads about about how hard and unprofitable it was to finish a game. I remember writing a particularly long post about how he should just work on his game and everything will work out. Also, I repeated advice many gave that he should use existing game libraries and engines, and focus on finishing the game. Also, that he should create casual games rather than retro arcade games.<p>Knowing nothing about him, except how much he stood out trying to do things his way, it's amazing how determined he's been.<p>I realized only recently that Minecraft was created using the lwjgl (<a href="http://www.lwjgl.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.lwjgl.org/</a>), the lightweight Java Game Library that Cas created as a result of writing his own games in Java (how crazy!) instead of using existing open-source and closed-source game frameworks.<p>Not many people have the drive to create exactly the kind of games they want to play, as well as their own developer tools, for over ten years.<p>There was nobody there to tell him that he needs to quit his day job and join a startup accelerator, as well as find a co-founder first.<p>The idea that you will eventually realize some financial gains if you keep releasing quality games or apps is common wisdom. But to actually realize, ten years later, just how rare it is for a developer to continue to make and polish stuff for themselves, regardless of what other people think? Or to have created something that enabled a massively popular video game to be created?<p>That's truly awesome, and I'm cheering for him.

I worked in the game industry between 2000 and 2006, mostly on MMO titles.<p>This is a simple supply and demand problem.<p>There is a HUGE supply of young males who want to work in the gaming industry, and the customer demand for games of the quality which they can supply is insufficient.<p>This is why you have so many gaming schools that can't actually take all the potential students who want to join, but very few of the graduates can actually get jobs.<p>In the last few years, there have been so many great games that I can't possibly play them all. This has been lamented by many in recent times. There are just so many people working on games that there are a ton of great games out there, and some of the really good games get ignored because of the pile-on effect that a few of the great games get.<p>I should note that Puppy Games titles are awesome and work on Linux.<p>Not related: Lately I've been playing FTL a lot. It's awesome too.

I remember Cas (the game's author) from waaaay back in the day on Java game programming forums. Always seemed like quite a character, but as far as I know he's been plugging away at indie game development for at least a decade. His company has a really slick asthetic. The games they make aren't really my cup of tea (genre-wise) but they look fantastic.<p><a href="http://www.puppygames.net/" rel="nofollow">http://www.puppygames.net/</a>

&#62; But the customers have stopped listening by now and are giggling along with a game that makes farting noises when you mash a red gradient rectangle with your nose.<p>People just want to have fun with games, they don't care about how advanced the AI is, or the physics of explosions and stuff like that. Sure, some people do care about this things...<p>Did the company make any research to see if there was demand for this kind of game? Doesn't matter how technically advanced the game is if no one want's to play it.

I don't know about anybody else but I'm starting to experience indie game fatigue about now. Every time I open up Steam there is some other "8 bit" sidescroller or zelda clone on offer for £2.99.<p>OTOH there are plenty of interesting RTS games I remember from the old DOS era that could make a comeback that would require art assets beyond pixelated sprites but still less technical than a modern AAA.

I'm a little sympathetic but ....<p>* Making games is like making music, movies, books, etc. in that the odds of you having a hit are very small. Thousands of people try, few are successful.<p>* I've seen a several articles about games here on HN that have been about "me to" games. Clones of clones of clones. The authors want us to pat them on the back for making a ripoff? Sorry. Make something original.<p>Personal opinion but Ultratron does not look even as good as the game it's supposedly cloning, Robotron 2084, which has way more "visual lollipop of swirling color that leaves your eyes sparkling and pixelated for hours". Compare<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZZRjdfh4_4" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZZRjdfh4_4</a><p>vs<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7HkaqmSCxw" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7HkaqmSCxw</a>

Aren't gorgeous looking Robotron clones kind of a dime a dozen since Geometry Wars?

Why would the author expect big sales from a polished version of a 30 year old genre? Look at his competition: Here is another $4.99 game in the action/indie category <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/211400/" rel="nofollow">http://store.steampowered.com/app/211400/</a><p>The recent big indie hits are genre defining or at least have very unique gameplay. (minecraft, ftl, etc)

I'm sure the author already knows the facts of life, and was merely sharing his lament of those facts. But for the benefit of anyone who doesn't know, especially kids:<p>This <i>is not</i> a viable way to get paid.<p>1. Do something you enjoy<p>2. Collect payment<p>This <i>is</i> a viable way to get paid.<p>1. Select a person or group that has money<p>2. Figure out what they are willing to pay for<p>3. Do that thing<p>4. If you haven't received payment, return to step 1

I'm sorry that Ultron and Droid Assault haven't done well, but they're both twin-stick shooters that aren't playable using a gamepad. That's an initial turn off for many hardcore fans of the genre.<p>I can't speak for Ultron because the demo (not available on Steam) won't run on Windows 8, but last time I tried Droid Assault, it took a while to pick up in difficulty. I didn't encounter much challenge until near the end of the (rather long) demo.<p>Droid Assault was also pretty easy to exploit; the first few boss enemies won't chase you off screen, so it was possible to pop in and out of hiding, firing off a few shots at a time. This makes for boring gameplay, but the game didn't discourage it.<p>The games don't seem to be aimed at hardcore gamers, and they're not popular with casual gamers. Who is Puppygames target audience?

The comparison to music is apt. I have a friend who went through the 90's in a grunge band and had a small modicum of success (they released three albums) and said he's glad he's not in the music industry now. He described the music industry these days in one word: saturation. Actually, an over saturation of shitty music.<p>These days, it really takes an effort to find good music. It's the same thing with the gaming industry. There's so many games, it's hard for people to sift through the shit to get to a decent game. When you have an entire generation of kids with an attention span of a goldfish, unless you have millions in marketing, it's a long, long road till you make some money.<p>I'm reminded of the immortal words of AC/DC when they sang: "It's a LONG way to the top if you wanna rock n' roll."

I think the phrase is a little overworn and misappropriated but I think it's a little bit applicable here:<p>"The customer is always right."<p>Recently I've seen this phrase thrown around more as a customer service mantra, and in those cases I don't think the customer is actually always right, though it may be the best course of action to act like they are.<p>In the case of a customer liking or disliking your game/app/widget. They ARE right. Or at least they're not wrong. I think the greatest point of this article is that the author (and hopefully the subject) enjoys developing the games they do. That's a good enough reason right there to keep doing it.

These games would most likely make money if he made them for mobile devices.<p>Sadly he is making them for desktops where people expect triple A games and play only those.<p>Cas, if you are listening... MOBILE!!!!!!

There are a few detractors from Ultratron in here - and that's fine, I know it's absolutely not everyone's cup of tea - but often the reason given for not "liking" (for want of a better word) the game are specious.<p>I can summarise some of the perplexity that arise with five words: Explain the Binding of Isaac.

There's a lot more to having a hit game than making a game that could be a hit.<p>The world will not beat a path to your door.

To me, and this is strictly from the POV as a gamer: I hate when games fail to tell a decent story. I lose interest almost immediately.<p>Screw visuals and focus on story. I can even accept crap gameplay if the story compels me.

Game development never sucks! Believe me, what sucks the most is the public mood.<p>Think about it, what if Gangnam Style would not have released, the RIGHT time? Psy would have said music video development sucks?

What's a good source for information (reviews, let's plays, video reviews, etc) of best indie games?<p>It's surprising just how uninformative some game websites are. That includes websites of the game devs.

It sounds like there is a need for a good indie game publisher. Someone that can find good indie games and get them the publicity they deserve.

I'm running <i>Linux</i> exclusively these days. I think Eugene Jarvis' Robotron 2084 is one of the best video games ever made. I read the very positive RockPaperShotgun writeup. I noticed that it was cheap on the Steam sale, and I'm perfectly happy to fire money towards games that I feel might be worth it. I also played and enjoyed one of Puppygames earlier offerings, some tower defence game that made it to a Humble Bundle.<p>So I downloaded and fired up the Ultratron demo. I figure this might be right up my street.<p>But I passed on it.<p>To begin with, it didn't play, or sound, anywhere near as compelling as Robotron. Robotron is a visceral, intense experience. When it starts up, it starts up LOUD, your gun fires a rapid, punchy pow-pow-pow noise, amidst various other electronic squawks, you are placed slap-bang in the middle of a higgledy-piggledy gang of hostile robots all heading in your vague direction, and you've got about a quarter of a second to work out which is the right way to move and which way is the right way to shoot to Macguyver your way out of this wave and live for a few seconds more. It's fast, intense, and if you're doing it right, at some point zen kicks in, and conscious thought gets out of the way - you're running on instinct and adrenaline; the game has shortcircuited most of your brain and you're just a vessel for connecting the Robotron machine directly to your lizard backbrain, via a set of fingers. Somewhere in that zone, high-scores get made.<p>When the Ultratron demo starts up, you're in the middle of the screen, a few slow, passive bad guys are placed somewhere out of the way in the corner, and you have plenty of time to shoot them all (by pointing and clicking) before anything dangerous happens. And then you do it again. And again, with some slightly-varying bad guys. There's nothing intense, or rewarding or difficult about getting past a wave. I figure the game might get better or harder later on, but there was nothing to indicate it would get harder in a satisfying way. It's just chewing-gum for your thumbs.<p>Ultratron (or at least the demo) doesn't bring any new or compelling game ideas or mechanics to the table either. There's things to pickup including Pacman-style fruit. There's things to shoot at, including Centipede-style spiders. There's boss monsters. There's powerups you buy with coins you pickup. The demo didn't show me anything I hadn't seen a thousand times before in a thousand other games.<p>The name and the advertising played up Ultratron's Robotron roots, but it didn't once hit my Robotron G-spot, and I didn't see anything new to engage my interest either. Nothing about the <i>game</i> (as opposed to the front end) struck me as bad, but nothing struck me as particularly <i>good</i> either.<p>We're spoilt for indie games these days - even us Linux-users. I'm currently divvying my gaming time between Super Hexagon (a hypnotic arcade-style one-more-go two-button frustration-fest that DOES tickle that lizard-backbrain), Kerbal Space Program (don't let the muppets fool you, there's a pretty hardcore sandbox space sim going on) and Crusader Kings 2 (medieval grand strategy, where incestuous Royal Marriages and tactical infanticide are as essential as warfare for achieving your territorial ambitions. Think of it as a blend of history book, wargame, soap opera and crack cocaine).<p>I'm being introduced to new, clever, and interesting games all the time now. It's a buyer's market for gamers these days, and Ultratron just isn't cutting it as far as my free time is concerned.<p>Oh, one more thing - if you're reading this Puppygames, having a 5-second nag screen advertising the full version <i>after</i> the player has played your demo and is trying to quit is a big turnoff. I tried your demo, I quit it, and I want to do something else. Making the player wait 5 seconds to watch your nag-screen BEFORE playing the game is acceptable - these days, the person playing the demo realises it's the cost of playing the demo without buying the game. Holding the player's <i>operating system</i> to ransom while you throw advertising at him or her is simply not cool at all.