The costs and benefits of innovation
So, most people who read this blog hopefully know that Tank Strike is an artillery game, and are likely very familiar with the genre. Even if my visual presentation of it makes it look a bit more fresh, the game itself is not new beyond a few of my own tweaks and toys. Why would I make a derivative game you ask? Because innovation is expensive, and the idea of high innovation for me was scary for a first title.
Making a new game takes a lot of time to invest in making sure that the game plays “well”. To be sure it is appealing and understandable to new players. Time I wasn’t sure I had time to invest. It’s also risky. When you innovate you can’t be sure that what you end up with is going to be of adequate quality. You don’t know if people will enjoy it, or even understand it. Whereas, when I make a game that has been essentially done before, there is already a base of knowledge in place. I don’t have to spend as long designing because the game’s core is already there. I don’t need to worry as much about people not understanding the game, because I know a lot of people have already experienced it, and are therefore familiar with it. That’s a weight off my shoulders, but it comes with a cost. Critical interest. I’m not redefining a platform with what I’m working on. I’m just making something I find fun, and hope others will find fun too. Perhaps to remind people of old staples of gameplay. It won’t set the world on fire, but it will hopefully get some interest from people who enjoy artillery games.
I don’t yet know what I’ll be working on next. I have a few innovative ideas that I’ve thought of recently that I’d be excited to work on, but I also have some older, more refined ideas based on existing game genres. Perhaps I’ll test out an idea or two at this year’s TOJam. Heck, at last year’s TOJam my group made an innovative idea, we just didn’t think it was worth taking the idea any further. I’m excited for my future projects, but right now I need to focus on the game I have in front of me. I’m anxious to see how the public likes Tank Strike, and that may influence my future decisions as well.
