Unseen, But Not Undiscovered

I read a statistic that claimed half of all the people who play video games are female.  While my first instinct was to cry "bullshit," I've since thought about it a bit and come to the conclusion that if we're counting casual titles with really bare bones gameplay then, yes, it's most likely accurate.  A good example would be the hidden object subgenre of puzzle games.

Sort of a digital evolution of those activity books for young children, the primary mechanic of hidden object games is to look at relatively static pictures and find things from a provided list.  The closest I've ever gotten to playing one of these games is a free flash title called 6 Differences.  In the case of that game it's a dreamlike visual tale about pulling an all-nighter in a big city.  The storytelling is practically nonexistent and there's no dialogue.  However, in the case of many hidden object games the story is much more prominent with text driven conversations and narration.  Plots also tend to by centered around mother/daughter relationships.  I should point out that not all these games are about ponies, rainbows and other "girly stuff."  A lot of titles feature themes straight out of pulp novellas.

Another interesting aspect to the hidden object subgenre is the way the games are marketed.  They tend to be downloadable only, include free trail versions, are very cheaply priced and have low system requirements.  Personally, the artwork and certain story elements remind me a little of point-and-click adventure games.  Especially when it comes to the relaxed pace and overall style.  Unlike adventure games that I played in my youth though hidden object games tend to feature an integrated hint system.

While not something I feel terribly compelled to get into, I have to admit it's a category of video games that I knew nothing about until its existence was pointed out to me in a video courtesy of Extra Credits.  Kudos to them for shining a light on what is a rather low profile part of the gaming industry.

In the Land of the Blind

Chasing after the big bucks seems to have been the dominate strategy of this console generation.  Producers, more than anything else, really just want to make a repeat of Halo, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Gears of War or Angry Birds.  The problem is these franchises are lightning in a bottle and any game made attempting to emulate them will inevitably be a lesser imitation.  So, rather than trying to get the highly improbable to repeat itself, how about moving into less crowded territory.  Namely genres that aren't MMOs or shooters.

XCOM, Demon's Souls and The Walking Dead were all surprise hits in large part because the competition was practically non-existent in their respective genres.  Turn based strategy had, at best, a few iPhone games with the occasional PSP title released by some unambitious Japanese developer.  Demon's Souls only real challenger was the worn out Zelda franchise.  Meanwhile, The Walking Dead had literally no opposition at all when it came to adventure games aside from a few nostalgia projects or the occasional free flash game. Of course all three of these successful new IPs were innovative, but it's important to remember that they were also flawed in their own special ways. I think that appealing to an unsatisfied niche though allowed them to get a leg up on what would have otherwise been an impossibly overcrowded section of the marketplace.

So, What's the point I'm trying to make here?  The next generation of consoles is just around the corner, meaning that now is a good opportunity for developers to try out their pet projects (or simply take a shot at an under represented genre).  Gamers will be more likely that ever to branch out an try new things when they have a shiny new console that they're eager to use and a small library of titles to choose from.  This might sound risky to the conservative investor, but the reality is playing it safe will pretty much guarantee that the 8th generation (of this hobby of ours) dies a slow and painful death from stagnation, shrinking profits and ennui.

Shoot the Mün

Kerbin's best and brightest - Bill, Jeb, and Bob

I'm not really sure what to make of Kerbal Space Program (from here on out abbreviated as KSP).  On one hand it feels like Lunar Lander (also known as Moonlander) on steroids, but on the other hand it could be the first step in a whole new kind of game genre.

On the surface KSP gives the impression of being an aerospace flight-sim with some cool customization options.  But thinking on the potential of this game, I find my mind conjuring up a number of unique possibilities.  All the cool mods people have made aside, there are a lot of ways the developers of this game could go.  Sure you could head down the well trodden path of flash game such as Toss the Turtle and Learn to Fly, in which you achieve certain milestones in exchange for additional funding.  That would be a welcome addition in that it would provide goals for gamers who like having more than a wide open sandbox.  Then you could add an obligatory tech tree to ward off the boredom that comes with familiarity.  However, lets run with the concept a little bit further.  How about some gameplay elements that lead to more than just planting a flag and bragging rights?  Say for example discovering primitive other world lifeforms, or salvaging mysterious artifacts from an extinct race of spacefarers, or even a multiplayer element complete with rival Kerbin nations engaged in a space race.

The inclusion of docking will undoubtedly be a welcome addition so that fans of KSP can finally build space stations and dedicated spacecraft.  Again though lets take the concept up a notch and including a randomized solar system for players to explore.  Balls of ice, rock and gas are great, but how about comets, or rogue planets? Asteroid mining perhaps?  If you want some action why not include an exosolar invasion similar to sieges in Dwarf Fortress complete with kinetic weapon toting xenophobic aliens?  Well...that might be taking things a bit too far from the designer's original vision, but the ideas I've suggested here are only scratching the surface of what could be.  At the very least I look forward to seeing what challenges lie ahead for our intrepid Kerbonauts.

Beggars CAN be Choosers

For the average gamer money is in short supply, and given the choice between a full priced title or several indie games it's not surprising a lot of people on a limited budget choose to go with the latter. I'm here to tell you that downloadable games can sometimes be had for free. No, I'm not talking about piracy (despite that word appearing in the title of this blogging webpage). Rather, certain genres of games have a large number of free high quality flash equivalents.

I'll keep this limit to two genres in particular. First is tower defense. There are great titles to be had on Xbox Live like Trenched and Toy Soldiers, but the catch is they cost money. Don't be disheartened though, you can play some excellent tower defense titles such as GemCraft, Kingdom Rush and The Space Game. All feature deep gameplay and while I wouldn't say the graphics are impressive they run the gamut from functional to stylish.

The second is a genre that is harder to classify, but I'll boil it down to a single title going for $10 on PSN versus a number of flash titles floating around on the net for free. The PS3 game is called Eufloria has alternatives called Phage Wars, a sequel and a competitive online version. Star Baron, another great choice, just make sure to play the full version and not the beta. Then you got Solarmax which is probably the most polished of the three, but also the shortest.

This is just the tip of the iceberg though. There's a vast number of great games I haven't mentioned (or in some cases even played). So go check out some websites like Armor Games, Kongregate and New Grounds if haven't recently already. Maybe you wont like all the games you try, but hey they're free of charge and it's pretty hard to beat that price on PSN, Xbox Live or Steam.