That's quite interesting about the handheld sector being more open to creativity. I wasn't aware that the DS games had lower production costs, but I guess it makes sense given the memory restrictions and so forth. Engineers and artists both seem to thrive when "forced" to work under well-defined constrictions. When things aren't so clear cut, what seems to happen is a somewhat tired habit of imitating "proven" games.
What really stinks is that nowadays, we treat games like Katamari Damacy as some brilliant, incredibly original work. In the early days, it was just expected that a hit game should be different and offer gamers a new concept (or at least a significant innovation on an old one). Even into the 90s, a game like KD would have been loved, but people wouldn't be so "astounded" that a developer would churn out something really new.
That's quite interesting about the handheld sector being more open to creativity. I wasn't aware that the DS games had lower production costs, but I guess it makes sense given the memory restrictions and so forth. Engineers and artists both seem to thrive when "forced" to work under well-defined constrictions. When things aren't so clear cut, what seems to happen is a somewhat tired habit of imitating "proven" games.
What really stinks is that nowadays, we treat games like Katamari Damacy as some brilliant, incredibly original work. In the early days, it was just expected that a hit game should be different and offer gamers a new concept (or at least a significant innovation on an old one). Even into the 90s, a game like KD would have been loved, but people wouldn't be so "astounded" that a developer would churn out something really new.
Matt Barton, Managing Editor
Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Email: matt@armchairarcade.com