“Nope. Sorry, that game just never managed to capture my attention...”
“How come? It's exactly the same like those you usually enjoy playing”
“Precisely! There's nothing in there to make it stand out from the rest!”
Anybody noticed how hard it is to find a game that's actually “original” (and I am using that word in the vaguest sense possible). When you think about it, there are an awful lot of titles that extremely resemble one another, even to the extent of using the same box cover scheme... And let's be honest here: this is not the case only with AAA games, but with Indies as well. Is this a problem? Of course not. With hundreds of titles being released every year I imagine it is quite impossible to make something that's a 100% genuine while remaining playable. Yet, how come so many games get criticised as “nothing but clones” and some others actually get recognised as very good and worthwhile experiences. Why is that?
Let's take a look at retro games for a moment. One of the things I noticed is that every time a title really caught my attention it had some distinctive feature the other games lacked. Take, for example, two completely generic scrolling shooters. They both have well done artwork, flashy effects, some unimportant mumbo jumbo storyline, a repetitive easily forgettable soundtrack, tight controls, hordes of enemies... all in all, they are virtually identical as far as such games go. And yet, despite all these similarities, people like playing both. This is because the first has only one type of collectibles that stack, filling up a meter which lets the player decide which weapon type to activate, while the second game has multiple collectable weapons of different types that only stack with their own type.
This is something I call a “hook”, a feature that attracts players to try the other title even if they played a virtually identical one before that. Now I admit that the above example is rather simple, but it definitely helps to understand this concept. One doesn't need to be a businessmen or a developer in order to understand the underlying question; it is common sense, after all:
Smart_people wrote: “Why would someone want to play/buy/look at my game instead of all those others out there?”
Well, obviously because your game is going to offer something else! It'll have some extra feature that other games don't, be it an immensive story with deep characters or an unique gameplay mechanic, it will definitely have something that's at least worth checking out. True that it won't appeal to everybody, but those that do find it interesting will stay with it through the end. Hence it is imperative that your creation doesn't get overshadowed by another title.
In the AAA world this is, apparently, done with huge advertising campaigns and deals worth millions. Down here in the Indie world it is done by pushing the boundaries, and the only way to actually do that is to work on yet unseen, original concepts, steadily developing them to completion. Never forget that, no matter how good a feature is, it is extremely hard to enjoy a game that is only a half-baked cookie.
Additional Notes:
If you haven't done so already, check out the episode about Innovation from Extra Credits on PennyArcade. It's an excellent show for both developers and gamers alike, and gives good insights about the industry.
Update: Coincidentally, Gamieon found a video where a professional game editor, among other useful tips, addresses this issue. Check it out, it's linked in the blog 'Ben Kuchera - "Marketing for Indie Games" Video'
Good article. Thanks for sharing. :)
I'd say that it's even more crucial for an Indie game to have a great hook since a lot of classical game types (shmup, FPS, etc...) are available for free through open source projects. Like Freeciv, UrbanTerror, etc...
Many FOSS games also tend to suffer from the so-called "clone overdrive", however what happens here is that, since it is open for everyone to add something, such titles very quickly do get new and original concepts incorporated. However, their main problem is to actually get people involved. In my opinion, for that they need a hook to even get any development started, so it can be a huge deal-breaker, and a real shame, if they can't find one...