Blogs - beasmygodam

Indie games and the effect on the market.

Remember the Apple II and all it brought to the table? It was what was to be the Hardcore Gamer's first frontier. It helped pave the way for the game industry. Akin to the way the Atari 2600 Introduced to the market a whole new form of in-home entertainment. However at that time damn near everything was indie because there were very few game developers to speak of.

So what the hell are you talking about dude?

What I'm talking about is in the here and now the Big Box games have become more Hollywood. They have started putting less emphasis on story/lore and more on flashy cool guy stuff. The content is lacking as well. More to the point Indie games have made a world of difference in the gaming industry. By adding whole new concepts and sometimes over developed (Eve online) content. This is because if you are a indie developer you have to really make your game prove something. Otherwise people wont like it and it wont be successful.

What's the catch?

The problem is most people are not going to go look for these games. They want it brought to them in a pretty box with a nice flashy plastic cover. Steam is attempting to lead the way in getting Indie titles out to the public. The process is slow however and still not a flashy box at wally world. I know alot of people who don't have steam and some don't even know what it is. People are slow to take on new ideas and move outside their big box developers. Alot of the problem comes from the the console market. That's another issue i have already covered.

What can you do about it?

Everyone has that/those friend(s) that are/is oblivious to the indie world but still game more than the average person. Which by the way we're not talking about the casual couple hours a week game guy. We're talking about the people that spend alot of time on games but are getting bored of what they got. They somehow haven't heard of steam or other methods of game acquisition. They are most likely stuck on a console or are not very computer savoy. Next time you get a chance introduce them to the world of Indie and not so big titles. Again people are slow to change and try new things. If we want the big box game developers to give us something more worth our money we will have to get them to compete with the little guys. The morale of the story is little guys almost always out number the big guys.

THE END OF THE CONSOLE GAMER

I don't hate consoles. I really don't. They can be a good casual gaming platform and have proved themselves in the past. However i believe that if more information about computer gaming i.e. people don't know that you can use a controller for a computer. Also people dont quite understand the affordability of a computer. A common misconception is that you have to spend over $1000(US) to get a computer that can play something like Skyrim or Crisis. This is absolutely FALSE. I have owned consoles in the past because i was ignorant to the truth of computer gaming.

Lets break it down.

Consoles were essentially the first mainstream form of in home gaming. (Acknowledged) I believe this is why they still exist today. They remained that way for some years because the were more affordable than a home computer with the power to play a "game". In the same vein computers were mainly used for just that; computing. In other words there really was nothing to game on a computer. Then along came the mid 90s when we started seeing some more mainstream games on home PCs. It was young and not well developed at that point. The console still had the market cornered with the PC trying to catch up.

Well what about today?

In the early 2000s we saw some more improvement in computer gaming. The console still had that little edge with major developers. Moving on into the latter half of last decade. Things were starting to get dirty as the playing field was more leveled, however; gaming computer was still a little more expensive. At the end of the decade you then see consoles trying to do things that were more attune to a computer. For example consoles entered the world of the internet with online multiplayer and hard disk storage for not only gamesaves but music, movies, and pictures. All the while computers are getting cheaper and cheaper but powerful consoles are getting more and more expensive. In today's world you have consoles with internet browsers, software (apps), and full QWERTY keyboards. A console nowadays can cost as much or more than a computer that can do more. The console (I believe in its dying breath) has tried to out innovate the computer with motion sensing technology. Whereas computers are experimenting with Mind reading technology and the long sought after virtual reality. This is not to mention the fact that you can mod a computer game to your whim. On a console your stuck with whatever you got in the box.

In conclusion

Computer
Pros

• Is now becoming cheaper
• Infinite upgrade-ability
• Infinite customization
• has been and always will be the ruler of the internet
• can emulate consoles
• last but most certainly not least INDIE GAMES!

Cons

• Generally not as portable
• Can still be more expensive for high end stuff

Console
Pros

• more portable
• more user friendly
• still has good and exclusive titles

Cons

• costs as much as a computer that does more
• no upgrade-ability (have to buy the next best thing for an upgrade)
• limited customization
• is doing more to be a computer. so why not get a computer?