This week we’re celebrating Live Creative Day (Sept.14) by taking a look at ways certain games have changed the industry by creating or recrafting a genre.
In celebration of Live Creative Day, it is worth recognizing how creativity can transform the gaming industry.
Some developers do more than create a successful game within an established genre — they introduce an idea so distinctive that it becomes a genre of its own. Vampire Survivors, for example, popularized the “bullet heaven” formula so dramatically that many players now associate the entire genre with the game. Titles such as Dark Souls have had a similar impact, inspiring the term “Soulslike.” These games show that true creativity is not always about following existing trends; sometimes, one original idea can establish a new direction for countless games to follow.
— Justin J, Asst Project Manager
When I think of creative ways the industry came a few notable entries come to mind.
First, a juggernaut which many originally called a simple Zelda clone really fired up the adventure genre by mixing a solo gameplay and stories focused on a central, lead character by adding multiplayer and gacha mechanics. This formula really broke open what adventure games could be and started a massive trend in the adventure category. Players could now craft builds and ‘pull banners’ on desirable characters, weapons based on utility or appearance – finally free of the limitations of the game developers vision for how the fantasy could play out. This bold hybrid also gave players a gender choice which is another feature many adventures games still do not offer commonly.
Another industry-changing game was Ingress and by extension Pokemon Go, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now by Niantic.
These games take players outside and also created the sense of social gameplay away from the couch or traditional desktop. The mixture of discovery, geography, and recognizable brands pushed a somewhat hum-drum category like GPS into the popular narrative and helped millions of players extend the idea that gaming is no longer an isolated, anti-social activity.
I was bummed when they closed the Harry Potter location based game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite as I’m a fan of the franchise but I’m sure Niantic will receive some strong competition in the coming years. Personally, my current favorite is Pikmin Bloom which I find to be more motivating than Pokemon GO, in particular, because Pikmin rewards continual movement whereas Pokemon GO often creates scenarios where gamers are standing still waiting for a special event or pokemon to appear instead of getting in more steps.
Finally, both categories (gacha adventure, location based gaming) are still in their infancy and I can’t wait to see what new adventures are in store from both.
— Mace T, Project Manager
That’s all from the team at Gravity Interactive this week.
See you next week!