Inspiration Drain in Sequels

I've been playing Counterstrike: Global Offensive recently and it brought to my mind a certain trend I see with "refresh sequel" titles--games that get a new coat of paint and rerelease every several years.  That trend is inspiration drain.


A game's first iteration often comes from a passionate, quirky team with personality, delivering a product out of its own desire, intoxicated with the novelty of a fresh idea, and it shows.  It's often laden with quirky, memorable devices and content.  The following versions often strip these quirks out or reference them half-heartedly and then replace the missing content with generic, well-accepted industry fair.  I'm referring in this instance to the vehicles of CS 1.6.  Where did they go?  They were weird, glitchy, and a total blast.  Gone now, forever.

Games with Conviction

Over time, I've realized that one of the qualities I admire most in games is "conviction." I like games that believe wholeheartedly in their universe and believe in the player's role in it.  I like games that don't cheapen their setting by including overly cliched elements, pop culture references, and/or product placement.

Probably most controversially, I vehemently dislike games that include any form of in-game monetization.  I think injecting real-world purchasable objects into a gamespace usually completely destroys the integrity of the world, its immersive capacity, and the experience a designer is trying to create within it.

Procedural Level Generation

I've always been a fan of procedural level generation in games and think it's gotten short shrift as of late. I stumbled upon this presentation that explores maze generation algorithms--

http://www.jamisbuck.org/presentations/rubyconf2011/index.html 

And thought they could be tweaked and employed for use in Project Unknown or another game in the future. Maybe a roguelike.

5 Games To Consider

Thinking about possible mechanics for the game I'm working on, Project Unknown. It's a fast-paced action/platformer/fighting game with a cinematic camera and a heavy emphasis on speed. Inspirational games that came to mind were--

Devil May Cry -

Intense, stylish, fast paced action. Memorable character design on the protagonist.

Muramasa: The Demon's Blade & Dishwasher Samurai -

Gorgeous visuals and flashy, intense 2D combat.

Super Mario Galaxy -

Excellent dynamic tracking camera.

Pitch

Made my design pitch for "Elemental WizKnight," a cooperative action puzzler with resource management elements, last week. Some of the most memorable and satisfying gaming moments I can recall have happened in games that emphasize teamwork and clever resource use. Hope it gets selected!