Targeting hardcore gamers – Part 3

Computer of the Dust
Image courtesy of Skeddles

In part 1, I gave my own internal reason to target hardcore gamers: that's what I play, and if I build something I enjoy, there are great chances that it can be appealing to others.

In part 2, I gave a market view, an external reason to target hardcore gamers, that can be summarized with this fact: hard-core PC gamers are not fed with the current offering of smaller titles.

Another fact is that, each year, there are more AAA titles that I want to buy than indie titles, and believe me: I watch everything, and I instantly buy any game that could entertain me.
So, in this last part, I give of my point of view about why I am starving of fresh cool and small games, and why other hardcore PC gamers may feel like me.

The reasons are:

1) Everybody seem to think hardcore gamers prefer gamepads, and have bought a XBox to rush on XBLA

I think it's wrong. One thing is to own a console, and another thing is to play on a PC with mouse-centric gamedesigns which are not huge FPS. When I search for such games, my choice is very limited. This argument will be blown away when consoles will have mouse and keyboard controls, but that's not the case right now and there is no industry move in this direction yet (despite this awesome mouse for PS3 made by a very quiet third-party).

The deep underneath choice in going to create a game for XBLA is: gamepad-based game design and mechanics. As a consequence, if the game is ever ported to Windows, traditional PC gamers won't feel at home... and I think that most of cool XBLA developers have understood this, and they don't insult PC gamers with ill-adapted game conversions.


2) The dev crowd is captured by the current buzz

Casual games, iPhone, and now the iPad... Those new gaming Eldorados are like Blackholes swallowing all indie developers around! When you see what has just been released on Steam, comparing to what they released one year ago... I know it's bad to compare (especially when I compare what cannot be compared) but it's like everyone has abandoned the spaceship except Doctor Hans Reinhardt.


3) Many developers feel that they would compete with AAA titles if the gameplay is too sharp

This is wrong if your game doesn't aim to be the next Half Life. Your project should not require too much graphics content, simply because this is incompatible with indie means. There are some very good indie developers around, trying to make some huge 3D project. This is very ambitious, in particular when you watch their impressive tech videos, but I think this is very risky, because the final game will be inevitably compared to current 3D production values of traditional publishers... where there is a bloody competition.

On the "small games" side, this is the exact opposite: there is less and less competition, because Publishers makes too few small games for gamers and when they do, it's a go-to-hell sign for PC gamers:

a) when a first party publisher makes a small game, the game is reserved to the online store to promote their own platform.

b) when a traditional publisher makes a small game, they just think PC gamers are not worth the effort (Capcom released ONE "small" 2D game in 2010: Megaman 10 ; Namco remakes are for Wiiware only). This choice is relevant since traditional publishers never shown anything that is: small + use PC controls (ie mouse/keyboards). It's like there is quite nothing between a VALVE hardcore FPS and a cool action indie game (except maybe Torchlight and a few others).

c) finally, when a traditional publisher makes a small game, they fail. Lucidity from LucasArts is a great example of what a a false true indie game can be, it's a good example of failure too. I think they don’t really know how to do this kind of games anymore and it’s no surprise if EA now chase the best of them (and they change the target from PC to PS3, which - in the case of Shank - is a good choice since this game has to be enjoyed with a gamepad).

Conclusion

If you create PC games, resist to the temptation to condemn Hardcore gamers. I'm sure that when the Apple tide is going out, true gamers will stand. And, now, at high tide, with only some small fishes around, there is a huge opportunity for game creators to innovate in projects tailored specifically to hardcore gamers.