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We have decided to kick off a weekend series of short, informal discussion pieces on gaming issues and gripes – or anything else related that takes our fancy. So, without further ado, here’s the first one.
The game that has most captivated me over the past months is Taleworlds' Mount & Blade. This half-completed beta project is essentially a combat engine at this point – but boy, does it have good gameplay in spades. The centrepiece is the thrilling mounted combat and large-scale pitched battles – something very few RPGs have attempted and yet, this unassuming indie project manages to get it so right. I’ve spent many an evening on my spirited courser on the top of a hill, picking off the enemy with my longbow as they struggle slowly through the frigid waters of the mountain stream below, before galloping back to the open plain, switching to a lance and splitting the advancing army as I crash through the unfortunate foot soldiers.
If you have even been near a gaming website in the last year or so you’re bound to have encountered a “Death of PC Gaming” article or two. In absolute terms, the idea is preposterous – while ever there is an installed base of PC users, someone will want to sell games to them. What is likely is that PC gaming will change – to some degree or another. Whether driven by rising development costs or giant publishers looking to maximise their profits for shareholders, it’s hard to deny that the peak of PC gaming has passed.
Good riddance to a sea of sequels and lazy license tie-ins, according to some. As retail stores cut back on PC shelf space but digital delivery becomes more accepted, many believe a vibrant downloadable “indie” market will see more projects driven by creativity rather than pure mass-market appeal.
It’s hard to know if this will be the nirvana sometimes described, at least for cRPG players. RPG development has always been difficult – there’s a lot of content that goes into a quest-driven, story-rich cRPG. It’s easy to see how simple puzzle games with quick development times can turn a profit but harder to envisage developers turning to complex cRPGs. While there are a large number of indie downloadable RPG developments out there -- including great projects past and present -- Spiderweb remains the only full-time downloadable cRPG developer of significant prominence. There is a market, if more small developers can find a way to bring quality cRPGs to players starved by traditional retail.
Do you regularly play indie games? Do you think the downloadable market will explode? Wouldn’t touch homemade graphics with a 10-foot polearm? We’d love to hear what you think.
Edit: We have revived the poll, so head to the left menu bar and cast your vote. |
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Side Quest: Where Next for Indie RPGs?
