Beaten to the punch...
by Jay Barnson · in General Discussion · 05/16/2005 (5:36 pm) · 16 replies
Okay - lemme pose this one to the more experienced folks around here. Hypothetically speaking, let's say you are in the middle of development on your really cool indie game - just a couple of months away (you hope) from release - and BANG. There comes a major AAA game down the pipe that you were too head-down to notice. They are going to beat you to market by a hair (or more). And they've pretty much got you beat, feature-for-feature. So now you are basically tossed into a ring with an 800lb gorilla when you thought you had it all to yourself.
You are pretty sure there's no way to get around the problem of your game looking like a poor attempt at a clone. You've not invested a TON of time into this project, but it'd suck kissing three months (say) of development goodbye. What do you do?
SOME possible options include:
A) Drop the whole project and move on to the next thing
B) Try to come up with a different theming behind your game but keep the fundamental gameplay, hoping to avoid comparison.
C) Modify the gameplay of your game so that while it may resemble this Big Game on the surface, but it has a different "feel" once you get in and start playing it.
D) Do nothing, keep on trucking, and hope that you are overreacting (I've done this before as a non-indie. Sometimes it works, sometimes not-so-much).
More interestingly, if you go ahead, do you:
A) Deliberately try to prevent comparisons between your game and the 800-lb gorilla competitor
B) Simply ignore the 800lb gorilla and see what happens
C) Try to ride the 800lb gorilla's coattails and marketing as a cheap alternative or something?
Other options? Best options? What are your thoughts?
You are pretty sure there's no way to get around the problem of your game looking like a poor attempt at a clone. You've not invested a TON of time into this project, but it'd suck kissing three months (say) of development goodbye. What do you do?
SOME possible options include:
A) Drop the whole project and move on to the next thing
B) Try to come up with a different theming behind your game but keep the fundamental gameplay, hoping to avoid comparison.
C) Modify the gameplay of your game so that while it may resemble this Big Game on the surface, but it has a different "feel" once you get in and start playing it.
D) Do nothing, keep on trucking, and hope that you are overreacting (I've done this before as a non-indie. Sometimes it works, sometimes not-so-much).
More interestingly, if you go ahead, do you:
A) Deliberately try to prevent comparisons between your game and the 800-lb gorilla competitor
B) Simply ignore the 800lb gorilla and see what happens
C) Try to ride the 800lb gorilla's coattails and marketing as a cheap alternative or something?
Other options? Best options? What are your thoughts?
About the author
Jay has been a mainstream and indie game developer for a... uh, long time. His professional start came in 1994 developing titles for the then-unknown and upcoming Sony Playstation. He runs Rampant Games and blogs at Tales of the Rampant Coyote.
#2
I have to agree with Brian too, staying the course just might pay off for ya. You know how easily a Release can be postponed.
05/16/2005 (6:20 pm)
Does the 800 pound gorilla have a demo out? If it does, dl it and see what your up against.I have to agree with Brian too, staying the course just might pay off for ya. You know how easily a Release can be postponed.
#3
05/16/2005 (7:38 pm)
Advice: I'm dealing with the same dilima, but if you believe your product is a sure shot win do it, I am, regardless, and let the audience decide, I have a game I'm working on, but I can't announce it due to license reasons, but my competition is really there, but I know I can win, because they still lack the elements that gamers want, look at how many revisions of DragonBall Z are done and they're still missing the core concept, go it yet? you'll figure it out, I did, tighter schedules and lose sleep buddy, if your looking for market wise you got to move fast, and if you see you can beat them, do it!! In the overall end you still have a working portfoliio piece they may get you in the direction you want to go, witha stronger team and etc.
#4
05/16/2005 (8:01 pm)
Just finish your project. Finishing is what's it's all about.. the game graveyard is littered with corpses of projects. 
#5
05/16/2005 (9:06 pm)
Without knowing the specifics, I would bail. Feel free to email about specifics. Maybe I can help you strategize an acceptable solution.
#6
05/16/2005 (9:21 pm)
Depends on the game ... but I think I'd agree with Jeff in most cases. If it's already being made ... why also make it ... unless you can offer a better experience. Of course if it's a big budget title then you're probably out-gunned. Additionally, if you've got plans to get on Xbox Live or go further than Internet sales then you might be competing with said game and that could limit your game's future ... all depending of course on how close the two games are to each other and if the other game is succussful. Perhaps you should wait for the game to be released and see what people don't like about it and then fix those issues in your own release and 1-up the other game. Lot to think about there ...
#7
05/16/2005 (9:38 pm)
I would keep trucking, work faster, and acknowledge the 800 pounder for what it is, a clone of your idea. 
#8
05/16/2005 (9:42 pm)
@Gonzo - Heh... if you're gonna do that then be brash about it. Market your game as the original and refer to theirs as the "more expensive and less fun clone" of your game. =)
#9
;-)
05/16/2005 (9:52 pm)
Exactly Tom, thank you for the clarification. Make sure you mention how buggy their clone is and make note of the patching which starts as soon as you get online with it.;-)
#10
05/16/2005 (10:01 pm)
Publish your game on Mac and Linux (if using Torque). The AAA probably will only support Win32 :-)
#11
While appreciating his approach to a nice looking version of the fusion of these great games, I slowly slide that folder off my system onto external backup (game graveyard). Bailed, back to work on other things, and I'll have fun with Jason's version when released. Had I been further along or it had been a major project..........maybe a different story.
05/16/2005 (11:13 pm)
Think I have to agree with Jeff T. as a general rule. After a little discussion with Melv (or someone?) in a thread a couple of months ago about how much fun some of the old Atari games would be redone in T2D, I'd thought of and mentioned doing something like a combination Pong and Breakout type game. After a little more thought on it, I started a side project to see what could be done. I've been having fun with it, but a short time ago I came across Jason McIntosh's post about Little Gods. A great looking project with some nice features and much further along than mine - and he already has the level editor pretty much complete. Beaten to the punch...While appreciating his approach to a nice looking version of the fusion of these great games, I slowly slide that folder off my system onto external backup (game graveyard). Bailed, back to work on other things, and I'll have fun with Jason's version when released. Had I been further along or it had been a major project..........maybe a different story.
#12
I think I'm going to try and keep some options open in the short-term (at least until said game - yes, this wasn't as hypothetical as I'd like - is released and I can get a good look at it). But I may be back-burnering it for the time being. Which actually has me a little excited, because the next project on the queue (which is, unfortunately, HUGE) has me REALLY REALLY excited.
The biggest reason for this project was to learn Torque. I still don't feel as comfortable with it as I'd like, unfortunately, but I'm a lot more familiar with it than I was at the beginning of the year.
05/17/2005 (7:55 am)
Thanks for the advice and suggestions, all.I think I'm going to try and keep some options open in the short-term (at least until said game - yes, this wasn't as hypothetical as I'd like - is released and I can get a good look at it). But I may be back-burnering it for the time being. Which actually has me a little excited, because the next project on the queue (which is, unfortunately, HUGE) has me REALLY REALLY excited.
The biggest reason for this project was to learn Torque. I still don't feel as comfortable with it as I'd like, unfortunately, but I'm a lot more familiar with it than I was at the beginning of the year.
#13
-Josh Ritter
-=Prairie Games=-
05/17/2005 (8:15 am)
@Jay: Please let me know if I can be of any help to you... also, if you want to email me a link to the gorilla, you have my quite curious :)-Josh Ritter
-=Prairie Games=-
#15
The scared team was releasing Galactic Civilizations.
The 800 pound Gorilla was Master of Orion 3.
The reviews and sales figures speak for themselves.
05/17/2005 (11:27 am)
And remember, the Gorilla may trip over itself and smash it's own head in. I seem to recall a very scared team that was reluctant to release their space strategy game in the same time period that the sequel to the Mother of All Space Strategy games was being released. They delayed a bit and well...the rest is history....The scared team was releasing Galactic Civilizations.
The 800 pound Gorilla was Master of Orion 3.
The reviews and sales figures speak for themselves.
#16
05/17/2005 (4:30 pm)
I highly recommend taking Jeff's offer for some strategy dialog.
Torque Owner Brian Wells
Seriously though, I think that you just keep doing yor thing. The point being that if it is an Indie game, it better have great gameplay in the first place to set it apart from the big guys. No reason to change what you are doing for someone else. I think if it is a great game, it will make it's own waves.
-B