12-30-2006, 08:49 PM
aquaMat wrote: I'm so happy when a new 'platformer' game arrives.... I find it strange that there's nothing out there that really can compete w/ MM. There's too much 3D-stuff, and most of it is plain boring, w/ terrible graphics.
I think part of the reason there aren't really other games like MM is that MM took a TON of work to create. Even just the level editor alone was a huge project. Even though the game appears simple, creating the infrastructure for managing save points, suspend game, global item collection, a map system, and so on is a lot more tricky than it may seem. Heck, even just getting things like moving platforms was way harder than I initially thought it would be. Plus the pseudo-3D look added a lot of challenges, like getting the lava bubbling or zapper beams to work correctly.
I agree with you about most 3D stuff being plain boring. Although, I just found a game that is definitely NOT boring -- one of the *first* 3D games in a LONG time that has held my attention for several hours, and really made me want to come back to it: God of War, for PlayStation II. It's not a familiy-friendly game, but definitely one that will hold your attention! I'm very impressed.
But yeah, for shareware games, what most authors do it think about what will make them money, OR they think about what they would have fun *making*, so they make another Asteroids/Minesweeper/Pacman/Breakout/[fill-in-the-blank], rather than thinking about what *players* might want to play. When I make a game, I try to fill a void -- something that either hasn't been done for my target platform, or hasn't been done well.
I do hope to make more platformers in the future, even if my next game project or two won't be that type of game. They're definitely the most fun type of game for me to work on, personally.