I would like to make an argument that may seem to be counter intuitive to most on these forums, but never the less is true. I would like to make a plea to game developers to take their job less seriously, and oh consider for a moment the rewards of copying what someone else is doing. Perhaps someone who knows what it is they are doing. You see there is a market for games that are blatant ripoffs of other games. Specifically good games that we the gamers obviously enjoy. Stop trying to be true to yourselves, and have the conviction to rip the other guy off. You see I say this, because I am looking for some clones. Doesn't really need to be as good as the original. Just close enough for me to get my fix.
I am sure some of you are confused by my comments, and it all may seem a bit ridiculous. After all if nobody is coming up with something new. Then we will just never see new good games. If everyone copied Goldeneye we wouldn't have a Halo. If everyone copied Zelda we would never have a Fallout. While that may be true. What is also true is that most developers aren't going to make that next great thing. Most of them are going to create middle of the road crap that won't satiate the masses. We need more developers that make a habit of ripping the other guy off, and they need to take that more seriously. When a game is proven to strike a cord with the masses the goal should be to replicate that game.
Let me explain how I have gotten to this point. I really like the game Oblivion, and obviously a lot of other people feel the same. Apparently over five million of us have purchased the game. I plan to purchase the next game in the series, and have enjoyed the two Fallout games. I think it is pretty obvious given the sales that gamers like these kinds of games. So I find it hard to grasp why five years later I have yet to stumble across a proper clone. I am not even talking about a good clone of this game. I haven't even found a bad clone. That isn't to say I haven't found games that play similar in this genre. I just find it strange that you have games like Risen and Divinity 2 that play so similar. Yet nothing that plays similar to Oblivion which is the market leader.
Why is the developer community not grasping the same fundamental concept that Television, the Movies, and Writers have grasped for years. When someone finds something that works you ought to try and replicate that success. Originality is a fine thing, but if your in the job of entertaining the people. Shouldn't it be your first priority to give them something they like. There is nothing wrong with cheap knock offs. There is a market for cheap clones of existing games that have proven to be popular. So why are we getting so many that march to a different beat. I just want some decent fucking clones to tide me over between the big games. Is that really so much to ask. What do you guys think should more developers dedicate themselves to making proper clones of good games.
I am sure some developers would see better success if they opted to follow the leader. Rather then trying to do something that is obviously beyond them. We do see clones, but we just aren't seeing enough of them. Also like I pointed out in some genres we aren't seeing any, and that is actually a problem. What do you guys think. Am I right, or am I wrong?
