We were going to write a list of our favorite games from 2014, but it would be pretty repetitive seeing how most of them have been featured in our best mobile game and best PC game lists. So instead, we’ll take a look at all the indie games we’ve played this year and tell you what we hope developers won’t repeat next year.
Clones
Yes, Flappy Bird was a huge hit, but it was also probably one of the most pointless games ever made. Its popularity is testament to the modern tech-savvy consumer’s poor taste. So many studios cloned Flappy Bird’s mechanics in their own little games this year, be they outright remakes with different birds, or the same game with different art. If you have the skill and the talent to make a game, why make a photocopy? Why not put your effort into something unique and memorable?
Grammar
English isn’t the first language of many studios in the region, I know. But many of these same studios develop for an international audience anyway. This means games in English. This also means games in English made by a team that may not be entirely fluent in the language. The result? Hideous grammar mistakes that detract from what’s really happening, especially when the game is dependent on its storyline. Get a copywriter or an editor, folks. New marketplaces for freelancers make this easy and affordable.
Focus
I’ve played a lot of indie games this year, and one of my biggest gripes is how many of them try to get too fancy. These games are perfect until a certain point, then the developer decides to get creative or to show off and adds in another element that completely destroys the game and its design. Sometimes, less is more.
Depth
Be brave. Be daring. Failure only lasts until you get up again. Why not try making a game that takes more than a couple of braincells to play? One button games are fun, but they bring little value or entertainment to a player’s life. At best, they get played while someone is waiting for the bus. At worst, they fall into the void that is Google Play and the App Store and are forever forgotten. Make something deep, make something worthy of being played.
Original art styles
This may be a problem unique to Southeast Asia. Anime and manga feature heavily in modern day pop culture and a lot of artistic talent is honed initially by drawing the artist’s favorite manga characters. This manga and anime art style eventually ends up influencing so many artists and becomes evident in the games they illustrate. I’d like to see more games that don’t have anime art styles, please. They are done to death, and you can do better than that. Oh and for god’s sake, lay off the pixel art – it’s overdone too.
Actual art
Improve your art. I’d need maybe twenty times more fingers and toes to point at guilty game development studios. Get exposure by playing foreign games, studying AAA games, or even sending your artists to courses conducted by big names in the industry. Whatever it is, put budget, time, and effort aside for better visuals. There’s a lot of talent in the region. It’s just not being put to good use, and it’s also spat upon when poor visuals receive praise for being amazing. Open your eyes, do better, and stop praising games with poor art undeservedly.
2014 was a pretty good year for indie games made in Asia. Here’s hoping 2015 will be better.
See: 2014 in review: 6 major trends in China’s gaming market
This post 6 things Asia’s indie developers should improve on for 2015 appeared first on Tech in Asia.
6 things Asia’s indie developers should improve on for 2015
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