Author: Nick

Achievements are simultaneously one of the best and worst things to ever have been added to games. They give a lot of added value to some players who like to complete everything; giving them an easy to manage list of everything that they need to “complete” a game. That is good for that kind of person, but it also has two very detrimental effects for people of a different kind.
The advent of achievements means, for many, that anything outside of the realms of achievements or trophies is worthless. The “fun” that people used to have is replaced by a desperate need to achieve something (which in itself is worthless, who cares about achievement points anyway?) but they boil down into check lists. The second, and most painful reaction, is that the mystery of many games is now gone. The secret things that only the most dedicated found is now handily listed as an achievement.

We live in an age of remasters and remakes in the videogame world, in fact more broadly across the whole media spectrum we are seeing old classics remade and retooled for modern audiences. Oftentimes these games are only a couple of years old, ported up and touched up for modern machines and charged often full price for their efforts. The argument is that many gamers would have missed out on these games first time around, but in truth it’s an easy buck for publishers who are always looking to fill their release calendars.
Occasionally though there are games deserving of a revisit. Baldur’s Gate 2 is often revered by fans as one of the greatest CRPGs of all time; with a wide, branching storyline and varied, deep and interesting combat mechanics. It is possible to play the game as it was intended, but the Enhanced Edition has taken away much of the hassle of getting the game to run well and look great.

The term JRPG (or Japanese Role Playing Game) has become tainted in recent years. With a seemingly crazy obsession with “fan service” (trust me, don’t bother looking it up) the genre has become increasingly marginalised with western audiences. Only the mainstay series of things like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have maintained their roots and maintain that appeal. One other series that walks a fine line is the Persona series (and the Shin Megami Tensei series.) The games typically focus on a group of high school students dealing with various supernatural problems and have, over the course of the series, become increasingly popular.

Persona 4 was released on the Playstation 2 to a warm reception; however releasing late in the life cycle meant that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 were dominating most of the gaming headlines. The game got a second lease of life, however, with an “Ultimate” edition released for the Playstation Vita. Persona 4: Golden has gone on to achieve mainstream success and stoke the fires for the Playstation 3 and 4 release of Persona 5; due out in Japan this year.

There are a few misnomers when it comes to games and the creation of them. One of the most common is that it takes dozens, maybe even hundreds, of people to make, build and create the games that we love and enjoy. While that certainly can be the case, you would be surprised about the number of projects that have only a handful of people working on them. These smaller teams have a couple of advantages over those larger ones; while the scope of the game might be smaller and the amount of systems won’t be as robust, these smaller titles can often be a lot more focused and tightly designed.

Banished is one such title. Developed by one person the game is about building a town that can survive against the harshest conditions. It’s set in a fictional medieval time so things like crop failure or harsh weather conditions can severely impact the health of your people. You need to be prepared for all eventualities; even the smallest mistake can cause catastrophic failure, and not being prepared for winter can quickly cause you to start again.

Reimagining classic franchises can be an extremely dangerous thing to try. On the one hand you need to try and add a modern twist to a classic genre; trying to update it and making it relevant to a modern audience, and most importantly trying to make it sellable to modern buyers. On the other hand you need to worry about the original fans; those you know will be watching your development process like a hawk, waiting for you to make a mistake besmirching their beloved game.
XCOM is one such franchise. A classic in its day; the game was brutally difficult. Putting players in the shoes of the XCOM: Planetary Defense team. You have to make tough decisions about countries to lose, countries to save and who to leave behind. The remake, somehow, manages to capture a lot of the drama and tension of the original games. while also adding a modern twist. It wasn’t quite as successful as the original, but it came pretty damn close.