Porter's World

Porter Vs Benologist

At last, the results of the bet are finally in. Actually, they’ve been in for months now, and I’ve just been neglecting to share with the world what exactly happened. That being said, the bet did come to a close, and there are indeed results to be shared. The results aren’t nearly as clear as I wish they could be, but I believe I can work with what I got.

As I said, the results were a bit iffy. The main contributor to this issue is that the bet lacked any concrete rules. If there were indeed any at all, it was that I had to create a game by the end of April that was sell-able. This is where things get tricky. I did indeed complete a project by the end of April, which I felt could in fact be sold, but that quickly became subjective once it came time to show my work. I also created a game-breaking bug at the last minute where the grunt enemies are way too fast now and then. Before I get any deeper into this, here’s a look what I had to offer April 30th, the deadline for the bet.

Pixel Purge Bet Version

Pixel Purge Bet Version

As you can see, the game is nothing special, but it does function, has a few splashes of polish here and there, and in my opinion, could have sold. That being said, the game at that stage completely fell below my expectations. I did in fact spend half my time out and about with friends, but I knew I should have been working, so that’s my own fault. The other reason the game fell short of my expectations is because I added a lot of support into the foundation of the game to expand upon it. I never had any intentions of selling the game after completing the bet, I planned on expanding the game to something much greater from the very start. Truths and excuses aside, as far as the bet was concerned, I should have stuck to the original goal and nothing more.

As I mentioned, I never had any intentions of selling the game as it was at the end of the bet on April 30th. I did in fact continue to build upon the game as I previously stated, and eventually turned it into what is now known as a rather successful game by the name of Pixel Purge. Pixel Purge is in every way superior to the original prototype, and was definitely worth the continued work I put into it. If you’re interested in reading more about the final version of Pixel Purge,  check out my follow-up Pixel Purge Postmortem (Coming soon).

Pixel Purge Final Version

Pixel Purge Final

Lastly, on to the results. Looking at my version specifically completed for the bet, I see how much it lacked. It’s a glorified prototype at best. However, it does have a decent title screen, working high scores, great controls, a variation in enemies, power-ups, an arcade leveling system, and a bit of polish here and there. All in all, it’s not that great, but hey, most flash games aren’t. As far as the original terms go, I personally believe the game could have been sold for a few hundred bucks. It wouldn’t make thousands, but that wasn’t the bet. If some rules had been laid out, I would have worked a lot harder to meet whatever guidelines were created, but those didn’t exist, and I met what I believed was needed. At the same time, the game does lack horribly to my standards, and I never actually proved it was sell-able. In the end, I’m going to have to call the entire bet a fluke. There were no real rules, there was no real panel of judges, it just isn’t possible to come to a fair conclusion. Bet aside, the entire situation was a huge success to me since it forced me to get back to work. I learned a lot in the process, and that’s worth a lot more than the pride or $100 I would have got had this been declared a victory. On a side note, I also didn’t drink for far more than 2 weeks for awhile (As were the terms of me losing). This had nothing to do with the bet, but I’m sure Ben is out there somewhere grinning with pleasure at the thought of a pseudo-victory.

Originality

Originality is always talked about as a must have in game design, but it’s rather depressing how many people practice such a thing. Having an original concept is probably the second most important aspect in game design, the first being the game’s fun factor. Nobody wants to play a game that’s no fun, just as nobody wants to play a game they played a few weeks ago, just with different graphics. I must admit I’m disappointed with many current releases, with so much room to combine game ideas, or even create something completely new, there’s really no excuse for it other than a quick way to make cash.

It’s the creative minds that have stood the test of time, that’s why humans stand at the top of the food chain. Copying what’s already been done isn’t what makes us great, coming up with new original concepts is. Game design is no different, especially flash games. You can spend 60 hours trying to recreate something that’s already been done, and only make half the money you could make with an original concept that only takes you 20 hours to complete, granted it’s fun. If it’s new, it’s likely intriguing, if it’s intriguing, you have players hooked, if players are hooked, you win. This doesn’t mean you should create something completely new and bizarre, it simply means you should get creative with what you’ve already seen done, mix some core concepts, make up a new one, combine a rhythm game with something nobody would think possible, if done right, it’s a gold mine.

Aside from making your game a huge success, there are many reasons to be original and stay away from basically copying what’s already been done and adding a few features. Take a look at some of the biggest games out right now, we’ll use Sonny and The Last Stand for this example. Both of these games have two main things in common, they both are incredibly successful, and they both have zombies. If you make a game that has zombies in it, and it’s even remotely close to either of these games, you’re ratings are going to be crushed by the public unless your game is of higher quality. It’s dangerous to try and 1-up something that’s already done so well. If you’re going to make a zombie game, you best be doing a better job than those games, otherwise you’ll feel the wrath of the public. If you’re going to make a platformer where you collect coins and go down something, it better be more fun than Mario, because weather you like it or not, that’s what you’re going to be compared to.

An original concept is not only more rewarding when recieving public feedback, it’s just going to make your more successful overall. It’s a better feeling of accomplishment to have people say “Brilliant concept” than it is for them to say “Great game” when you’ve just coppied someone elses work and made it slightly better at best. That’s not to say you can’t copy a game and improve upon it, I’m simply saying whichever way you look at it, originality will come through more successful in the end. There’s no reason to fight against other games when you can simply stand by their side in greatness, don’t fight an uphill battle when you can cruise down the road of originality.