January 29, 2008
A License To Kill
By
Louis Bedigian
If it has to be fun for everyone, it won’t be
fun to anyone.
The most common thing I hear a developer say
regarding his or her licensed game is, "It has to be fun to those that don’t
know the [movie, comic, TV series, etc.]." I used to agree. Naruto has never
been at the top of my must-watch list, but I enjoy most of the games.
Regardless, it’s time to re-think my agreement.
Publishers and developers don’t sign up for licensed products to reach every
kind of player – they do it because, even when striving to create a stellar
product, they know the license carries weight. The license alone can make Game X
stand out without having to stress why it is the best (as publishers of
non-licensed games must do each year).
No, these men aren’t constipated. They just
spent the day playing 24.
The problem is that, when you make a statement
like, "We’re making this licensed game for everyone," what you’re really saying
is, "We’re looking for an audience. Who wants to jump on board? Say I."
Soon we’ll be playing a game based on the hit TV
series Lost. Note that I said "hit" and not "A show everyone on the planet can
love." Truth is, most people can’t and don’t love it. I do, but I’m in the
minority. Since the beginning of the show’s second season, Lost has lost many of
its viewers. Millions, actually, because most people aren’t content to follow a
convoluted storyline through to the end. Furthermore, Lost is not the kind of
show that allows you to miss an episode. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve
spoken to that said, "I’ll wait till the show concludes and rent or buy the
whole thing on DVD."
Does this sound like the kind of game that any
average Joe will pick up and play? I’m sure publishers would like to argue
– or at least believe – that the answer is yes. But if that is in fact the case,
why bother with the license at all? Joe doesn’t know Lost. He doesn’t care about
its depth, plot twists, or unanswered questions. Therefore he has no
expectations. But the fans do.
James Bond has a license to kill. You have a
license to drive – far, far away from his post-GoldenEye releases.
Who do you think will be the first to play the
game? The diehard fans or Wandering Joes? Who will be the first to blog about
it, the first to scrutinize it, and the first to love or loathe it? Joe is an
afterthought – a man publisher’s catch by chance with a flashy box cover, a cool
commercial or dumb luck. He is not a guaranteed sale, so why is he in the
picture from day one? Why not make a killer, fan-targeted game first, and allow
our excitement to spread, intrigue and encourage everyone else?
I’m excited about the prospect of Lost’s ending,
which was (reportedly) conceived by the show’s co-creator, Damon Lindelof. But
I’m terrified about the outcome of the gameplay, which is not being touted so
much as it is being hyped. I’ve heard a lot of, "Oh, it’s got to be so much
fun," and "We must make this game for those who have never seen Lost as well as
the fans." Those words, while not exact, are another development taken from the
Big Book of Licensed Game Traits.
Did that concept work out well for 24: The Game?
How about Alias, or the horrible 007 games that were released after Rare lost
the license? Let’s look at The Golden Compass – did the gentle touch of
mainstream appeal make it successful? Or were its built-for-everyone ideas so
monotonous that even fans of the movie couldn’t suffer through it, let alone a
Wandering Joe?
This may look like a compass, but it’s
actually a clock in disguise, serving as a metaphor for the time you’ll waste by
touching this dreadful adventure.
If Lost is a killer game, then the developers
will have been wise in keeping the truth a secret, a theme the show has
championed from day one. No matter the outcome, our industry needs to
continually re-evaluate the content of licensed games, and remember the reason
why they took that route in the first place. If the mainstream crowd is really
what publishers are seeking, licenses aren’t the way to go. Instead, allow me to
suggest a few concepts that could reach all players without infuriating an
existing fan base: Generic Shooter 56, Commonplace Racing 12, and By-the-Book
RPG 29: Chapter 2, Please Give Me a Pillow So I Can Sleep.
