Post by leunas on Dec 7, 2006 13:33:47 GMT -5
While Venture Arctic is a sequel, the gameplay is entirely redesigned. Not only did we want to improve upon the weaknesses of the game design in Venture Africa, but we also wanted to make this game feel specifically Arctic.
Why would we want to redesign the gameplay of Venture Africa if it was successful? When I think back to playing games as a kid, a sequel meant a generation of upgrades to the technology and design. The difference between Ultima III and Ultima IV was vast. These days, a sequel rarely means much more than an expansion pack. It’s very important to me that our sequels are unique, individual titles and not just content additions.
Second, we really want Venture Arctic to compete on the scale of Zoo Tycoon. Venture Africa, while quite successful on the scale of indie titles, hasn’t yet been able to hang with big budget titles. Pocketwatch Games intends to carve out its niche and hold onto that space wtih everything we’ve got.
So how did we redesign the game?
Animal activity
First off, we discovered that people enjoyed Venture Africa much more when there were lots of animals in the environment. So the levels in Venture Arctic start out populated with complete ecosystems. The player spends their time building and interacting rather than placing animals.
Player Activity
We also wanted the player to feel more active while playing the game. While it’s fun just to sit and watch, it’s often more fun to be interacting with the world while the animals go about their lives. We strengthened the building aspects of the game by always having elements of the tool palette be free. The player is never left without something to do.
What defines Arctic ecosystems?
I did a lot of research on what makes Arctic ecosystems unique. The thing I kept coming back to is that seasonal changes define the life cycles of all the animals on land and in sea. This led us to design the game such that the player is encouraged to use seasonally appropriate tools.
www.qatfish.com/?p=41
Why would we want to redesign the gameplay of Venture Africa if it was successful? When I think back to playing games as a kid, a sequel meant a generation of upgrades to the technology and design. The difference between Ultima III and Ultima IV was vast. These days, a sequel rarely means much more than an expansion pack. It’s very important to me that our sequels are unique, individual titles and not just content additions.
Second, we really want Venture Arctic to compete on the scale of Zoo Tycoon. Venture Africa, while quite successful on the scale of indie titles, hasn’t yet been able to hang with big budget titles. Pocketwatch Games intends to carve out its niche and hold onto that space wtih everything we’ve got.
So how did we redesign the game?
Animal activity
First off, we discovered that people enjoyed Venture Africa much more when there were lots of animals in the environment. So the levels in Venture Arctic start out populated with complete ecosystems. The player spends their time building and interacting rather than placing animals.
Player Activity
We also wanted the player to feel more active while playing the game. While it’s fun just to sit and watch, it’s often more fun to be interacting with the world while the animals go about their lives. We strengthened the building aspects of the game by always having elements of the tool palette be free. The player is never left without something to do.
What defines Arctic ecosystems?
I did a lot of research on what makes Arctic ecosystems unique. The thing I kept coming back to is that seasonal changes define the life cycles of all the animals on land and in sea. This led us to design the game such that the player is encouraged to use seasonally appropriate tools.
www.qatfish.com/?p=41