In the games industry, there is always some requirement for a new game to have a USP, which is something that sets it apart from other games. This seems like a good idea at first, but it pretty much always just manifests itself as some pointless gimmick such as the ability to shoot round corners/slow down time a bit/have trousers that turn to jam. Every time I describe that I'm making a game to a fellow gamer, people tend to ask "Ooh, what's the USP?". To which I would like to reply "That's a bad question" and slap them. However, it's generally a bad idea to attack your potential customer base.
I think all this attention on USPs takes attention away from what is genuinely important about a game, and that is is it actually good? If that's the case, it doesn't really matter much if it has a USP or not, because USPs don't necessarily make a game either good or bad. In fact, I think feeling the need to try and explicitly crowbar a USP into every single game may well harm the development of some games.
Another thing that the USP idea doesn't take into account is that novelty can appear at lots of different levels within a game. For example, it could be a completely generic FPS but with amazingly novel level design and very well designed challenges, but because it doesn't feature Jam Trousers it's somehow seen as Not As Novel.
As a good case study, look at the original Half Life. I've thought about it, and I can't really think of anything that could be considered a USP. You play a man fighting against an alien horde (ooh, novel!), with plenty of shooting (yawn) and platforming (double yawn). Of course, what made Half Life an amazing game was a mixture of the story, the atmosphere, the level design and well, pretty much everything.
Anyway, I think my main point here is that concentrating on USPs is a bad idea that may be used to prematurely judge the quality of a game.
If you're thinking that all of this is bollocks, then luckily Juggernaut has a pretty good USP :P
I wouldn't go as far as disagreeing with that, but if you think about it, the game still needs to have something "unique" that sets it apart from other games. For the Half-life example, it was the combination you mentioned. As a general rule, you could make a game that doesn't have a tangible USP but still provides a fun and unique gaming experience.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, however, in that a good game is a good game. It can't be quantified, and the presence of a USP or lack thereof isn't what determines whether a game is good or bad.
Oh yes, I have no doubt that every good game needs something unique that makes it stand out. People always tend to focus on that being some sort of novel mechanic, rather than story/level design etc.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as I mentioned, this was mainly just a short rant due to it always being the first thing that people ask me ;)