In the world of video games, Tim Schafer is a man that the industry claims to need no introduction. He is the man responsible for games such as Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, and most recently, Brutal Legend. He is a man known for his comic dialogue and imaginative worlds, but should he be working in the video game industry?
From a critical perspective, his games have done very well. His games have never gone under the 80 mark on Metacritic. But, from a sales perspective, his games have been on the decline. According to NPD, Brutal Legend sold a disappointing 216K copies in October: a surprising number considering both the amount of advertising that went into the game; and the inclusion of Celebrity Jack Black as voice over talent.
Brutal Legend was, in many ways, an attempt the make Schafer a household name. Every piece of news coverage talked about how it was his next game, He was featured on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and even put his “A Tim Schafer Game” on the front of Brutal Legend’s box (a feat only done by Konami’s Hideo Kojima).
Fans of Tim Schafer eagerly awaited the release of Brutal Legend and its heavy metal-inspired world. After the poorly marketed and equally poor selling Psychonauts, the video game industry was ready and willing to love Schafer’s game. But, after low sales and reviews unsure of its gameplay, the question must be begged about what happened. Why didn’t people buy Brutal Legend? People blamed poor marketing for the lack of sales of Psychonauts. Brutal Legend doesn’t have this excuse.
As a gamer, and as a person who did purchase and enjoy Brutal Legend, I sincerely hope that Double Fine makes another game. But, Schafer’s games aren’t selling the way they did back in his Lucas Arts days. It’s entirely possible that his games don’t appeal to anybody except the hardcore gamer. After all, Eddie Riggs isn’t a space marine, or doesn’t shoot up an airport either. Maybe video games isn’t an industry that rewards large-budget unique concepts. Schafer would be better off making Live Arcade and PSN games where fifteen bucks is a suitable fee for eccentric games (See: anything made by Twisted Pixel).
Would Tim Schafer be better off working in animation other than games? His quirky style would fit in very well with Pixar films. Brutal Legend was supposedly an homage to Schafer’s childhood love of heavy metal. Maybe it’s time to leave the industry he’s been working in for twenty years and learn a new skill. If he does stay in the video game industry (which he most likely will), what kind of games should he make that will sell? Games that have the man’s iconic style don’t make any money. Should he make a First-Person Shooter?
If video games are a growing art form, why are unique ideas never purchased? The appeal of having an interesting idea is apparently never worth sixty dollars. Games like Portal are only going to be purchased when they are included in a bundle like The Orange Box. Creativity on 360 and PS3 sells about as well as mature-rated games on Wii, and it’s a shame. Think about this as you play Modern Warfare 2.
I think it comes down to review scores, it may have been the hype foiled by it’s critical response, the RTS complaints may have scared people away maybe.
I love the game personally, I love the world, but there are certainly things I wish were changed, there are things that do need to be polished, and most of all the gameplay doesn’t really reinforce the feeling of being awesome or doing something incredible all the time, I wished they made it more over the top with more variety and simpler RTS elements.
I think it comes down to review scores, it may have been the hype foiled by it’s critical response, the RTS complaints may have scared people away maybe.
I love the game personally, I love the world, but there are certainly things I wish were changed, unfortunately the gameplay doesn’t really reinforce the feeling of being awesome or doing something incredible, I wished they made it more over the top with more variety and simpler RTS elements.
This is a niche game so how could it be expected to do huge numbers. When you make a game that only appeals to a particular demographic, you cannot expect to capitalize on mainstream revenue tracks. The vast majority of the gaming population would have no clue who most of the musical artists in the game are. It is a work that pays homage to heavy metal and its roots. This game was never going to be a blockbuster for that reason alone.
The Modern Warfare comparisons here are silly. Brutal Legend has good writing and demonstrates a lot of creativity, but it’s nowhere near as polished, well-designed, or immersive as Modern Warfare 2.
The pixar comparison is off as well. Pixar movies are polished to an amazing degree. There isn’t a wasted moment, and thematically everything works well. Brutal Legend feels rushed in some areas and there’s an awful lot of busywork, where Modern Warfare 2 looks at exactly what the player is doing at every moment, and crafts the experience around their emotions. Brutal Legend is a generic Dreamworks cg movie to Modern Warfare 2’s Pixar.
If Modern Warfare 2 was an average game that did nothing to move the medium forward I’d agree with your sentiment, but since it’s not, and since there are countless army games that have come out recently and sold much worse than Brutal Legend (Frontlines, Turning Point, Hour of Victory, etc). I’m not sure there’s an argument here.
I think unique ideas are not purchased as often for a couple of fairly basic reasons:
First, I think people like sticking with genres they know they like, and many of these “unique” games eschew the classic genres. This is a problem for a number of reasons and Brutal Legend is a great example of it… What is the genre? It’s impossible to explain the game in any simple way. It’s part adventure, part platformer, part open world, part RTS, part action/beat-em-up. It doesn’t know what it is and it’s no wonder nobody else does (same goes for Portal, Mirror’s Edge, and a myriad of other games). The easier it is to pigeon-hole a game into a particular genre, the easier it is to describe it and sell it. Therein lies the problem, unique games are almost *always* hard to describe, that’s what makes them unique.
Secondly, I think price is a major factor. People are far less likely to take risks on franchises that are unproven to them, and for many people $60 is a fairly big risk. Why spend $60 on something that you *might* like when you can spend $60 on something that you *know* you’ll like? This is one of the reasons we have such a ridiculous number of sequels year over year.
I’ve always felt that unique games would do a lot better if they were priced lower. I’ve felt the de facto $60 price point of games is kind of ridiculous some times. There are varying price points for DVDs, CDs, books, etc… but games pretty much all come in at $60. I get that for big-budget titles or popular franchises, but I think it would do the more unique, art-house type games a favor to have a lower introductory price point that might entice people to take a risk now and then.
Fact is, most people that buy games *aren’t* core gamers. They’re looking for something that’s familiar to them and easy to understand.
Try an experiment some time:
Try to sell Modern Warfare to a friend of yours that is a casual sort of gamer. One of the first questions you’ll be asked is “What’s it like?” – you’ll say “It’s an FPS, like Halo” or something to that effect – you state a genre and give an example they may be familiar with. That describes the game simply, succinctly, and well enough for the average Joe-Casual gamer to make a decision as to whether or not they’ll be interested in purchasing this game.
Now try to sell Brutal Legend. “What’s it like?” – how do you respond? It’s next to impossible to give any examples your friend would be familiar with, so you have to be more descriptive of the game itself and if you say more than 5-10 words, you’re just going to lose the person’s interest.
I would have bought Brutal Legend if it came out on the PC (I let my 360 collect dust while I game on the PC). It didn’t come out on the PC. I didn’t buy it.