Hey everyone!
Gather round ye olde internet machine.
I've got a question for ya.
What do:
Dragon Quest XI, the turn-based JRPG,
and DOOM, the 2016 demon-slaying first-person shooter,
have in common?
I mean, they're almost diametric opposites in the way they engage their audiences,
but both games are kindred spirits in another way:
They both do exceptionally well that many other games with bigger teams and bigger budgets
seem to have lost sight of.
*Extra Credits Intro (Penguin Cap - CarboHydroM)*
This episode is sponsored by World of Tanks!
Download the game for free at the link below and use the code "EXTRATANKS1"
for a free starter pack.
So let's take a look at these two titles.
Dragon Quest was the first major JRPG,
and the series as a whole pretty much wrote the book of the genre as we know it,
not to mention had a pretty sweet Nintendo Power magazine tie-in from when I was a kid.
While the original DOOM popularized the FPS genre in pretty much the same way.
Dragon Quest I was released in 1986,
while DOOM I was released in 1993.
And Dragon Quest XI and the new DOOM
released in 2017 and 2016,
over thirty and twenty years later respectively.
But both of these games look,
But both of these games look, feel,
But both of these games look, feel, and play
But both of these games look, feel, and play very much like their original releases.
And that is a good thing.
Because both games know exactly what their audience is looking for from them.
And they focus on delivering that specific experience in their own way,
rather than pivoting to follow industry trends.
If you look at any critical review of any Dragon Quest game,
one of the most common complaints you'll read is:
"The games don't change much".
But ask a Dragon Quest fan what it is they like about the series,
and one of the common positives they'll cite is:
"The games don't change much"!
The series has resisted the urge many other franchises feel, JRPGs in particular,
to constantly change up their mechanics, in an attempt to attract a larger audience.
These changes are usually things like adding more action and eye-popping visuals,
rather than enhancing the narrative that narrative and fantasy that made the genre so popular in the first place.
DOOM, on the other hand, engages players in a completely different way than Dragon Quest.
Because DOOM is about intense, awesome fire fights and gory spectacle.
But the series was bogged down for years by focusing on elements that weren't really core to that experience.
Next-gen lighting effects,
Next-gen lighting effects, piling on plot,
Next-gen lighting effects, piling on plot, and hit-or-miss attempts at survival horror.
But when it committed to delivering a new game that hearkened back to the original DOOM from 1993,
it allowed the series to once again focus on what DOOM does best:
Giving you a shotgun,
and pointing you towards,
*Metal*
T H E L E G I O N S O F H E L L !!!
*heavy coughing*
'Scuse me.
These two games stayed their course,
without tacking on all of the these that many other franchises have tried to cram in,
for fear of being left behind.
They both have many modernizations, of course,
which are essential to allow an audience seven gaming generations later
to enjoy the core experience these games introduced so many many years ago.
But at a fundamental level,
they remained committed to what made the games that launched these series so compelling.
For the perfect foil for Dragon Quest,
you need look no further than its distaff counterpart:
Final Fantasy.
Both series became popular due to the strengths of their narrative,
but Final Fantasy has suffered when the teams behind it maybe started to focus on the wrong things.
Gaming is a tough industry that's always been hit-driven.
And it's easy, especially when building a big-budget game,
to look at what's been selling well recently
and think if you don't give players that experience then no one will buy your game.
As the ever-growing pile of Battle Royale shooters can attest to.
I mean, seriously,
Zoe can't swing a dead person without hitting a new one of those things.
Of course, sometimes, change is for the better.
Mixing up genres or livening up old ideas with new twists
has led to many advances in the media.
But it's important to evaluate if those new ideas complement the existing game mechanics people love and expect from a franchise,
or are they just thrown in because other games are doing them?
DOOM's use of light RPG progression, for example, supplements the main action.
By getting the player's incentives to experiment with different weapon types,
it forces the running and shooting game to be more varied and interesting.
Throwing in a modern cover system, on the other hand,
would've slammed the brakes hard on the fast-paced gameplay that makes DOOM feel like DOOM.
And likewise,
skill-heavy real-time combat in Dragon Quest XI would've caused a huge shift away
from the chill vibes and accessibility that Dragon Quest games are famous for.
Unfortunately though, unlike Dragon Quest XI and DOOM,
all too often games from established franchises do get rebuilt around new trends
and end up disregarding the original elements that fans loved about the series.
Innovation is vital in our industry.
and you've heard us champion it here again and again.
We need to experiment to find new kinds of games and new ways to play.
But,
it's important that it's actual innovation,
based out of a desire to create new experiences,
and push boundaries of what we can do in the media.
And not simply tacking on mechanics from the latest hits on the beloved franchises,
because we think having "Battle Royale" as a bullet point will add to sales.
Remember why people loved your series in the first place.
Build on that!
You might find out the the best way to do that is by expanding the gameplay with all sorts of new elements.
Or, you might find that the best way to go
is just to stick to your guns and deliver more of the same.
Not the DOOM guns specifically, mind you,
I meant retaining the game's original spirit,
which, uhm,
in DOOM's case,
those specific guns they're still sticking to
are in fact the guns they are sticking to.
But, uhm,
boy, I think I just [inception-ed?] my example here,
uhhh...
Zoe, spin the top for me,
I'm gonna go lie down.
[DON'T LEAVE YET!]
But BEFORE I do that,
I'd like to to once again thank World of Tanks for sponsoring this episode!
They've been sticking with their guns both literally and figuratively with their game for over eight years now,
and,
TANK-fully,
eh?
they are showing no signs of slowing down.
*WoT gameplay*
So if you'd like to get in on some o' that action,
download the game for free at the link below,
and use the invite code "EXTRATANKS1" to claim your free starter pack!
Hot Machine, Cold Surface - Ben Prunty (Hey there Zoe!)