Cloning: It's not just for sheep anymore
The video game world is no longer innovative. The last truly innovative game that was released was Pokemon Pinball, and that was for the Game Boy. For the last innovative release on a console, you really have to go back to Suikoden. I long for the days of the NES, when development costs were low enough that hundreds of innovative games poured out. Sure, there were hundreds of clones of Super Mario Brothers, as well. But they not only added something new, the companies that made them also thought up of innovative games.
Every time an innovation happens in a game, ten other games steal the idea so it is no longer innovative. Take the release of Crazy Taxi for example, the ‘go anywhere’ line became rather important. Now dozens of games allow you to go anywhere, ranging from Smuggler’s Run, to Banjo-Tooie. All innovation that was present in Crazy Taxi was soon lost. Lucky, Crazy Taxi was a good enough game to overcome that hurdle. But the cloning of Crazy Taxi really lessened it’s impact on video gamedom.
Sadly the lack of innovation is really causing the industry to go downhill. Creativity is needed in all aspects of life for them to continue, and perhaps a lack of creativity in video games will cause the death of the industry. At the rate that creative games are put out, it is inevitable.
Throughout the years, there really have been five developers who have stood out in their creativity. The purpose of this editorial is to recognize them, and then to mull over Dreamcast possibilities. Also of note, I am not ranking these five companies. They are in no real order. All have basically innovated equally. In fact, I’m going to put them into alphabetical order.
CAPCOM - What Capcom has done to create new genres is amazing. They revitalized the tournament fighting genre with Street Fighter II, and they basically created a new one with the Resident Evil series. They changed the tournament fighting genre again with the release of Power Stone. No one really knows what the inventive minds at Capcom are going to think up next.
HAL LABORATORIES - Bet you did not expect to see them up here. Hal is a Nintendo second-party developer, so there will never be anything on a Sega system, but they really have to be on this list. Kirby’s Avalanche, Kirby’s Dream Course, the normal Kirby games, Kirby’s Pinball, and all of their other Kirby games really changed and redefined the genres they were in. Who ever could have thought up a hero who could inhale their enemies.
KOEI - They’re not too innovative anymore, but they surely once were. The days of their interesting and fun simulation games are gone. But it was those odd simulation games that really made a name for Koei. Now, they basically are a Sony developer.
NINTENDO - Even people at a Sega site have to admit this. They’ve created defining games in almost every genre possible. They changed the racing genre with the release of Super Mario Kart, and the action and adventure genres with every Super Mario game released. Throw Zelda, Donkey Kong, and their other inventive Mario games into the mix, and they rank with the best in innovation. And, of course, none of their work will ever appear on a non-Nintendo console.
SEGA - No, I’m not just saying this. They truly are one of the most innovative developers around. How could anyone that is not innovative think up Space Channel 5, Chu Chu Rocket, Jet Grind Radio, Crazy Taxi, Seaman, and other quirky hits like that? And lucky for you, all of Sega’s work will be covered here at this site.
SQUARE SOFT and KONAMI net themselves honorable mentions.
There you have it. Out of the five most innovative developers, two developed for the Dreamcast. And the future of video games really lies on these programmers, developers, artists, producers, and other members of their respective teams to constantly think of new ideas, and raise the bar for everyone.
-Matt91486
