[casual_games] sequels

[John Szeder]

Am I going to get lynched for asking about how game sequels compare to movie
sequels?

 

Do people generally have the same expectation of movie sequels as game
sequels?

 

Have there been cases where the sequel was better than the original worth
mentioning?

 

It seems to me that due to issues with failure to meet expectations that
building a sequel curbs your upside.

 

Would love to have someone persuade me otherwise.

 

  _____  

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of Dave Rohrl
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 3:28 PM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: RE: [casual_games] sequels

 

They vary.  All of the ones you list below have been successful (or I expect
will be).  On the other hand, Gutterball 2 and Lemonade Tycoon 2 both did
less business than the original games (I think).  There's a very fine
balancing act with these sequels.  Those that have been successful have
managed to maintain the excellence and simplicity of their gameplay and
sticking to a few incremental features which - by and large - the novice
user doesn't really have to grok to play well.  Those that have fallen short
seem to have either added too much complexity that the user absolutely had
to contend with or have added too little additional gamely to generate
excitement.

 

I won't say that creating a really successful sequel is as hard as creating
a really successful original game, but it's no slam dunk either.

 

- DaveR

 

  _____  

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of John Szeder
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 1:36 PM
To: 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List'
Subject: [casual_games] sequels

 

How do sequels in the casual space tend to fare?

 

I noticed there are "bejeweled 2, diner dash 2, and big kahuna reef 2" out.

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://seven.pairlist.net/pipermail/casual_games/attachments/20060619/52a4ba05/attachment.html