Eidos Montreal general manager Stéphane D’Astous feels under no pressure to create new videogame ideas anymore, claiming games are getting so sophisticated that you can rely on new technology to make old ideas seem new again. Well … that’s a cynical way of looking at things.
“Games are more and more sophisticated; it’s less based on one or two mechanics. I think this replaces the necessity of having new IPs,” he told Gamasutra. “Innovation and ideas are important, but if you’re able to bring forward an existing IP to bring new types of experiences, I think people will buy them, because they know they can relate to a franchise they’ve played before.
“A major relaunch of a title like Deus Ex and Thief, we considered it almost like a new IP, certainly in the effort. So we bring back something from the cult classics. This is maybe not considered new IP, but it brings a new flavor.”
It’s not often you’ll see sequelitis presented as a good thing, that’s for sure. While I see what D’Astous is saying (I loved Human Revolution), I don’t like the idea of using technology as a creative crutch while new IP is presented as some obligatory burden.
Not to mention, if you think you need “complex” games to have fresh ideas, you present yourself as very unimaginative indeed. Some of the most ingenious games remain some of the simplest. I can’t quite get with this guy’s thinking.
Eidos’ D’Astous: Overhauling IPs ‘replaces the necessity of having new IPs’ [Gamasutra]
Published: Apr 10, 2012 12:00 pm