Level Up.pdf

426 LEVEL 17 And Now the Hard Part
For example, after finishing the first Maximo game, I went to my producer
with a list of 40 things I thought were broken and needed to be fixed in the
sequel (to my delight, I was able to get 39 of those requests fulfilled!). While
the first game sold better, I still think the second game is a better game. We
wouldn ’ t have had the opportunity to make that better game if we didn ’ t
have a chance to make a sequel.
Besides, if there were no sequels, there would be no Grand Theft Auto 3,
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Burnout Paradise, Curse of Monkey Island,
Resident Evil 2 or Resident Evil 4, Lego Star Wars original trilogy… you
get the idea. Here is some advice on making a video game sequel:
• Use the “ spine ” of the original game as a basis of your gameplay design
for the sequel. Take everything that was good in the first game and
improve on it. Take everything that was bad and throw it away. It seems
like common sense, but it ’ s not all that common — things like lousy
camera, controls, and gameplay mechanics are “ justifi ed ” by teams
because they were in the first game. Just because they were in the first
game, doesn ’ t mean they were that good. Don ’ t be afraid to cut out the
bad bits. If it ’ s better than the original, no one will complain. My friend,
project manager George Collins recommends that every sequel should
be “ 30/70 ” : 30 percent new material and ideas and 70 percent based on
the original game. It ’ s not a bad formula to follow.
• Don ’ t let the player down. They expect certain things in the sequel and
you shouldn ’ t disappoint. For example, if your audience loved the
wall - running mechanic in your first game, then by all means, keep wall
running in the sequel.
• Name it something other than “GameName 2. ” Names are really important
to a game. Personally, I think both the Batman (Batman Returns,
Batman Begins, and so on) and the Indiana Jones and the … movie
franchises did it right. Their titles are mysterious and keep furthering the
fiction rather than reducing it to a numbered outing.
• Always introduce something new … This may seem to be pandering to
marketing, but make sure there are fi ve new things in your game for the
back of the box, preferably new gameplay concepts to bring something
fresh. Also, try to introduce at least one new hero and villain to the
franchise. Remind the player that this is a new experience, not just a
rehash.
• … But don ’ t make it too new. In Maximo vs. Army of Zin, we didn ’ t
realize that the players wanted to fight more supernatural enemies;
we had them battling clockwork creatures instead. The fans were
unhappy because we deviated away from what they liked in the
fi rst title.