BlackThorne genre any good?

[Murilo]

hi everyone! I intend to start making an indie game sometime next year and I was wondering if a game similiar to blackthorne (snes) would be a good ideia for an indie game? I'm new here but I've already read a bazillion posts since I joined and it looks somewhat risky and disencouraging to make an non casual game. Pretend I could actually pull off a game like that with great gameplay + new elements, more action, great animation, story etc etc...AND a two player coo-op mode, would it sell well? Any successful examples out there in that genre? (btw what's the genre for this type of game?) I believe I can do it with some help and time, but going through all these posts here sometimes I really think about giving it up and try to think of something more casual if I wanna see enough green paper in my wallet! I wish I'd know how well non casual indie games like gish did in sales, any info much appreciated! thanks!

[ggambett]

Hey, I don't know about The Market, but I'd play it :) I played BlackThorne in the PC a looong time ago and I really liked it.

[Ricardo C]

Disclaimer: I haven't published my first title yet, so take this advice with a salt mine on the side. Still, I think it's good advice:

This kind of question is impossible to answer. Anything can sell, and anything can flop. Making casual games is a pretty wise way to go if you intend to sell your game on the portals, but it's not the only path. Even good clones of proven hits can get lost in the shuffle on the portals, while quality "hardcore" games can thrive by NOT being portal-fodder (Spiderweb, for example).

I would recommend making something you want to make, something that will receive a whole-hearted effort, and then market its ass off and hope for the best. Catering to the casual audience is worthless if the product is going to be another "me-too" with no real passion behind it. It won't do well commercially, and you won't have gotten anything out of making it. Why do you think there's always a few classics and a LOT of uninspired clones in any given genre?

Since there is not sure-fire way of making a profit, wouldn't it be better to at least spend your blood, sweat, and tears on something you can be proud of in the end?

[Nexic]

I personally loved Flashback and Blackthorne and I would really like to see that genre in the indie market. Whilst it will almost certainly not sell well in the mainstream portals I think it would be a great niche building game, that would in the long term after a few years of marketing and improving the product start to make you some decent money. If you wan't quick cash then I don't think it's a good idea, but if money isn't everything to you then go for it!

[Barlok]

Hi! I now make platformer with atmosphere FlashBack. And too I think, as though her then to advance! :D

[gpetersz]

I agree: can be a big success (with many creative ideas and good marketing) or a big failre (0 units sold).

Many-many good old hits could be re-coated and remade. (using the 3D hardware we have nowadays, even if using it for 2D art!)

If it will be done with modularity, releasing a map-world editor and the capability of loading back user made maps and support network play then it could be a big success.

[Dan MacDonald]

If that's what you love, make it. It will be good. It may sell, it may not. For a first game that shouldn't be your focus. :cool:

[Anthony Flack]

Interesting, I remember me & Mr Lexaloffle were playing Flashback about a year ago, and noting how much cooler it was than most current downloadable offerings. Much higher production values, too. Different market of course, but...

I haven't heard of Blackthorne. Is this something I should be chasing up?

[Sharpfish]

Flashback (and Another World) on the Amiga were brilliant at the time. Would love to see more offerings along those lines (and should be quite achievable for an indie developer). :)

[soniCron]

I haven't heard of Blackthorne. Is this something I should be chasing up? Absolutely. It's not as cerebral as Out of This World or Flashback, but it's an excellent title for the genre. (Brought to you by none other than Blizzard.) As far as I know, it's available for the PC, SNES, and perhaps Genesis, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were more -- it was highly ported.

On that note, a long-term goal of mine is to create a first-person point-and-click adventure with a graphical styling smilar to Out of This World. Hmmm...yummy! :)

[gringo]

I've made a little clon of Black Thorne like 6 years ago that used VESA in DOS !! :) It was my first 'real' game .. I loved it. I should finish it someday.. :p

[Mr.Blaub]

Let's not forget a couple of more recent offerings: Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exodus.

If you made a game similar to this sub-genre of platformers, and you brought something new to the table (doesn't need to be gameplay, say it was in a unique graphical style for example) then you'd have my $20 :)

[nvision]

Blackthorne, Flashback, et all were fantastic games! I think the key to making a saleable game in this genre is going to depend a lot upon finding a good animator to work with. All of those games had great, almost rotoscoped-quality character animation. Regardless if you go 2D or 3D (though I prefer 2D), you should have nice smooth animation...