Discussion: The Importance of Sequels

Hello! It's been awhile since my last post here, and I thought I'd update the ol' blog with a bit of an opinion piece on the importance of sequels for game developers. Click past the break to check it out!


Sequels and You

To start with, let me ask you: who is this character?

A certain Blue Bomber.

You probably already know the answer - it's the main character from the popular action platformer, Megaman.

Now the question is, why do you know who this is? While the quality of Megaman games is generally high, and Megaman himself does have a great, iconic design, I believe that a large portion of his popularity is due to his frequency. Megaman has appeared in 10 different games in his original series, has landed on quite a few game systems, and has spawned many different spin-offs that span a variety of game genres. Megaman - all of the different Megamans (... Megamen?) - tend to be very fondly remembered.

So, I believe that if we follow Capcom's lead with regards to Megaman (and many of their other popular series), the key to popularity is:

1) Make something good.
2) Get the word out.

Why Should You Care?

Now, why should you care? Well, if you're a game developer, you probably want your game to be popular and well-loved, right? So, let's see how we can apply these points with a modern game.

Let's say you're making something - an action RPG, perhaps. You spend many months on the game, and finally finish it. You put it out there, and it makes a couple of bucks. Nice!

Now that you've gotten the game out of the door, though, you've gotten sick of working on it (naturally), so you've decided to move on to something else. You can do that, of course, but you might consider making a sequel to your RPG sometime in the near future, and sooner rather than later. Why?

1) Our first point above was "Make something good." Now, with the advent of the Internet and the ability to distribute game updates through vendors, you can fix up anything post-release to help make it better and better. However, post-release, the game design is usually set in stone. You can't simply make wide-reaching, arbitrary changes after release like make the main character move faster or jump higher, as that throws off the rest of the game. Some might think that's where DLC steps in. While DLC is definitely useful for expanding a game, I believe it serves its purpose best for expanding an existing, fixed product, not building an entirely new one.

For example, look at the difference between Zelda 1 and Zelda 2, or Megaman 6 and Megaman X. These games are wildly different from one to another - sequels that are so different that it probably would be best to do them as sequels, even if DLC is an option for distribution.

With a sequel, you have an opportunity to essentially make the game again while improving on the same basic formula. You can test out and refine gameplay mechanics, experiment with level design and puzzles, and expand on the universe. You can do more in a different way than your original game, and with the same core game idea. You can also, of course, read reviews of your original work to see what worked, what didn't, and so on. You can stand on your own shoulders to see further, so to speak.

You might even be able to reuse assets between games (or just expend a little effort to update them a bit). In addition, since the game is a sequel, you already have months of experience with the game's design. What might have taken you 16 months with the original might take you 9 with a sequel, because you've done it all before. With a sequel, you're never starting from scratch.

A certain Blue Bomber, but in 1998.

As an aside, look at the above pic of Megaman. It's the same character, but the design has been iteratively updated over the course of 11 years, going from the original Megaman in the picture at the top of this article to the one for Megaman & Forte, 11 years later. Capcom kept updating the character and the game.

2) Let's think about the second point, now - "Get the word out." If you make a sequel, getting the word out naturally leads back to the original. If you say, "Hey, I'm making Legend of the Foresaken Soil 4", people naturally know there were 3 other LotFS games out there. If you put the fourth one out there, and people liked it and want more like it, they might look for the 3 other entries in the series. When you put your games out there on stores, it also feels more likely that any recommendations would be for games you made, since they share a developer, a genre, and even most of a title. This is effectively free, honest, and organic marketing. I don't think this is something to be under-stated, especially if we're thinking about game development with a view towards the long-term (i.e. over years - even decades).

Anyway, these are just some points to keep in mind. Sequels are a core part of games in general. While the ability to update a game to bring more content to it does enable developers to expand their games, I believe sequels remain a core tool for expanding a game beyond its first iteration. What do you think? Feel free to post any comments in the... Well, comments section.

Thanks for reading!