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For " The Industry Doesn't Really Encourage Innovation" please replace the word "Industry" with "Audience". There are a vocal group of people who want somethin

For " The Industry Doesn't Really Encourage Innovation" please replace the word "Industry" with "Audience". There are a vocal group of people who want something new, but a larger, less vocal group of people who want something familiar, or don't know what they want so they pick something familiar. This is true of all media and true of consumer tastes in general. People like TV shows and movies that are like ones that have been done before. There is certainly an audience for things that are original, but a much a larger audience for things that are familiar. And in movies and TV, like games, your chances of achieving a viable product are better if you tweak an existing formula rather than innovate. Lots of people make games because they love them, and then are disappointed that they don't make money. But in almost all other media there is an understanding that the "best" (most smart, most original) will not be the most popular because of the tastes of the audience. I know this, the first game I designed was very innovative and I took my lumps for it.

Pica_soO 10y ago
The bitter sweet taste when the innovation gets picked up, after you dropped it, by some competitor, who trims it down and merges it into his product. Being innovative, can make you the risking your job lab-rat without reward - and no, you can not protect everything with a patent.
otakucode 10y ago
You are definitely in the right ballpark. The audience bears at least even responsibility, if not the majority. This is a widespread problem in the gaming community, not just in mobile. Remember that Simcity 2012 version? The always-online one (that could never get online at launch) that spawned dozens of boycotts and petitions before it came out? Best-selling game on the Origin platform in history. This sends a crystal clear message. 'Ignore our protestations, we're just salty. Hurt us and we will pay you.' However, we're facing an interesting time. Research suggests that the public response to media is actually random. Copycat movies and TV don't get churned out because they are successful or have a better chance of success, they get made because the people in charge of deciding what to create are executives who want to 'make their mark' and been seen as 'a tastemaker' in an environment where the only pattern is that there is no pattern. 'I know what people want' makes careers, and 'I got lucky' gets you nowhere. The 'interesting' part is that this copycat system only works when there are a small number of players controlling the creation and distribution of the media. Once things open up and niche markets become viable, things get interesting. (The book 'A Drunkard's Walk' runs the numbers if you're curious.)

Pica_soO 10y ago

The bitter sweet taste when the innovation gets picked up, after you dropped it, by some competitor, who trims it down and merges it into his product. Being innovative, can make you the risking your job lab-rat without reward - and no, you can not protect everything with a patent.

otakucode 10y ago

You are definitely in the right ballpark. The audience bears at least even responsibility, if not the majority. This is a widespread problem in the gaming community, not just in mobile. Remember that Simcity 2012 version? The always-online one (that could never get online at launch) that spawned dozens of boycotts and petitions before it came out? Best-selling game on the Origin platform in history. This sends a crystal clear message. 'Ignore our protestations, we're just salty. Hurt us and we will pay you.' However, we're facing an interesting time. Research suggests that the public response to media is actually random. Copycat movies and TV don't get churned out because they are successful or have a better chance of success, they get made because the people in charge of deciding what to create are executives who want to 'make their mark' and been seen as 'a tastemaker' in an environment where the only pattern is that there is no pattern. 'I know what people want' makes careers, and 'I got lucky' gets you nowhere. The 'interesting' part is that this copycat system only works when there are a small number of players controlling the creation and distribution of the media. Once things open up and niche markets become viable, things get interesting. (The book 'A Drunkard's Walk' runs the numbers if you're curious.)