I just had the urge to go through the AGS games DB and catalogue how many series actually get beyond part 1. There are many great games in those "episode 1"s but too many of them get no further. Of course, some game series have lots of epsidoes, even though they are not planned as such. Oh, and a demo for "part 2" doesn't count.
So, there are 39 games in the DB described as "Episode/Part/Volume 1". Then there are 12 that are Part 2. And 3 that are part 3. There seems to be quite a tail off. Maybe those extra episodes will arrive some day, and of course I'm not counting some series like Princess Marian, Ben Jordan, Barn Runner, Lone Case and Maniac Mansion that did manage to get a lot of games in. Still, it is indicitive numbers even if they are flawed.
Wow, never knew that Lone Case (a series that really a few recall these days) is one of the biggest game series on the AGS. In fact it seems as the only quadrilogy in the AGS.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the main things that make people discontinue their series is that they don't receive that much positive feedback for their first episodes. It seem a bit futile to run a series when it has no audience that cares about it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not saying people are mean to the starting series, it's just that it is difficult to get them hooked up.
"Barn Runner... did manage to get a lot of games in."
ReplyDeleteSounding awfully past tense in here, buddy. Just because I'm a year overdue on the next game is no reason to think... well, yeah, I guess it is a good reason to think that. ;)
Positive feedback can be a real boost to staying on track, but another thing that slows down work on stories is when the developer starts working six damn days a week. Real life has a way of getting in the way.
Except for Ben304, of course. But I suspect he has his own Santa's Workshop set up or something, based on how he's able to get games out. Either that, or he's a bank robber who uses his free time wisely.
I agree with Igor. If you think your first game didn't get enough attention why continue?
ReplyDeleteRecently I released the second game of a series and so far it got less attention than the first one. I love the world and the characters, but if other people don't care, it seems like a waste of time to continue.
But Helme, just because something isn't a big hit right out of the gate doesn't mean it can't grow into an audience over time. The Barn Runner games sort of landed with a big, indifferent thud when I released the first one almost six years ago. But over time, the games found something approximating an audience.
ReplyDeleteEven if they hadn't, I would have still kept making them just because that's the joy of freeware. There aren't any sales figures to consider and no publisher threatening to shut your studio down. You can tell the story you like in exactly the way you like. Isn't that the point? I'd keep at it, if I were you.
My two cents, anyway.
Lol nobody but a few remember me fom Lone Case games, and well, not a great number of people played them. But I made them anyway! It's all about having fun! A word I'm actually forgetting the last 2 years.
ReplyDeleteSoon there will be 1 game that have 4 parts - Cosmos Quest 4...
ReplyDeleteactually anonymous there is a game with 4 parts already.
ReplyDeleteLone Case. I know the game, because I am its bloody author.