A lot of games developers don’t understand trends in gaming that aren’t explicitly gamist. Even as walking sinulators and cozy games have garnered audiences that make those genres viable, many in the industry have refused to actually look at them with an eye to understand who they appeal to, why, and what about them is doing the connecting with their audiences.
I worked on a mobile PvP project that rejected purely aesthetic elements because none of the director, designer, not “monetization specialist” could understand why anyone would want them, even as Fortnite was bursting onto the scene making its money on its emotes and paper doll elements.
Art driven paper doll games were also eating our lunch in the mobile space.
There are clearly some in the industry who understand the appeal, but most of them are not decision makers in development studios. The decision makers got there by coming up in a much more focused, much less casual, much less inclusive era in gaming, and have a pretty fixed idea of what a game “is” or “is supposed to be”.
Because of this,aAs things shift towards more IP licensing deal, the results are going to be a lot of conflicts between tone and gameplay on these projects.
After reading two separate reviews, it seems this game is being lauded for what it is by one, and deeply criticized by another. It seems insane to fault this game for doing exactly what is expected of this genre.
Should have been Hogwart’s Legacy with a Hobbit filter on.
Could have been a Sims expansion with a smol filter on.
Ah, I dunno. That game was boring. Don’t get me wrong, I played many hours of it, but I did so with the understanding something interesting would come of it story-wise and nothing ever did.
So Arkham/Assassin’s Creed with a hobbit filter on?
I’d be OK with that!
But… why? They’re so boring, there hasn’t been much innovation in the genre in years.
I just want to screw around in the Shire. :)
Interestingly, Polygon seems to be much more keen on it and are looking forward to the full game.
https://www.polygon.com/lord-of-the-rings/454592/hobbit-life-sim-game-tales-shire-impressions
LOTR gollum killed the ultimate atmospheric gaming company, I have 0 hope for any company doing it better.
so you’re saying it’s a shire waste?
