going to generate a better Spongebob than the original. Furthermore, Disney wasn’t Nickelodeon — those two brands are quite different, and Disney’s strengths were not Nickelodeon’s strengths. But, for a couple years, we developed and produced
several animated shows that, while well-crafted and mirroring some of Mr. SquarePants’ best qualities never broke out in the ratings. It was only when we refocused on finding fresh ideas that aligned more with our audience and brand strengths that we found Phineas and Ferb. Unlike SpongeBob, Phineas and Ferb is a family comedy that, while featuring kids who could build backyard rollercoasters and had a secret agent platypus as a pet, was grounded in everyday kid life and relationships. It has its own style of humor and fun, built on the foundation of what Disney does best. It quickly became the number one global animated show for kids, and paved the way for other Disney cartoon hits. That period of kids TV animation shared many
parallels with the games industry today. It was a maturing industry with a strong sense of how things should be made. There was a shift to greater outsourcing and a large emphasis on trimming back costs. And most critically, there was an increasingly segmented market, first fueled by the growing number of cable channels, but then busted wide open by the internet and the growing popularity of sites like YouTube. The lesson to both industries is the same: when you are competing with thousands of other content providers for attention, the only way to succeed is to give customers something of quality that they can’t get from anyone else. That’s where indies and small studios can thrive! Being
different doesn’t mean you have to be big. So while the big players are making cautious decisions they think their board will approve of, this is the smaller team’s time to connect with their unique audience. Whether it be a fresh art style, original story, unique gameplay elements, innovative use of platform tools, or other innovation, tapping into your studio’s unique gifts to deliver an original experience is critical for your game to succeed in a hyper-crowded market.
NO OATMEAL FOR ME, THANK YOU At Level Headed, we have six working agreements. One of my favorites is “Don’t Make Oatmeal.” This phrase, which we bring up a lot in brainstorms, refers to the fact that while oatmeal is a breakfast food that most everybody will eat, very few people LOVE oatmeal. If given a choice, someone will be much more excited about a Belgian waffle, a full English breakfast, or maybe a mushroom omelet. I personally dislike eggs and I’m allergic to mushrooms, so I would never pick that last one. But other
people would and they’d love it. You want people to love your game, not just accept it. Nobody picks the oatmeal game. So don’t make the safe game that nobody will object to, work to identify and understand your target player profiles and always keep their interests at the center of creative decisions. Make strong creative choices aimed at that group.
Nothing guarantees success in this industry, but trying to please everyone yields bland decisions that will guarantee failure. That doesn’t mean you reinvent every wheel. Games are
always built on the collective learnings of our industry. Don’t throw out WASD in favor of four other keys because you are trying to be original. (Unless you made QWOP. In which case, thank you for that awesomely original experience.) Every game that has any chance of breaking through the noise of the thousands of other games released every year needs to have something meaningful that other games don’t offer. That seems obvious, but apparently it’s not. When I work with studios to help them bring a new
game into the world, my first question is always “Why are we making this?” It is surprising how rarely there is a clear, compelling answer. All too often, it boils down to some version of “These games are popular so we know it will be successful.” Players today are rarely drawn to a title just because it is a lot like another game they play. On the other hand, if you and your team have a crisp “Why?” that fulfills an unmet player need, you’re off to a great start. So let’s be more original. Games are too hard to make
and take too much time, money and personal investment to make something the world already has. Be sure that what you are creating has key elements that truly stand out and offer something new to players. If you are a AAA studio or major publisher, get out of
your own way. When 20 people all have to sign off on the next milestone greenlight, it is likely that you’ll make a game that you feel comfortable with but that players don’t crave. Let’s all stop making oatmeal.
April/May 2025 MCV/DEVELOP | 47
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