Keeping Series Sequels Fresh While Remaining Faithful to the Fold

Nayan Ramachandran of GameSetWatch’s ‘HDR Knowledge’ column discusses the the evolution of successful videogame series; what makes them fresh without straying too far from the core features.

Series like Final Fantasy, Castlevania, Mario and Metroid to name just a few have spawned many sequels that have manged to keep the appeal of the original, yet are innovative enough to keep players coming back for more. The root of the problem is one has to define what makes a group of games a series.

For developers, it can be hard to understand what it means for a specific iteration to be part of a series. Many times developers want to take a series in a new direction for the sake of their own sanity, and for the sake of growing the series to be something more. The danger, of course, is in angering fans.

Ramachandran explores how series such as Final Fantasy and Mario have built such committed fan bases, they’ve managed to survive even sub par sequels and dramatic changes in elements that were once thought of as series cannon.

By constantly changing what people expect out of a series, it becomes difficult for gamers to complain that some stale and stagnant gameplay mechanic defines the series, and thus allows developers to continue being creative, and reinventing the series their fans love and desire.

via Gamasutra