So..... What should a good sequEl be like?

(This thread is for not boring "Old hat")



So, pretty much all the games I look forward to rigt now are sequals. Because of that Ive been reading coments on videos and in various forums to see what people look forward to in these sequals.


And it seems to me that there two "sides".

One side of gamers who loved everything about the pevious game/games and therefore want THE EXACT SAME freaking game. These gamers whine on every little improvement or change to gameplay, saying that it "ruins the feel of the franchise" and similar.

And one side that hated everything about the previous game, and therefor want a DIFFERENT game. These persons whine on everything similar with the last game, and coment such as "Oh I see that stupid auto aim still exists" or "God, I wish theyd change that gay outfit he alwas wear" are some coments Ive seen.

Anyone agree with me?


And even If you dont, what should a good sequal do in your opinion?


[u]

Sequel.

A good sequel should stay true to the original while not being afraid to fix (or, if required, remove) the shit that didn't work, and should only exist if it makes sense from a narrative standpoint, rather than just for profits' sake.

How DARE yui critisase my prfcect ynglish!

The problem here is managing expectations. Hard core fans say they want the same game again, but in reality they don't. Because that ultimately becomes boring. But if you revamp everything, then why bother making a sequel and not just an original IP ?

Movies have faced this problem since forever. Too similar, it's pointless. Too different and you lose the fan base. Know many movies where the sequel was better than the original ? Me neither, beyond the often quoted Star Wars and Godfather examples.

In the past game sequels got by on technological advancements. The game you liked before but with better graphics, music, AI, whatever. But as technological quality is starting to plateau and design is coming to the fore, this is likely to be less of a selling point.

Ultimately sequels fall into the trap you've already described. I think the 2nd iteration of a series can be the best if you take a great idea in the original and then polish and refine it in the second. But then after that, it gets really hard to keep things fresh. Unless you totally re-invent everything from the ground on up, like the Final Fantasy series.

An interesing game to keep an eye on for this will be Dragon Age 2, which looks like it's totally changed everything from the original except for the world its based in.