1. Learning From The Past
Teeny Weeny GamesWe've had Discworld games in the past, and none of them scorched a flaming streak across the gaming sales charts. The three primary suspects - Discworld, Discworld II: Missing, Presumed...!? and Discworld Noir - were acceptable point and click affairs, but they all missed the mark in quite specific ways. If an upcoming Discworld project is to make an impact, if it's to justify the use of the license, the team behind it will have to tread carefully to sidestep these same issues or be doomed to a similar fate of relative obscurity. At first glance, the original games looked like they checked all the boxes to make a top notch Discworld interactive experience. Point & click adventures were still a viable proposition, so the genre wasn't the problem. Rincewind was an important character in the series, important enough to carry a game, in theory, which should have had the first two titles covered, but what works on paper doesn't always translate into reality. The problem with Discworld I & II was that they felt like lesser impersonations of the source material. Terry Pratchett's involvement was limited at best, and it showed. It seemed the writers were overcompensating, struggling to imitate Pratchett's sublime sense of humour and timing. The gameplay also felt like it was trying hard - puzzles were often obscure for obscurity's sake. Discworld Noir was an improvement, but had it's own issues. It had more emphasis on the game itself as apposed to relying heavily on its Discworld associations to grab attention. Unfortunately it took that a bit too far - the result was a game which felt disconnected from the imaginary world on which it was based. Playing as an original character was a fine idea, but there wasn't near enough interaction with existing Discworld characters. And then, of the few classic personalities which did appear, some seemed hugely misdirected, completely out of character. This tells us that bringing the perfect team of writers into the fold is essential for keeping the Discworld flavour intact. Keeping all of that in mind, and knowing what to avoid, the team taking charge of Discworld going forward will have a solid foundation to build upon. Again, it's important to note that all of this is purely hypothetical, but for the millions of Terry Pratchett acolytes who have been exploring the many realms of the Disc in their minds for decades, it really does feel that the time is right - we deserve a new Discworld title. We don't just deserve it... we need it. -------------------------
Fellow fans, please have your say in the comments below - what other factors should be taken to heart to create the perfect Discworld game?