Really hoped that Fermi Paradox would realize that “flare clicking” is stupid and would switch to deckbuilding mechanism, but the dev is not a fan of deckbuilders.
I don’t think it’s fair to call Slay the Spire (StS) a clone. While Card Quest introduced a lot of the key elements years earlier, StS adds enough innovation that it feels like a totally different game. Definitely would be more fair to say StS popularized a lot of the mechanics rather than invented/pioneered them though.
Maybe my subjective take of sudden is different, but is it sudden? (aka I progressively succumb to madness over a title)
There’ve been many fantastic roguelike deckbuilders out since 2020, a little after Slay teh Spire’s official release date. It feels more like people have became aware of how fun the subgenre is after the hype Baltaro generated on streaming platforms. If anything is sudden, it’s the second-wind of attention we’re getting thanks to the above-mentioned game.
I know I’m continuing to split hairs over nothing down here, but 861 games is a little misleading once you get to the end: “Surprisingly, deckbuilders are still an underserved market”
You never know when you’ve reached the peak of a trend, but deckbuilders seem like they’re not quite there yet. Games-Stats tracks 527 roguelike deckbuilders, and Dev_Hell’s Westendorp suggests their higher-than-average revenues, wider revenue spread, and demand make them “relatively underserved as a market.”
So, there’s not 861 games, but 527 games?
If you investigate why there’s a large gap in reported game listings, it’s because Steam is including packs like [Slay the Spire x Backpack Hero] and DLC where Game-Stats is tracking the individual games (i.e, bloatless). This ties back to the title - ultimately we’re not trying to answer the literal question, “Why are there 861 roguelike deckbuilders on Steam”, because OP never answers that question. Instead, we are answering an alternative interpretation: “Why are there so many roguelike games appearing on Steam in a short amount of time?” The answer, may shock you:
spoilerMoney, popularity, ez(er) to dev
While I’ve taken those answers from the article, I find it further interesting that they conclude a different question all-together: “Why are roguelike deckbuilders taking off?”
Buh, I’ve lost it. Ultimately I really liked the core article and their enthusiasm, but I’ve driven myself to madness here.
Yeah, this same article can be written for Mini Golf games, or shmups, or visual novels, or any other genre that’s relatively easy to develop for. Once one gets popular, others will jump on because the barrier to entry is fairly low. Lots will be low effort clones, but some will really try to build something new.
I was for it for the first 100 clones. Now it’s in the same vein as 2d pixel shooter rougelikes, way too saturated. I never give these a second look because there’s just so many uninspired clones.
Because this genre of games is a whoooole lot of fun! I can’t wait to see the next 800, and number 3562, which is gonna elevate the genre to the next level.
Everyone knows, the absolute best value add to a power hungry mobile device is the ability to use that power to inefficiently mine some random junk cryptocurrency.
So I hope it’s that. (No I didn’t read the article. There’s no version of this that isn’t a scam.)
Except of course, when it’s cloudy. The only eclipse that ever happened where I lived in my lifetime was a total disappointment because you couldn’t see anything.
arstechnica.com
Aktywne