Why game creators are creative in one type of game??

[sado0og]

When i look to game creators i find that everyone of them is successful in one games type and not the other

For example, Hironobu Sakaguchi is successful in RPG type....

Shinji Mikami in survival horror....

Kojima in action espionage...

but when they tried to do other type games, games may be fun but not consider successful...

Ron Gilbert in point and click games but...

I can go and mention many many (sid meier, suda 51, Hidetaka Miyazaki, etc...)

Why game creators cant success in other types??

Spoiler

Except Shigeru Miyamoto, who are successful in many types

 

[Etrian Darkness]

It happens with music and films too?

 

[Vincent Grayson]

Same reason a football player might not be good at baseball.

I mean, they're all games, but you spend your life learning and perfecting say, making JRPGs, that's kinda where your skillset is.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Nothing is saying they can't. But if you learn the ins, the outs, gather a team who specializes in something and become experts in it, you do good at that.

I work in construction and specialize in the electrical aspect. I won't take my team to go do civil work, we are learning from the ground up on a lot of shit we never dealt with

 

[Procheno]

Taste and expertise. That's all

Of course I consider a developer who's capable of setting the bar for multiple kinds of genres is a true "god tier" game developer, not those that can only make one type of game these days

 

[Ryuelli]

Specialization isn't unique to the game industry.

Athletes might only be successful with certain sports.

Actors might only excel with certain roles.

Musicians might only excel with certain genres/instruments.

Teachers might only excel at certain subjects or age groups.

Authors might only be successful in certain genres.

Artists might only succeed in certain mediums.


The list goes on and on. Just because someone is a "game developer" doesn't mean they're going to be an expert on all games.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Miyamoto is creative in both platformers and adventure games

 

[Deleted member 17210]

Yu Suzuki has been the head of games across multiple genres.

 

[Haze]

Kojima made one of the best horror experiences in the medium and MGS games have some pretty great horror as well.

 

[defaltoption]

You tend to stick to what you're good at and what you know works, it's the same reason we get more sequels these days then new IP. Why would Activision release new IP when Call of Duty would sell better then them all combined even if they were all successful. It sucks but it's how it is.

 

[Superking]

tbf to mikami, he's got a pretty wide range. he did RE of course, but he also did stuff like godhand and goof troop as well.

 

[platypotamus]

It's because the only designers people learn the names of are the ones that develop their personal brand, and part of the way most of them choose to do so is via specializing in a given genre.

 

[xxracerxx]

You are being overly myopic in saying those creators are only creative and successful in one genre.

Mikami fucking designed Vanquish!

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Miyamoto is creative in both platformers and adventure games

Click to shrink...

The OP isn't even that long 😅

 

[entremet]

Yu Suzuki has been the head of games across multiple genres.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I was about to say.

 

[scar654]

Videogames needs financing and it's easier to get it done if you already made a good game in that style.

 

[Calabi]

They don't really have a choice or chance to experiment. Game development requires immediate success and the publishers want you to repeat that success constantly. You see it with developers being forced to create sequel after sequel, very few publishers are willing to let developers try other things.

 

[Edify]

Shinji Mikami is known for survival horror because it's a genre he's passionate about, but he's worked on a variety of games.

 

[Why would you do that?]

This thread made me realize that Snatcher from Kojima had two remakes, which is very rare, but the original and both remakes came out within like 8 years... Clearly that game was a success for Konami.

 

[Trelova]

It's because the only designers people learn the names of are the ones that develop their personal brand, and part of the way most of them choose to do so is via specializing in a given genre.

Click to shrink...

didn't think of it like that but yeah that about sums it up.

 

[Garrison]

Thought of Suzuki immediately when I real OP, dude had done many genres over and over.
And for the most part the whole of the industry are multi-talented in their craft and enjoy doing different things during their work life just like in Hollywood. A make up artist in Hollywood night end up doing work in a Victorian times Drama one year and then an action movie the next, just like a game artists go from project to project sometimes in the same or different companies.

Most recent examples or companies or people doing different things is guerilla doing open world, but coming from fps games, ND did horror zombie stuff coming from adventure, rare doing open world pirate games... You get the idea.

If we are talking about just the heads of games it happens all the time as well. But as games get bigger and bigger for the most part having just one visionary to give credit to on things just doesn't work anymore. Sure there will be one main studio head but creative wise that's not how it works most of the time on big games I think.

 

[JEH]

We forgetting mikami directed some of the best actions games in Vanquish, god hand, and RE4?

kojima just made a hiking sim nothing like mgs.

 

[Nooblet]

If one were to ask you to do a job in a different department in the same company you work at, would you be able to do it just as good?

Mikami has worked on survival horror games/action games and had success, which is how he knows exactly what works and what doesn't specific to that genre. If you were to ask him to make a level where the player has to experience tension as well as urgency then he can because he knows how to evoke those feelings in the player, ask him to make a level where the player feels like a God and he can do that too. Ask him to make an RPG with branching dialogue and he won't know what to do with it without needing outside help and relying on other designers or a co-director, because he hasn't worked on one that has had success in the same way so he has no idea whether something will work well or not. So unless it was his own idea, it'd be hard to get funding for a game if he cannot understand deeply and as such pitch it properly.

 

[Rosebud]

This thread made me realize that Snatcher from Kojima had two remakes, which is very rare, but the original and both remakes came out within like 8 years... Clearly that game was a success for Konami.

Click to shrink...

I want to play this :(

 

[Caspar]

Shinji Mikami did once try and get Capcom upper management to greenlight a 4x game based around 16th century Hungarian agriculture practices.

They beat him with large hammers.

 

[Van Bur3n]

You're starting to catch on to how being a creative works.

 

[Strangelove_77]

That's assuming that they came up with the idea or many of the facets. To me the developers are the deciding factors in what makes a good game.
Giving credit to Miyamoto for everything Mario is a bit shortsighted. He had great developers to realize his ideas. Anyone can throw out ideas. It's the execution that matters.

 

[Dussck]

It's more like they made a succesful game and now the company heads want them to make more of the same, because money.

That's why Kojima was trapped at Konami and now he made something you can't compare to his previous work (except for the presentation). Like it or hate the end product: it sure is different

 

[BeaconofTruth]

Shinji Mikami was wildly creative when making a third person shooter (Vanquish) and an action game (God hand).

Also thread needs some Hideki Kamiya. On top of making 3 distinct action titles in Devil May Cry 1, Bayonetta, and The Wonderful 101, he had a great survival horror game in Resident Evil 2, a zelda like action/adventure title in Okami, and a 2D side scrolling action game like Viewtiful Joe.

Miyamoto has done a variety of genres as well.

Itsuno has legendary fighting games under his resume, Dragon's Dogma which is pretty good, and Devil May Cry 3-4-5.

Sid meier made a pirates game that played nothing like Civilization and its a lot of fun.

Commercial success is one thing, harder, but they hardly lack creativity when they went to other genres, in fact a lot of them were able to apply their best strengths to those other genres. There are 3 action rpgs total for instance that would stack up favorably to Dragon's Dogma in the combat department: Souls, Monster Hunter, and Nioh.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Specialization is part of any industry.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Shinji Mikami in survival horror....

Click to shrink...

Mikami made God Hand and Vanquish, a beat'em'up action game and a pure shooter that are about as far away from survival horror as you can get.

Dino Crisis was more of a dinosaur themed puzzle game than anything.
Re1/REmake vs RE4/The Evil Within is quite a departure... Classic survival horror is much different than action horror.

But I get what you mean. Some developers have some versatility, but a lot kind of stick to what they do and don't veer TOO far off. You can see this in other mediums as well.

 

[Thera]

Because what you create is influence by your own work and passion.
But some manage to do it.

And remember, at some point, you can be forced to do what you are known for, because this is what people asked you to do. This is industry, like most, doesn't take a lot of risks.

 

[Deleted member 23850]

Different games are for different types of tastes. I think a game creator should focus on games that fall under their personal tastes.

 

[Sulik2]

Game design is complicated and understanding different genres is hard. It's not unheard of though. Sid Meier had made everything from civ to flight sims to whatever the hell you want to define Covert Action as.

 

[Keits]

The answer is merely passion. Working in genres you have passion for yields the best results.

 

[monali]

Shinji Mikami did once try and get Capcom upper management to greenlight a 4x game based around 16th century Hungarian agriculture practices.

They beat him with large hammers.

Click to shrink...

what's the name of this game?

Mikami made God Hand and Vanquish, a beat'em'up action game and a pure shooter that are about as far away from survival horror as you can get.

Dino Crisis was more of a dinosaur themed puzzle game than anything.
Re1/REmake vs RE4/The Evil Within is quite a departure... Classic survival horror is much different than action horror.

But I get what you mean. Some developers have some versatility, but a lot kind of stick to what they do and don't veer TOO far off. You can see this in other mediums as well.

Click to shrink...

Aladdin too.

 

[xxracerxx]

nvm

 

[Superking]

yeah..actually the more i think about this, the more i disagree.

miyamoto's done everything from platformers, to adventure games, to arcade games, to pet simulators

-takashi tezuka's done mario and zelda

-koizumi's done platformers, adventure games, and sidecrolling drum based games

-katsuya eguchi's done platformers, space shooters, life sims (animal crossing)

-sakurai's done platformers, fighting games, racing games, puzzle games and whatever kid icarus was supposed to be

from nintendo, aonuma's the only loser that works on 3d zeldas and nothing else :P


the only time this sort of thing applies is to studios where the entire studio works on one and ONLY one series like sony santa monica or gamefreak.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Itsuno from Capcom started out making fighting games and was damn good at it.

Now people know him mostly from DMC and Dragon's Dogma.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

from nintendo, aonuma's the only loser that works on 3d zeldas and nothing else :P

Click to shrink...

Lol... This is kinda true isn't it?

 

[Pyro]

I think compared to other mediums (where you just need to be a great storyteller), game design and the differences in what makes genres work can be staggering. Imagine if Sid Meier wanted to make the jump to horror.