When I say “sequel” the things that come to my mind are either “movies” or “video games” and I honestly care much much much more about video game sequels than movie sequels. Like, yeah, a new movie sequel comes out and it’s more of the same with some nice twists, good entertainment for 2 or 2 in a half hours. It’s why Marvel movies are a success. Video game sequels, though? Those are much more nebulous and can be outright strange in both approach and implementation because they are expected to take up so much more of our time. When making a sequel to a game what is it that we, as designers and players, come to expect out of these sequels? When observing game sequels I believe that, historically, two common patterns arise in their creation; the “new take” and “built-upon” sequels which drastically alter how the new entry comes out. While there are definitely financial reasons for one approach versus the other, I would like to examine several franchises purely from a design standpoint an...
Hawks With Wings talking about Game Design and Development