There isn't going to be a picture this time around because I want to make this quick.
2016 was the year Paper Soul Theater became more than an idea, the year that I created Phantomatics (voted first place in a competition of 60 games by one of the voters), and the year I began making SnakePit. It was the year that Otyugra Games grew from two people to ten then back down to eight. 2016 was when I got my NES to finally work for the first time, and when I had to replace my Xbox 360 with a new one. It was the year I started a club for reviewers to share their thoughts on the indie games that appear on the main GameMaker forum. It was the year I turned 20-years-old.
A lot happened for gaming this year. Probably more games were released this year than the last two years combined due to consoles and Steam continuing to make it easy for indie developers. Game creations tools advanced. GameMaker, after two years of waiting, leaped from Studio 1.4 to Studio 2.0 and gained export support for the new console generation and more smart phones. Other software, such as Unity continued to advance, though I don't keep up with them. Indie games, through the intense competition, have really made a name for themself this year; if you compare the indie games that came out on Xbox One with the indie games for the Xbox 360 in past years, the difference is astounding!
This was the year that many Kickstarters failed and succeeded, as well as many developers gained Patreon and IndieGoGo as a life line. Mighty No. 9 casted a somber cloud over the future of Kickstarter projects, but then slowly many indie game creators won back the trust of backers everywhere. An acquantance of mine made a Kickstarter for a game that wouldn't have been made if the funding didn't reach its goal, and to my surprised, his game was funded! Hell, even some gaming magazines got their start in Kickstarter this year, like Mega Visions for example. Toejam and Earl (1991) made by a total of only four people, had a massive sequel funded with the help of Kickstarter this year through half a million dollars! Likewise, the sequel to Shantae, a game made by three people back in 2002, finally got released.
I can't tell you how many great games were made by friends of mine in only 72 hours this year. Beyond that, many indie games inspired by Paper Mario got started in 2016 besides our own:
Meanwhile the Gargoyle's Quest series got put onto the 3DS eShop finally, and I'm hoping more spiritual successors for that series will give SnakePit company in 2017.
For the AAA side, things continued to be bleak in some ways, but for the most part it seemed things went very well. EA got their act together and released some really great games, with few of them running on bad business practices. Speaking of which, Unravel redeemed E3 and reminded the world that platformers aren't just meant for Nintendo and indie games with a heartfelt presentation that actually felt real. The Assassin's Creed series was put on hold at long last, DOOM made a glorious comeback to redefine the shooter genre, and Overwatch brought the spirit of Team Fortress 2 back. Of course mobile games and horrible indie games continue to overflow markets, but at least we got Pokemon Go. Maybe No Man's Sky was a huge disappointment, but at least now the Playstation 4 has a significantly larger library than it did a year ago.
A lot can happen in a year, just ask Donald Trump or the ghosts of all who died. Let's pray that 2017 is an interesting year, if it can't be a good one.
2016 was the year Paper Soul Theater became more than an idea, the year that I created Phantomatics (voted first place in a competition of 60 games by one of the voters), and the year I began making SnakePit. It was the year that Otyugra Games grew from two people to ten then back down to eight. 2016 was when I got my NES to finally work for the first time, and when I had to replace my Xbox 360 with a new one. It was the year I started a club for reviewers to share their thoughts on the indie games that appear on the main GameMaker forum. It was the year I turned 20-years-old.
A lot happened for gaming this year. Probably more games were released this year than the last two years combined due to consoles and Steam continuing to make it easy for indie developers. Game creations tools advanced. GameMaker, after two years of waiting, leaped from Studio 1.4 to Studio 2.0 and gained export support for the new console generation and more smart phones. Other software, such as Unity continued to advance, though I don't keep up with them. Indie games, through the intense competition, have really made a name for themself this year; if you compare the indie games that came out on Xbox One with the indie games for the Xbox 360 in past years, the difference is astounding!
This was the year that many Kickstarters failed and succeeded, as well as many developers gained Patreon and IndieGoGo as a life line. Mighty No. 9 casted a somber cloud over the future of Kickstarter projects, but then slowly many indie game creators won back the trust of backers everywhere. An acquantance of mine made a Kickstarter for a game that wouldn't have been made if the funding didn't reach its goal, and to my surprised, his game was funded! Hell, even some gaming magazines got their start in Kickstarter this year, like Mega Visions for example. Toejam and Earl (1991) made by a total of only four people, had a massive sequel funded with the help of Kickstarter this year through half a million dollars! Likewise, the sequel to Shantae, a game made by three people back in 2002, finally got released.
I can't tell you how many great games were made by friends of mine in only 72 hours this year. Beyond that, many indie games inspired by Paper Mario got started in 2016 besides our own:
- Epic Paper Mario (this one started before 2016 but whatever)
- Paper Mario: Colors of Creation
- Paper Bario
- Ikenfell
- Paper Bug
- Hegemone Pass
- Coded Universe
- Underhero
- Ode to Caves
- Paper Tails (this one didn't survive a Kickstarter)
- Vivid (this one mysteriously vanished)
- and a few others that I'm forgetting
Meanwhile the Gargoyle's Quest series got put onto the 3DS eShop finally, and I'm hoping more spiritual successors for that series will give SnakePit company in 2017.
For the AAA side, things continued to be bleak in some ways, but for the most part it seemed things went very well. EA got their act together and released some really great games, with few of them running on bad business practices. Speaking of which, Unravel redeemed E3 and reminded the world that platformers aren't just meant for Nintendo and indie games with a heartfelt presentation that actually felt real. The Assassin's Creed series was put on hold at long last, DOOM made a glorious comeback to redefine the shooter genre, and Overwatch brought the spirit of Team Fortress 2 back. Of course mobile games and horrible indie games continue to overflow markets, but at least we got Pokemon Go. Maybe No Man's Sky was a huge disappointment, but at least now the Playstation 4 has a significantly larger library than it did a year ago.
A lot can happen in a year, just ask Donald Trump or the ghosts of all who died. Let's pray that 2017 is an interesting year, if it can't be a good one.