Just last week I posted a He-Man game model I recently finished. In a nicely-timed coincidence, I learned the existence of this game today:
It is called Toy Soldiers. (Let me clarify that I have nothing to do with this game.) Listening to the cheesy He-Man lines made me smile :\
More info in this Kotaku article.
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I used to be excited about video games. There was a period of time I thought I would work in a game company. With time and work experience, I changed. I was, and still am, convinced that what I really like is animation and story-telling, not games.
Games are complicated. Some games, such as Chrono Trigger and Terranigma, captivated me with their stories, music, and atmosphere. Other games, such as Sonic The Hedgehog 3, captivated me because of a fun game play, large stages, and great music.
I was lucky enough to grow up more or less in parallel with the game industry. The side effect was that I realize whatever factor I found fun in a game would be irrelevant in the "next generation" of games. To illustrate, I cannot honestly recommend Chrono Trigger and Terranigma to people to play now. They were fun for their time; they were fresh when they came out. Now they feel tedious to play.
The same thing applies to Sonic. I used to like Sonic games. I played Sonic 3, Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic & Knuckles. For a period I drew nothing but Sonic. A few years ago, probably around 2008, I revisited Sonic by playing Sonic Rush. Similar formula, so in theory I should like the game. I was puzzled to find the game tedious. Since then, at the back of my mind, I wondered what changed.
Today, I found this rather in-depth video about suggestions on how to redesign Sonic games. It is called "DEAR SEGA // Sonic Re-design."
(I link the video instead of embedding it with the hope that you will go there and leave a comment.)
I found the video answered some of my questions. It made me excited about games. I think great games do not have to push the innovation envelope; in fact, such games will probably feel tedious in a few years. Great games should respect the gamer and give an experience mixed with unexpected touches (instead of giving the same experience only with new levels).
