Games and individuality

[Crims]

I know this probably won't mean much to many people, however I still want to have a little go at it (besides, it'll prevent me from doing a inane writeup on Dante or greek philosophy).
Individuality in game design is largely dead.

With games - especially creatively designed ones like Little.big.planet - there was always a inclusive element to them, a gest at the idea that you yourself could cross the boundary and make one of your own. In the last few years it's become clear that it was bookended by Valve on both sides. The idea that people have the freedom to design their own games was snuffed out to a almost doctrinised level - and it puts a damper on the soul of creative expression, in general to be honest. Honestly from my childhood til now the only game design has been within Source and Valve - and it just has become the exception that proves the rule.

 

[Crims]

Hello! I'm returning to this line of discussion -- To most people commenting on my hot takes:
I was recently watching a video

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A Hotline Miami fan recommends a clone that matches the original franchise. Most of my reviews are this ultimately - crawling around in the dark trying to find the one diamond in the haystack.

The first 20 mins of this video mostly is a assumed discussion about the culture of indie developers and how - IMHO when compared to the earlier internet - it requires the energy of a sole minded pursuit to make something good, which makes it stand head and shoulders above the rest. This game has so many niche decisions that could've come to other developers and didn't because of this sole quality.
Assuming in the future we're only going to have indie games examining the development of these titles is the one solitary important trait. I tend to believe indie is the necessary step to innovation these days - and videos explaining their strengths put it higher on my wishlist.