The wave of next-gen games makes for some exciting yet repetitious trends.  We have Resident Evil 5, Metal Gear Solid 4, new Mario Brothers, Zelda, and more.  The cost to produce video games is skyrocketing to the point where video game companies can no longer risk exclusive deals, a possible reason Metal Gear Solid 4 will go multi-platform for the first time.

Gaming critics wonder where the indie market for video games hides.  Rare treats like Okami and Shadow of the Colossus offer innovative gameplay, these are few and far between the Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto knockoffs.  Moves, music, and books have benefited from their independent markets, developing talent and fostering innovation over profit.  They spend less, breaking even from small audiences and generous grants.  Sadly video games have yet to develop this side of the business.  Video games require so much time and technology, the money and audience appear unable to support the avant-garde.  But I feel this problem may be more difficult to fix than by throwing money at it.

As video games cost more to produce, there is more of premium put on the length of the game’s primary campaign, averaging between 20-40 hours.  Once you include sidequests and replay value, many games can now take more than 100 hours to fully utilize.  Games that take less time, like 10-20 hours, are often reviewed poorly for being too short.

Because of the length of games, gamers can obviously play fewer games.  This doesn’t even account for the millions of gamers devoting hours to online multiplayer games, further limiting the variety of their collections.  It’s one thing to refusing risking $50 on an unknown game style, but its another if you know you have no time to play it. 

The video game industry could be better supported by a greater variety of games, not only genres, but in game lengths.  Let the blockbusters of Final Fantasy and Zleda take hours upon hours.  These games help sell consoles.  But let’s add another area of gaming; games that last an hour or two.  These can be slightly episodic with new editions released for a few dollars on regular basis.  Release these short games in compilation discs to offset productions costs.  Even toss in a demo of a blockbuster release for some advertising dollars.  This way gamers and programmers can enjoy the range of creative opportunities the consoles and computers really have.