"cult classic not best seller"

"We wanted to be the biggest rock band in the world and you don't do that sounding like Napalm Death"

JOE ELLIOTT (DEF LEPPARD)

The problem with almost all content about getting started in indie game development is that it generally assumes everybody has the same goal - and that goal is to make a successful game. This is of course why games of varying genres that look totally different to one another may feel very similar and familiar. Different seeming games that all share the same formulaic and derivative ideas about structure, pacing, balance, NPC dialogue, in-game currency  and many other systems and mechanics which color ones overall experience .   

So much of giving the player what they want ! Rough edges smoothed out to create a frictionless user experience. Subtle, imperceptible features designed to tap into the lizard brain. Developers have been trained to adopt and adapt any popular and trending mechanic to fit their current project , which can lead to so many games feeling so alike. 

It seems the definition of a ‘successful’ game is a ‘fun, addicting, rewarding, and compelling experience ... that has a high chance of appealing to streamers on twitch and going viral’. In which case ,it stands to reason that these defining and guiding principles don't often produce particularly inspired or imaginative games. In fact, if creating, the ‘perfect game’ is the objective, people are probably doing it on a regular basis, and we've probably played the perfect game numerous times. It was probably an unmoving, un-compelling and vaguely forgettable experience. 

There's something a bit shit about every brilliant game. Every important, radical and groundbreaking game that attempts to imagine a new way of doing something almost always suffers in some area. But we forgive their shortcomings because of what they introduce. In some cases , we may come to cherish these slightly rubbish parts and find that they give the game its charm.

Games are at their best when they don't try to be a number one pop song, a familiar , identical hotel room or a quick meme. When they're not trying to woo the indie critics and get a standing ovation at Sundance. They are at their best when  they present the player with new and interesting decisions, when they explore the limits of what an interactive software experience can be.  And mostly when they bother to experiment and don’t care when they fail.