Episode 3 - RFGeneration Community Playthrough Wrap-Up

[Disposed Hero]

I believe my answer to Fleach's question was that Lost In Shadow probably would have been more well received had it been a shorter indie title.  Thinking back on it, it does have that indie game feel to it, with its minimal story and interesting, and somewhat retro, gameplay mechanics.  The problem with Lost In Shadow is that it is essentially a one-trick pony, and they decided to stretch that one interesting gameplay mechanic across a 10-12 hour game.  There are a few different puzzle mechanics in the game, but they all feel like they accomplish the same task:  manipulate the shadows in the background so you can do even more of the same platforming.

My total game time upon finishing Lost In Shadow was right at 12 hours, and I walked away from it feeling like that was an appropriate length for this type of full retail release game, but that it was extremely repetitive.  I had never considered if making it a shorter indie title would make it a better game.  For this game to be as long as it is, it really should have some more varied gameplay elements.  The 3D mechanic introduced about half way through the game was a nice touch, but it ultimately felt tacked on and shallow.  I think they could have done something really interesting with the 3D segments if they were lengthened and the gameplay was more refined and less clunky.  Combat could have been improved as well, possibly with the addition of special abilities.

I don't want to give the impression that this isn't a good game, because it is, it's just a bit too long and repetitive for what it is.  Like I said in the podcast, I could only play a level or two at a time and then would have to put it down for a while.  As it stands, I feel like Lost In Shadow is more of a missed opportunity than anything else.

[techwizard]

i misunderstood what was meant by indie too, really you just mean it should be shorter, not specifically indie...you can have short games that are major blockbusters (call of duty games run at around 4-6 hours for the single player).

110,000 copies sold worldwide is relatively low compared with other titles but it's still a lot of copies of anything, i feel like it wouldn't have gotten anywhere near those numbers on WiiWare.

[singlebanana]

I think it would have done pretty well as something like a Steam title or app as opposed to WiiWare. Better and further reaching advertising on those.

[techwizard]

I think it would have done pretty well as something like a Steam title or app as opposed to WiiWare. Better and further reaching advertising on those.

for sure, on those platforms it would do fine if not better probably. WiiWare is just such a limited reach platform.