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The Future of Military Simulations
by Len "Viking1" HjalmarsonSigns of the Times
At the end of the Gamecenter editorial, Jason Ocampo, Gamecenter News Editor, opined:
"The future looks pretty bleak for simmers. There are practically no major flight sims in development, at least not on the scale of Falcon 4.0. Too many publishers are scared off by Empire Interactive's experience. Empire published the superb MiG Alley, which won nearly every major flight sim award last year. Despite that, the game still tanked at retail."
It’s true that MiG Alley has not performed well. But is Ocampo correct in his statement that there are practically no major flight sims in development? I’m afraid not.
There are five serious combat flight simulations in development at the moment, shortly after the release of Microsoft’s CFS II: Typhoon, IL-2, Battle of Britain, B17 Flying Fortress and Flanker 2.5. There are also some serious online simulations in development, including WW2 Online, Fighter Ace III, and Warbirds III. It looks like Jason is out of touch on this score. He continues:
"Compounding all of this are the hard-core flight sim folks who carp on publishers for making lightweight flight sims, games that eschew realism and complexity and replace them with eye candy and Hollywood-style action. Sure, they may not be hard-core flight sims, but these are exactly the kinds of games needed to draw new gamers into the genre."
Give the man his due, he has a point! You may not prefer the Crimson Skies approach to simulation design, but the game is great fun, and likely to pull new sim players into the market. We need a wide approach to simulation design, and it wouldn’t break my heart to see Rowan or Maddox Games suddenly announce a similar light project. These companies need to produce significant revenue in order to keep the cash flowing, and appealing to a wide variety of gamers is the best way to accomplish that purpose. And there might be one other way.
Rowan's Battle of Britain
As mentioned above, games like Battle of Britain and B-7 Flying Fortress will ease the transition into serious simulations for some players this year by blending genres. A strategy gaming fan can purchase Rowan’s Battle of Britain, enjoy the strategy game, and then notch the flight model down so that he can occasionally fly a mission to enhance his experience in the strategy game.
Or a role playing game fan who also has an interest in military history can jump into the action in B-17 Flying Fortress and see what it was like to crew the Fort. After watching the fight for a while, he can jump into the action game in the top turret and blast away at the incoming fighters, all without ever touching a lever or control knob. Blending genres expands appeal, while also increasing accessibility. Both of these elements will contribute to sales, and thus the viability of the companies who support our hobby.
Conclusion
Game development seems to move in cycles, and the market has certainly been saturated in the past three years. A correction was inevitable. But it’s too soon to conclude that the market is dead, or that there aren’t any serious titles in development, or that the titles in development will end an era. Rather, the market is undergoing a needed correction. I believe that our hobby will survive, and that we will continue to see new titles and new developers. I personally know of two projects that have not yet been announced. Watch this space!
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