Experiencing a little "Call of Duty" or "Halo" fatigue? Have you had AAA shooter fatigue since before perks and upgrades? It isn't all military grit and vacant player achievements out there, as it may sometimes seem, you may just be looking in the wrong place. Innovation doesn't actually happen in games like "Call of Duty" or "Halo." It happens when people do this wonderful thing called creating a new intellectual property, and it's the free-loving independent developers out there who, by necessity, aren't afraid to take that risk. We're celebrating two indie shooters out this month in varying playable forms that should at least make you reconsider a genre you may have given up on. Both take a refreshingly minimalist and innovative look at a crowded and stagnant shooter genre.
"Shootmania Storm"
The definition of bare-bones but without the stigma. Nadeo, the people behind "Trackmania," decided to concentrate on shooting instead of driving in their next user-generated funhouse. Instead of settling on some contrived story, an over-produced setting or a flashy arsenal, players are asked to do about three things: move, shoot and complete the objective. Everybody has the same gun, same attributes and same objectives at all times.
Hallelujah.
On Steam right now, by throwing out all the expected perks and rewards that "Call of Duty" normalized in a generation of lazy, no-talent wastlings, a developer is daring to ask players to figure out how to win on their own. Like "Quake" or "Tribes" of old (or the more recent "Tribes Ascend"), it's all about player position, twitch reaction and nailing down a small set of skills to ensure a victory. Nadeo wants their game to find an eSports audience at exactly the time that "Call of Duty" is making the same move. If eSports players had any guts, they'd stop depending on meaningless perks and gun attachments and start exploring skillful play in a game like "Shootmania Storm." Here's to hoping.
"Minimum"
The names says it all. But not really, since I'm about to keep talking. TimeGate's free-to-play shooter is going into a public alpha on April 16 via Steam. The developer, like Mojang with "Minecraft" before it, is including the game's audience in development way, way early in the process. And unlike "Call of Duty," which sees balancing patches far into the game's official, $60 release, players won't be forced to suffer months of unbalance having already committed time and money to the experience. But "Minimum" is much more than a progressive take on game development, as admirable as that is. Just look at the trailer (below). It's beautiful without begging praise of high-fidelity voyeurism. It's a team taking an art style and just running with it. Plus there are titans.
All I can think of is Legos mixed with "The Unfinished Swan," but that's just me. You might see something else. Point is, it's new and enticing. The third-person shooting looks at least serviceable and promising considering the stage in development. TimeGate writes on the "Minimum" website much of the gameplay revolves around leveling-up weapons and a proprietary "Titan" competitive mode that sees players assisting their team's massive fighter in his epic duel. Yes, worries over balancing in a free-to-play game crop up when individual guns have their own levels and subsequent upgrades, but take into account that TimeGate wants your feedback every step of the way come April 16 and on. If they aren't listening, they aren't doing half of the thing that makes their game as interesting as it is. Good news is, the team behind the sub-par, generic FPS "Section 8" series seems to be taking development with the humility of a company that couldn't really compete in a genre nobody expected them too. By exploring new avenues, especially with that art style, this is the first time TimeGate is a name that deserves to be mentioned. That's a great thing and a great start.