Manifesto: first impressions...

I am both excited and disappointed by this [manifesto] website but find it difficult to express why. Perhaps it was because I already own most of the recommended games whilst some of the games on offer are just old (yet solid) games that are difficult to find these days, eg Jagged Alliance 2 (although Steam offers a bugged version). However, looking at the website mentioned by the OP I can't help but agree with the previous poster; there's a game I want to play.

I haven't explored the site in too much detail and am still not clear on Manifesto's direction.

How about I explain what I'm looking for and see if Manifesto fills the gap?

Like many people I'm growing tired of the homogenisation of games and the bizarre notion that a game cannot be 'good' unless it melts my PC and pushes it to the limits. My favourite game of all time, that still gets played every year is UFO: Enemy Unknown or XCOM to the US people. Even though I love the game to bits, there's a few things that irritate me each time I play. The first is the graphics. Now, I don't expect DX9 full 3D superscoobyshaders etc, I'm fine with 2D isometric. It's just that 256VGA looks bloody awful on a 19" monitor and even if I could find a way to window the game, it would be too small and fiddly. The second thing (and this is where, in my opinion the biggest and most important steps in gaming have been made) is the interface. It's clunky and unintuitive compared to what we generally get today. As for the atmosphere and core gameplay, it's timeless.

Whilst retro gaming may fill the game in the short term, particularly for younger generations who have missed out on some classic games and genres, someone needs to put the love and dedication into new games. Something that can rarely be done with large development teams and the Devil himself 'EA', breathing fire down their necks.

I guess 'indie' gaming has been around since year zero (well, gaming has its roots in bedroom programming), but is now attracting some mainstream attention and this is where I'm turning in the hope of more fulfilling gaming experiences.

So what am I looking for. Well, first and foremost, squad-level turn based strategies like XCOM, but with modern interfaces and functional graphics. By functional, I don't mean plain and dull, but graphics that support the atmosphere and gameplay vice graphics that hide the lack of imagination and depth of gameplay.

As way of an example, take Advance Wars on the GBA/DS. An excellent game (though not really my cup of tea as far as TBS games go) where the graphics and interface support the gameplay. SONY made a carbon copy for the PSP called Field Commander (I think) and blew their chance of making a killer game. Why? The 3D graphics were crude and ugly, loading times were excessive and you just couldn't help feeling that you were playing an Advance Wars clone. Therefore there was no individual character to the game, the backstory had no impact on the game and, well, it was just Advance Wars.

On the subject of 'forgotten' genres, I always find it dissapointing that they are instantly dismissed as non-viable 'because the genres only existed due to limitations of the hardware'. Why have turn based when you can have real time? I'll tell you why, using an XCOM type game as an example. In a real time (or even pause-time), you command your soldiers to move into firing position, cover etc. Get them to shoot, reload and other action. The important thing is that real-time puts you in command of the soldiers and you have to rely on AI for the majority of their actions. Herein lies the problem, no AI in a game will ever be able to behave as 'a soldier' in a 'squad' and operate as a unit of individuals. Turn based games though give you the opportunity to do exactly that as you have 100% control and can therefore implement squad based tactics far better (and ironically, more realistically) than real time.

There's plenty of room for modern games based on these forgotten genres, the game which is the focus the OP is a perfect example.

I'm currently enjoying Mr Robot by Moonpod. Simply put, it's ALIEN 8 with the benefit of modern graphics and a modern interface. It's great and worth all of the £15 (inc VAT) I paid for it.

As someone who grew up playing and creating tabletop wargames and roleplaying games, I often find games either overtly complex or the opposite. It seems you can't have a simple 3D FPS without some 'extra features' which detract from the action. DOOM3 is a good example of this. In the original DOOM games, the most complicated thing you had to do apart from shoot stuff was pick up coloured keys; DOOM3 was ruined as the core gameplay (run and gun as fast as possible and get scared) was constantly interrupted with audi messages, emails, codes for lockers etc... Then again, something like World of Warcraft works on a very basic (and in my opinion very boring) concept of dull fights during dull quests where the only impetus to continue is to gain new skills and equipment to make the combat sections a bit more interesting; yet the interest is not sustainable, therefore you need another 'level' to get more 'skills' to make the game interesting again. Strip away the pretty graphics and you're left with a shallow game where bragging rights provide the only reason to continue.

What about the subject of innovation? I guess I'll save that for later...