It's all good. I wasn't trying to come down as holier-than-thou although it probably came off that way.
I guess my point was is, at least when dealing directly with others work (ala Escapaders music thread) just be a bit more careful in your choice of words and the persons feelings when you are presenting your critique instead of hitting them with it like a baseball bat to the stomach. It's one thing when you are critiquing a big company, another when you are critiquing another indie as "face to face" as we tend to ever get - message boards.
Anyways, I'm not saying stop critiquing this or that design. What I am saying is that just keep in mind that the reason most designers aren't radically pushing the envelope is because it's someone elses money at play. If it was all theirs, I'm sure we'd see a few more risky games (but even still, who wants to risk their whole company (and possibly their house and more as collateral) if the game bombs?).
And that's the crux of the problem. You'd probably be in the same boat even if you did have a few million - it'd probably be someone elses money and they'd be funding a relatively safe venture or they'd pull the money.
I know you know this and I'm not telling you anything new. But don't forget there are some really unique and interesting games still coming out these days. Shadow of the Colossus is, IMO, one of the greatest games of all time. And there have been other interesting innovative games (Viva Pinata? <-- looks interesting and new but I haven't played it). MAny others, I'm sure. I don't know though, I don't play games much anymore :\.
I guess my whole point was that in the human relations department it's not always best to be quite so blunt with your observations - even when you know you're right.
I guess my point was is, at least when dealing directly with others work (ala Escapaders music thread) just be a bit more careful in your choice of words and the persons feelings when you are presenting your critique instead of hitting them with it like a baseball bat to the stomach. It's one thing when you are critiquing a big company, another when you are critiquing another indie as "face to face" as we tend to ever get - message boards.
Anyways, I'm not saying stop critiquing this or that design. What I am saying is that just keep in mind that the reason most designers aren't radically pushing the envelope is because it's someone elses money at play. If it was all theirs, I'm sure we'd see a few more risky games (but even still, who wants to risk their whole company (and possibly their house and more as collateral) if the game bombs?).
And that's the crux of the problem. You'd probably be in the same boat even if you did have a few million - it'd probably be someone elses money and they'd be funding a relatively safe venture or they'd pull the money.
I know you know this and I'm not telling you anything new. But don't forget there are some really unique and interesting games still coming out these days. Shadow of the Colossus is, IMO, one of the greatest games of all time. And there have been other interesting innovative games (Viva Pinata? <-- looks interesting and new but I haven't played it). MAny others, I'm sure. I don't know though, I don't play games much anymore :\.
I guess my whole point was that in the human relations department it's not always best to be quite so blunt with your observations - even when you know you're right.