Rebooting Your Franchise

Ah, yes. It’s that time of the season again. You’re a developer with a few successful franchises to your name, ones that have made you quite a bit of money and attracted a loyal fanbase. You’ve misfired once or twice, with sequels that add either practically nothing (looking at you, Assassin’s Creed) or bizarre and convoluted gameplay elements that merely hinder the experience without contributing anything (hello, Need for Speed), but by and large you’re doing alright. There’s just something missing, though. Something’s not right. Your franchise is missing that killer appeal, that singular edge that pushes it ahead of its competitors and establishes it as the VIP of its genre, the game which all other games will take cues from during development. It needs streamlining. It needs rethinking. It needs rebooting.