Too many Mafia Games? And what people should be!

[Kaien]

I've been interested in the mccodes community especially since anyone can make a great game using their brain, a fair knowledge of php, mysql, and a known coder that helps out from time to time. However, it really kills my head when I see a gaming list FULL not halfway full but entirely spamming the list full of Mafia Mccodes games. Is there a reason why people like mafia games, I mean not to be rude but they are boring and there are pretty much hundreds of them about.

Instead of Mafia-type games, shouldn't someone be trying to create the next TheNinja-RPG, ThePirates-RPG, Shinobi-Shadows, ShinobiBattles, etc.. You cannot tell me it's not entirely possible as I have created pretty much exact replica of each of the listed sites above (especially Shinobi-Shadows & Shinobibattles). If you can, could you please tell me why people won't switch up their styles?

[Djkanna]

From my experience, usually the ones with more experience with these games, know that the Mafia genre is overused, and tend to stay away from it.

There is a few good MCCodes games that are no where near a Mafia game, take Ruler Of Zu for example, it's about Dragons how un-mafia can you get?

I guess a lot of the people that start out creating games take the easy route as they just want a game, MCCodes is more suited for that style of game, out the box, therefore those that use MCCodes usually use it for a Mafia game.

[bluegman991]

Well some create mafia games for the money and some create them as a hobby.

For those who do it for the money:

Owning an online game is just like owning a business, and creating a business is a risk. Making 1 wrong decisions for this business is (deciding the genre of the game) is where it could all go wrong.

Why do people mainly make mafia games?

Because it is the genre where the most consumer interest is shown.

Because it is a genre in life which most people are familiar with (Every country has them though they may be under a different name. Yakuza, Triad, etc...).

Because less research would be required to make the game. (In a different genre you will need different stats,vitals,weapons,events,themes,terms,etc...)

Because it would to less time and you would spend less to just do something you already know.

So asking someone who does it for the money is like asking them " Why don't you spend all your time and money creating something that might fail".

If they are truly dedicated to it... If the do it themselves there going to spend a lot of time on it. If they pay to have it done they are going to spend a lot of money on it. So either way if they loose they're loosing time or money. Both of which are valuable.

 

For the ones who do it as a hobby.

They are usually doing it for fun.

Why should they spend all their time researching terms and etc to make something that will probably not be used by themselves? By the time they're finished with this one (probably before) they're going to be started on another one. This one probably won't even get finished.

I've never even heard of a bushido.

Until a poll/survey is given to the consumers about which style rpg they like to play and it out numbers the mafia style. No one really is going to change up their style.

[Dominion]

Anyone who does it for the money would have done market research, and would not be going into it blind. If they do... they would be very lucky for it to go well.

Now why do people go mafia? Because most of the people who start games have played a game before, and most of their ideas are based around other sites. This is not to say everyone, but I would say 70% of games like this are ran been teenagers. With most things based around a mafia style, mccodes making it easy to copy... it's laziness. No real research when all your doing it picking up something like mcc, and adding a few things to make it 'unique'.

Going with a mafia style game can of course work, and I’m not saying everyone that goes that way are lazy, however if you're basing it around top game lists then most are mcc based, and probably clones of former played games. At least as far as I see it...

[bluegman991]

Its not gonna be easy to find much market research on text based rpg games though. There going to type "text based rpg's" into a search engine. See a whole bunch of mafia styled rpg's. See that each one has hundreds to millions of active people each day, then think thats what they want to have.

[Dominion]

Its not gonna be easy to find much market research on text based rpg games though. There going to type "text based rpg's" into a search engine. See a whole bunch of mafia styled rpg's. See that each one has hundreds to millions of active people each day, then think thats what they want to have.

You talk to the players, get potential member feedback, check if there are any games like the one you're planning etc. It's the difference between those that do a lot of research (as my guess would be few people on here do), and those that can't/won't put the time in.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Dominion

[bluegman991]

Exactly it would require less research to make the game. (Which most people aren't willing to do)

Most are just going to do as i said above.

They're going to type "text based rpg's" into a search engine. See a whole bunch of mafia styled rpg's. See that each one has hundreds to millions of active people each day, then think thats what they want to have.

[W3Theory || Peter]

I would not say it takes "less research" to make a mafia game. Take example, Year 1920, a mafia based game that I been wanting to create for a long time. Yes it is a hobby and a business venture, but one of the main reasons is that it is easy marketable without much needed and it's something that I would like to play. Now for the research part, you are thinking mccodes game. People need to just stop thinking mccodes game and take those out of the picture. I have been research my game and finding anything type of item/car/story connection possible from the 1920-1929 to keep the game in reality as much as possible. So I have been doing alot of my own research every day when it comes to it just to make sure that a feature that I am putting in doesn't just come out of thin air or looks out of place.

[Kaien]

I understand all of your opinions and theories but in the long road, won't all of these mafia-type games offer the same features

in one way or another? Say for example, there is an assassination feature in one mafia type game, in the other it will be there

but you'll have to get to level 10 to use it. I mean we could easily set up a poll and have members decide on their favorite genre

of games. The main thing is, any experienced user on this forum could give a unexperienced member a few days worth of tutoring

and the first thing they do? Make a mafia type game.

Mccodes is a great way to get started, minus the bugs & glitches but still a great way. It can easily be made into a mafia-type game

OR any other game. There are about three or four steps required to do this. When researching most people just talk to a few players on

the game that they want to copy! Another thing is that with these Mafia-type games, it's like its jumping out screaming "Hey, I'm mccodes

and you, pssh your just another player wanting to play me". No individuality nor creativity in some of these mafia-type games plus

the fact that more people are switching to opposing mccodes than liking it. All someone has to do is choose a genre or theme of their game,

get a new creative layout, switch around the codes, and then start modifying it to create a good game.

P.S. Btw I wouldn't play Year 1920, or Ruler Of Zu, it's not that I don't like them its just I couldn't get into them. If I find the same "three"

features that stick out in most mccodes game, I'll list them out here to show you guys.

[Spudinski]

MCCodes isn't solely to be used for Mafia/Crime type games.

It can make an ok strategy base.

There is reasons for everything in this universe(except woman, of course), the main reason behind the Mafia genre of games is how easy it is to play one, and the play-ability of it is easy.

It's very easy to market something already out there, take for instance MafiaWars. There have been many games similar to it before they were operational, but because Zynga released it with they're already over a million user base, it sold like hotcakes.

From my experience with Mafia type games, they are fairly simple, as most users/players don't know what CAN actually be done so the /dev doesn't even try.

I wouldn't say that most of the experienced & knowledgeable developers build these type of games, it's not a challenge for them. So unless they are only after money, it's not rewarding personally.

So if big heads don't make these games who does? Well, it's a fairly question with a very simple answer: kids(people between 11 and 16).

Why does these kids make these type of games? Because making something worth while is too hard mentally.

Making something complex like a sys or db app. requires a great deal of knowledge, and a lot of experience. Kids doesn't have that just yet.

I will make a bet that most of these Mafia type games won't resist a single DoS, or even their servers won't be patched correctly.

This does give proper developers and companies the advantage, because things are much better for the user/player/client as it's actually designed exactly how it's supposed to be.

/me still have headaches about this from time to time...

[W3Theory || Peter]

Well Year 1920 is not mccodes

[lucky3809]

For me I think most people uses the common themes, because they just aren't unique enough to think of something else, I yet have seen what I am piecing together, and developing, but can't go into detail, due because, like an invention once you tell people they will go doing the same thing lol.

But I have noticed a lot of mafia themes used lately too, pirates would be good as you mention and ninja theme, you don't see that many.

Also I think some owners who make the games of mafia themes, just want to hurry and have a game to just have, instead of taking time and actually making it unique.