泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] The grief of a sequel

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌
[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]
 
The grief of a sequel
 
I'm looking forward to Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, the upcoming epic space-opera film. Probably it would be released when this column is published. Distinguished and successful movie series commonly draw attention before its release of sequels. So filmmakers prefer to make sequels of the box office hits and often come up with a plan of series from the beginning. Star Wars: The Force Awakens especially is widely anticipated because it is a derivative of the original film series which was over.
 
However, some people advise not to have excessive expectations saying "Follow-up is never going to be better than its superior predecessor". sequels are rarely well-received by audiences and critics. Aside from reviews of a cinematic quality or artistry, Alien and The Terminator yielded higher box-office profits in the second films and, taking inflation into account, Star Wars Series is another example. Plus, there are The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and Marrying the Mafia among domestic films. The fact that it takes some time to recall several examples supports for the slim chance of success of the sequels.
Why are box-office hit sequels uncommon? Probably it is because they hardly meet viewers' increasing expectations. Refreshing or disturbing scenes look boring after so many repeats. Various attempts to show too many things more often backfire. High expectations of fans and a failure of attempts can lead to disappointment, which makes viewers are not favorable to the sequels.
 
What about a video game which is considered under the same category? It's not also free from this contradiction. Game making process, of course, is working on the well-ordered game-development system and it can be adjusted through the improved system before its release based on user feedback. Plus, game graphics can be made to look better than the previous one as hardware-technology advances. However, nobody can expect the game to do so well if there is no attraction to the product itself. A lot of games' success didn't always equal the sequels' victory. Only a small number of sequels such as Warcraft, Biohazard (Resident Evil), and Diablo were exceptionally applauded by users.
 
Nevertheless, a sequel is attractive enough. The commercially successful original game generally guarantees above-average sales and allows its marketing and advertising campaigns much easier. However, certain challenges must be overcome coming up with clear improvements to develop better sequel beyond the original work. Recently, I've been asked to invest in some sequels. Investees should remember that poorly-made second sequel would blow their chance to create its third one. So, I expect them to make a challenge after thorough consideration. I hope to see a successful domestic game series with more than ten sequels like Star Trek.
 
 
※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.
(http://www.khgames.co.kr)
 
Translation by Kim Ki-hui

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