Ask Paradox anything about sequels

Shams

Corporate Paladin

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• Jun 12, 2013

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• #1

Hello everyone,

We're prepping the second installment of our Ask Paradox Anything stream - the topic for next weeks stream is: SEQUELS - Difficulties in making sequels/remakes - challenges only publishers see, managing player expectations, "sequilitis", What ever happened to Cartel (we'll show footage) etc etc.

Fred has graciously accepted to be the guest on the show yet again so what we need now is a ton of interesting questions from you guys about SEQUELS and everything related to that. We'll reward the best questions with.....rewards

You can see the last episode here: http://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive/b/394745580 this should give you a fair understanding of what the format is about - you, us and interesting discussions about stuff that don't get discussed enough.

So start asking your questions here - and we'll answer as many as we can next week at Tuesday 20:00 CET

NOTE: While it's fine if you ask questions about PDS games - this show is more general in nature and largely focused on the publishing our business as a whole - not just Grand Strategy.

NOTE: While it's fine if you ask questions about PDS games - this show is more general in nature and largely focused on the publishing our business as a whole - not just Grand Strategy.

/shams

 

RedRalphWiggum

Field Marshal

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Aug 10, 2008

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• Jun 12, 2013

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• #2

Difficulties with the HoI3 launch seemed mainly to be attributed to trying to put too much into it, too many features etc. It was almost a reboot of the series rather than a sequel. Happily, subsequent sequels have avoided these problems and I think it's fair to say everyone is a lot happier with how things work now. There's always a risk though, of not putting enough into a new edition to justify calling it a sequel. I'm thinking here of Tropico 4, which is a lot of fun but is very similar to Tropico 3, both visually and in terms of gameplay.

So, is there some sort of formula? What is the requisite amount of changes before a sequel can stand apart from it's predecessor?

 

Aeronwen

Lt. General

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• Jun 12, 2013

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• #3

When considering a sequel, obviously you want to recapture what made the first game good and improve upon any aspects which did not go as well as you had hoped. Do you make those judgements in house only or do you consult the community.

What is considered when it comes to the timing of announcing a sequel?

Do you consider it is important for the development team to remain broadly the same when developing a sequel? What about the testing community?

 

Zoob

Homo Homini Lupus

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• Jun 12, 2013

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• #4

After a something like Magicka, a bit of a runaway success, how do you decide the next steps and resist the urge to make Magicka 1.5, what drives the creation of new projects over expanding previous games (such as Cities in Motion).

 

dorimi

VS mods creator

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Feb 15, 2011

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• Jun 13, 2013

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• #5

EU: ROME 2 pls?

 

U

unmerged(655288)

Recruit

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• Jun 13, 2013

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• #6

Is it more difficult to think of a new idea and IP when designing a game, or is it harder to think of adaptions and improvements in order to make a sequel that will (hopefully) satisfy fans of the series?

Matt Penlington

 

wildbillhdmax01

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• Jun 13, 2013

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• #7

dorimi said:

EU: ROME 2 pls?

Click to expand...

Shams said:

I'm gonna nip this in the bud right away:

Rome 2 won't happen for a long, long time.

Move on.

/shams

Click to expand...

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...ut-sequels&p=15625944&viewfull=1#post15625944

 

Genfried

Private

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• Jun 13, 2013

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• #8

When do you decide when it's time for a sequel instead of another expansion/dlc?

 

Seli

Pining for a past that never was

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• Jun 13, 2013

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• #9

With your comments on the difficulties tied to resurrecting/honouring 'IP' with lots of nostalgia attached in the recent ThreeMovesAhead podcast in mind, what are the reasons not to attempt to publish/develop a sequel. And how do you approach the balance between sequels and 'in universe' side-games (looking at for example the Majesty related games).

 

Aeronwen

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• Jun 13, 2013

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• #10

Marketing a sequel is obviously a prime candidate for Fred’s ‘marketing to twins of the core audience’ approach. How do you determine what the make up of the core audience is? How do you locate the ‘twins’and what do you think you should be doing to ensure that you are not limiting the sequel to the ‘twins of the core audience’ but making it accessible to other interested groups?

 

Flybynight

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• Jun 13, 2013

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• #11

First question: At what point in the publishing process do you simply say 'No' to making sequels for games? Is it when the previous installment sold poorly or is it when the creative process has run its course for an IP? For example, Far Cry 3 was a great game and had many great differences from Far Cry 2 and sold tremendously well. Does it deserve a Far Cry 4 or was 3 a fitting end to the series?

Second question: How important is 'brand recognition' in deciding to create a sequel?

 

soda7777777

Wer rettet uns den Frieden wenn nicht wir selbst?

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• Jun 15, 2013

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• #12

Flybynight said:

First question: At what point in the publishing process do you simply say 'No' to making sequels for games? Is it when the previous installment sold poorly or is it when the creative process has run its course for an IP? For example, Far Cry 3 was a great game and had many great differences from Far Cry 2 and sold tremendously well. Does it deserve a Far Cry 4 or was 3 a fitting end to the series?

Second question: How important is 'brand recognition' in deciding to create a sequel?

Click to expand...

+1

 

Pellaken

TheNewTeddy

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• Jun 15, 2013

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• #13

What comment can you make, if any, about creating a sequel to Victoria, a game that was not as profitable as others, and the challenges that such an endeavor would entail.

 

Flybynight

Private

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• Jun 20, 2013

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• #14

Did this show ever happen? I don't see it up on Twitch.

 

Aeronwen

Lt. General

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Jan 23, 2012

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• Jun 22, 2013

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• #15

Yes it happened. I do not see it on Twitch either but Twitch seems to have a had a few problems over the last few days.

 

Illanair

Space Duck

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Feb 28, 2011

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• Jun 23, 2013

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• #16

Aeronwen said:

Yes it happened. I do not see it on Twitch either but Twitch seems to have a had a few problems over the last few days.

Click to expand...

The site had a security leak which "could" have exposed your password. But they've come back online now it seems with a forced "change your password" prompt.

 

digital_soda

Captain

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Dec 1, 2011

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• Jun 23, 2013

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• #17

Do you think we'll ever see Half Life 3?