Gamers discuss which games walked so others could run
There are several games out there in the world that most likely only exist because another title was put out first. One Reddit user posed the question of which titles sparked other more successful IPs.
30th Dec 2023 22:24
Images via FromSoftware | Zachtronics | Daybreak Game Company | Epyx
Gamers discuss which games walked so others could run
There are several games out there in the world that most likely only exist because another title was put out first. One Reddit user posed the question of which titles sparked other more successful IPs.
30th Dec 2023 22:24
Images via FromSoftware | Zachtronics | Daybreak Game Company | Epyx
There are several games out there in the world that most likely only exist because another title was put out first.
Stardew Valley, as popular as it is now, would most likely not have come into being if not for the Harvest Moon franchise, for example.
One Reddit user posed the question of which titles sparked other more successful IPs.
Reddit users have been discussing which games led to the creation and success of other popular IPs
Reddit user lessthanfox posted a thread on the gaming subreddit asking users which games they thought walked so that other IP’s could run.
In the original post, they wrote: “I'm talking about two possible scenarios: a (bad) game that, because of some butterfly effect, made a different (good) one come to life, or a game that just went under the radar but somehow inspired a more successful one.
“The first example that pops to my mind is how Final Fight Streetwise was responsible for the making of God Hand.
“In an interview, Shiji Mikami (creator of Resident Evil) said he loved the old Final Fights when he was younger, then he played Streetwise and thought "this is shit, I can make a better beat 'em up". He then started working on God Hand accepting zero input or criticism from anyone and proceeded to create a game he'd enjoy playing.”
Plenty of other users came forward to suggest their own examples of this.
Rogue
Rogue was a dungeon crawler using ASCII graphics, which was released in 1980. The game spawned a whole genre of gaming, with roguelike and rogue-lite games such as The Binding of Isaac, Spelunky, FTL and Hades becoming increasingly popular.
“Rogue had to walk so roguelikes could run,” wrote one Reddit user.
Another added: “More like Rogue had to crawl.”
Infiniminer
Infiniminer was an open source multiplayer block-based sandbox game which was released in 2009.
One Reddit user said: “Very old and probably an often repeated example but Infiniminer. Without it there would be no Minecraft.”
Only a month after the game was discontinued, Notch started to work on Minecraft, and a lot of basic elements of Infiniminer made their way into the popular blocky game we know and love today.
King’s Field
Another game which was suggested was King’s Field, which seemingly went on to inspire Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls and eventually, in turn, Elden Ring.
Widely regarded as the first souls game, King’s Field is a 1994 action RPG from FromSoftware which inspired a lot of the studio’s later work.
In response to the suggestion, one Reddit user said: “This was my thought too, especially since King’s Field feels almost entirely unknown even now.”
H1Z1
H1Z1, and by extension DayZ: Battle Royale, did a lot of the groundwork needed to spark the Battle Royale craze which has become so popular today.
One Reddit user said: “H1Z1, and to a greater extent PUBG, ushered in the battle royale genre, despite their complete lack of polish.
“Without PUBG, there wouldn't be Fortnite (at least not as we know it) or Apex Legends”
While Fortnite would have still existed in some form, it would most likely not have become the overnight Battle Royale sensation that it is today without H1Z1.
Ultimately, while the thread isn’t groundbreaking in any way, it does show how even games which may have been unappreciated or forgotten to time have an impact on the games industry.
It’s funny to think that maybe your favourite game wouldn’t exist if something else hadn’t come before it.
About The Author
Megan Cooke
Megan is GGRecon's Evening & Weekend News Writer. She has an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing and is working towards finishing her masters in Journalism. When she isn’t writing about games she can be found reading romance novels or playing cosy games like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, APICO, and Disney Dreamlight Valley.
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