What if: Indie Developers Went Hollywood...

I had a thought, large enough to use this blog again. The thought involved the recent demise of the Mega Man franchise, more importantly the lack of interest by Capcom to build the brand having cancelled two major titles in the series. My idea was, what if the big named publishers gave a major franchise to an indie developer? What results could occur?

Say, for example, if the ever talented Queensland team of Halfbrick Studios were given Mega Man? Take the clean and crisp stylings of Jetpack Joyride, Raskulls and Monster Dash and add a sprinkling of old school platforming, and I have no doubt in my mind that the Fruit Ninja creators could pull it off. I'd almost immediately suggest Sega to ask Halfbrick to work on the ever troubled Sonic franchise too, what with their love of fast paced characters and vibrant colours.

That made me think of other ideas for forgotten and troubled franchises. How about Id Software, who's troubled Rage hasn't exactly pulled off the same results as Doom and Quake before it. Perhaps if they called upon the services of Hard Reset developers Flying Wild Hog to build us a new Doom? Or better yet, how about a proper sequel to the Duke?

The 3DS could do with some added variety. Maybe someone like Cut the Rope creators ZeptoLab could remix Dr Mario or Puzzle League in 3D. And remember Sim City? I'd be more than happy to see a return to form of my favourite franchise under the guidance of Game Dev Story's Kairosoft. Here's one out of left field, a new 2D Castlevania by Playdead of Limbo fame. Maybe Lima Sky could revitalise Bubble Bobble. 

And I couldn't possible pass up the opportunity to suggest the big one. Angry Birds' Rovio using their skills as creators of devilish puzzling birds on the next Final Fantasy. Just imagine throwing chocobos at giant dragons and taking them down with one perfectly placed shot.

Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. There's so many great ideas out there that have become big names out of barely there budgets, it negates any argument that could be made that we've run out of ideas for video games, and that sequels are taking up all the sales. Indie is where it's at, and if publishers are serious about brand image, they couldn't go far wrong with bringing in an outside source to spruce things up a bit.

Besides, who wouldn't want a new Mega Man?!