you know i actually joined this forum to reply to this topic.
There are huge gaps in the market at the moment which are not even remotely filled.
1) Flight sims.
not flight simulation 9 million with extra added DLC. I am referring to the mission based flight sims such as the OLD B17 flying fortress. a game which is not based on a simple 4 axis input but one which requires constant attention to play as you are dealing with flying a plane and controlling its crew in a mission based scenario. honestly one of my most memorable attachments in gaming was taking a day to fly a b17 mission IN REAL TIME to Berlin, bomb it and fly back, land and taxi to the holding area as the pilot all under manual control unless i had to deal with non ai functions like getting crew to administer first aid etc.
that does extend to space flight Sims as well, not the recent spout of 3 dimensional FPS games masquerading as a space flight Sim. call me a Hard sci-fi physics geek but i like to see SOME form of realization of the nature of physics in the games. when i stop accelerating i should carry on moving at the final rate not stop dead. i need to PLAN a flight path and follow it cause of dealing with relativistic effects and the fact that half a million tons of ship doesnt stop dead.
and why am i always flying an itty bitty fighter. sorry but gimme the big cruisers to play with and command as well.
2) Construction games.
lets just look at how popular minecraft has been. lets face it. its the crack cocaine of gaming right now.
that's a pure resourcing and construction game with terrible graphics. why is it so popular? well probably because there are no possible alternatives and they made it easy. people like to have the freedom to create as well as destroy in games.
3) "world" building games.
when i say world i mean civilization building games, like the ANNO and the civilisation games which is pretty much the only options around. start small and build a society. resourcing, dull to some, a challenge to others.
its slow, the kind of game designed to be player over days and weeks not 10 minutes.
4) RTS games
WHERE ARE THEY?
i love them. they entertain me for hours. i love to design ships and vehicles in them, build cities and civilizations, bunker complexes and armies and go fight others be it a decent AI or other human players.
not just the earth bound ones the space based ones as well. any one BUT me remember the star wars one where you could take the galaxy?
why did they drop of the surface of the game planet?
ok they got stale. even as a lover of them they got stale but that was down to the continual CandC random words series.
Home world was RTS. and it was amazing then the devs kinda stopped looking for ideas and ran with the same old same old.
in all honesty a simple bit of discussion with the players could have solved that in about an hour AND got some kick assed ideas for games at the same time.
5) real sandbox survival games.
a game where the entire terrain is modifiable by the player(s) with trading, looting, and the option to be building stuff.
think the walking dead. but as if you are there. no "story", occasional and optional missions, events, but ultimately it would just be survive.
want to build a zombie trap? dig a hole with spikes. want to create an easy move bunker? well we got some shipping containers over there.
i know arma2 has a mod for it but its not exactly the same a designed for, working world.
6) Combat games.
you know like the old street fighter etc.
they kind are not around. and as a console game over a few beers and a pizza they are a right laugh. but they are also thin on the ground.
yes update them. make them new. with new ideas, characters and "story".
7) Race games.
yeah blast from the past.
again thin on the ground and all based on the idea of 2 fast 2 damm retarded. YAAWWWWN. if i wanted to race douchbags i would go to the local Mcd's.
Rally, Nascar, F1, the Paris-Dakar, Flight, Bike, Skate (board and blade) Demo derby, truck, FUN (mario cart) are all untouched options.
with the option for it to also be more of a sports simulator as well. run the team, design the vehicle, sponsorship etc.
8) Extreme sports.
not just skateboarding. how about a game based on Base jumping, Parkour, climbing,
9) "normal" Sports
Wii, i am looking very shamefully in your direction mainly. interactive, a giggle, or even just nominal point and click interface games like madden but well different sports.
10)
FUN games
you know the ones you play for a bit of a laugh which cheer you up and don't take themselves even remotely seriously.
Worms and no the reboot doesn't count in my book, is the classic example.
Missing. In. Action.
11) Point and click Exploration and puzzle games.
i know its well away from the hardcore games now. but some people enjoy them
