It’s not uncommon for good ideas to not translate into good video games. However, even in instances where creative games bomb spectacularly, they can still lead to very memorable experiences.

Even though we don’t have much to go off of regarding it at this time, it still seems like recently revealed indie RPG project “Citizens of Earth” is guaranteed to at least be a memorable experience as it has not one, but several very interesting ideas forming its basic blueprint.

It comes to us from developer Eden Industries who crafted one of those aforementioned brilliant, but flawed, games with their first title, “Waveform”, and has players taking the role of the Vice President of the World in his quest to rid his small home town of various weirdos and presumed evil doers. Now being a politician, and not wishing to get his hands dirty, the VP takes on a “team leader” approach and recruits denizens of the town to fight his battles for him. The character types range from body builders, to baristas, to homeless guys, and each not only brings unique attributes to combat, but when left out of your party, can provide certain abilities based on their character type with services like discounted items in their shops, town expansions, and exploration rewards.

Few specifics are known about the game, but it is confirmed that it will be much in the style of a classic JRPG, only with no random encounters (enemies will be viewable on the game world) and a combat system that will allow for battle restarts for party member swaps. Other than that, the games creator’s are sooner to talk about the broadstrokes and style of “Citizens of Earth”, and it’s easy to see why, as the game uses concepts from some of the greatest games of all time. It’s party leader influencing combat mechanic is straight from “Pokemon”, the expanded party, and their unique abilities, are reminiscent of the “Suikoden” series, it’s got a hyper Americana sense of character and environment design that reminds me of the artwork from “Fallout”, and best of all the entire game, from the humor, to the enemies, to the  basic design, borrows heavily from my favorite game of all time, “Earthbound”.

No a great idea doesn’t always mean a great game, but when you are taking your cues from games that are both some of the greatest of all time, and in some cases the most criminally underappreciated, and using them to enhance what is already a unique story concept, you come away with something that stands on its own, and looks to be an always welcome breath of fresh air for the medium. In any case fans of classic RPGs, and bold games in general, should set aside time to keep an eye on “Citizens of Earth” as it progresses, and aims to start a Kickstarter campaign later this year.

We’re really starting to hit that horrible lull in the year when it comes to video game releases. I don’t know what the complete logic behind it is, but for some reason, game development companies do not see fit to release big titles during the summer months, and instead prefer to back up the holiday season with every title in their arsenals, Triple-A release or otherwise. It’s not fair for gamers who would like to stretch their funds and time instead of trying to invest everything they have into a two-month period at the end of the year.

It’s this time of year that you have to hope for a good surprise to come along and really blow you away. While everyone enjoys riding the hype wave of a major release, and enjoying the fruits of your patience on a game’s release date, there is no feeling that is comparable to that experience when you go into a title with zero expectations only for it to send chills down your spine with just how good it is.

To prove this theory, and maybe generate some positive vibes so a sleeper hit will come our way again, here’s a small sampling of some of the greatest surprise hits of all time.

“Minecraft”

It’s fitting that a game all about building also represents the typical building blocks of a surprise hit. It had no hype, no budget, a no-name developer, and no real precedent as far as its concept.

I don’t remember when “Minecraft” took the world by storm, but it wasn’t quite after its 2009 beta release. Instead, it was sometime after that when people’s creations started appearing online, and when every game site in the world ran a 200 word feature piece about some novelty game called “Minecraft” that was gaining steam. Slowly, as the unlimited potential the game’s engine possessed became more and more clear, gamers everywhere divided themselves into two groups. Those who “got” “Minecraft,” and those who didn’t.

Of course, going off sales figures, those who got it would seem to make up the majority. By 2011, “Minecraft” surpassed 10 million registered users on the PC, and its release on the Xbox 360 broke the XBLA sales record. Keep in mind that through all of that, the game has still never had any real commercial advertising. While many would say that should be impossible in this day and age, “Minecraft” appropriately continues to thrive in a world it’s built for itself.

“Katamari Damacy”

It’s usually fairly easy to tell when a game developed in Japan is going to make it to American store shelves. If it’s the new “Final Fantas,y” it’s probably a pretty good bet you’ll see it stateside. If it’s a mech-noir dating simulator, chances are slimmer.

So it’s still something of a mystery, then, how a game that features a deformed space prince rolling up a perpetually growing ball of objects to replace the various cosmos his father, the King of the Cosmos, accidentally destroyed would end up a smash hit. There’s little doubt that the concept of “Katamari Damacy” is what got gamers to give it a try, but from there it was the game’s simple controls and creative and addicting gameplay that really started moving titles off the shelves in earnest.

It’s odd that the very concept of “Katamari Damacy” both alienated it to start, and made it irresistible thereafter. It just goes to prove that the occasional chance against all odds, can result in a success story worth more than all the failures that led there.

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