Dear Everyone: It's All Going to be Okay
Change is hard, but it's also necessary.
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Change is hard, but it's also necessary.
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Dear Everyone: It's All Going to be Okay
- Thread starter Robert Rath
- Start date
A much needed shot of optimism in a sea of worries, and a different perspective worth thinking about. Thank you Robert, it's times like this that remind me why I'm excited to see a new piece from you.
Well, of course there's going to be a lot of bad vibes and bad things happening during a stage of transition.
Apart from the usual horrorshow that is real life (as conveyed by the general news anyway), AAA gaming IS sinking.
But this is not some prophecy of destruction but an arguably overdue phase of the gaming market's cycle.
The current old system of development isn't working very well anymore, and it's time for that to change.
Apart from the usual horrorshow that is real life (as conveyed by the general news anyway), AAA gaming IS sinking.
But this is not some prophecy of destruction but an arguably overdue phase of the gaming market's cycle.
The current old system of development isn't working very well anymore, and it's time for that to change.
For once the trouble facing the games industry is of their own making, taking sales for granted and making grandiose decisions with millions upon millions of pounds (dollars) that are normally not for the benefit of the games or the wider gaming community. Always on DRM's, grand cut scenes and expensive voice actors are not going to make anyone buy a bad game. See Jimquisition for the angry rants about it.
It used to be piracy. How many playstations do you know that were not chipped? In my part of the UK, not alot. How many flashed Xbox 360's do you here of? Is the fact you can play a 360 game online but can't when it's a copy?
Sane thinking companies will not blow millions on games and expect six million sales just to break even, they will budget accordingly (thanks again Jim).
The industry will survive, they just need to listen
It used to be piracy. How many playstations do you know that were not chipped? In my part of the UK, not alot. How many flashed Xbox 360's do you here of? Is the fact you can play a 360 game online but can't when it's a copy?
Sane thinking companies will not blow millions on games and expect six million sales just to break even, they will budget accordingly (thanks again Jim).
The industry will survive, they just need to listen
Great article and thank you for the reminder : ) All the negative/fail hype, it is easy to do as they are not invested and costs them nothing if they are wrong.
You are also right, games continue to improve as new or refreshed ideas are built upon previous ones, this keeps our beloved hobby going through thick n thin.
Lastly, I think it is great when you mentioned real world examples of the past. How buildings lost though sad at first, end up making room for new buildings and new experiences to happen.
You are also right, games continue to improve as new or refreshed ideas are built upon previous ones, this keeps our beloved hobby going through thick n thin.
Lastly, I think it is great when you mentioned real world examples of the past. How buildings lost though sad at first, end up making room for new buildings and new experiences to happen.
Thank you very much. We certainly needed some positive thoughts. At least, this managed to chin me up a bit 
Thanks for tipping me off not to read next weeks edition. Nothing personal I am just sick of that game being discussed so I'll pass.
Though I do take issue with one thing in this article. It seems to value change for the sake of change. Not for improvement, but just for changing. If the change happens because of no reason then the change has no value to add. You see that car dealership closed down because it's profits declined or the owner wanted to retire and it was to be replaced with something else that would bring in the money and as such offer jobs and stimulate the local economy.
You see we wouldn't be where we were if there was no improvement brought on by the change. If things change for the worse then we should put our foot down and stop that change. If the 720 wants to change things up by quite literally making gaming itself reliant on the servers and stability of the console manufacturers connection then we should put our foot down, say no and demand a change in the RIGHT direction.
In short we should not blindly want or allow things to change when we do not like the outcome of those changes.
As for the market crashing? I am actually hoping for that. It needs a big fat crash to stir up the industry that has basically reduced itself to one mission statement.
Be like Call of Duty.
Though I do take issue with one thing in this article. It seems to value change for the sake of change. Not for improvement, but just for changing. If the change happens because of no reason then the change has no value to add. You see that car dealership closed down because it's profits declined or the owner wanted to retire and it was to be replaced with something else that would bring in the money and as such offer jobs and stimulate the local economy.
You see we wouldn't be where we were if there was no improvement brought on by the change. If things change for the worse then we should put our foot down and stop that change. If the 720 wants to change things up by quite literally making gaming itself reliant on the servers and stability of the console manufacturers connection then we should put our foot down, say no and demand a change in the RIGHT direction.
In short we should not blindly want or allow things to change when we do not like the outcome of those changes.
As for the market crashing? I am actually hoping for that. It needs a big fat crash to stir up the industry that has basically reduced itself to one mission statement.
Be like Call of Duty.
I think the crash in the games industry is just a single part of a wider issue: the economic downturn from 2008 (almost 5 years now) isn't going back up. More and more belt-tightening, as prices for basics like food, housing, electricity, oil all go up. There is less money in the industry. There is less money in every industry. There is less investment and speculation. It's nice to go 'well, there's been economic downturns before, it'll pick up again', but we're facing peak oil: not just that the oil-producing countries have whacked up prices, but that it's actually just starting to tip towards 'running out'. We're potentially even heading into a mini ice age.
To say 'it's all going to be ok' is to dismiss all this, and believe naively that things will get better, because things *always* get better. It's a comforting thought, sure, and I guess it's nice to have those, but it's not grounded in anything.
To say 'it's all going to be ok' is to dismiss all this, and believe naively that things will get better, because things *always* get better. It's a comforting thought, sure, and I guess it's nice to have those, but it's not grounded in anything.
I've been willing to welcome change to the industry for a while now. Some won't like it, but I know it has to come if it wants to continue living. That might involve Nintendo no longer making consoles, Naughty Dog violating Sony's ownership contract to nab the mature PC audience (and thus court battles debating the distribution rights of owned developers), or even having to challenge Bungie or Infinity Ward to make something new that doesn't use violence as a mechanic to prove their relevancy. It's these kind of changes I'm willing to embrace; it's coming to a situation where the rules that did work in the past are no longer effective, and even worse hurting companies and genres because it's essentially a taboo to break them. An example of such taboos would be allowing users to create private servers in an MMO. Even the word and definition of "video game" has be challenged because of releases that are dubbed "visual novels" or "no-games", as they use the same level interactivity games do.
But yes, I agree - We need to change. Or, at least accept that we need to in order to proceed. Many opportunities missed and still waiting are like low-reaching pieces of fruit; some of it is hanging low enough that those who can reach it without stretching have been too ignorant to take it.
But yes, I agree - We need to change. Or, at least accept that we need to in order to proceed. Many opportunities missed and still waiting are like low-reaching pieces of fruit; some of it is hanging low enough that those who can reach it without stretching have been too ignorant to take it.
Industries stagnate & need to collapse once in a while
I just hope AAA publishers don't get federal bailouts, which they probably will
I just hope AAA publishers don't get federal bailouts, which they probably will
Yes! Thank you for this article. Let's not focus on the negative, but look for the positive!
And remember:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2hqS_lzNIlU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>
EDIT: DAMMIT, how do embed Youtube videos on this thing?!
And remember:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2hqS_lzNIlU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>
EDIT: DAMMIT, how do embed Youtube videos on this thing?!
Alright, some much needed optimism. So much anger about. I'm not saying we should ignore bad things, but it might be nice to bring some more positivity. Or as Bobby McFerrin would say:
Captcha: Chocolate cookie
A good start, cookies are great
Like this, just remove the spaces: [ youtube = 2hqS_lzNIlU ]Darth_Payn said:
Captcha: Chocolate cookie
A good start, cookies are great
