Jimquisition: Irrational Decisions (Or Freedom In Chains)

Jimothy Sterling

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Apr 18, 2011
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Irrational Decisions (Or Freedom In Chains)

Major studios are not just shutting down because evil publishers are closing them. Some of them are falling on their own swords. Certain developers are trading in one cage for another, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

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Canadamus Prime

Robot in Disguise
Jun 17, 2009
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Sorry Jim, but I just couldn't keep a straight face when you tried to claim to be mature and professional.
 

Evonisia

Your sinner, in secret
Jun 24, 2013
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Your maturity knows no bounds, it extends beyond the reaches of human awareness of the thing. Your treatment of David Cage shall be sung from the highest mountains and in the schools with young boys and girls for years to come... the power of EMOSHUN.

But yes, I get your point. It's still sad to see less BioShock: Infinites in the AAA world though, and I say that as somebody who didn't like BioShock: Infinite.
 

lassiie

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May 26, 2013
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Well, you can blame AAA publishing as much as you like for wanting to make money, but all in all, it is us, as a gaming community that continues to support them by purchasing clone after clone after clone. Unfortunately, game theory teaches us that we will never make the choice that would benefit everyone, instead choosing the selfish choice that actually hurts us.
 

hickwarrior

a samurai... devil summoner?
Nov 7, 2007
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lassiie said:
Well, you can blame AAA publishing as much as you like for wanting to make money, but all in all, it is us, as a gaming community that continues to support them by purchasing clone after clone after clone. Unfortunately, game theory teaches us that we will never make the choice that would benefit everyone, instead choosing the selfish choice that actually hurts us.
To be fair, you are throwing people under the bus.

Now, excuse me while I go play another shooter, because it is not call of duty in name only. Wait, I don't play those games, so why would I play that?
 

TiberiusEsuriens

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Jun 24, 2010
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I've noticed that this last year we've heard more studios saying that publishers are giving them a little bit more creative leeway, and I think it's in large part thanks to the exodus and rise of big name indie studios. Big publishers can still have there place, and it shines well with games like the upcoming Thief and Wolfenstein. Publishers are feeling more pressure than ever to just let the devs make what they want. Thief isn't even really the same game it was a year ago, because despite what the money men demanded, the devs and players more or less got what they wanted in the end. Games like Titanfall and Wolfenstein are getting the chance to say "we don't want SP or MP in our game" and they can get away with it. Those elements would have been a waste of resources.

While it's still more or less the same beast, executives and investors are losing their deathgrip on studios because a new standard is slowly being exampled, where if the devs get too pissed off about what they're told to do they will now simply leave.
 

Drummodino

Can't Stop the Bop
Jan 2, 2011
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Honestly? I am lamenting the decline of narrative driven, single player, AAA games. Many of my favorite titles of the past few years have fallen under this banner and the possibility of losing these deeply worries me. Don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoy plenty of indie games with smaller budgets and artistic freedom, the likes of Don't Starve, Limbo, To The Moon etc.

However if the day comes when all the AAA scene pumps out are competitive multiplayer games like Titanfall (even though I seriously enjoyed the beta), and we no longer see big budget blockbusters like Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us and Tomb Raider... I will be immensely disappointed.

Also why would studios not want to make games like these? Yea they cost a lot to make, but the good ones sell like hotcakes and receive massive critical acclaim. Again I point to Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us, these were mega popular titles and I can't see why people wouldn't want to make more in the future.
 

SnakeoilSage

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Sep 20, 2011
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I continue to hold out hope that Dead Space will find new life with a smaller, tighter budget. It's a snowball's chance in hell, but if hell didn't freeze over occasionally very few of us would actually get laid.
 

Goliath100

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Sep 29, 2009
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Open questions to game industry:
Why aren't you using smaller Creative Teams for the creative stuff that needs give-a-damn, and have a set of publisher spesific programers that jumps from one project to another?
 

blackrave

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Mar 7, 2012
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Wait, that was cardboard mask?
I thought Jim used CGI magic to but face of David Cage on his own.
 

hermes

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Mar 2, 2009
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Sorry, but no.

I agree with your assessment of the AAA industry, but while I think Levine has every right to leave in search of greener pastures, I think you and many people are missing the point of his actions and forgetting the other side; the real victims of personalities closing mega-studios in search to narrow their reach are not the gamers that want more high budget RPG and less modern shooters, its the hundreds of talented people that busted their asses to give us one of the best games of last year, and collaborated a whole lot to its success, even when not in the spotlight, finding themselves without a job one day because their master and commander decided to jump ship and left them with nothing but an empty office and a few lines in a resume.

"Irrational Games has been sunk, but Ken Levine is still here"... I am sure its a big consolation for those people. When Romero and Carmack left Id, it was still there the next day. The same with Jaffe and Santa Monica or Bleszinski and Epic... This here is closer to "I'm going to take my ball and go home!". Of course, I believe Levine is a very talented man and I will eagerly wait for his next work, but I don't think this is a time for celebration, as much as I don't believe its a lost for the industry.
 

gargantual

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Jul 15, 2013
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Its not just the narrative reasons why AAA is moving away from single player.

narrative single player demands smart level design and balance of challenge, smart AI and resources. Its easier to just throw all the assets into a map and say let the players tussle with each other, while they referee from the sidelines, and add in more microtransactions.

Right now AAA video games is basically seeking to replace Zynga and Magic the Gathering as the premier choice of long term addictive expensive competitive social gaming.

In the future if you wanna have fun with action adventure by yourself without being on a company server. Its side scrollers, walking simulators and point and click, or play your old games.
 

Adam Jensen_v1legacy

I never asked for this
Sep 8, 2011
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You know what the gaming industry needs? It needs to embrace the Hollywood style of marketing and production. By that I mean instead of having the next game from Irrational Games etc. we get the next Ken Levine game etc. In that kind of environment publishers would simply give the developers money and let them make the game according to their vision. Games would be marketed as the creative vision of the game director.