Put me in the bucket of ?indifferenters;? never played HL1, loved everything on the Orange Box and was actually anticipating a HL3, but as time moved on and the excited whispers of HL3 quieted in lieu of the cynical barbs of the disaffected fanbase, I decided it was a hate train not worth my boarding. We have to accept that there are basically two types of developers: those who?re in it for the love of what they do and those who?re in it for the cash, and recent times have brought to light just where most devs stand.
I would have suspected Valve to have been in it for the love a decade ago, but the hint of cash for little effort proved their passion had a price. As most people have said, it?s cruel if perfect logic: if they?re already raking in the cash hand over fist doing basically nothing, why would they bother spending any of it to do something? No, Valve has made their bed of cash and are content to lay upon it while the yelping pups on the floor beneath them that is the fanbase ages slowly and eventually goes hoarse, gives in to hip dysplasia and can longer dream of jumping on the bed with them.
Bungie, goddamn them, Halo was a labor of love all the way through Reach, and the promise of Destiny and the potential it had coming from such an awesome dev had me really excited. Then I got my hands on Destiny and realized how little it actually offered and how it deigned and dared to beg me for more $$$ for more bare bones, then Destiny 2, fuck?s sake?
Playdead only has two games to their cred, Limbo and Inside, but I can honestly say they are a dev that is in it for the love. Both games are polished, beautifully executed and neither attempts to gouge or sell themselves at exorbitant, undeserved prices. I?ve said it before, Inside released quietly on a Wednesday, no fanfare or ?FROM THE DEVS OF LIMBO!!!!!!!? hyping prior to, for a very modest $30 price, and it?s worth 10 times what I?ve paid for some ?AAA? games that promise the moon and stars, then proceed to turn their backside to us, bend over and pull down their pants to reveal a full moon with one brown star in the middle.
Rockstar is another in it for the love. Love them or hate them, the make quality games: polished, detailed, clever and nothing half-assed. People complain that they?re milking GTAV, but given the treatment games like Assassins Creed get, i.e.: the same game at full retail price, twice a fucking year, that is basically a pretty sandbox filled with tedious busywork, I?d argue Rockstar is simply standing behind and supporting an amazing product. Oh, and let?s not forget Red Dead Redemption 2 is officially a thing they?ve been working on and who thinks that?s not going to amazing?
