Nothing against Glen, Dead Space, or any genuinely well made game… but the AAA industry needs to die.
Edit: The number of you misinterpreting this as “AAA games bad” is too damn high.
I disagree. When AAA is approached with a solid ending, no monetization beyond a full expansion for less than retail, and good story, I can enjoy them just fine.
See: God of War, Death Stranding, Horizon (not the racing), the Jedi: Survivor series, Persona, Dead Space, Cyberpunk, etc.
AAA can be done right.
Totally. As I said, I don’t disparage well made games and enjoyed literally every title you listed except Persona (never played).
But like lets be real. AAA game industries have generally become bloated, increasingly prioritizing profit over product quality. Lots of exploitation of developers and gamers alike.
I’m not saying AAA can’t produce good games.
Cyberpunk
Releasing a broken beta version for full retail price is not “AAA done right”.
That’s my biggest gripe. Games being released in an unfinished state. I’d rather them be honest, call it an early release and charge accordingly.
My second biggest gripe rides off the back of the first… how the people who make and play games are exploited.
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Devs getting worked to death and thrown under the bus for executive decisions.
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Gamers’ loyalty being taken advantage of including the declining value of Pre-orders.
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It has been finished and done for at least two years now, with a solid expansion to boot, so the “garbage at launch” argument doesn’t hold much steam for me anymore.
For the sake of discussion, why (from the player’s perspective, or heck, from the developer’s perspective) do those games need to be or benefit from being produced by a AAA publisher?
Mass Effect, WoW, Skyrim, Dragon Age: Origins, Witcher 3, Baldur’s Gate 3, Bioshock…
2012, 2005, 2011, 2009, 2015, 2023, 2011.
Mostly agree, but WoW wouldn’t qualify for the no monetization part.
I think he has an impressive resume but The Callisto Protocol was a big flop. Right now industry investment is contracting and competition is fierce. People are mostly playing older and established games, and cheaper indies are capturing more attention than ever. He seems to have a passion for horror and it has never been a better time than right now to jump into a new indie horror title. Yes there is competition, but there is also a large audience and a willingness to try new and interesting games outside of large studios and franchises.
Fuck AAA.