I would say that up to 2013, things were on a steady incline, but since then there was a stagnation, and then a decline in quality from big name publishers who used to be really great. And I don’t think it’s a “oh I’ve just gotten older and more cynical and I’m nostalgic for the things I grew up with.”
Because I can go back and play games that were well before my time, or around when I was a kid but never played, and really enjoy them. But if I pick up a game from even 5 years ago from one of the really big studios… at best it feels under cooked. Like there is potential, but a lot of stuff just never got finished. At worst, it feels as if the game lacks any intention or thought in the design beyond how to maximize the skinner box.
Take for example “vampire the masquerade: bloodlines”, it wasn’t a game I played when it came out, in fact I only played it a couple years ago, it has a lot of flaws but it is still a great and engaging experience, it felt like the team making it had a strong vision and they executed on that well. A lot of modern games from big publishers don’t seem to have a vision beyond a vague aesthetic and the final projects routinely feel disjointed and poorly thought out.
i think it really does come down to the cohesion of the teams. A small team that has worked together for years is going to make a cohesive product with a strong vision. A huge team with extremely high turnover is going to make something disjointed and dependent on formula.
Firing half the team every three years to avoid having to give them raises probably isn’t doing much to help their long term capability.
Like, the gigantic teams with high turn over aren’t new, but we’re now seeing the long term results of the strategy.
I would say that up to 2013, things were on a steady incline, but since then there was a stagnation, and then a decline in quality from big name publishers who used to be really great. And I don’t think it’s a “oh I’ve just gotten older and more cynical and I’m nostalgic for the things I grew up with.”
Because I can go back and play games that were well before my time, or around when I was a kid but never played, and really enjoy them. But if I pick up a game from even 5 years ago from one of the really big studios… at best it feels under cooked. Like there is potential, but a lot of stuff just never got finished. At worst, it feels as if the game lacks any intention or thought in the design beyond how to maximize the skinner box.
Take for example “vampire the masquerade: bloodlines”, it wasn’t a game I played when it came out, in fact I only played it a couple years ago, it has a lot of flaws but it is still a great and engaging experience, it felt like the team making it had a strong vision and they executed on that well. A lot of modern games from big publishers don’t seem to have a vision beyond a vague aesthetic and the final projects routinely feel disjointed and poorly thought out.
Also seems like indie games are really filling that niche now, while AAA games are mostly just phoning it in.
Like, Silksong is probably GOTY while Black Ops 6 is such a far cry from the impact that Black Ops 1 had (2024 vs 2010).
i think it really does come down to the cohesion of the teams. A small team that has worked together for years is going to make a cohesive product with a strong vision. A huge team with extremely high turnover is going to make something disjointed and dependent on formula.
Firing half the team every three years to avoid having to give them raises probably isn’t doing much to help their long term capability.
Like, the gigantic teams with high turn over aren’t new, but we’re now seeing the long term results of the strategy.