What the heck is wrong with AAA games?: The May podcast

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One of the interesting things about this year has been the contrast between AAA-remakes (think Resident Evil 4) that have been really very good, and the original games (think Redfall or Forspoken) that have been terrible.
So we discuss what might be the cause of this on the podcast. Is it a lack of creativity, a change to the way games are made, or something entirely different?
Let us know your own thoughts in the comments!
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#AAAgames #badgames #podcast

Опубликовано:

8 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 10

@Mrs_Puffington Год назад

I remember Andrew Dominik, the director of the Netflix movie "Blonde," once said in an interview that he came across a critique about his earlier film, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," which greatly concerned him. The critic posed the question of why a movie like this got funded in the first place, meaning if something couldn't possibly be a blockbuster mainstream hit, why make it? I also find this way of talking about art incredibly deluded and hope for a more thoughtful discourse. It has an impact, as one can see, for example, with the increasingly wonky casting decisions in Hollywood, which seem to be based purely on superficial diversity criteria. Not that diversity isn't important, but it has to be honest, and all I see looks manufactured. We aren't really getting more diverse stories from different cultures; we just get the old ones newly appropriated for modern sensibilities, which are, in turn (and to come full circle), based on what can be measured from the discourse around it. So, we need the beauty of creativity in the language of criticism itself. That's why I like it here so much :)

@pixelcount350 Год назад

Honestly, Nothing. It's the state it has always been. Just because a game gets a 8, 7 or even a 6 out of 10 doesn't mean triple AAA suddenly dropped in quality as most games barley reach a 9 or 10. Its the same with indie space, I can't count how many games came out broken on the switch and that's the main games i play on that consoles so i should know.

@sonicmania9993 Год назад

I agree with this comment 100%. There are a couple of 9+ AAA games every year, a few more 8-9 AAA games, and then some 6s and 7s and some mediocre ones -- and this has been the situation ever since big-budget games began to exist 20-30 years ago. The proportion of indie games that are 9s and 8s is no better. Not every AAA game is Redfall. Not every AAA game is just about "engagement" and not about enjoyment. There are quite a few good ones -- players just have to be selective (as in any genre/price-range of game).

@pixelcount350 Год назад

@@sonicmania9993 It's the same with indie games. Sure you get great games that are 9 or most of the time 10 but that's only a minority compared to the majority of indie titles that released every year. Did you know around 958 indie games are released each year and that number is only growing. People don't seem to take any of this stuff to heart and only see the negativity that big influencers trend to post, Not to say you can't criticize but just because a game gotten a 7 doesn't mean quality in the gaming industry suddenly dropped cause it hasn't as this is pretty normal.

@sonicmania9993 Год назад

@@pixelcount350 Haha, way more than 958 indies a year my dude! The Switch has existed for a bit over 6 years, and the NA eShop has 15,488 games for sale. So that's at least 2000 indies per year (only on Switch, not even counting games only on other platforms), and 80% of them are unplayably poor! Only about 3000 of those Switch games are worth anybody playing. I agree that AAA game quality is about normal lately, same as it's been for 20 years -- And in fact I personally have been enjoying them more lately than I did 10 years ago. More varied fun than the early 2010s (when I was mostly playing smaller-scale games, and avoiding the big ones).

@rzLl_pz5 Год назад

AAA devs just don't understand videogames. Way beyond revenue strategies, the way most AAA games are designed is just fundamentally dull and mindless. I guess the commercial factor inherently implies playing straight into convention and compromising everything that could pass for a "creative vision", but it's still so goddamn frustrating that a medium with the potential of videogames is so limited in the popular perception because of their own arbitrary limits

@Solidnypan Год назад

In AAA devs usually don't have that much to say, many core design aspects are usually an amalgamation of suggestions by boards of directors and investors (everyone wants a battle royale now, because fortnite money), while producers push for a specific deadlines and make decisions about cutting content (not that it's wrong, but it does influence design). Even creative directors can't always do exactly what they want, unless they have an amazing track record (like Sony 1st party).

@idkfaPL Год назад

❤❤❤

@Solidnypan Год назад

I have to disagree with the point about games made for Gamepass being generic. I think because of the way it works, whatever you think about it, I could experiment with games I wouldn't try otherwise. It's almost like an extension of ye olde demo concept. I check a game however long I want and switch to another whenever I stop liking it (or finish it). It's better than demos, because it eliminates the problem of false advertising and the process of actually buying the game after playing the demo. Because of that structure, games can be tailored to more specific tastes and find their niche. They can be risky, because poeple who wouldn't buy them, might check them out without hesitation. I get your issues with gamepass both as a business model and a creative influence, but I'm not conviced about that specific point about games becoming more generic.

@DigitallyDownloaded Год назад

Oh, I certainly think that Game Pass is good for consumers with regards to trying things they wouldn't otherwise. However, the comment about it driving a generic approach to game development was more to do with developers. It's the commercialisation of things. When you're making a few cents per hour played (as opposed to a product that people buy upfront) you need two things: 1) you need a lot of players (you need the game to be as mainstream as possible) and 2) you need the average player to spend dozens of hours in the game to make the same revenue. This means you need to start developing games to have hundreds of hours of completely inoffensive, popular culture *content*, else it simply won't be played enough. Those 5-hour heartfelt indie games are simply not viable. Likewise, niche games aren't going to work. Visual novels, for example, are only viable because a small community of a couple of thousand worldwide buy them at full price. That's impossible to commercialise if the value of each of those players drops to $1 or so over the course of the 20-hour game. That's why you're not seeing them on GamePass. Stuff that works on subscription services are Ubisoft Open World games (thousands of hours of content that says nothing but keeps you playing), and the kind of multiplayer and sports games that are endlessly replayable. Stuff that struggles is anything that ends (i.e. narrative-driven games), and anything that's going to put off a percentage of the gaming population (anything too different aesthetically, or too uncomfortable/transgressive). Game Pass basically mandates big budget, content-driven games. It will result in a narrower range of games being made over the long term, and a lot of the genres and artistry that we currently enjoy simply won't get made any more. That's my concern with what Game Pass is doing to development. I live visual novels and quirky JRPGs. I don't like Ubisoft's games.