Author Topic: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?  (Read 7462 times)

Offline Ozymandiaz

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #15 on: February 21, 2011, 06:53:27 pm »
Game development isn't getting too expensive, its just too busy reiterating the same crap over and over just with prettier pictures.

Exactly. I have felt the same the last 7 or so years.
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Offline Entrenched Homperson

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #16 on: February 22, 2011, 08:10:27 am »
Portal 2. OMFGJHSGFHKJGSFHFAHJFGHJ<SGFDHLKGDJKK>DJFHKSJGDLSGF.

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Offline KingIsaacLinksr

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #17 on: February 27, 2011, 02:01:33 pm »
I don't remember the last time I bought any brand new AAA title right when it came out.

I'm the same way. My one exception is anything that Valve puts out. As soon as the Portal 2 pre-order showed up on Steam, I was on it. But any other gaming company? Forget it. I'll wait for the price drop and inevitable 50% off sale a year or so down the line.

Edit: For mainstream studios of course. Indies are different.  ;)

Bioware holds a lot of favor for me though I'm still a bit wary of some of their titles.  Blizzard at least has the guarantee that the game is well made, even if the game itself doesn't appeal to people.  Valve is good as well.  Beyond those?  Indie companies hold my attention now, in particular ArcenGames obviously, but if a title has "indie" in its tags, there is a much higher chance I'll get the game. 

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Offline Shrugging Khan

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #18 on: February 27, 2011, 02:26:38 pm »
I hope AAA titles (in games and movies) die out. I can't stand them. They're almost universally shallow, graphics-focused, more and more casual, overpriced, overhyped, overmarketed, and still have way too many players who just don't know better than to buy whatever the market tells them to. In a way, they steal people's attention, time and budget, in exchange for nothing new and some more of the same old.
Innovation? The contrary.

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Offline HellishFiend

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2011, 02:31:05 pm »
I hope AAA titles (in games and movies) die out. I can't stand them. They're almost universally shallow, graphics-focused, more and more casual, overpriced, overhyped, overmarketed, and still have way too many players who just don't know better than to buy whatever the market tells them to. In a way, they steal people's attention, time and budget, in exchange for nothing new and some more of the same old.
Innovation? The contrary.

Ramble! Rant! Rage! I mad!

You want games like Mass Effect to die out? Madness....

Sure, corporate goals and bottom lines can sometimes corrupt and ruin someone's dream vision for a great game, but every now and then the core values of a project shine through to the end, and you end up with a wonderful concept that grows and develops into something truly amazing. Not all triple A games are bad. In fact, its just the same as indie/small project games, except you have to dig through tons of hype and pomp to find the good ones instead of digging deep to find games you havent even heard of.
Time to roll out another ball of death.

Offline Sunshine!

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2011, 09:09:55 pm »
Let's also keep in mind that consoles are inherently more limited in scope than PCs, regardless of what kind of processing power they can put out.  That's simply a limitation of the controllers, but that is entirely why they're popular.  They're simple and easy to pick up.  Consoles just work and that's the downfall of PC gaming as it is.  Complex games won't work as well on consoles (I am hopeful for DX3, even though it'll be years before I play it because my laptop is bad for games).  This is something the industry is simply going to have to come to terms with, and we'll see a lot less original work for PCs from major developers over the years, but indie games have found a certain niche and are putting out games that look like they were made 10 years ago, but can innovate forward unlike the major developers because of lower costs.  As some indie studios become more popular, I think we'll see a bridge between the graphics of the AAA games and the innovation of the indies in the $30-$40 release price range, especially with licensable engines.  "The Ball," off the top of my head, though I've never played it, might be a good example.

Offline Shrugging Khan

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #21 on: February 27, 2011, 09:34:46 pm »
Mass Effect is despicable. The first part had a minor element of promise, but the second took a dump on it and made damned sure it went it the wrongest direction possible.
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Offline Echo35

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #22 on: February 28, 2011, 09:51:15 am »
I hope AAA titles (in games and movies) die out. I can't stand them. They're almost universally shallow, graphics-focused, more and more casual, overpriced, overhyped, overmarketed, and still have way too many players who just don't know better than to buy whatever the market tells them to. In a way, they steal people's attention, time and budget, in exchange for nothing new and some more of the same old.
Innovation? The contrary.

Ramble! Rant! Rage! I mad!

You want games like Mass Effect to die out? Madness....

Sure, corporate goals and bottom lines can sometimes corrupt and ruin someone's dream vision for a great game, but every now and then the core values of a project shine through to the end, and you end up with a wonderful concept that grows and develops into something truly amazing. Not all triple A games are bad. In fact, its just the same as indie/small project games, except you have to dig through tons of hype and pomp to find the good ones instead of digging deep to find games you havent even heard of.

Every now and then a AAA does come up with something good. I don't agree they should die off entirely, but I do agree with the article I posted, that they really need to cut back and get back to their roots, and make something quality. With all the money that said companies are throwing into their games, you'd think something worthwhile would come around more often than it currently does.

Offline BobTheJanitor

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #23 on: February 28, 2011, 11:36:31 am »
With all the money that said companies are throwing into their games, you'd think something worthwhile would come around more often than it currently does.

Unfortunately, all the money they're throwing at their games is exactly why you keep getting the same old thing over and over. People are more willing to experiment with small sums of money. When you're investing millions and millions of dollars (and years of development time), people get a lot more worried about losing it all, so they look at what's selling and try to copy it. That's why you keep getting halo clones and generic WWII shooters and so on. These usually pay enough in sales to recoup your investment in development. But doing something truly new and interesting can be a huge risk. And again, that's why I only day-one purchase Valve's games. They keep innovating and they keep doing it well. The only other AAA games I buy are always bought in sales years after their release date.

Offline Echo35

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #24 on: February 28, 2011, 11:58:00 am »
With all the money that said companies are throwing into their games, you'd think something worthwhile would come around more often than it currently does.

Unfortunately, all the money they're throwing at their games is exactly why you keep getting the same old thing over and over. People are more willing to experiment with small sums of money. When you're investing millions and millions of dollars (and years of development time), people get a lot more worried about losing it all, so they look at what's selling and try to copy it. That's why you keep getting halo clones and generic WWII shooters and so on. These usually pay enough in sales to recoup your investment in development. But doing something truly new and interesting can be a huge risk. And again, that's why I only day-one purchase Valve's games. They keep innovating and they keep doing it well. The only other AAA games I buy are always bought in sales years after their release date.

Very true. I've always thought big companies like that should have a side studio for making "indie" level games to test new ideas, even if it's just an iOS or web app.

Offline Shrugging Khan

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #25 on: February 28, 2011, 12:17:35 pm »
Already being done, and what they make is advertisement games that basically do nothing but promote the more expensive sibling title.
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Offline BobTheJanitor

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #26 on: February 28, 2011, 12:32:03 pm »
Already being done, and what they make is advertisement games that basically do nothing but promote the more expensive sibling title.

Yeah that's a big failure on their part. Movie studios have their own little indie film branches. Music publishers do the same thing. Why can't game companies get it through their heads? Form a little indie wing, give it a small budget, and let it go wild. Maybe it makes crap, and you lose almost nothing. But once in a while it might build the next minecraft. Then you take it and kick it upstairs and shower it in money and everyone wins.

Offline Entrenched Homperson

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #27 on: February 28, 2011, 10:06:12 pm »
I have never played Mass Effect 1. I like the 8 hours of Mass Effect 2 me and a friend played once, though. It was a pretty fun game, with some simple down to earth rpg and shooter elements, and a fun character interaction system. The only downfall is maybe the occasional bored moment.
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Offline Shrugging Khan

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #28 on: March 01, 2011, 03:35:45 pm »
ME1 had some character customisation and more open exploration, rather than the strictly limited PickMission-PlayMission-PickMission-PlayMission approach of ME2.
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Offline Echo35

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Re: Is Game Development getting too Expensive?
« Reply #29 on: March 01, 2011, 03:40:20 pm »
ME1 had some character customisation and more open exploration, rather than the strictly limited PickMission-PlayMission-PickMission-PlayMission approach of ME2.

I know the Probing was a lot easier but I REALLY miss the Dune Buggy planet missions from ME1. It felt like I was playing Star Control, only a lot more awesome.