> That is good point on how pre-production usually goes through the process of censoring things before the public is aware...
Precisely. Except it is not a rarity. That concern now defines the creative process in AAA development. Just, concerns over profitability are now accompanied by legitimate fear of backlash and reprisal. In an industry that relies so much on word of mouth, few are willing to court controversy be it internal or external. It's simply not good for your career. Development used to be a free for all; Ideas, good or bad, flowed freely. That's gone. I don't believe creativity can flourish in such conditions.
Personally, I'd like to see a move away from singular, large budget productions in favour of a litany of smaller ones. I dislike blockbusters. Safe, tried and tested and designed to appeal to everyone. No one game can adequately appeal to everyone. Some design interests are mutually exclusive.
Instead, I'd prefer to see a market where more titles are tailored to a wider range of niche player-bases and release more frequently.
@Sketcz
Those look great, guess the collection will just have to grow.
As for budget, absolutely, though I'd argue a lot of that cost is as a result of corporate disconnect. If games stopped trying to be movies you could shave most AAA budgets in half outright with many not even being worse off for it.
It's an interesting time. Tech-art is evolving. More essential, more ubiquitous. Proceduralism is becoming more granular - a tool to assist, rather than a creative compromise. Machine learning, as contentious as it is, can supplement hand authored art, allowing for higher fidelity in small teams. Animation being a good example - from pose suggestion, to zero-cost mocap to making top shelf tech like Motion Matching accessible. Hard to say what the next decade holds, but I'd imagine it'll include a number of small teams punching well above their weight class.
I do hope the age of the corporate monolith is coming to an end. Gathering of Developers was always a nice idea to me, at least in broad strokes. I'd like to see a return - in terms of the greater freedom, and the collaboration that made it possible.
@Sketcz As a new arrival, that's great to hear - I'll be working my way through the backlog of articles for some time. The books in the pipeline - will they be affiliated with HCG or should I be keeping an eye elsewhere?
As for the state of the industry, I'm cautiously optimistic that the shuttering of many of the more vitriolic/outrage driven outlets combined with shifting consumer sentiment might just spell a return to simpler times. You know, when developers, the gaming press and players where united in their appreciation of the medium, behind a single concern - the quality of the experience.
Maybe a touch optimistic, but as someone who was lucky enough to be involved in development at the tail end of the golden age, I can but hope.
@Sketcz As someone who's frequented and consistently enjoyed HCG101 over the years, I'd just like to say thanks. Do you still write for any online sites, or focus solely on published works?
@InsaneWade A lot of censorship happens at the pitch and preproduction level. Many of the games "censored" will never be announced, let alone released.
You mention Rockstar. Manhunt 3 was in pre-production when snubbed to avoid offense. Stakeholders of public companies tend to steer clear of controversy - especially since many have no interest in the games industry, only quarterly returns. They seldom see the outrage for what it is - cultivated, and unlikely to meaningfully effect sales.
Personally, I cannot fathom how subjecting creatives to fear and trepidation does anything other than undermine creativity. Maybe there's a reason we live in an age of annual franchise instalments and endless reboots - always adjusted for "modern audiences" as if the popularity of said titles wasn't the basis for the reboot being greenlit.
Comments 4
Re: Jack Thompson, The Man Who Tried To Ban GTA, Thinks Video Games Can Be Good, Actually
@InsaneWade
> That is good point on how pre-production usually goes through the process of censoring things before the public is aware...
Precisely. Except it is not a rarity. That concern now defines the creative process in AAA development. Just, concerns over profitability are now accompanied by legitimate fear of backlash and reprisal. In an industry that relies so much on word of mouth, few are willing to court controversy be it internal or external. It's simply not good for your career. Development used to be a free for all; Ideas, good or bad, flowed freely. That's gone. I don't believe creativity can flourish in such conditions.
Personally, I'd like to see a move away from singular, large budget productions in favour of a litany of smaller ones. I dislike blockbusters. Safe, tried and tested and designed to appeal to everyone. No one game can adequately appeal to everyone. Some design interests are mutually exclusive.
Instead, I'd prefer to see a market where more titles are tailored to a wider range of niche player-bases and release more frequently.
@Sketcz
Those look great, guess the collection will just have to grow.
As for budget, absolutely, though I'd argue a lot of that cost is as a result of corporate disconnect. If games stopped trying to be movies you could shave most AAA budgets in half outright with many not even being worse off for it.
It's an interesting time. Tech-art is evolving. More essential, more ubiquitous. Proceduralism is becoming more granular - a tool to assist, rather than a creative compromise. Machine learning, as contentious as it is, can supplement hand authored art, allowing for higher fidelity in small teams. Animation being a good example - from pose suggestion, to zero-cost mocap to making top shelf tech like Motion Matching accessible. Hard to say what the next decade holds, but I'd imagine it'll include a number of small teams punching well above their weight class.
I do hope the age of the corporate monolith is coming to an end. Gathering of Developers was always a nice idea to me, at least in broad strokes. I'd like to see a return - in terms of the greater freedom, and the collaboration that made it possible.
Re: Jack Thompson, The Man Who Tried To Ban GTA, Thinks Video Games Can Be Good, Actually
@Sketcz As a new arrival, that's great to hear - I'll be working my way through the backlog of articles for some time. The books in the pipeline - will they be affiliated with HCG or should I be keeping an eye elsewhere?
As for the state of the industry, I'm cautiously optimistic that the shuttering of many of the more vitriolic/outrage driven outlets combined with shifting consumer sentiment might just spell a return to simpler times. You know, when developers, the gaming press and players where united in their appreciation of the medium, behind a single concern - the quality of the experience.
Maybe a touch optimistic, but as someone who was lucky enough to be involved in development at the tail end of the golden age, I can but hope.
Re: Jack Thompson, The Man Who Tried To Ban GTA, Thinks Video Games Can Be Good, Actually
@Sketcz As someone who's frequented and consistently enjoyed HCG101 over the years, I'd just like to say thanks. Do you still write for any online sites, or focus solely on published works?
Re: Jack Thompson, The Man Who Tried To Ban GTA, Thinks Video Games Can Be Good, Actually
@InsaneWade A lot of censorship happens at the pitch and preproduction level. Many of the games "censored" will never be announced, let alone released.
You mention Rockstar. Manhunt 3 was in pre-production when snubbed to avoid offense. Stakeholders of public companies tend to steer clear of controversy - especially since many have no interest in the games industry, only quarterly returns. They seldom see the outrage for what it is - cultivated, and unlikely to meaningfully effect sales.
Personally, I cannot fathom how subjecting creatives to fear and trepidation does anything other than undermine creativity. Maybe there's a reason we live in an age of annual franchise instalments and endless reboots - always adjusted for "modern audiences" as if the popularity of said titles wasn't the basis for the reboot being greenlit.