Starfield was the biggest letdown ever for me
They really should’ve done something like the outer worlds where the game takes place is one solar system.
It was honestly the design choice to make it procedural generation and then leaving the universe as a new game plus. That killed it completely.
That and the horribly boring story. Emil Pagliarulo should have been fired over a decade ago.
Edit: Also the fact that the most fun parts of space travel are cutscenes. Probably because of the limitations of using the same damn engine they’ve been keeping on life support since 1997.
The engine definitely needed an upgrade , that’s for sure
Didn’t exactly one small developer say this in a tweet and even then everyone took it out of context?
Straw men don’t have security details
Huh?
I think it’s less that they intentionally under deliver, and more that how the actually run leads to bad products. The executives and consultants brought in try and run studios like they’re software companies. Which, yes, technically video games are software, but they’re more than that.
With a lot of software, a short turn around is important if you want to make sure your product isn’t outpaced by a competitor before it even launches. bugs can be patched out over time so shipping with a few bugs is fine so long as you’re getting to market as soon as possible. Breaking the project up in to lots of small items that can be independently worked on without interfering or relying on other items means you can expand the team easily to keep up with deadline.
On a video game, consumers care more about the experience of the released product and less about it being the most technically advanced. Huge bugs at release mutes any excitement, even if the issues are patched out later. Multiple teams working on a bunch of items in parallel will struggle to make a cohesive experience and the design guidelines put in place to make this possible will mute creativity. A handful of cohesive long quest lines makes for a better RPG than a 100 little independent quest scattered over the map.
Better to have smaller teams that work over longer time frames and release a product when it’s ready, 150 million dollars will make a much better product with a 100 person studio over 6 years than a 300 person studio in 2 years.
Absolutely, you can’t treat art like it’s a “functional” product. You can’t use a strategy that’s excellent at painting houses to suddenly make a perfect portrait.
What about games that take 6 years and still suck? Like Halo?
Halo: Combat Evolved sucks? That’s a hot take - been a few years, but I did enjoy playing it, massive controllers and all. Or did you have a specific one in mind?
No, the new Halos
The release of BG3 makes absolutely cackle to think about how the Elder Scrolls series can’t get away with recycling their old tricks anymore.
So Belgium isn’t a western Nation? Or who does Anon think made Baldur Gate 3?
And Japanese AAAs don’t under deliver?
They probably bought into the propaganda that all of Europe is overrun by Muslims.
Europe is what? How does one even come up with that? Who says it?
Atomic Heart, Metro, STALKER. It is american studios that underdeliver. And Ubisoft.
Or CD Project Red from Poland (The Witcher series, Cyberpunk, GOG.com). Or Larian Studios from Belgium (Divinity Series, Baldurs Gate 3). Or Platinum Games from Japan (Bayonetta Series, NieR:Automata, Vanquish, Astral Chain).
You’re correct, it’s the unhinged US turbocapitalistic corporatocracy that just produces more and more trash. Won’t change either, best is to just treat names like “Ubisoft”, “EA” or “Microsoft” printed on games like huge red flags and avoid them, no matter how good the manipulative marketing is. Saves money and nerves.
It’s less “purposely underdeliver” and more “You mean I need to raise 300 million dollars to even try?”
But hey, Anon can gamble nine figures of their own money next time. I’m sure they’d do great.
FF7 cost about $90M when adjusted for inflation and was one of the most expensive games to developed in it’s time, but yh, yOu CaN’t MaKe A gOoD gAmE fOr LeSs ThAn $300M!!!
