Except the problem was that’s exactly what they were told to do and told they were supported to do by Microsoft. Spencer told them to go make another expensive weird game because he thought the broadening would enhance Gamepass etc. he was wrong, and was replaced, but it still wasn’t ’their fault’.
username_1@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Lesson 1: You can do a strange game if you want, it will be acclaimed if done without obvious bugs. But you won’t get much money from that. Especially when you’re under the corporate boot and should give away most of the income anyway.
Lesson 2: You can’t skip lesson 1, make ANOTHER strange game and expect to stay in business.
OscarRobin@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
JoMiran@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Cyan, makers of Myst:
Image
lIlIlIlIlIlIl@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Because the 1997 games market is EXACTLY THE SAME as the 2026 market.
Duh.
BladeFederation@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
One would think the market is more susceptible to strange games in 2026. Everyone loves their hyper niches with other forms of media.
lIlIlIlIlIlIl@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
If one thought that, one would be creating stories unburdened by grounding facts and reality
Never let reality get in the way of a good story
username_1@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Myst had classical “adventure” gameplay. Slightly different UI and rather crazy plot, but under the hood it was just an adventure game with puzzles. Hellblade 1-2 was a walking simulator without even a cool plot. The only “killer feature” was the face animation of the main personage.
iamthetot@piefed.ca 2 weeks ago
I haven’t played 2 yet, but gonna have to defend 1 here… I thought the plot, while not mind-blowingly good, was both engaging and good.
natecox@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
BladeFederation@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I thought it was interesting enough of a premise that I played the first game. The audio design was top notch, especially the voices in her head of course. But the plot went absolutely nowhere, and it doesn’t have anything to say about psychosis or the causes and consequences of it. And isthe combat is bad. There was no world where I would have played the second game unless it reviewed differently.
mohab@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
You gonna also comment on how mind-numbingly pedestrian the combat was? The uninspired puzzles? Or did you just watch the game on YouTube?
Like, I’m glad the game changed your life, but we’re hear to discuss video games and you’re surprised someone called a glorified walking simulator boring?