I used to think that would be the best approach, but then I watched Star Citizen’s development. Without the pressure of a publisher, the creative leads got to focus 100% on their vision.
Turns out that means unbelievable (to us) scope. creep. Creative visionaries are great at their creative vision, but not so much at managing schedules and running a business. They need to butt heads with someone that cares about the money so that they compromise ends up being the masterpiece we all love.
Katana314@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I think the one gap there is allowing for expansion. I could be making assumptions about Star Citizen’s team size, but one thing a publisher could do is block overhiring.
“Hey, we’d like to make ours an open world game with over 130 quests! Can we have some other content teams on contract?”
“No.”
“…Oh. Well then maybe…? Uh, I guess I’ll adjust my plan.
Honestly, even a failure like “1 team is infinitely making cruft” is not as financially damaging as it sounds, when compared to a high-budget game failing.