I don’t see whats wrong with expecting AAA developers to spend more time on making better games without crunch is. The fact people like you will accept it not being the standard minimum for AAA developers is precisely why they will never do it.
Comment on [deleted]
rockSlayer@lemmy.world 10 months ago
BG3 set the highest standard for a game. It’s not a bad thing that it exists, and the studio absolutely deserves the praise they’re getting. However, we should not seek to make it the minimum standard. Larian Studios worked hard on this for over 5 years without crunch. The ABK’s, Bioware’s, EA’s, and Ubisoft’s of the world will not do that. Games should not come at the expense of abusive workplace practices. There’s something to say about having higher standards for variety and creativity absolutely, but the game in it’s entirety should not be the expectation.
I want shorter games with worse graphics, made by people that are paid more to work less and I’m not kidding.
eric5949@lemmy.cloudaf.site 10 months ago
woelkchen@lemmy.world 10 months ago
BG3 set the highest standard for a game. It’s not a bad thing that it exists, and the studio absolutely deserves the praise they’re getting. However, we should not seek to make it the minimum standard. Larian Studios worked hard on this for over 5 years without crunch.
If they made shorter but polished games without padded content, they’d achieve a similar level of quality. Heck, there are indie games by one person with an insane level of polish, just on a smaller scale. Cultic with its 4 hour length and retro graphics at a low price comes to mind.
dojan@lemmy.world 10 months ago
You’re aware that the AAA gaming industry is rife with crunch, theft, and abuse of workers, right?
How could little La-La-La-Larian accomplish this in a for their workers sustainable and responsible manner over the course of five years if big players like EA and Ubisoft cannot?
It’s not that the AAA devs can’t, it’s that they won’t. They have a formula that works. They are able to shit out a big puddle of diarrhoea on a yearly basis that people eagerly lap up, and so long as that remains the more profitable option they’ll sacrifice as many talented and passionate workers they can get their hands on.
The ultimate goal isn’t to create a good product, it’s for all us walking little wallets to spill as much money as possible, even if it means financially ruining ourselves in the process.
rockSlayer@lemmy.world 10 months ago
You’re responding to a AAA game dev. I work at one of the companies I listed. I’m very well aware of the abuses that occurs at these companies. The developers have 0 say it the timetables for launch. The people I work with are incredibly talented and capable of doing amazing work. The corporate side is where I have concerns, companies will literally grind employees to dust if it means making a game like BG in a corporate time span.
dojan@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Yes. The solution is a crash. Corporate is a festering pustule that’s just ready for popping.
I work in business applications development. While my interests were initially set on games dev, the absolute toxic cesspool that is the gaming industry set me down on a different path.
We don’t have crunch. We don’t always meet timelines, and yes the customer does get a final say in what features make it and which ones don’t, but the end result are happy customers and happy workers.
Can you say the same? Corporate is pushing greedier and more anti-consumer tactics, there are systems in place to feed on addicts and squeeze as much money out of people as possible.
There are so many reports of stress casualties, workers that burn out, some that even die, for what? A mediocre shitty product that had all of the creative vision stripped out for the sake of some garbage formula we’ve seen in every single game for almost two decades?
There is no benefit to anyone but shareholders. No good games are being made. Workers and customers are being exploited.
Let it crash.