Re:“It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”
by Bartweiss on Wednesday August 12, 2015 @03:46PM
(#10050169)
This, I think, is fundamentally the equation driving modern game design and the "indie revolution".
For AAA games, modern, high-end systems increase the difficulty of providing a product. Modern development tools help, but graphics demands and expectations are inexorably growing. In a world where animating reflections might be a full-time task, 6-10 people can't even count on developing a trailer for a AAA product.
In response, then, indie games. Why the rebirth of pixel art and simple, geometric visuals? Not because it's 'retro' or 'clean', but because it's easy. Procedural generation, low-poly graphics, and user generated content aren't popular because they produce the best products, they're popular because they're all decisions that slash the number of employees you need.
Woolfe's mistake was setting out to make their game as good as it could possibly be. For an indie team today that's simply not possible.
To paraphrase your producer, "3 years = Duke Nukem Forever".
For AAA games, modern, high-end systems increase the difficulty of providing a product. Modern development tools help, but graphics demands and expectations are inexorably growing. In a world where animating reflections might be a full-time task, 6-10 people can't even count on developing a trailer for a AAA product.
In response, then, indie games. Why the rebirth of pixel art and simple, geometric visuals? Not because it's 'retro' or 'clean', but because it's easy. Procedural generation, low-poly graphics, and user generated content aren't popular because they produce the best products, they're popular because they're all decisions that slash the number of employees you need.
Woolfe's mistake was setting out to make their game as good as it could possibly be. For an indie team today that's simply not possible.
To paraphrase your producer, "3 years = Duke Nukem Forever".