The gaming industry, for what it is now, is something I don’t think I could be a part of. It is being run into the ground, in my opinion using the same formulas that movie studios are using. Take an old idea and rehash it with eight sequels, never listen to your customer base about what they want, and push out said game before it’s ready.
Some would argue that the latest sales figures from 2008 tell a different tale, but when you’ve got a tidal wave of titles coming out during a massive economic downturn, you end up with a lot of people looking for an escape from their worries in life, either through movies, video games, or drinking.
For the price, it seems like you’re not quite getting the same bang for your buck either in terms of hours of playtime with the AAA titles as one did not more than about 3 years ago. Even the endings to some leave us hanging or with predictability and no real twists to the plot. Not to mention the more and more draconian DRM measures being installed with these games.
Independent games do show a lot of promise. With bandwidth in great abundance and the cost of building a site to deliver content now so cheap, a lot of games that would have otherwise been overlooked even 5 years ago are now reaching a wide audience of gamers.
Casual games, as they are called, are like some kind of new niche when they’ve been around forever. It’s marketing droid speak that’s being used for puzzle and shorter games. Give it up. You don’t have to try and shove everything into its own bucket to make it fit. The sky’s the limit. Don’t give into the bullshit.
If someone likes a game, they’ll play it. And if they’re honest, they’ll probably even pay for it. Can’t stop the dishonest ones that just want to play but not pay. Also give up the idea that DRM is some kind of magic wand that will automatically start filling your coffers with gold. If anything you’ll just piss off your more loyal customer base that actually would have paid for your game.
CD checks are still good. Combine that into the installer with an Internet-based verifier. There, you’re done.
And this is why I will never work for a major game studio ever.
