Everyone loves a triple A title. Afterall, they usually offer the best and most expansive experiences in gaming. They are not however infallible, nor is the industry that produces them indestructible. More and more us gamers worry about the price of the next-gen games going up, we worry about the onset of on dis-DLC and sequel after sequel leading to another great gaming crash.
In this Gamasutra article, Colin Campbell discusses the dangers that lie ahead for the AAA title that we have come to know and love. One such danger was kind of addressed on this website before, the use of celebrity voice actors and other such frivolous non-sense bloating up the cost of games for a star power that doesn’t seem to work.
Edmund McMillen, creator of The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy said, “Triple-A games cost as much as studios want them to cost. It’s all about how much money they want to waste on celebrity voice actors, over-the-top cut scenes and tons and tons of talent. It’s very possible to make a small triple-A game that does amazing and costs very little, but I think most people view triple-A as bloated story-driven RPGs and crazy shooters with famous actors.”
He added, “The consequences for game developers who aren’t part of this group of people is simple, it’s easier now for smaller teams to make more innovative projects and take bigger risks than these large budget games. It’s becoming more and more polarized as more money is at risk.”
This is a major driving force in the indie game industry, and for a long time I have wanted the major developers in the industry to take an indie game style of approach. Sadly, a lot of emphasis in the market has been placed on keeping everything high tech. I have gone through many comments on large sites like YouTube of N4G and have seen how people equate technical superiority with good gaming experience. It is getting harder for mid-tier games to be made anymore, where one flop can sink the whole company.
