{"id":159285,"date":"2021-01-20T16:00:23","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek\/"},"modified":"2021-01-20T16:00:23","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T13:00:23","slug":"have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek\/","title":{"rendered":"#Have Video Games Gotten Too Ambitious? \u2013 Review Geek"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a368846797ea\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a368846797ea\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek\/#Bigger_Stronger_Faster\" >Bigger, Stronger, Faster<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek\/#Games_Are_Expensive_to_Make\" >Games Are Expensive to Make<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek\/#Games_Need_More_and_More_Time\" >Games Need More and More Time<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek\/#%E2%80%A6_and_More_and_More_People\" >\u2026 and More and More People<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek\/#Hype_Escalation\" >Hype Escalation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious-review-geek\/#Bucking_the_Trend\" >Bucking the Trend<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Have Video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a>s Gotten Too Ambitious? \u2013 Review Geek&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content-area\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_67992\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67992 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/f8e72f7892f901bafdeb76ac167e6ebf\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/x6e891cf1.png.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.5WVw0uSIn2.jpg\" alt=\"Cyberpunk 2077 screenshot\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-credittext=\"CD Projekt Red\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">CD Projekt Red<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The last console generation was marked by a push for ever \u201cbigger\u201d games. Bigger worlds, more complex systems, bigger multiplayer arenas, and of course, better and better graphics. But recent events have shown that there\u2019s a point of diminishing returns when you widen the scope of development. Have we passed that point already?<\/p>\n<p>The debacle around the launch of <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em> is something of a watershed moment for those watching the AAA gaming space. Here\u2019s a title that was anticipated for almost a decade, that came from one of the most respected developers and publishers, that still managed to have major problems at launch, even according to the people who made it.<\/p>\n<p>As the release is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-01-16\/cyberpunk-2077-what-caused-the-video-game-s-disastrous-rollout\">further deconstructed and investigated<\/a>, we\u2019re seeing more and more of the same old problems: technical and quality assurance issues, profit-focused moves detrimental to the customers that buy the game, and managerial failures that create huge problems for the labor that makes the game itself.<\/p>\n<p>Developers and publishers are desperate to make games that break the mold, technically if not otherwise. It would be wrong to say that gaming as a medium is stagnating, but the direction towards which it\u2019s progressing\u2014at least among the kind of AAA games that make up the headlines\u2014is unsustainable. It\u2019s something that will have to be reckoned with, both by those who make games and those who play them.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bigger_Stronger_Faster\"><\/span>Bigger, Stronger, Faster<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When hashing out this article, I remember the progress of games from my childhood into adulthood. Just to give you a rubric, the first game I remember playing with any real clarity was <em>Sonic the Hedgehog 2<\/em>, released in 1992 for the Genesis. And the last big game I played was <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67991\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67991 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/bd73215c048e181f6c5c72c90c5e0b21\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/39d470cb.jpg\" alt=\"Sonic the Hedgehog screenshot \" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" data-credittext=\"SEGA\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">State of the art, circa 1992. <span class=\"imagecredit\">SEGA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That\u2019s a huge stretch of both time and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. But it\u2019s also deceptive because the largest gains in that 28-year span were made in the first half, not the second. While the jump from 2D to 3D was something that rocked the gaming industry to its very core, we haven\u2019t seen another one like it since\u2014I\u2019d say the only thing that could come close would be the introduction of online multiplayer and digital distribution.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of scope and scale, I think all of the technical pieces for a grand game like <em>Cyberpunk<\/em> were there when <em>Skyrim<\/em> released a little less than 10 years ago. True, you couldn\u2019t make <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em> run on a PS3, and even if you could, it wouldn\u2019t be as big or as graphically groundbreaking. But the open world, the combat, the storytelling, the RPG elements? Yeah, all of those essential parts of the game could have been made two generations ago.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67993\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67993 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/5ad4479c23b847ee104dd0942d5d6cc0\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/195a59ce.jpg\" alt=\"The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim screenshot\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-credittext=\"Bethesda\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Games haven\u2019t advanced much in a structural sense since <em>Skyrim<\/em>. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Bethesda<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So, what\u2019s changed in terms of game design in the last decade? Not much, if you\u2019re only looking at AAA publishers. Games are bigger and prettier, and there\u2019s a much greater reliance on DLC and microtransactions. Player tastes have influenced trends, as they always do: <em>Dark Souls, Minecraft, <\/em>and <em>Fortnite<\/em> have left indelible marks on the structure of popular games. But the basic progressive structure, the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eal to the player to buy a new game, is the same. The new games will be bigger and more complex.<\/p>\n<p>This has remained true for the launch of the PS5 and Xbox <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Series<\/a> X. Microsoft, Sony, and all their developer partners are leaning in on technical prowess, things like superfast SSD drives and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/363608\/what-does-real-time-ray-tracing-mean-for-gamers-today\/\">ray traced lighting effects<\/a>. These are cool tech, but they aren\u2019t changing\u2014or even progressing\u2014the way games are made, in the way that breakthrough titles on the PS2 and Xbox were at the turn of the century. All it seems to be doing is making development longer and more expensive, chasing an audience of players that\u2019s reaching a saturation point.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a problem. And it\u2019s a problem in a lot of different ways.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Games_Are_Expensive_to_Make\"><\/span>Games Are Expensive to Make<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>Red Dead Redemption 2<\/em>, widely hailed as one of the best games of the last few years, has a visual presentation so complex that it famously features <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/red-dead-redemption-2-horse-balls-shrink\/\">dynamically sized horse testicles<\/a>. There\u2019s no official number on how much <em>RDR2<\/em> cost to develop, but Rockstar\u2019s previous open-world magnum opus, <em>Grand Theft Auto V<\/em>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2013\/09\/09\/gta-5-is-biggest-budget-video-game-ever-at-265-million-3955201\/\">has an official number of $265 million<\/a>. So if we were guessing, \u201cmore than that\u201d would be a safe bet.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67994\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67994 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/a7c869fdbf1ba455ce5808c457fe1944\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/xb98ddfc9.jpg.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.3vcV7ddEwG.jpg\" alt=\"Red Dead Redemption 2\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-credittext=\"Rockstar\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Rockstar<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Swinging back around to <em>Cyberpunk<\/em>, it\u2019s officially the most expensive game in history, at least among those whose budgets have been officially declared. A whopping\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/gamerjournalist.com\/how-much-did-it-cost-to-make-cyberpunk-2077\/\">$330 million dollars is the figure<\/a>, not counting an additional $200 million or so for a marketing budget. These are enormous, calendar-defining releases, but they\u2019re becoming more common. Square Enix\u2019s disastrous flop <em>Marvel\u2019s Avengers<\/em> reportedly cost over $170 million, almost as much as its 2012 namesake movie.<\/p>\n<p>These are staggering figures, involving teams of hundreds of people\u2014thousands, by the time you include everyone from the publisher to the distribution system. It\u2019s easy to understand why the cost of AAA games keeps going up. It\u2019s because games keep making more and more money\u2014<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/videogames-are-a-bigger-industry-than-sports-and-movies-combined-thanks-to-the-pandemic-11608654990#:~:text=Global%20videogame%20revenue%20is%20expected,North%20American%20sports%20industries%20combined.\">an estimated $180 billion (with a B) across the industry in 2020<\/a>, making it far and away the most lucrative entertainment medium, bigger than movies, bigger than live sports. The adage \u201cyou have to spend money to make money\u201d would seem to be in effect.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67995\" style=\"width: 1260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67995 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/a62a9b4d152f509ce06201d0e2ac8425\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/x7ddbaae4.jpg.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.APFc9cc2Ia.jpg\" alt=\"video game revenue chart for 2020\" width=\"1260\" height=\"836\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/videogames-are-a-bigger-industry-than-sports-and-movies-combined-thanks-to-the-pandemic-11608654990#:~:text=Global%20videogame%20revenue%20is%20expected,North%20American%20sports%20industries%20combined.\" data-credittext=\"MarketWatch\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/videogames-are-a-bigger-industry-than-sports-and-movies-combined-thanks-to-the-pandemic-11608654990#:~:text=Global%20videogame%20revenue%20is%20expected,North%20American%20sports%20industries%20combined.\">MarketWatch<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And games, like movies, are sold on scale. From <em>Titanic<\/em> to <em>Endgame<\/em>, from <em>Half-Life<\/em> to <em>Horizon<\/em>, the easiest way to make your game stand out from the crowd isn\u2019t by promising innovation. It\u2019s all about making the spectacle bigger, expanding the scope of the game world, the visuals, and the online multiplayer. That means spending more money than ever before, and convincing players to spend more of their own money on newer consoles that change little aside from the numbers on the spec sheet.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Games_Need_More_and_More_Time\"><\/span>Games Need More and More Time<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But you can\u2019t just throw money at a developer and expect a hit game to pop out\u2014just ask EA, which essentially did just that to Bioware and got <em>Anthem<\/em> in return. As massive techno-industrial projects, games require an incredible amount of time and organization to achieve. Part of the harsh backlash against <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em> is that it allegedly took eight years to complete, and well, clearly isn\u2019t actually complete yet.<\/p>\n<p>That figure might not be entirely fair. CD Projekt Red wasn\u2019t able to fully focus on <em>Cyberpunk<\/em> until it finished <em>The Witcher III<\/em>. Newer investigations show that work on <em>Cyberpunk<\/em> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/report-cyberpunk-development-didnt-really-start-until-1846072894\">didn\u2019t begin in earnest until 2016<\/a>. But the fact that we\u2019ve been hearing about this amazing new game for the better part of a decade illustrates the kind of time investment these things take much more than, say, the protracted and bungled development of <em>Duke Nukem Eternal.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67996\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67996 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/28d810e9c9f5b0fe922e1c13cef5a060\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/x91363184.jpg.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.NfE5EOLSqy.jpg\" alt=\"Anthem screenshot\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-credittext=\"EA\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Anthem<\/em> was supposed to be a live service revolution, but it ended up a rather sad Destiny clone. <span class=\"imagecredit\">EA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This time element is also why we\u2019re seeing fewer new properties in AAA games, why we get a new <em>Call of Duty<\/em> and <em>Assassin\u2019s Creed<\/em> more or less every year. Engines, art assets, and basic game design almost <em>have<\/em> to be recycled for sequels to make back some of that initial investment, turn around the work into a shorter development cycle, and (not least) absorb the cost of any potential failures in a publisher\u2019s lineup.<\/p>\n<p>Part of these protracted development cycles is the push towards more visually complex games and game worlds. <em>Cyberpunk, RDR2,\u00a0<\/em>and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.epicgames.com\/store\/en-US\/product\/watch-dogs-legion\/home\"><em>Watch Dogs: Legion<\/em><\/a> are all examples of games that push complexity in both visual fidelity and the underlying world\u2019s structure. And not for nothing, but they\u2019re both games that took years and years to make, even building on their developers\u2019 existing game engines and other tools.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67997\" style=\"width: 958px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67997 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/7dae08e5657a5502aab613e775e5dd5e\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/c6d766c4.jpg\" alt=\"Watch Dogs Legion screenshot\" width=\"958\" height=\"542\" data-credittext=\"Ubisoft\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Ubisoft<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But this push for more amazing games hits a limit, and it\u2019s the publisher. At some point, you have to pay the piper \u2026 the shareholders. Games that clearly came out to hit a schedule rather than their actual completion have been some of the most bungled, like the aforementioned <em>Anthem<\/em>, which was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/how-biowares-anthem-went-wrong-1833731964\">so poorly managed at the design phase<\/a> that it released with only a skeleton of content. You can add <em>Fallout 76<\/em> to that list. Even long-time <em>Fallout<\/em> fans will concede that it\u2019s a cynical attempt at making a new blockbuster release with leftover bits and pieces of <em>Fallout 4<\/em>, hoping bolted-on multiplayer could make up for sparse content and technical failings.<\/p>\n<p>The developers of both those titles have spent pretty much every moment since their release trying to fix them, desperate to turn flops into gold and justify the time and money that went into them. <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em>, for all its famous delays, clearly targeted the new generation of consoles late last year. Whether or not its release was \u201crushed,\u201d it came out in such a poor state that Sony made the unprecedented move of removing it from the online store. A decision presumably made to assuage impatient shareholders ended with a lawsuit being filed by the very same.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%A6_and_More_and_More_People\"><\/span>\u2026 and More and More People<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Unlike money, development time is measured on a human scale. All of the games mentioned had massive development teams, and all of these developers and publishers have been accused of overworking their developers to one degree or another.<\/p>\n<p>The definition of \u201coverworked\u201d varies, depending on who\u2019s using it, of course. But when CD Projekt Red had to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2020\/9\/29\/21494499\/cyberpunk-2077-development-crunch-time-cd-projekt-red\">break its own promise and schedule \u201ccrunch time\u201d<\/a> for its developers last year, it was a bad look for pretty much anyone. (CDPR\u2019s job page is titled \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.cdprojektred.com\/meet-the-rebels\/\">meet the rebels<\/a>,\u201d a somewhat unfortunate boast in retrospect.) Stories of game developers being worked to exhaustion, to the point of leaving the industry at best and psychological break at worst, are rampant.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67998\" style=\"width: 2182px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67998 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/0cad2f32ba0b0adff463af1e523fce51\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/46d7f55e.jpg\" alt=\"CD Projekt RED development office\" width=\"2182\" height=\"1455\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/en.cdprojektred.com\/meet-the-rebels\/\" data-credittext=\"CD Projekt RED\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.cdprojektred.com\/meet-the-rebels\/\">CD Projekt RED<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Crunch culture is something that\u2019s not unique to the game industry\u2014hell, I worked late into the evenings covering CES last week. It\u2019s a societal issue. But it\u2019s important to remember that we aren\u2019t just talking about money and calendars when we talk about the ever-increasing technical scope of games. We\u2019re talking about the sweat of real people, who can\u2019t be expected to boost their own output by 15% year-over-year just because that\u2019s the rate at which the industry is growing.<\/p>\n<p>The strain on development and production teams, more than budgets and expectations, is the most concerning aspect of the game industry\u2019s current escalation. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/big-union-make-videogame-workers-lives-sane\/\">Unionization<\/a>, which has for so long been a healthy and limiting weight on the film industry, may be able to help there. That\u2019s assuming that the power players in the game industry ever allow it to happen on a wide scale.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hype_Escalation\"><\/span>Hype Escalation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The aspect of the game industry\u2019s escalation that\u2019s most visible to gamers themselves is marketing hype. Now that gaming is the world\u2019s most lucrative form of entertainment, it has an advertising budget to match. It\u2019s even starting to snipe talent from other industries\u2014Hollywood golden boy Keanu Reeves for <em>Cyberpunk<\/em>, and oh-so-hot villain mainstay <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2020\/digital\/news\/giancarlo-esposito-far-cry-6-gus-fring-1234703712\/#:~:text=Giancarlo%20Esposito%20is%20taking%20another,of%2C%20unfortunately%2C%20a%20revolution.\">Giancarlo Esposito for <em>Far Cry 6<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_68000\" style=\"width: 1314px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-68000 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/e286cf8330f3073d1e5c6c980e94f1fa\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4d0f53fb.jpg\" alt=\"Keanu Reeves, promoting Cyberpunk 2077 (and his starring role) at E3.\" width=\"1314\" height=\"777\" data-credittext=\"Microsoft \" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keanu Reeves, promoting <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em> (and his starring role) at E3. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Microsoft <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But more than that, we\u2019re reaching the point where pretty much every new game has to promise a complete revolution, in its own genre if not for games as a medium. That\u2019s how <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em> was sold: a living, breathing world like nothing you\u2019ve ever seen before. To be frank, that\u2019s bupkis. It\u2019s an extremely pretty open world game (when it\u2019s working!) with <em>Deus Ex<\/em>-influenced combat and character progression. As an elevator pitch, that works fine \u2026 but it\u2019s underwhelming in the context of \u201cthe game that <em>The Witcher 3<\/em> developers spent the last eight years on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a gamer, you know that new titles are unlikely to change the industry on a bone-deep level, the way that <em>Mario 64, Final Fantasy VII, <\/em>or <em>Half-Life<\/em> did decades ago. The innovation of today is all about taking existing elements and using them in new ways\u2014basic shooter combat expanded in multiplayer arenas like Battle Royale, or focusing on intense technical challenges in souls-likes. Until VR starts being widely adopted (if it ever is), we\u2019ll see a gentle evolution, not a new paradigm shift every year or two.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_68001\" style=\"width: 1071px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-68001 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/09d6e58efca90d8217001bc1fbd56fd6\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ccc24cd8.jpg\" alt=\"Assassin's Creed Valhalla promotional website \" width=\"1071\" height=\"948\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.ubisoft.com\/en-us\/game\/assassins-creed\/valhalla\" data-credittext=\"Ubisoft\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla<\/em> marketing material, making big promises. <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ubisoft.com\/en-us\/game\/assassins-creed\/valhalla\">Ubisoft<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But developers can\u2019t come out and say that. Even as they release the thirteenth <em>Assassin\u2019s Creed<\/em> game, they have to promise incredible innovation with each new title. The marketing is aiming for an increasing level of excitement that simply can\u2019t be delivered upon with a bigger world or better graphics.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong, games are still good! But the idea that every big publisher can shatter expectations every year is laughable. Imagine if Ford tried to tell you that every new F-150 could go 30 miles faster and haul 10 tons more than the last model, every single year. It\u2019s a ludicrous elevation of expectation, and yet, that\u2019s where we\u2019re at with AAA games. Those who buy into it can\u2019t be blamed for listening to the hype \u2026 but that only means that they\u2019re left disappointed when reality returns.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bucking_the_Trend\"><\/span>Bucking the Trend<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>What\u2019s to be done about this Zeno\u2019s Paradox of escalating game production? Unless you\u2019re a publisher CEO or executive developer, not much. Managing expectations is a lesson they\u2019re going to have to learn for themselves, hopefully without running their employees into the ground in the meantime.<\/p>\n<p>As a gamer, you have the power to manage your own expectations. Understand that the hype machine is desperate to make you believe a game is going to change the industry, maybe even change the way you think about games themselves. That\u2019s almost never going to happen in a single title.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s hope in all this doom and gloom, and you don\u2019t have to wait for a video game industry bubble to burst in order to see it. Indie developers have made brilliant new titles on a fraction of the budgets of the games you see advertised on NFL broadcasts.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_68002\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-68002 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/72f26c1f1195ebe570e49ac6e8ca71e3\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/139a2654.jpg\" alt=\"Hades screenshot\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-credittext=\"SuperGiant Games\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">SuperGiant Games<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>Hades<\/em>, a comparatively simple title that nonetheless features great combat and inspired storytelling while playing with the basic expectation of player death, was widely considered the 2020 game of the year. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/972660\/Spiritfarer\/\"><em>Spiritfarer<\/em><\/a>, a game that is at its heart a long story about talking to people about their lives, wasn\u2019t far behind. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/632470\/Disco_Elysium\/\"><em>Disco Elysium<\/em><\/a> managed to shift the way we think about playing a character role, with a technical presentation that\u2019s decades out of touch with the zeitgeist (and several novels\u2019 worth of writing). Heck, <em>Among Us<\/em> is a shockingly simple mobile title that briefly became the biggest game in the world (at least going by technology <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>) during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>This realistic expectation of scope isn\u2019t exclusive to indie developers, either. I\u2019d argue that among the big three console players, Nintendo is doing a fantastic job managing its resources, focusing on making complete games that are within the grasp of the Switch\u2019s hardware. It\u2019s basically a smartphone on steroids, but that hasn\u2019t stopped its library from containing some of the best new games of the last several years.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_68003\" style=\"width: 1916px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-68003 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/9548815c575639acfc36b61a4e0f58a5\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/14ecc8c7.jpg\" alt=\"Dead Cells screenshot \" width=\"1916\" height=\"1080\" data-credittext=\"Motion Twin\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Motion Twin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So if you\u2019re tired of game publishers promising you the moon, then reading about how they had to work their employees to the bone before failing to deliver, remember that you have options. You can search for smaller and more satisfying games to play, knowing that there won\u2019t be any great leaps forward like there were in generations past. And that\u2019s okay. Buying these smaller-scope games from smaller teams is a great way to help the industry grow beyond the world of the mega-publishers<\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, the rise of game subscription services like Xbox Game Pass might help these smaller studios out a lot. Getting a chunk of the pie from subscriptions, instead of chasing huge launch day sales, could help stem the tide of ever-increasing development scope. Some of the best games in the (current) library, like <em>CrossCode, Dead Cells<\/em>, and <em>Subnautica<\/em>, come from smaller publishers and indie developers. It\u2019s the same broadening of the market into more interesting niches that\u2019s happening with streaming TV services.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, possibly very soon, we\u2019re going to hit a wall in terms of video game scope, budget, and technology. It\u2019s pretty much the game industry\u2019s job to inflate your expectations, up to and beyond that wall. Know that you don\u2019t have to take in the hot air if you don\u2019t want to.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','1137093656460433');fbq('track','PageView');},3000);<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/67396\/have-video-games-gotten-too-ambitious\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Have Video Games Gotten Too Ambitious? \u2013 Review Geek&#8221; CD Projekt Red The last console generation was marked by a push for ever \u201cbigger\u201d games. Bigger worlds, more complex systems, bigger multiplayer arenas, and of course, better and better graphics. But recent events have shown that there\u2019s a point of diminishing returns when you widen&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":159286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2021\/01\/6e891cf1.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}