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There are game types that just aren't possible without massive budgets. Huge open world games in particular can't be made without a large team of content creato

There are game types that just aren't possible without massive budgets. Huge open world games in particular can't be made without a large team of content creators[1]. For games like Red Dead Redemption, Breath of the Wild, etc... there isn't anything close to comparable coming out of a small studio anytime in the near future. Even CD Projekt Red, which is based in a low cost of living country spent $81 million developing The Witcher III. A small studio with a $2 million budget has absolutely no chance of making something that players who expect The Witcher III will think is good enough. And as technology (and budgets) progress, gamers expect more. More art, more story, more quests. The kind of content that we are nowhere near auto-generating. 1. I shouldn't say can't be made--can't be made up to the standards players expect. No Man's Sky and other games have tried, but procedural generation just doesn't come close to matching the quality and detail of more hand crafted open worlds.

Ralfp 8y ago
I would like to mention Avorion. Its sandbox space game developed by two guys with heavy emphasis on user-created content and procedural generation that I've bought on Steam sale two years ago for 7EUR and devs are still updating it adding new features and fixing issues: https://store.steampowered.com/app/445220/Avorion/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/445220/Avorion/ Its considerably small and limited in scope, yet game progression feels rewarding enough that some people (me included) have clocked hundreds of hours doing it. This is the kind of game I feel we need more of. Small games focused on limited number of features, continously improving those features.
- learc83 8y ago
  I don't mean to suggest that it's not possible for indie studios to make great games by limiting scope--clearly it is, and I'm working on one myself. Just that we have to remember that the key is that they are limiting the scope. There will always be a place in the market for games on a grander scale.

Ralfp 8y ago

I would like to mention Avorion. Its sandbox space game developed by two guys with heavy emphasis on user-created content and procedural generation that I've bought on Steam sale two years ago for 7EUR and devs are still updating it adding new features and fixing issues: https://store.steampowered.com/app/445220/Avorion/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/445220/Avorion/ Its considerably small and limited in scope, yet game progression feels rewarding enough that some people (me included) have clocked hundreds of hours doing it. This is the kind of game I feel we need more of. Small games focused on limited number of features, continously improving those features.

learc83 8y ago
I don't mean to suggest that it's not possible for indie studios to make great games by limiting scope--clearly it is, and I'm working on one myself. Just that we have to remember that the key is that they are limiting the scope. There will always be a place in the market for games on a grander scale.