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One of the comments on that article really hit home with me: I personally think this just highlights everything that is wrong with the games industry at the mo

One of the comments on that article really hit home with me: I personally think this just highlights everything that is wrong with the games industry at the moment. Genius creator of an epic, brilliant, open-ended, proper clasic game is reduced to making cutesy, family-friendly gimicks that (here's the big sell) uses a motion controller. Woooooo - Big deal. No games pubslisher nowdays would ever take a punt on what might end up being the next Populous, Civ or Elite games. Braben should be livid with the stagnation. Sure, I understand the market mechanics behind the game industry these days, and do see he has little other choice. But it does make me feel a little sad inside. Things have changed so much in gaming, I don't think we can expect an Elite 4 ever.

reitzensteinm 16y ago
Woah, I think you're overreacting a bit there! Just like any other entertainment industry, money has entered the gaming industry and it has matured. Mainstream big games cost tens of millions of dollars to make. But there are more cool projects happening on the fringe than ever before, led by small teams of indie and commmercial developers, willing to take on a whole bunch of risk and try new things. Minecraft, Dwarf Fortress, Braid and the like basically are the Elites of the 21st century. The most expensive games to produce are basically formulaic safe bets, but that should not take away from your enjoyment of the great games being made every day. In much the same way as the music charts being topped by pop rubbish shouldn't take away from enjoyment of the many great innovative bands with small(er) followings. I think there's a good middle ground, too, which I think creates substantial value. Lots of high quality games take elements from existing successful games, and reshape them to make something fresh (but not innovative). This is basically what I'm attempting to do with my gaming startup (see: http://www.bigblockgames.com http://www.bigblockgames.com). But this approach is inherently cautious - I know it's not going to make me stumble on the next Minecraft!
- wladimir 16y ago
  Ok, you are completely right there. I hadn't thought about that. I was just a bit awash with one of my childhood hero game developers now making shallow toys :)

reitzensteinm 16y ago

Woah, I think you're overreacting a bit there! Just like any other entertainment industry, money has entered the gaming industry and it has matured. Mainstream big games cost tens of millions of dollars to make. But there are more cool projects happening on the fringe than ever before, led by small teams of indie and commmercial developers, willing to take on a whole bunch of risk and try new things. Minecraft, Dwarf Fortress, Braid and the like basically are the Elites of the 21st century. The most expensive games to produce are basically formulaic safe bets, but that should not take away from your enjoyment of the great games being made every day. In much the same way as the music charts being topped by pop rubbish shouldn't take away from enjoyment of the many great innovative bands with small(er) followings. I think there's a good middle ground, too, which I think creates substantial value. Lots of high quality games take elements from existing successful games, and reshape them to make something fresh (but not innovative). This is basically what I'm attempting to do with my gaming startup (see: http://www.bigblockgames.com http://www.bigblockgames.com). But this approach is inherently cautious - I know it's not going to make me stumble on the next Minecraft!

wladimir 16y ago
Ok, you are completely right there. I hadn't thought about that. I was just a bit awash with one of my childhood hero game developers now making shallow toys :)