4 ms·

> There are a handful of contenders in the video game entertainment industry who are really capable of creating a metaverse like thing with stunning detail, but

> There are a handful of contenders in the video game entertainment industry who are really capable of creating a metaverse like thing with stunning detail, but this? John Carmack is spent. Richard Garfield also created Artifact. Niantic also created Wizards Unite. Markus Persson made some videos of some kind of Stargate Universe spaceship game with a programmable 16 bit computer. It sounded cool, but people hated it before it was even released. There are 100 billionaire 35-45 yo men with fond memories of Civilization, Diablo, Halo trying to make video games hiring the top game designers. And they get flops! > are a handful of contenders in the video game entertainment industry who are really capable of creating It's just super really fucking risky. It's not this, VC thing where you are just putting out winners over and over again. There are no Marc Lore types in gaming. There's no exit strategy for Marc Lores of gaming. And if you don't have any idea what I'm saying or talking about at this point, if you're like, who the fuck is Marc Lore, you are not comprehending how far you are from understanding the challenge of making these games with huge audiences that last for years. You are just as likely to get a hit from an extremely talented and lucky unknown as you are from Richard fucking Garfield. A title that cost its developer $1 to make can become a #1 App Store game at roughly the same a-priori likelihood as a game with a $100m budget. The mistake wasn't taking a risk. Better Zucc make video games than a payment system or a crypto trading platform or a spare room rental company. The mistake is that John Carmack is a dick.

munificent 4y ago
> It sounded cool, but people hated it before it was even released. My recollection was that a bunch of people were really excited, a bunch of people were like, "What is this?", and then Notch basically just lost interest and wandered off. I think he's one of those people that needs externally imposed structure and doesn't know what to do with himself now that he's super rich.
lofaszvanitt 4y ago
Oh man, are you high? :DDDD ---" There are 100 billionaire 35-45 yo men with fond memories of Civilization, Diablo, Halo trying to make video games hiring the top game designers. And they get flops! ---" Examples of these big flops please. Creating a big title is a team effort. You can shove your top designer if he doesn't have a proper team. Ex blizzard guys, almost all of them failed, why? Because they jumped out, believed they were hotshots, but their team/general game idea was lacking. Also look what happened to David Jaffe without Sony's backing... If you have the money, but don't know jackshit about games, and you don't have a Steve Eisman quality bullshit detector, what are you expecting? Btw there are a lot of excellent indie titles that trump big titles while made by a few individuals, but only a fraction of gamers know about them, because they don't have the money plus marketing machine needed to bring them to a wider audience. Pour your zillions there or hire me, give me a shitton of money, power to kick people in the balls and you'll get your 10x return, lol. Plus how is this relevant? All I'm saying that the tech is ready, can be made, there are perfect VG examples that can be used as a VR/MV setting, but what Meta showcased is a letdown.
gilmore606 4y ago
> You are just as likely to get a hit from an extremely talented and lucky unknown as you are from Richard fucking Garfield. A title that cost its developer $1 to make can become a #1 App Store game at roughly the same a-priori likelihood as a game with a $100m budget. Given this, where is the YCombinator for games? Why isn't someone funding 100,000 ConcernedApes and ToadyOnes in an attempt to cash in on the next Stardew Valley? Serious question.
- lmm 4y ago
  The ROI on making games is still negative, the industry runs on unpaid dream-chasing. Same reason there's no YCombinator for rock stars.
- Dracophoenix 4y ago
  The "Ycombinator of Games" was Kickstarter at one point, but there have been few major successes from that. Unreal Grants, Steam, Patreon, and itch.io are today's best analogues. Personally, I don't think a Ycombinator model for games would be appropriate unless you think MMOs/GaaS are the only things worth playing.

munificent 4y ago

> It sounded cool, but people hated it before it was even released. My recollection was that a bunch of people were really excited, a bunch of people were like, "What is this?", and then Notch basically just lost interest and wandered off. I think he's one of those people that needs externally imposed structure and doesn't know what to do with himself now that he's super rich.

lofaszvanitt 4y ago

Oh man, are you high? :DDDD ---" There are 100 billionaire 35-45 yo men with fond memories of Civilization, Diablo, Halo trying to make video games hiring the top game designers. And they get flops! ---" Examples of these big flops please. Creating a big title is a team effort. You can shove your top designer if he doesn't have a proper team. Ex blizzard guys, almost all of them failed, why? Because they jumped out, believed they were hotshots, but their team/general game idea was lacking. Also look what happened to David Jaffe without Sony's backing... If you have the money, but don't know jackshit about games, and you don't have a Steve Eisman quality bullshit detector, what are you expecting? Btw there are a lot of excellent indie titles that trump big titles while made by a few individuals, but only a fraction of gamers know about them, because they don't have the money plus marketing machine needed to bring them to a wider audience. Pour your zillions there or hire me, give me a shitton of money, power to kick people in the balls and you'll get your 10x return, lol. Plus how is this relevant? All I'm saying that the tech is ready, can be made, there are perfect VG examples that can be used as a VR/MV setting, but what Meta showcased is a letdown.

gilmore606 4y ago

> You are just as likely to get a hit from an extremely talented and lucky unknown as you are from Richard fucking Garfield. A title that cost its developer $1 to make can become a #1 App Store game at roughly the same a-priori likelihood as a game with a $100m budget. Given this, where is the YCombinator for games? Why isn't someone funding 100,000 ConcernedApes and ToadyOnes in an attempt to cash in on the next Stardew Valley? Serious question.

lmm 4y ago
The ROI on making games is still negative, the industry runs on unpaid dream-chasing. Same reason there's no YCombinator for rock stars.
Dracophoenix 4y ago
The "Ycombinator of Games" was Kickstarter at one point, but there have been few major successes from that. Unreal Grants, Steam, Patreon, and itch.io are today's best analogues. Personally, I don't think a Ycombinator model for games would be appropriate unless you think MMOs/GaaS are the only things worth playing.