3 ms·

I don't think that open-world design is that big of a factor anymore in the direction of modern games. It feels like that trend peaked 5-10 years ago with Ubiso

I don't think that open-world design is that big of a factor anymore in the direction of modern games. It feels like that trend peaked 5-10 years ago with Ubisoft. It's been replaced by much more insidious trends. As an old person, my take is that the business reality is what is ruining modern AAA games. To justify investing hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of people's time into producing a game, the game needs to be a global smash hit with a long tail. That means the game has to be a new lifestyle that a large group of consumers adopt, not just a game that they play once. It's so rare to find a AAA game today that is a standalone game that you can just quickly play and enjoy. Sports games have become gambling casinos where playing the sport is secondary. Open-world exploration games have been replaced with "RPG mechanics" where you have to do the same things hundreds of times to level up, like feeding bad guns to other bad guns to make very slightly better guns, infinitely. Shooters have become online lifestyles centered around skin collection and gambling. The main exceptions to this trend for AAA games are 'system sellers' bankrolled by Nintendo and Sony who make money based on system install base. It's hard out there for AAA publishers. There are scary stats like only 15% of Steam game playtime in 2024 was for games published in 2024. The most popular games by playtime are things like GTA V, Minecraft, Warframe, Counterstrike, DOTA, etc, many of which were published a decade ago or more. The market for a new game-as-a-lifestyle is saturated, and there are few new winners. I think indie games are doing a great job of filling a lot of the gaps left by modern AAA games. But I also mourn the death of the "B game." Puyo Puyo Tetris I/II is a great example - it's not an indie game, but it's not an expensive game to release. It's a mid-tier release for a niche audience. This is the kind of product you don't see much of anymore, and what I miss the most.

ASalazarMX 1y ago
> I also mourn the death of the "B game." Puyo Puyo Tetris I/II is a great example - it's not an indie game, but it's not an expensive game to release. It's a mid-tier release for a niche audience. This is the kind of product you don't see much of anymore, and what I miss the most. This is pretty insightful, as no established company is likely to release a game like these anymore. They want to trap you for years with Candy Crush alikes and perpetual analysis to tilt the balance between frustration and micropayments.

ASalazarMX 1y ago

> I also mourn the death of the "B game." Puyo Puyo Tetris I/II is a great example - it's not an indie game, but it's not an expensive game to release. It's a mid-tier release for a niche audience. This is the kind of product you don't see much of anymore, and what I miss the most. This is pretty insightful, as no established company is likely to release a game like these anymore. They want to trap you for years with Candy Crush alikes and perpetual analysis to tilt the balance between frustration and micropayments.