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I wonder how much increasing fidelity requirements are the main culprit here? Myst was made by a team of about 7 people (only 4 of them full-time), in just abou

I wonder how much increasing fidelity requirements are the main culprit here? Myst was made by a team of about 7 people (only 4 of them full-time), in just about 2 years, and cost under a million (adjusted for inflation). Riven had a team twice the size, took twice as long, and cost 10-15x as much. Apart from Exile, which was handed to a more experienced developer who got it done faster and cheaper, the remaining sequels follow a similar trajectory.

Theodores 2mo ago
They sold six million copies and made a big profit from Myst, which they presumably invested in the company, to make the next game, with the profits from that (and the diminishing returns from Myst) topping up their coffers. At some stage of the journey they took so much money out of the company that they could not fund development without taking on loans, albeit as advances from publishers. Why does every business have to be based on debt, even if it is a financial success? With automotive, we have car companies that have been going for a century or more, and some of them have 'Open AI/SpaceX' levels of debt in the hundreds of billions, even though they have had a century to work out how to make cars. For example, VW. Sure they have had to buy many other brands, expand in China, pay for diesels that lied and much else, however, is it not possible for a single business to be financed by debt? Even the money printing machine that is Apple has untold billions in debt. They don't even make their own products. There are reasons for this, however, this stock market thing seems all about making debt, not 'money'.
- s1artibartfast 2mo ago
  Is this a genuine question? I could try to explain more, but debt allows you to have your cake and eat it too. I could save for 40 years for a house, or buy one today with debt today. In the latter case, I get to enjoy it now and save money on rent. Basically the whole world works this way. You could save and then spend, or spend then repay. In a lot of context, you make or save more by spending sooner than the cost of interest.
- swiftcoder 2mo ago
  I think the answer is always scope creep. You hit it big on a game, your ambition grows, the next game costs an order of magnitude more… eventually you either run out of money, or you build Star Citizen
inigyou 2mo ago
I've heard - on HN! - that today's kids, who didn't grow up in the graphics wars, don't care all that much about graphical fidelity.

Theodores 2mo ago

They sold six million copies and made a big profit from Myst, which they presumably invested in the company, to make the next game, with the profits from that (and the diminishing returns from Myst) topping up their coffers. At some stage of the journey they took so much money out of the company that they could not fund development without taking on loans, albeit as advances from publishers. Why does every business have to be based on debt, even if it is a financial success? With automotive, we have car companies that have been going for a century or more, and some of them have 'Open AI/SpaceX' levels of debt in the hundreds of billions, even though they have had a century to work out how to make cars. For example, VW. Sure they have had to buy many other brands, expand in China, pay for diesels that lied and much else, however, is it not possible for a single business to be financed by debt? Even the money printing machine that is Apple has untold billions in debt. They don't even make their own products. There are reasons for this, however, this stock market thing seems all about making debt, not 'money'.

s1artibartfast 2mo ago
Is this a genuine question? I could try to explain more, but debt allows you to have your cake and eat it too. I could save for 40 years for a house, or buy one today with debt today. In the latter case, I get to enjoy it now and save money on rent. Basically the whole world works this way. You could save and then spend, or spend then repay. In a lot of context, you make or save more by spending sooner than the cost of interest.
swiftcoder 2mo ago
I think the answer is always scope creep. You hit it big on a game, your ambition grows, the next game costs an order of magnitude more… eventually you either run out of money, or you build Star Citizen

inigyou 2mo ago

I've heard - on HN! - that today's kids, who didn't grow up in the graphics wars, don't care all that much about graphical fidelity.