Games today seems so serious, focused on realism in graphics and gameplay. In the 80’s and 90’s, especially the 80’s it was possible for a programmer to make a game alone. Today a programmer has to rely on expensive artists, expensive programs, and he might have to find another programmer for more advanced features, then in the end be told the game looks like a pile of crap.
And everything is now about the iPhone and Android.
The commercial section is a difficult read - so many people competing for small money, and “studios” trying to make the next Need for Speed or Warcraft/MMO/blah/blah looking for the lowest bidder or even for free. The collaboration forum has potential, but it is abused by fake studios looking for free labor to make the next “blockbuster game” knock off.
Anyone else feel that game development has lost its meaning, and its fun?
Well it depends on what you consider game development to be as a hobby or as a business.If you consider it as a hobby then it doesn’t really matter.If you consider it as a business then you need to take it seriously.
HAS to? There are a great deal of very successful games out there with minimal (or “simple”) art. Often created by individuals (most often “programmers”).
I think there’s always plenty of room for the big AAA titles and the smaller, more traditional games to coexist. There’s plenty of customers out there on both sides of that fence.
Nope, you’re just looking at AAA games–there’s a lot more to gaming than that. Indie games have more exposure than ever these days, so much so that non-indies have been trying to get in on the action lately with their fake “humble bundles”. Also even in the '80s it was pretty rare for one person to do everything; generally you had a programmer and a graphics guy and a sound guy at least.
I understand this frustration, wholeheartedly. Ignoring the success stories who did not go this route - and there are more than a few, actually - one of the things that I feel holds my project back in the eyes of those who see it are the fact that, since I am not a skilled 3D modeler/texture artist…or environmental artist…or various other types of artist…that my game will not be taken seriously. And I have to fight that every day I wake up.
I also have to fight the dread of creating another art asset. Assets take time, and when you’re not good at something, it just makes it worse; it’s something that is messing with me, but I have to buck up and persevere, or my tale will not get told.
The problem is one that, for the artists, has arisen out of necessity. They go to school for this stuff, and know it well. Disciplines like color theory, perspective, knowledge of art styles through history are tempered by study the way we programmers learn to master code and the idiosyncracies that occur inside our computer. They have to be paid for the debt they get into to learn, and have to be paid to live.
Thus, it only makes sense they would decry non-artist art. It removes their value, takes money out of their pocket. And they’re good at what they do.
However - and I speak from experience I am undergoing - for every comment like:
…or…
…or my personal favorite…
…Bear in mind that you’re not really inspiring us to hire you. I judge my work harshly as it is, and have to fight a great deal of personal inertia on any given day in the world of art - I will readily admit I could code circles around your best model, giving it a stat system, communicating with the particle emitter positioned just beneath the jetpack, and allowing it to turn green when afflicted with the Poison debuff!
So, you want credibility with your programmer compatriots (we are working toward the same goal, y’know)? Start by giving us the positive (that’s some great low-poly human topology! I like the feet and lower torso in general! Love the hand-painting on the head and hair!), and also tell us how to improve (‘The breast area is too pronounced and sharp; perform a loop cut there to make that area look more nature. Consider being a bit lighter on the shading on the upper torso, it’s a touch too dark. The metal plating should be darker, because real armor is dark, yet highly specular.’) Chances are, by helping us improve, we’ll figure, ‘you know what? This artist is good at what they do. I should pay a few extra dollars for them to do it, while I continue coding.’ And you’ll get your sale, that you totally deserve, and possibly start a long healthy working relationship.
All those words are to say: consider your critiques. I realize as an artist you’re in the business of perfection. But, you have to realize some people are trying to make something and not strive towards perfection, particularly engineers. It’s a paradigm shift that both sides are unwilling to make, because it is unnatural for either side to willingly adopt the alternate paradigm, but to improve the air quality, we both need to try to live on that other side. We may gain better perspective of our original discipline by doing that!
When are those who involved in it strictly as a business, everything is either a blockbuster or judged as dollar store crap. Similar to how slot car racing lost its fun when there people started bringing in specially designed controllers and feedback systems.
game developing is very fun when I can think of a cool idea. I love sitting around and coding for hours on end. After a hard day of creating, it fills me with excitement because I can say that I completed something.
The worst part about developing nowadays is coming up with a proper game concept at the right time. Most games are cloned and cloned endlessly into dilapidated messes. Most devs are about the money only. I develop because I like the feeling that I can accomplish something and make the users of my product happy.
Look at cargo commander made by 2 guys and is alot of fun (although fun being a very subjective word). It always seems like the guys who make the most successful games are never usually frequent commenters.
Game development can certainly be disillusioning and discouraging, given the HUGE number of people now involved, the HUGE competition, and the massive upswing in expected standards and tools. It used to be you had to write real low-level program code, now people are creating advanced games with simple scripts and visual programming tools. It used to be there just wasn’t that much great art in games and it was therefore easy to create art that was simultaneously crap and yet cutting-edge at the time. Now the standards are massively higher and more and more people are joining teams to be even more competitive. For a single lone developer doing your entire game and all of its graphics and sound by yourself, it IS a tuff challenge to come out anywhere near on top with something people will get behind. There used to be such a thing as a “bedroom programmer”, capable of making a full game and being recognized for it amidst a relatively small market. But now there is this flood of people jumping on the bandwagon with modern tools - game development isn’t a specialty so much anymore, it’s become much more casual and the barrier to entry is much lower - ie it’s a lot easier to make something. But at the same time the bar has been lifted so high. What is one solo developer to do to get themselves known? And how can it be fun when you’re up against insurmountable odds?
What makes it NOT fun is focussing on the oppression of what everyone is doing and comparing what they’re doing to what you’re doing. Every time I look at a site like edge.com or something AAA-game relayed it is extremely demoralizing, because there is absolutely no way I will ever make games that even scrape the surface of what those games are doing. You can’t compete with that without some crazy super-good talent and a lot of time and probably a lot of money to farm stuff out. Fact is if you’re going solo then you have to be a coding ninja, coming up with a distilled zen essence of gameplay goodness and graphical madness that will stand out from a hugely busy crowd as something different. Take VVVVVVV or SuperHexagon for example - created by one guy, has enjoyed a fair amount of success, and yet the graphics are very simple. It’s not impossible to enjoy that success too but you have to put everything you’ve got into it, and being indie is probably the best place you will do that since it lets you go out on a limb to break the mold.
Other than that, your best bet might be to ditch indie development and make easy-to-play casual games through a portal like Big Fish Games, and hook up with an artist to help you. Maybe make a match-3 game or a solitaire derivative or something. Or keep kicking butt as an indie. I don’t know how feasible it is now to compete on mobile without a free-to-play model and lots of money, or luck, or some crazy good idea that everyone happens to go wild about. So if you really want to be an artist then to hell with what everyone else is doing and follow your heart.
I have to say, it does get boring from time to time. Sometimes I feel like working alone instead of with a team because I’m working too slow.
But then I get a burst of energy and get alot done.
I don’t think its becoming less fun. Its a matter of expectation.
A lot of people think “I’m gonna make games! Games are fun, so making them is also fun!”
While that is partially true (for some), its not 100% accurate.
I love making games. I’ve done it my whole life, and I’ll continue to do it for as long as I’m able. However, its not always fun. There are a lot of areas that are just plain work. Programming my interactive timeline was fun… once. Having to scrap full scripts and rewrite them… 6 times… not fun.
As a whole, I personally think making games is fun, but its absolutely not for everyone. You really have to love what you do to continue in the gaming industry.
Not really related to your rant, jazz9, as I understand your point, but …
“Work” was never supposed to be fun anyway, on the long term, whatever the job is.
Take for example what are considered to be the funniest activities, like drawing, turned into a job : graphism.
People expecting the job to be “fun” and “entertaining” just because it looks fun, or because they found it fun when they tried it for a few days, … are a problem.
It’s also why “supposed to be fun” activities (graphism, visual creation) are less paid than supposedly “more serious ones” (coding, administration).
“Oh come on, you have a lower salary for drawing your little characters on a screen, but at least you’re having fun”.
… -_-
Then comes the day when they want to try it too, “just to have fun”, only to hit a brickwall a few weeks later. Admitting it’s not all fun and amusement.
/golfclap
Actually… software like Unity has made it once again possible for single developers to make games on their own. If you look at the top iOS games, there is nothing realistic about them… Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies, Cut the rope, fruit ninja. These games have literally made millions of dollars and they are not realistic. (yes they are made by teams)… but “realism” is not really an issue. People are perfectly happy with plumbers eating mushrooms and still play that stuff.
You can do so much with the free version of Unity. Sure you can’t make something as good looking as Gears of War but you can still make some amazing stuff and SELL it if you want using the FREE version of Unity.
I am having a lot of fun developing my game. The other day, I got a group of friends together and a couple bottles of wine ($20 total) and I had them play test my game. ($20 total for 5 play testers for a couple hours is pretty cheap!) I felt such joy watching them play and die and figure things out.
Lots of my musician friends feel the way you do… is making music fun anymore? … software and technology has made it possible for the average guy to distribute his music online. I can literally record something today… submit it (through cdbaby.com) and 7 days later it’s in the iTunes store. This was a fantasy 10 years ago.
Anyway…
Big ideas take lots of people. Yeah, 1 programmer to make pong. But even 8 bit NES games started to take teams of people.
Take your current idea to completion… and release it. The joy you will get from FINISHING something will be much better than not finishing 10 ideas.
Take all your planned features for your game… get rid of half of them… now get rid of another half of them… seriously… it’s the only way.
I make games as a hobby so yes it’s fun for me. I wouldn’t see it fun if I was doing it as my main source of income though. The reason I say that is because when it’s your main source of income you need to make games that sell and not what you see fun, but what is trending and what makes money.
Making games as a hobby lets me make games that I my self would like to play and think is cool and doesn’t matter if it sells, but if it does then I’ve some extra spending money.
I think the worst part of all of it is too many come into game development with absurd expectations. They think they’re going to make Call of Duty 3124, but instead you’re going to make a messed up mario or a half working tetris; you don’t start out making AAA, lol.
Creating games is still fun, at least for me who do this purely for recreational purposes.
True, in the 80’s the creators were able to do more on their own, mostly due to the limitations of the HW. Creating a sprite on the C-64 did not require higher education, music/sound was limited to the SID chip (and no samples), you had a fixed number of colors available to you, one resolution and one piece of hardware. You really knew what your game was going to run on, be it the VIC-20, Spectrum 48k, TI99/4A or whatever, so what you saw on the screen as a programmer/creator was the exact same thing the customer saw, and the game ran at that exact same speed.
Those were indeed The Days and for some, guys like the legendary Jeff Minter, these are still the same days as they were then. He still hammers away on his keyboard, digs hairy beasts and most probably still smokes his homegrown weed while coding out to Dark Side of the Moon.
And so do I… minus hairy beasts and the homegrown thing that is…
