Big developers are discovering that the technical progress of photorealism doesn’t always translate into the creative spark that gives gamers joy – and keeps them playing
The problem that AAA studios face is that high-fidelity is their unique selling point, it’s their niche of the market.
Every indie studio can produce a game that’s fun, so you don’t want to compete with those.
They have to produce titles with high-fidelity textures, with an extensive game world, story etc…
But as the indies get ever better, the AAA studios have to take more risks to be unique, which is why you see these ridiculous budgets and the invests not paying off so often…
On a positive note, the research and development from AAA studios also usually advances the industry as a whole.
The people who do that are proud of their work and give talks about how they achieved things. Something like power wash simulator kinda just would be a lot less fun on pre-doom graphics, or even on PS1 graphics.
The problem that AAA studios face is that high-fidelity is their unique selling point, it’s their niche of the market.
Every indie studio can produce a game that’s fun, so you don’t want to compete with those.
They have to produce titles with high-fidelity textures, with an extensive game world, story etc…
But as the indies get ever better, the AAA studios have to take more risks to be unique, which is why you see these ridiculous budgets and the invests not paying off so often…
That’s their other unique selling point: endless remakes.
On a positive note, the research and development from AAA studios also usually advances the industry as a whole.
The people who do that are proud of their work and give talks about how they achieved things. Something like power wash simulator kinda just would be a lot less fun on pre-doom graphics, or even on PS1 graphics.