Well, nowadays, as far as indie developers trying to make "sandbox" games goes, there seems to be one common thread. The number of "features" planned for the game is usually inversely proportional to the size of the dev team.
How these guys ever believe that they can pull all that off in a 3D gameworld just baffles me, given their meagre resources and experience. None of the recent attempts have delivered a fraction of what they promised at the outset, and most require a few thousand people to give them a AAA-level monthly sub for the next 2 to 3 years before they MAY get a reasonably playable and filled-out gameworld running.
Innovation is not a requirement for success per se, but it would be the cherry on top. Solid gameplay and a minimum of nasty bugs, dupes and exploits are non-negotiable prerequisites for success in today's market.
Indie games can't compete on polish or content, its not their fault. Actually some indie devs can and have, but most can't.
First of all mmorpg does not need to be as big as WoW in terms of playerbase to be considered succesful as proapbly we won't see second mmorpg with 12 mln subs in loooong time.
This.
WoW is the exception, not the rule. However, big companies refuse to see this and think they can get just as many more subs if not more than WoW.
They never have.
Mark Jacobs is (in)famously quoted for wanting a huge slice if not all of the WoW pie. It cost him his job.
Was it Matt Frior that said he would rather make 10 $20,000,000 games rather than 1 $200,000,000 game?
MMOs dont have to cost insane amounts of money, but they have set budgets and expect returns from what they anticipate as 5+ million subs on day one with infinitely increasing subs thereafter, so they go hog wild with the money.
But they want to spend money on mocap, VOs, celebrities, etc. so the price gets jacked up.
MMOs are made by people who want money. Not by people who want to make a game.
Games are no longer someone's "baby" they are viewed as printing presses and are thrown away when they dont produce.
Comments
Indie games can't compete on polish or content, its not their fault. Actually some indie devs can and have, but most can't.
This.
WoW is the exception, not the rule. However, big companies refuse to see this and think they can get just as many more subs if not more than WoW.
They never have.
Mark Jacobs is (in)famously quoted for wanting a huge slice if not all of the WoW pie. It cost him his job.
Was it Matt Frior that said he would rather make 10 $20,000,000 games rather than 1 $200,000,000 game?
MMOs dont have to cost insane amounts of money, but they have set budgets and expect returns from what they anticipate as 5+ million subs on day one with infinitely increasing subs thereafter, so they go hog wild with the money.
But they want to spend money on mocap, VOs, celebrities, etc. so the price gets jacked up.
MMOs are made by people who want money. Not by people who want to make a game.
Games are no longer someone's "baby" they are viewed as printing presses and are thrown away when they dont produce.