Are stunning AAA graphics significantly cheaper for game developers nowadays than in older days?

SEANMCAD

Gdemami said:

SEANMCAD said:
let me help clean that up a bit.

The Engine and tools are for the most part the same thing.
When you download Unreal or Unity that is the engine/tool. Now some firms have custom tools that work in the environment but on a whole those 'tools' do not represent a major difference in the overall games development and some of those tools can be gotten by indie companies just as well for nearly nothing.

Some companies make there own game engine but that is a bit like saying 'I dont want MS Office I am going to just make my own office software' you can. its expensive but you really dont gain much by doing so.

so..unreal used to be very expensive, now its basically free. all they ask for is a cut from your game sales.

I would expect to see a lot more high end graphic indie games.

Tools are used to create assets(art) - 3dMax, Photoshop, Maya, etc.

Engine is what put assets together along with other layers - database, physics, etc


You can surely buy some assets for some neutral settings/environment or just textures but by doing so you are losing one important factor of art in games - identity.

You will still likely need to create lots of assets by yourself anyway - characters, items, distinct locations, etc. and that will still take more resources than you can imagine. I would even say that assets you want to actually buy are the ones that are "easiest" to make yourself.


Not all engines are the same thus creating your own may fit your game better. Whether it is more expensive than to go with commercial one or just adapt your design/development is purely case by case basis.


I think even today we can see indie games with large disparities in graphics - landscape vs characters, objects, animations, etc. that is a result of bought assets.

ah yes.. good point my bad completely i totally forgot about the actual creation of assets.