Oddworld Creator Says Capitalism Is Killing Games

[Hexen]

Oddworld Creator Says Capitalism Is Killing Games

Lorne Lanning laments current state of gaming industry.

by Daniel Starkey (http://www.gamespot.com/profile/DanCStarkey/) on March 30, 2015

In an interview with Games Industry International (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-03-27-capitalism-killing-games-and-the-world-lanning), Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning is wary of how capitalism encourages constant, exponential growth and massive game budgets. Instead, developers should cater to niche audiences, making games for smaller, dedicated communities.
"As craftsmen, " Lanning said,"our opportunity lies in finding the niches where we know our audience, we focus on it, we listen to it, we respect it, we treat it with some grace."
Publishers, Lanning says, have become much more risk averse because of the sheer size of the investments they are dumping into new games. As games get more expensive, developers need more money from publishers, and that puts developers in a position of weakness when negotiating business deals.
"So the budget's going up, and now [publishers are] saying, 'Now we're spending $20 million on a title and not $5 million, and at $20 million, we need better terms. You're going to do 10 times the work, but you're going to get a fifth of the backside because we're risking all this money.' Depending on how savvy they would be with the deals, usually they never made money... They were able to stay in the business. But the way the deals were structured, they were basically dead."


http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1509/15094575/2837978-3574336550-maxre.jpg (http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1509/15094575/2837978-3574336550-maxre.jpg)
Refocusing development on smaller games for smaller audiences will help keep studios sustainable, and avoid the kinds of massive layoffs and closings that have wracked the industry over the past few years. Lanning also thinks that this will give developers more creative opportunity and gamers more interesting games to play.
"So the indie possibility is they can actually find their audience. The cheaper they can make their product, the more creative opportunity they have. So you can take more risks the cheaper you are."
Lanning's games have always been critical of capitalism, and recently he's been focused on remaking them for new platforms. Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty (http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/oddworld-new-n-tasty-review/1900-6415825/), a remake of the first game in the Oddworld series--Abe's Oddysee (http://www.gamespot.com/oddworld-abes-oddysee/)--launched for Playstation 4 (http://www.gamespot.com/ps4/) last year, PC (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/) in February, and the Xbox One (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox-one/) on March 27. The game has been well received by critics (http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/oddworld-new-n-tasty-review/1900-6415825/).
Playstation Vita (http://www.gamespot.com/vita/) and Wii U (http://www.gamespot.com/wii-u/) versions should see a release by the end of the year (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oddworld-new-n-tasty-coming-to-xbox-one-and-pc-soo/1100-6424661/).
Source: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oddworld-creator-says-capitalism-is-killing-games/1100-6426267/

[Futility Personified]

Oddworld was excellent. Thinking back on the exploitation of abe's people, it was probably quite a revolutionary game, though i haven't played it since I were a tickler. Pressing X to fart was probably one of my formative experiences as a child.

[Comrade #138672]

The time when games were revolutionary is long gone. Games have been completely commodified nowadays.

Once they have something that works, game developers generally stick by it. If it works, then do not change it, or it may negatively impact the expected turnover, which is enforced by shareholders. This is what kills the creativity in games. Ever played a modern Mario game? They do not even bother to create a new game engine anymore. They simply add another suit, some new levels (following the same formula), and there you go: another Mario game for $60. Or imagine all the first-person shooters that are all basically the same thing. I rarely see any new ideas. Just more graphical enhancement, some minor variations and that is it.

In-app purchases are probably the worst thing that happened to games. That really took the gaming out of games. Now you can simply buy yourself a victory in a lot of games. Buy to win. What fun! Of course, this also hurts people with an addictive personality. These people cannot help but keep on buying and playing. It is much like a gambling addiction and it can really ruin lives. In-app purchases seem to be especially designed to be addictive, or "irresistible".

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

i knew there was a reason Oddworld was one of my favourite game universes

[VCrakeV]

I'm okay with in-app purchases, as long as they aren't for winning. Some games work well with them, by restricting the purchases to convenience and/or cosmetics. It has no harm, and helps the developers make more games.



With technology always getting better, we're reaching a point where graphics are going to peak. Our eyes can only pick out a limited resolution. That said, more resources can be devoted to creative gameplay, story, etc. Assets can be reused, and, in the end, companies can save money to make innovation not too risky, and/or divert enough resources to innovation in the first place.