"AAA" is a marketing tool

[kreight]

Created by corporations to sell you tools overpriced garbage pulp fiction games.

 

[cretin]

Based retard. It just means high production value ya spastic. Youre on the codex the observation that AAA games are shit is hardly novel. Doesnt mean they dont have high production values.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Created by corporations to sell you tools overpriced garbage pulp fiction games.

You are not wrong.

 

[thesecret1]

Created by corporations to sell you tools overpriced garbage pulp fiction games.

No way. Next, you'll say that the water is wet or that the sky is blue

 

[Konjad]

I am shocked!

 

[DalekFlay]

"4k" is a marketing wet dream, but it still actually means something.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Can't be worse than "indie game" which technically covers most big-name games.

 

[whydoibother]

Can't be worse than "indie game" which technically covers most big-name games.

If you are on Steam, you are being published by Valve, and therefore are not independent. You work with a publisher.
So rather than most big-name games being "indie", I think the opposite is true: most indies aren't "indie".

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Can't be worse than "indie game" which technically covers most big-name games.

If you are on Steam, you are being published by Valve, and therefore are not independent. You work with a publisher.
So rather than most big-name games being "indie", I think the opposite is true: most indies aren't "indie".

Valve isn't the publisher, they're the distributor.

 

[Caim]

Created by corporations to sell you tools overpriced garbage pulp fiction games.

Just wait until you learn about AAAA games.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Oh look, we got a new Rookie.

 

[Machocruz]

Stands for 'Ary Axpensive 'Ames

 

[whydoibother]

Can't be worse than "indie game" which technically covers most big-name games.

If you are on Steam, you are being published by Valve, and therefore are not independent. You work with a publisher.
So rather than most big-name games being "indie", I think the opposite is true: most indies aren't "indie".

Valve isn't the publisher, they're the distributor.

I don't think this difference is meaningful for software. Maybe it makes sense for books, or wherever these terms come from, but not for digital stuff. Ultimately Valve does for developers what publishers used to do. Valve is a publisher, or whatever a publisher would be today.

 

[DalekFlay]

I don't think this difference is meaningful for software. Maybe it makes sense for books, or wherever these terms come from, but not for digital stuff. Ultimately Valve does for developers what publishers used to do. Valve is a publisher, or whatever a publisher would be today.

I get the argument, but it is weakened by their being others doing the same thing for the same thing. Is GOG a publisher too? Epic? Origin? Also a lot of indies still work with what they still label publishers, like New Blood or Night Dive.

 

[whydoibother]

Is GOG a publisher too? Epic? Origin?

Yes. And there are still traditional publishers, like Devolver Digital, but a lot of them also just publish on Steam.
The way I see it, if there is a middle man between the guy making the art, and the guy enjoying the art, you have a publisher. That's how it works in music. I think games should use music's terminology rather than books terminology. But even music is still talking about physical publishing on disks, and hasn't fully moved to digital.

 

[Please No]

Ultimately Valve does for developers what publishers used to do.

What? They do advertising, help out with development, fund things and all that? I'm pretty sure they are just a storefront for most devs, that lets anyone sell their game in their store, since it is digital and they have unlimited shelf space. Publishers do more than put games in boxes, you know that, right?

 

[NJClaw]

Can't be worse than "indie game" which technically covers most big-name games.

If you are on Steam, you are being published by Valve, and therefore are not independent. You work with a publisher.
So rather than most big-name games being "indie", I think the opposite is true: most indies aren't "indie".

Valve isn't the publisher, they're the distributor.

I don't think this difference is meaningful for software. Maybe it makes sense for books, or wherever these terms come from, but not for digital stuff. Ultimately Valve does for developers what publishers used to do. Valve is a publisher, or whatever a publisher would be today.

But most games on Steam already have a publisher:

And why do you say that there's no difference between a publisher and a distributor? A publisher finds the money to finance the game, a distributor, well, sells it. Steam doesn't finance anything, to the best of my knowledge.

Yes. And there are still traditional publishers, like Devolver Digital, but a lot of them also just publish on Steam.
The way I see it, if there is a middle man between the guy making the art, and the guy enjoying the art, you have a publisher. That's how it works in music. I think games should use music's terminology rather than books terminology. But even music is still talking about physical publishing on disks, and hasn't fully moved to digital.

A publisher puts money into a project, otherwise it's not a publisher.

The creation of physical media isn't necessarily the publisher's responsibility. It's not unusual for a distributor to take care of that.

 

[whydoibother]

Publishers handle production of games, distributers handle publishing of games.

Publishers handle production of games, distributers handle publishing of games.

Alright, maybe I am just englishing wrong. Sounds kind of dumb to me, but honestly have done zero research and just used the words the way they make sense to me.
So if we consider what you are saying, to be "indie" you need to secure your own funding? In that sense, all of the largest developers are "indie". Valve and Electronic Arts and Ubisoft are "indie". On the other hand, is crowdfunding "indie", or do they just have Kickstarter as their publisher?

Wait, I don't care. We should just use normal words like продуцент and разпространител, that mean what they sound like they mean.

 

[Please No]

Alright, maybe I am just englishing wrong. Sounds kind of dumb to me, but honestly have done zero research and just used the words the way they make sense to me.

Developers = Proletarians
Distributor = Bourgeoisie
Publishers = Porky

So if we consider what you are saying, to be "indie" you need to secure your own funding?

You need to be independent.

 

[NJClaw]

So if we consider what you are saying, to be "indie" you need to secure your own funding?

All of these words have various meanings, but usually "indie" just means that you don't fully rely on a publisher. So you can have self-published "indie" indie games and "less-indie" indie games published through a publisher (in this case, "indie" just means that the publisher didn't fully control your company during the development process, but just gave you money and helped with advertising). Games published by Devolver Digital are still considered indie. In the end, "indie" means nothing specific.

In that sense, all of the largest developers are "indie". Valve and Electronic Arts and Ubisoft are "indie".

That would make sense, but "indie" doesn't just refer to the presence or absence of a publisher. The most """""precise""""" definition I can think of is "a videogame created by few people without the help of a big publisher".

On the other hand, is crowdfunding "indie", or do they just have Kickstarter as their publisher?

Kickstarted is a form of self-publishing.

Wait, I don't care. We should just use normal words like продуцент and разпространител, that mean what they sound like they mean.

Those aren't real words, you silly!

 

[GarrisonFjord]

Looking at Wikipedia, it seems to me that
distribution is one part of the "marketing mix"
("Product", "Price", "Place", "Promotion")
(seen as "Place": "Refers to providing customer access").

Whereas a publisher would be responsible for more/all of:
"Price", "Place", "Promotion"
(and, perhaps, financial/technical/other support).
For "Place", a publisher may make deals with distributors.

GOG & Steam (being digital distribution platforms),
can work either with self-publishers / indies
(providing only the "Place" / Distribution (of the "4Ps"),
where the self-publisher is responsible for the other 3Ps)
or with traditional publishers
(where the developer would only provide the "Product",
and the publisher the rest).

That's what I gathered anyway.

(
So, more or less:
Developer -> Product
Distributor -> Place
Publisher (self or traditional) -> All the rest
)

 

[Fedora Master]

This kind of rating system can't be applied to games because production value doesn't correlate with quality when it comes to games.

 

[†††]

"AAA" simply describes the sound of drooling retards when in presence of shiny new graphics

 

[Mazisky]

Corporation bad
Sky is blue
Epic is bad
Roses are red
Black Lives matter
Graphics is not important
Cat is on the table

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Can't be worse than "indie game" which technically covers most big-name games.

If you are on Steam, you are being published by Valve, and therefore are not independent. You work with a publisher.
So rather than most big-name games being "indie", I think the opposite is true: most indies aren't "indie".

Valve isn't the publisher, they're the distributor.

I don't think this difference is meaningful for software. Maybe it makes sense for books, or wherever these terms come from, but not for digital stuff. Ultimately Valve does for developers what publishers used to do. Valve is a publisher, or whatever a publisher would be today.

Video game publishers finance the development of the game, cover things like QA/support, do marketing, etc.,

 

[Glop_dweller]

My understanding of multi-letter "A" titles, is that it essentially implies how much money they are willing to spend on it—and nothing else.

*Although... I think it's a good bet that the more money they have sunk into it, the more —safe bet— they want the finished product to be.
(So... nothing new, innovative, or edgy should be expected from it.)