Interview MCA Interview of the Day

[Shadenuat]

Damn, damn. I remember reading a magazine in the 90ties with some interviews from russian developers, about how it was basically "make a game, put into a gold-painted CD, go to a publisher in a suit and present it.. and pray". I think that's how some of the titles actually came to be. Glorious country where pirates sold mods to Neverwinter Nights on CD's and noone could do anything about it

Now to Redlands post, which I have to break down into smaller parts, or my head would just explode. First of all, I am not really into indie games, let's say I am a graphics and quality production bitch and I like my game big and pretty (Arcanum-big, Bloodlines-pretty). Staying on topic (Obsidian, that is), in your first paragraph you say that to place you merchandise on Steam you have to get some sort of reputation, am I right? Which Obsidian already has, as their (or rather Bethesda, can this be a problem though?) games are already on Steam. I don't know if I followed your second point correctly, did you mean some sorts of inflation in game selling, where you can't put a game with high development cost and get your money back, because expected price which consumers would actually purchase it is too low? A problem for indie developer (I guess?), but what if a large, competent and professional studio (like Obsidian, again) would put the same amount of time and effort into a smaller game, would't it be easer for them to develop it just because of their large team and experience?

I can see how even digital publishing is hard to get into for an independent developer with only dreams and hopes, but I am also wondering could't larger studios, after making themselves a name by selling games via classical publishing, how to put it, "loose the steam" somewhere else. They have bigger team, so someting that would be hard or even impossible for an indie they would do faster and more cost effective, and they have reputation, and that reputation and experience they could expand even more by going digital, and maybe even get profts from it.
For an RPG, a moduled (think NWN) system could work with digital publishing, where a developer maybe makes a decent and high-end game, but you could only play from level 1 to level 3, and if money is good enough, makes another one, where you follow the story leveling your char from level 3 to 5, etc.

I don't have grade in economics and I know I can talk shit, but the Codex actually seems like a place where I can ask questions about what really happens behind the curtains of development of my favorite hobby (CRPGs, I mean) and getting some answers, without usual bullshit you get from developers themselves who don't want to look like publishers bitches and persuade you in all kinds of things without actually spoiling info you really want to know as a gamer.

 

[villain of the story]

The only thing that made me curious was

One of the problems with a studio formed by people from a big company can be that they inherit a methodology from the big company that just doesn't work at a small scale. They end up spending too much money up front doing things like buying furniture and equipment and then don't have enough towards the end to finish the project.

tell us more about the jacuzzi in the penthouse on the top floor MCA

A question better addressed at John Romero.

 

[Redlands]

Now to Redlands post, which I have to break down into smaller parts, or my head would just explode. First of all, I am not really into indie games, let's say I am a graphics and quality production bitch and I like my game big and pretty (Arcanum-big, Bloodlines-pretty).

Okay, yeah, I thought you meant one thing when you meant something else, and I think the same happened to you. I guess the term "indie" is confusing because people ascribe it to different things. I'm using it in the sense of "self-funding", or doing it without the backing of a publisher. Your mileage may vary, but I probably should have explained since we already had one discussion that verged towards stupidity about what "indie" meant on the Codex, so it's clearly not a well-defined term.

Staying on topic (Obsidian, that is), in your first paragraph you say that to place you merchandise on Steam you have to get some sort of reputation, am I right? Which Obsidian already has, as their (or rather Bethesda, can this be a problem though?) games are already on Steam.

Well, this point is tricky, as I would think it would be the publishers that organized the distribution deals, rather than the developers. But Obsidian do have a name for themselves, which could help. Then again, they won't have a "bundle deal" in place on their own (assuming all their old games were included on a platform by request of the publisher) so they'd still have to produce a game that would earn money for the distributor; easier for an established company, certainly, but if it's not a "slam-dunk" type of game it might not get picked up. Unlikely given their level, but it's a possibility. Especially if other influences (rival publishers) push back.

I don't know if I followed your second point correctly, did you mean some sorts of inflation in game selling, where you can't put a game with high development cost and get your money back, because expected price which consumers would actually purchase it is too low? A problem for indie developer (I guess?), but what if a large, competent and professional studio (like Obsidian, again) would put the same amount of time and effort into a smaller game, would't it be easer for them to develop it just because of their large team and experience?

That's pretty much it, yes. People are expecting games to appear on sale, and so (sensibly) more people will wait for sales for things they're not sure about. Especially with the frequent number of sales that Steam has (and let's face it, they're the best candidate for digital distribution discussions since they're the biggest), even people that are certain to pick it up may wait for it to appear on sale.

I would think for Obsidian it would still be a problem; in fact, it might be bigger, since they're used to a certain level of production value, employee income, etc., that smaller indies don't usually have. The higher it costs to make the game, the more sales you have to have, and unless you can ensure that the sales will bring in enough buyers to balance out the lower price, you run the risk of losing money.

I'm not fully aware of the financial situation at Obsidian, but I don't think it's as good as you may think it is. Most of the revenue for their past games will be going to Bethesda and the other publishers, as they're the ones who put up the money. Making an "Arcanum-big, Bloodlines-pretty" game would quite likely be way beyond what they could get on their own; and if it fails they'd have to close.

And consider what happened to Origin: they were successful, but still didn't have enough money for disks, so had to sell out to EA. If Obsidian couldn't ensure they were getting the money back, the same thing would happen to them, and I'll bet any chance of a good game coming out from them would just disappear.

I can see how even digital publishing is hard to get into for an independent developer with only dreams and hopes, but I am also wondering could't larger studios, after making themselves a name by selling games via classical publishing, how to put it, "loose the steam" somewhere else. They have bigger team, so someting that would be hard or even impossible for an indie they would do faster and more cost effective, and they have reputation, and that reputation and experience they could expand even more by going digital, and maybe even get profts from it.

Not necessarily. Again, a bigger team is going to have more people working on it, certainly, but those people cost money to keep employed, so the costs, and risks, will be higher.

Even if it's a side-project, they still have to be funded from other successes, and from what I've learned, developers don't usually get the money they ought to be getting from the publisher for their successes.

I don't have grade in economics and I know I can talk shit, but the Codex actually seems like a place where I can ask questions about what really happens behind the curtains of development of my favorite hobby (CRPGs, I mean) and getting some answers, without usual bullshit you get from developers themselves who don't want to look like publishers bitches and persuade you in all kinds of things without actually spoiling info you really want to know as a gamer.

The Codex is a great place, with a bunch of very good posters. It's also a horrible den of stupid, irritating retards who sperge out over stupid crap. So, pretty much like most communities, you just have to figure out who you can believe and who you should just roll your eyes at.

 

[Shadenuat]

Thanks Redlands, I think I get the picture now, so I just have to choose either I believe you or not :D

The Codex is a great place, with a bunch of very good posters. It's also a horrible den of stupid, irritating retards who sperge out over stupid crap.

It's kinda a package deal, with that kind of freedom of opinions you can get 50% "Screw you", and 50% interesting gaming analytics. The thing is, many other forums work in a way of 10% "Screw you", 10% gaming analytics and 80% "Well, it's kinda.. just YOUR OPINION, man".
I see Codex as a fairer exchange. At least "Screw you" is much shorter than "YOU OPINION, man" posts, and you can easely scroll it without reading.

 

[Davaris]

It's why Tim Cain liked Oblivion. You need to remember, when someone from the tech end of entertainment sees these products, half the time they aren't really watching the movie or playing the game, they're thinking about how those sets were built, how the CGI was handled, what coding tricks were used to get around that engine restriction, and so on. It's much easier for a someone who works in entertainment to switch that off and relax (and be entertained) when the product is very different to what he/she works on. If you're spending your days mapping out C+C flow-charts on story-boarding software, or working on quest design, you're going to find it difficult to just turn off and play a game that has those items in it. That doesn't mean you don't play them - you do, and you're more likely to be impressed by the games that take a really different approach to your own (why would Tim be impressed by another Arcanum - he's already made that and knows how it works - Oblivion, on the other hand, is different to anything he's worked on, and as a coder it's probable that he'd run into things and think 'how the fuck did they manage to code that into this engine?"). But when you want to actually relax and play a game, rather than analyse a competitor's product, it's going to be something far removed from the stuff that makes up your 9-5.

There is a 100% probability of Tim Cain saying he likes Oblivion and Fallout 3, because it would be career suicide to say anything else.

If you say you don't like Oblivion and Fallout 3, you are not just offending Bethesda Zenimax, you are offending anyone that has money invested in those games.

 

[BLOBERT]

BRO IF ANYONE HERE HAS A REAL JOB YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE NECESSITY OF ASS KISSING WHEN APPROPRIATE AND ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE STILL GETTING OTHER PEOPLE TO FUND YOUR SHIT

AZREAL GETS PLUS TEN ON MY BROLIST THAT IS THE RARE SHIT I WADE THROUGH THE PCTARD NONSENSE ON THIS FORUM TO READ

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

BLOBERT ASS KISSING MAY BE NECESSSARY BUT AT THIS RATE THE NEXT FULLY OBSIDIAN GAME WILL BE PLAYED BY MY GRANDCHILDREN

OBSIDIAN WAS A GAME DEVELOPER ONCE BUT THEN IT TOOK A BETHESDA TO THE KNEE

IM JUST SAYIN BRO HOPE WE COOL

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

There is a 100% probability of Tim Cain saying he likes Oblivion and Fallout 3, because it would be career suicide to say anything else.

If you say you don't like Oblivion and Fallout 3, you are not just offending Bethesda Zenimax, you are offending anyone that has money invested in those games.

Must be cool to live in the land of the free.

 

[villain of the story]

Must be cool to live in the world of the money.

Fixed.