I was rambling on in the chat earlier about how if I got a game published, I wouldn't want it to make millions of dollars or sell 40 millions copies, that my ultimate joy would be seeing one single person playing my game and smiling. To me, the money to the least important part of game development.

It seems that nowadays it's all about the best way to rake in the cash for your publisher; it's no longer about entertaining people or making them happy. Sequels aren't about telling more of the story anymore, they're about milking a franchise for the same reason as above.

Are developers like me, who couldn't care less about money, but want to make a game for the experience and the story involved a dying breed?

Thoughts please.

It is a catch 22. On one hand we want these amazing game experiences that take risks, etc but on the other the development costs of such titles are extreme.

There are plenty of independant game developers out there making mildly commercially successful titles on a shoe string and while they may not be racing around with the latest pixel pipeline bursting graphics engine they can be a lot of fun.

In the commercial world you have to understand the harsh reality that game development is very expensive and very risky. Big publishers go with the safe bets and market the bejeezus out of them because they are then able to fund more risky endeavors. Overall though it is a very risk sensitive market and these developers need money to make their game, that money has to come from somewhere and often that somewhere is the latest iteration of Madden or what have you.

So basically we traded good games for flashy graphics and mediocore gameplay.
I guess risks like Beyond Good and Evil scared them. :P

See I have to say I'm not one of those people who believes games are going down hill. As far as I'm concerned games are getting better, not worse. Sure we don't have all the zany titles we did in the days of the ZX Spectrum but by the same token we dont' have half the crap from that era either.

I'd love to see more unique titles like Katamari Damacy and Shadow of the Collossus but I don't think that we, as gamers, are doing too badly. I'd rather be a gamer now than 5 years ago for example.

I never really said games are going downhill either, I just said that the focus of development has shifted from just simply making a game to entertain, to making a games because it makes more money. This may not be true in all cases, but to me, it just seems like everything out there is about getting the money from our pockets to theirs. I don't think it should be that way.

I have no idea where I'm going with this. :P

That comment was more of a response to LoKain's post, not yours.

But to comment on your post...

I think you need to make a big distinction between publisher and developer. I honestly believe most developers out there want to make great games. However what gets published and what doesn't is largely up to the publisher. Now the publisher only cares about getting money from you to their pocket and that is fine, it is the publisher that pays for the development of the games in the first place, unless 80% of games sold by a publisher make their money back the publisher loses out, no one gets paid and next thing you know developers start getting laid off, etc.

Oooh like Interplay...

Besides console games right now are not yet stable, majority of 3d games compared through their 2d counterparts sucks (e.g. Castlevania, harvest moon) and PCs neer ending genre of WW2 games or mods.

But it is getting better :p

*hugs SSX on tour*

EXACTLY like Interplay.

i just want to say this...ENOUGH WAR GAMES ALREADY! *whew* dont get me wrong, i like a good shooter...but when they keep making add on tittles, they(most) end up beeing the same game. just switched around a little. even if its from a different company, it still ends up looking the others games. but as EP said, they want to make money. so they will market to death what sells.
but whats also true, the more they make with these "repeats", it can give them a chance to possibly take a risk on a game that may seem different. i personaly will try just about any game at least once. but, on the other hand, i will take good/great gameplay over super duper extreem omg is that real? graphics anyday. :P

Interplay is a example of bad management.

I can say because I was in Interplay forums when Haeve taken over and seen the mistakes made, the company was run to the ground by that man ... not the policy of "safe" game development.

I thought some guy was stealing money...

And Interplay? "safe" game? Naah they hade a good line up of games like fallout and yada yada yada

Besides most if them are in Obsidian making NWN 2 :P
Talent like them shouldnt be fired! EVER!

No, he moved from Tidus (a french company) that brought out Interplay and then with stupid ideas (such as "Fallout:Brotherhood of Steel" and "Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance 2" being released around the same time) run the company into the ground.

Keep in mind Haeve became Interplay CEO after Baldur´s Gate 2 was released, if you check Interplay game profolio before and after that game you notice there a patern.

And dont confuse Black Isle with Interplay, Black Isle was a division of Interplay formed after Fallout to head RPG development and they were not fired, they quit ... people such as J. E. Sawyer that created a lot of Fallout 3 and Baldur´s Gate 3 (yes, they were Interplay projects) but quit and moved to Midway and now he is working on NwN 2 (after he quit Midway).

Katamari Damacy was very unique. The concept would appeal to fans of games like the Mario series. I thought that this concept ewould appeal more to non-US gamers. In the US, Katamari is practically non-existant. But in Japan, it's close to as popular as WoW.

Not quite that popular mod. It is still a niche title but it did have unexpected success in Japan.

I don't think you can use the like of Mario as a deciding factor in enjoying this game. They are nothing alike. One is a platformer, a very conventional one at that where as the other is nothing like we've seen before... if you have to class it as something puzzler would be the closest.

Anyway I have plenty of Mario loving friends who think Katamari is a pile o' poo. Mind you those people are wrong and I had to kill them.

yes its true.Ever wonder why movie games are soo bad?well here is the harsh reality.We loved the movie so we want to buy the game right?They dont care how the game plays they just care if we buy the game.They expect us to go buy something just because it has "charlie and the chocolate factory on it"

There are some exceptions though such as King Kong which has recieved favourable reviews and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay which was a brilliant FPS *** adventure title