How to Fix the Gaming Industry
12 comments
You should focus on the economics of game development instead.
Why not ditch buying games from corporations with external shareholders instead?
Why not introduce a sustainable funding model for development work?
Why not introduce a sustainable feature/addon/DLC development model?
Why not introduce a sustainable server maintenance cost model?
Your bill will change nothing for AAA games because these game labels are what they are: labels, not studios. They buy stuff for cheap and sell it for a high price. They're like VCs giving game studios an advance funding model, but expect high returns of investment.
And that's the actual problem.
On the other hand, most indie studios I know usually have the right intentions but really really underestimate the costs for marketing, sales, store visibility (e.g. steam, appstore's 30% etc) and maintenance. You cannot hit all the costs when you don't even know how many players you are gonna have. And you don't know how expensive your game has to be when you don't even know how many players will _stay_ in your gameplay for the game shelf lifetime. If 10 players paid 10$ a couple years ago, how are you gonna fund necessary bugfixes for the servers?
Why not ditch buying games from corporations with external shareholders instead?
Why not introduce a sustainable funding model for development work?
Why not introduce a sustainable feature/addon/DLC development model?
Why not introduce a sustainable server maintenance cost model?
Your bill will change nothing for AAA games because these game labels are what they are: labels, not studios. They buy stuff for cheap and sell it for a high price. They're like VCs giving game studios an advance funding model, but expect high returns of investment.
And that's the actual problem.
On the other hand, most indie studios I know usually have the right intentions but really really underestimate the costs for marketing, sales, store visibility (e.g. steam, appstore's 30% etc) and maintenance. You cannot hit all the costs when you don't even know how many players you are gonna have. And you don't know how expensive your game has to be when you don't even know how many players will _stay_ in your gameplay for the game shelf lifetime. If 10 players paid 10$ a couple years ago, how are you gonna fund necessary bugfixes for the servers?
It's impossible to fix the gaming industry because it's made up of consumers with low impulse control.
You can see evidence of that with the recent GPU crisis where even as prices go up, sales remain constant.
Then you have game development companies outright scamming people by releasing bug-ridden products. But gamers keep buying, which means that developers aren't being discouraged from such practices.
Basically, gamers remain in the market no matter how much they're mistreated because they'll do whatever to get the dopamine hit. There's no reason for anything to change.
You can see evidence of that with the recent GPU crisis where even as prices go up, sales remain constant.
Then you have game development companies outright scamming people by releasing bug-ridden products. But gamers keep buying, which means that developers aren't being discouraged from such practices.
Basically, gamers remain in the market no matter how much they're mistreated because they'll do whatever to get the dopamine hit. There's no reason for anything to change.
This is not bill of rights, but a bill of musts. I do not play games, I use to read books but nothing from your 1-12 can make the market better. Imagine skyrocketing the prices for games because of game companies has to hire more layers each layer having expertise in different counries. Imagine having even more regulations than we have today in many many industries, how many industries left which do not require a layer eventually?
Laws and regulation should never be to specific. You give very specific guidelines and times, such as 8 years, 50% of etc.
Principles would be formulated differently. I'd prefer something along the lines like:
Before remastering, let a game mature.
Cherish the initial release, archive it and keep it available.
Take care when remastering a game, to be true to the original, include a switch in the options if possible.
Etc.... maybe improved wording.
Principles would be formulated differently. I'd prefer something along the lines like:
Before remastering, let a game mature.
Cherish the initial release, archive it and keep it available.
Take care when remastering a game, to be true to the original, include a switch in the options if possible.
Etc.... maybe improved wording.
Laws and regulation would be much better if they were specific. It is just that people making laws and regulation are usually too lazy to do so or just want to be able to interpret them how ever they want afterwards.
A law should be broad, to be applicable for a long time and multiple situations, yet clear enough not to be misunderstood.
For example, once it is decided if conduct is deemed unfair or dangerous, there should be little interpretation on the consequences and they should differ.
Weirdly laws are usually very specific on what is deemed unfair, yet rarely on what is dangerous.
For example, once it is decided if conduct is deemed unfair or dangerous, there should be little interpretation on the consequences and they should differ.
Weirdly laws are usually very specific on what is deemed unfair, yet rarely on what is dangerous.
8 is becoming a law in more places already
9 & 10 can be applied to any non-game software service as well
11 is impossible because there's too much variation in consumer hardware, but some kind of formal performance standard would be nice
everything else is solved by "don't buy this game", but gamers don't like hearing they can just not play a game and instead they play and complain
9 & 10 can be applied to any non-game software service as well
11 is impossible because there's too much variation in consumer hardware, but some kind of formal performance standard would be nice
everything else is solved by "don't buy this game", but gamers don't like hearing they can just not play a game and instead they play and complain
I would gamify workarounds for each of your points like it's a speedrun of Mario. These are typical low quality laws. You prohibit things randomly with good intentions and low focus on how this would be abused.
This just makes it way harder for small studios to operate, you tell them how to make business, you seem to know in advance what players want and what they don't.
1 - I would release a half baked game very early, then push basic content as DLCs for years and remake 2 years after "initial release". Or simply call it an Specific Hardware Targeted Port and release it 6 months after, by adding some crap like better accelerated shadows.
2 - as above. Original will be mostly useless.
5 - since the "initial release" is now just a random alpha demo, I have all the time I need to announce DLCs
6 - easy, my base prices will be 500 USD, I will aggressively discount. Like a Telco operator.
7 - I would make sure to break single-player game definition. Is Death Stranding single or multiplayer? I'd do something similar.
...
This just makes it way harder for small studios to operate, you tell them how to make business, you seem to know in advance what players want and what they don't.
1 - I would release a half baked game very early, then push basic content as DLCs for years and remake 2 years after "initial release". Or simply call it an Specific Hardware Targeted Port and release it 6 months after, by adding some crap like better accelerated shadows.
2 - as above. Original will be mostly useless.
5 - since the "initial release" is now just a random alpha demo, I have all the time I need to announce DLCs
6 - easy, my base prices will be 500 USD, I will aggressively discount. Like a Telco operator.
7 - I would make sure to break single-player game definition. Is Death Stranding single or multiplayer? I'd do something similar.
...
Let me briefly share some of my experiences and thoughts. I grew up playing games like The Legend of Zelda, Knights and Merchants, StarCraft. From a young age, I dreamed of creating a multiplayer Final Fantasy II. Continuously honed my skills and after graduating college in 2007, fulfilled my dream of becoming an MMORPG developer.
However, this marked the beginning of a long struggle. I wanted to create 'healing remedies' but the company demanded 'addictive drugs' designed to drain player's time and money. I realized the problem wasn't product design itself, but the business model shaping the product. So, I started my own venture.
I'm now trying to build a 'creator-consumer' ecosystem, similar to short-form video platforms. This involves developing a DSL to easily create narrative adventure game scripts (text and image based), performed by pre-made, standardized virtual characters. It will use a serialized release model, with artists and musicians sharing in the revenue.
Ultimately, the business model dictates the product. It doesn't matter who successfully builds this; success doesn't have to be mine. I just hope everyone can live a life without regrets.
However, this marked the beginning of a long struggle. I wanted to create 'healing remedies' but the company demanded 'addictive drugs' designed to drain player's time and money. I realized the problem wasn't product design itself, but the business model shaping the product. So, I started my own venture.
I'm now trying to build a 'creator-consumer' ecosystem, similar to short-form video platforms. This involves developing a DSL to easily create narrative adventure game scripts (text and image based), performed by pre-made, standardized virtual characters. It will use a serialized release model, with artists and musicians sharing in the revenue.
Ultimately, the business model dictates the product. It doesn't matter who successfully builds this; success doesn't have to be mine. I just hope everyone can live a life without regrets.
I'm new here. Could any kind-hearted senior help me? I'm sharing a viewpoint with a different analytical perspective. I wonder where the issue lies in my speech. I sincerely seek guidance to better integrate into the community. Today, I received 8 downvotes, yet no one pointed out the flaws in my speech. I'm eager to accept criticism and learn from feedback. Thank you!
So I decided to collect the most common pain points and put them in the form of a simple, clear “Gaming Industry Consumer Bill of Rights.” These are 12 principles that, in my opinion, should become the standard if we want a fairer and more transparent market. I have tried to approach the subject sensibly, from a player’s perspective, but also without hostility towards creators.
Share your thoughts – what would you change, add, or remove?
§1. Prohibition on remastering young games A remaster/remake may be released no sooner than 8 years after the original's release.
§2. Prohibition on deleting original versions of games after the release of a remaster/remake. The original must still be available in digital distribution.
§3. The remaster must contain the original. By purchasing the remaster, the player must have access to the original version of the game in the library.
§4. Discount for owners of the original. The player receives a discount on the remaster/remake if they bought the original at least 6 months before the official announcement, the first official information or a leak informing about the production of the new version. Publishers cannot announce remasters/remakes earlier than 12 months before they reach their minimum age (i.e. 7 years after the premiere of the original)
§5. Prohibition of announcing DLC before the game's release. Additions may only be announced after the base game's release.
§6. DLC Price Limit. DLC cannot cost more than 50% of the base game price. If it costs more, it must be considered a separate game and meet the full requirements.
§7. Micropayments are prohibited in single-player games. Unless they are full-fledged story add-ons. Skins, boosters, currencies should be prohibited.
§8. Prohibition of manipulation of fictitious currency. Each item in the game must show the price in real currency. The conversion rate must be constant in all packages. The player must be able to buy the exact amount of fictitious currency needed to buy a given item
§9. Prohibition of depriving access to paid games. A game that was paid for must remain available for download and launch.
§10. Obligation to provide a date for shutting down servers in paid online games. The date must be known on the day of release. It can be updated, but no more than once every 6 months.
§11. Marking of games dependent on DLSS/FSR/FG. Games that do not work well without these technologies must receive a special mark warning players about poor optimization until the problem is fixed. The mark will be awarded on the basis of a mandatory pre-release game test by a specially designated group.
§12. Mandatory free demo of games. Every game costing more than $50 must have a free demo with at least 10% of content. The demo cannot be removed after the game's release
Let me know what you think.