Player Attack: The 38 Studios saga is far from over, despite the Kingdoms of Amalur developer closing its doors and filing for bankruptcy. The company is still facing a court hearing in Delaware, and representatives have just announced a couple of bombshells about the way things unfolded in Rhode Island.
Why do game studios keep imploding?
Dysfunction is baked into the video game production process, as it currently exists. The big-budget games industry is dominated by a few large companies, the publishers. Like book publishers, they are responsible for distributing and marketing games (much but not all of this is entirely digital now, but most of the publishers established themselves when game distribution meant getting physical discs and cartridges on retail store shelves). Games are actually made by studios, which are generally either owned directly by the publishers or independent. Making big-budget video games takes an enormous amount of highly specialized labor. It is possible for one person to make a game, and even for that game to be a hit, but the biggest, most profitable games released each year are nearly always made by enormous teams of people, working directly or indirectly for those publishers.
Create their own studio ala Activision but never forget where they came from ala Activision
Unions breed garbage product no matter what’s being made. Passion and drive to make awesome stuff goes out the window and it’s replaced by laziness, seniority over skill, office politics and all around horseshit. As a welder of 23 years, I’ve seen it first hand, over and over again.
I’d say there’s a time and a place for unions. If work conditions have gotten so bad because the company is run by tyrants, unions will help.
But, on the contrary, I work for one of those rare companies that is better for the employee than a union is. Family owned, we purchased a new facility in Jersey and the workers voted the union out based on the offer (pay, hours, benefits, etc). Now we have UNION scabs, hired by the union, to protest against us at various locations.
Do you remember the good old days, when video games put fast hack-and-slashing combat sequences and extensive levelling systems first and a deep narrative with memorable characters second? BigHuge Games certainly banked on gamers holding some kind of nostalgia for those titles of yore with their fantasy RPG Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning.
This is hilarious that i would see an article after I went and re-bought the game and playing it all week! I love the QTEs in this game its satisfying, the combat is fluid where you can switch from weapons to magic so easily, the weapons, armor, quests, character customizations, lore, world, voice acting, are all great this game has almost everything you'd need and want from an RPG!
I really wish there was going to be a KoAR 2!
COG writes - The games of the last generation were amazing and the COGconnected team decided to get together to countdown their favorites. The countdown inches to number 6 and the games are starting to get good... real good.
Stop making mediocre games,and then charging $60 for them,If skyrim is $60 then kingdom of Amalur should $30-$50.This not just for 38 Studios but ALL game developers.