I've decided to take things down a notch for a few weeks. I've been overworking myself the past few months, putting in 40 hours at work, followed by another 40 hours of development time, per week. I need a break. Off the back of the Craggy Island release, I literally dove straight into LittleBigPlanet development and it has taken its toll a bit. I've endured an enjoyable but tough 10 month slog to get CI done and should have forced a small break on myself. I'm not burnt out or anything, but creatively, I could do with a break.
My focus now is on Saturday, and my presentation. I have it ready but need to trim some fat off the video (currently at 5 minutes!) It's no work of art, just some frapsed game footage stitched together. The afternoon will be spent brainstorming and working on a chosen game theme, with the goal of producing something over the course of a month. Looking forward to rubbing shoulders with other like-minded folks, it will be a big change from the isolation I put myself through with CI.
I'm on a bit of a negative buzz at the moment, as you can probably tell. With all the news of Industry lay-offs and studios being shut down, it makes me think about the career path I've chosen. I have my doubts, I always have, but that can't get in the way of the bigger picture.
This week, Activision killed off Guitar Hero and DJ Hero, after recently shutting down Blur and PGR Studio, Bizarre Creations. A part from a monstrously large and short-sited business error, it's absolutely disgusting behaviour. They are now left with the guts of 1 franchise, a part from the obvious Blizzard staples. It's funny to think that they have destroyed more franchises over the past few years, then they've created. Call of Duty might be their golden goose, but for how much longer? The decision to "re-structure" themselves around Call of Duty, which basically meant shutting down any studio that wasn't producing multi-million unit selling games, is clearly a bad one in the long term. Look at Guitar Hero and Tony Hawks. Both franchises were incredibly popular and successful in their hay-day. They effectively killed off both of those within a matter of years, which begs to question, will Call of Duty follow? Of course it will. And where will this put Activision? Sponging off WoW subscriptions for a start. In all seriousness though, the next time Activision pull our their big fat cheque book to go on a little spree, Studios will surely be more reluctant to signing themselves over, knowing full well what awaits.
I know it's business at the end of the day. But Activision are turning completely risk adverse. Look at EA. They have spawned a tonne of triple A franchises over the past few years. Dead Space 2, has apparently sold over 2 million in its first week on shelves. Dead Space 1 sales were abysmal, with the bulk of those sales coming when the product had been discounted to peanuts, or through 2nd hand sales. It was a title that needed a little dose of 'word-of-mouth' and it did become something of a sleeper hit. If it were Acti, it would have pronounced the franchise dead before it had a chance at becoming one. Instead, EA stuck with it and saw its potential, spawning graphic novels and an animated feature in hopes that it would eventually grow into the mainstream. They listened to their customers. I'm so glad that DS2 has been selling so well, as it proves that with the right marketing and support, if you have a good product to sell, it will sell. And yes, it's a cracking game. Fair play EA, you've proven yourself an industry flag bearer.
When Battlefield 3 or 4 or whatever other franchise it may be, manages to take the reigns from Call of Duty, Activision will be in a very tough spot. They did produce two cracking games last year, with Blur and Singularity, but both received little to no support. Nobody knew they existed, so of course sales were going to reflect that. They are the number 1 third-party publisher in the world. The shareholders and execs probably wipe their bottoms with 50 dollar bills. They should be innovating and putting money into exciting new IP's. Not closing down studios and putting hundreds of talented staff out on the streets, in an attempt at buffing their short-term bottom line. Disgusting.
I foresee a giant shift in the way games are made and published over the coming years. There will be no shortage of big budget, triple A games, but there sure will be less and less of them. This will give indie developers the market space and breathing room to release digitally, with a higher chance of success and for a fraction of the production costs. I see a big divide between the heavy hitters and digitally released titles. With lower risk involved for smaller studios, innovation will thrive and we'll be able to have a slice of every kind of gaming pie going. Another topic of discussion is that we all have a limited thought space and time to fill. There can only be so many games we can buy at once, or in a year and with the emergence of small studios on the rise, there is risk that the industry could become flooded with product, making it tougher for new studios or studios in general, to get noticed or to sell their product enough to pay the bills and fund their next project. On the flipside, with social gaming on the rise, with the likes of Facebook and mobiles leading the way, gaming appears to be on route to mass appeal. Market expansion would certainly facilitate the increase in title releases and give studios the opportunity to create more targeted products, as opposed to the 'try to please everyone' approach we see today.
Whatever the case, the industry is going to change drastically over the next 10 years. It's just scary to read about how many developers are losing their jobs, which leaves me thinking about how much tougher it will be to actually get one, particularly when companies almost universally look for industry experience in new recruits. It's slightly discouraging then, in the grand scheme of things, and it certainly does little to extinguish any lingering doubt that I have. However I'm not giving up. Not even close to it. I will rise to the challenge and charge head first into the heart of the beast.
At the end of the day, if you want something badly enough, you'll get it, right?
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