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Why is there so many shitty directors and producers in the video game industry?

levyjl1988

Banned
And there are very few talented and great ones?

It seems like there are few directors and producers for video game projects that won over the audience.
We have the legendary Masahiro Sakurai, Super Smash Bros. series has tons of extra content that make the game feel like no other. We have additional content such as voice tracks, music sampling, character bios, attention to detail on so many fronts.
Pure legendary vision.
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Then we get a lot of shitty game directors and producers that make the video games they work on pieces of shit like Marvel's Avengers.

Honestly where the fuck is the passion? The game is dry as fuck.
The level design is horrendous. The monetization is shit. The only thing redeeming about the game is the combat (seems like the only team that actually did their work correctly)
The game is missing so many features, it was designed by a businessman who sucked the soul of the Marvel project.
When I think of Marvel I think of AAA quality from Disney. They produce works that gravitate an audience, that attention to detail, that talent

Then we have games where it feels like slimy cash grabs.
I can't help but feel that Marvel Avengers is worse than Star Wars Battlefront 2 when it first launched.
Shaders of characters being sold for $15.

When I think of corporate businesspeople in the video games industry I can't help but think of this slimy fuck who ran Microsoft to the ground.
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These fuckers might as well sell cigarettes to children, why are you in the games industry and making it worse.
To combat the removal of loot boxes they have gone full FOMO as the next tactic triggering impulse buys and disuading players from playing the game when they missed out on the skin because their paycheck didn't arrive on time.
Slimy motherfuckers.


Completionists cannot be completionists for games anymore. Games don't feel rewarding.
Content is gated by some shit like you have to watch an eSports stream on inconvenient days to unlock a cool-looking skin. It makes the game feel like a chore and most people do not give a fuck about eSports.
Here's looking at another ruined game franchise Gears 5. Fucking cunts.


Honestly, we need more visionaries and people who raise the bar for video games.
We need more James Cameron who raises the bar.

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You know what happens when we get business people heading a project.
We get obvious disasters like these.


I just want more passionate and dedicated directors in the seats of power to make truly fulfilling games for people to enjoy.
Instead, I see subreddits where fans see obvious marketplace exploits.



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Also who the fuck designs some of these costumes, they look fucking ugly as sin. Reminds me of Halom 5 armor pieces looking like shit. Like they hired a fucking intern to work on the game than a talented designer.

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I'm glad they are reversing course with Halo Infinite.

I see Black Widows' Stark outfit and it looks fucking terrible.

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Bring back quality in the games industry don't leave it in darkness.

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tL;DR: We need less business-focused people in the games industry and need more passionate and dedicated game directors in the game industry who actually put quality and attention to detail in the games.

/rant over
 

Guilty_AI

Member
This is why Playstation is the best place to play, top directors and producers and guaranteed top notch quality 1st party blockbusters

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On topic:
The more money involved in a project, the lesser the chances it'll take risks, so of course most high-budget games will veer towards algorithimic stuff.

Solution:
Just go for games with lesser budgets. Not guaranteed they'll be good but at least there's much higher chances you're actually seeing people leting their own imagination flow freely, though you probably already understand that
 

junguler

Banned
good game designers are still out there and making good games, it's just harder to find them because there is just more games in general and many studios prefer to copy what already works than to make something new and risk not being successful, sadly.
 

CitizenZ

Banned
The perfect example in my experience is Generation Zero. Holy fck I have never played a game so much that has no direction. The main problem everything is in place but you feel it playing the game, in the updates, the constant Discord BS, they have no fucking clue and it starts from the top. This instance feels like a 'project' for Avalanche and them letting others get their feet wet but news flash whomever is running this ship needs sunk.
 
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Reizo Ryuu

Gold Member
Yes a lot of designers suck, I graduated with a bunch who had no real skills aside from kissing ass to get higher up the ladder.
Gears 5 is a blast though, it's taken a while but I finally feel horde is on par with gears 3 horde; if you think the franchise is ruined cause of some esports skins, your own priorities are out of wack.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
You can ask the same about every industry. The majority of people in a work force are their to collect a paycheck. They have no passion for what they are doing other than collecting money. The same goes for game industry workers. The 1-2% that actually are BOTH talented and capable are super rare diamonds that go and work on the projects we see the quality in. That quality is represented in like 1% of total games released. The other 99%? Made to make money only, not as a passion project or anything else.

you see the valley between what is good and not growing wider because the tools and computing power is now there to really get an artistic vision across with little compromise. For those pouring passion into their work, it’s going to show. For those just punching in everyday? Their lack of passion and quality is now showing through and can’t be hid behind technical limitations
 

kiphalfton

Member
I believe this is the Peter Principle at work:

Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence": employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.
 
Imho, it’s mostly because Japan and other creative individuals don’t have near as much presence in the industry as they used to. I personally think the industry was filled with many more passionate, talented and imaginative individuals years ago when gaming was a little less mainstream. Now since gaming has become bigger, I feel it’s more about what’s trendy and brings in the money instead of what’s quality and innovative.

It’s a business at the end of the day, so that’s also why less risks are being taken and everything is more homogenized now I feel. Suits and business people took over most of the industry instead of people who are truly passionate about the industry. The audience has changed and their preferences and expectations are different from gamers of the past, so I guess companies try to adapt and cater to where they think money is.

In all fairness though, this also applies to most industries in general like music, TV and especially movies where there is barely a shred of imagination or originality left in it. Yet these people keep getting work and chances even when their movies or offerings fail or disappoint.
 
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Corndog

Banned
I believe this is the Peter Principle at work:

Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence": employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.
Not in my experience. People are promoted based on the strength of relations with their superiors whether they are competent or not.
 
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Amiga

Member
it was designed by a businessman who sucked the soul of the (insert game).
basically it's a combination businessmen and the thought police. and the thought police only have influence because the businessmen thinks it good free PR to pander to them. so yah it's all on the businessmen.
 
So All video games suck except the small few. Got it.

Sounds like you need to change hobbies as no one can convince you hear to enjoy something you clearly hate. There is plenty of non live service games that are great.
 

Knightime_X

Member
I feel like they get a degree that covers a general idea of the field and companies hire them because they "qualify" and not because they know wtf they're doing.

These people apply because paychecks are high not because they have any talent.
That or they fake it till they make it.
 

kuncol02

Banned
I don't understand what's your point. You are comparing guy who in last 10 years produced basically one game with is not gaming producer at all.
For every Avengers game you have dozens of unique and interesting games. You just don't see them because you are only looking for big AAA games.
 

hyperbertha

Member
Lost you at disney and AAA quality. If you like the avengers films, you don't have much high ground over the businessmen targeting casual whales.
 

kyussman

Member
I think there are plenty of talented directors around,just look at Sony's output last gen with Barlog,Druckmann etc...then you have the Japanese greats like Ueda,Miyazaki and Kojima....just because some publishers have gone down the GAAS route with their games doesn't mean talent has vanished from the industry.
 

Porcile

Member
The vast majority of people who climb the ladder, climb the ladder because they want to climb the ladder, as opposed to doing it because they have a true talent or a creative vision, especially where there is a company culture of this sort of thing. Lots of really good creatives stay at the bottom because they don't like the schmoozing of dealing with execs etc, or they choose to stay more independent. Its simply rare to get people like Sakurai.
 
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Ten_Fold

Member
You can ask the same about every industry. The majority of people in a work force are their to collect a paycheck. They have no passion for what they are doing other than collecting money. The same goes for game industry workers. The 1-2% that actually are BOTH talented and capable are super rare diamonds that go and work on the projects we see the quality in. That quality is represented in like 1% of total games released. The other 99%? Made to make money only, not as a passion project or anything else.

you see the valley between what is good and not growing wider because the tools and computing power is now there to really get an artistic vision across with little compromise. For those pouring passion into their work, it’s going to show. For those just punching in everyday? Their lack of passion and quality is now showing through and can’t be hid behind technical limitations
All facts, you can see it in ALOT of big games that seem to lack heart. Now when you see a game that might not be AAA but you can tell the devs was super into what they made, those games always last.
 

jigglet

Banned
Because if you go work in enterprise IT (banks, insurance), you can do less hours and get literally double or triple the salary. So if you’re in technology what incentive have you got to enter video games? The best of the best aren’t in gaming. They’re in the enterprise world.
 
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Zeroing

Banned
It’s simple, very rare are those who view games as art, a medium to push new experiences and are passionate about what they do. Those games bound players in their experiences.

Then there’s the ones who just see games as a way to gain money. For some weird reason those who go to that approach produce meh or bad gamers but their return - money, is worth it.

The lesson here is, vote with your wallet and not in hopes of promises of “the future” “exclusives games…” but for what a dev, a studio, a console maker been doing consistently.

then we will have better games, better attitudes in the gaming industry.
 

LMJ

Member
Ah the usual console war stuff I see...Oy come on people

Here We Go Again GIF


Actually OP it mostly stems from the fact that the video game industry has become as successful and big as it has, as there is often much more pressure on teams for "success"this once simple hobby is handled more like a company with multiple directors, writers etc all while the money holders are breathing down your neck.

Often Publishers will request outlandish shit of the directors and devs and give them ridiculous requests, timelines, and obstacles.

Everyone loves to shit on CDProject Red for CP 2077, despite this very same studio bringing The Witcher 3 and it's amazing DLC (many places, Gaf included gave it GOTY)

We shit on the devs and directors for their less than great delivery of CP (we 've even had people cheering the studio being shut down) and yeah they deserve criticism for it, but they too were victims of this.

They were FORCED to put the game onto the PS4 and One despite devs begging the higher ups to abandon that plan, games have been canceled on platforms before...Deus Ex IW was originally planned for the Box AND PS2, but luckily the devs realized that it would be a shit show on the PS2 and abandoned the platform.

With this major hurdle in their way devs and directors also pleaded for more delays as the game wasn't ready, but time is money and the shareholders were growing antsy.



Check out this video OP and everyone else...great channel that has shown me that many of the games I once mocked, were in fact victims of a shitty Publisher/outside interference or more.

The ultimate point being there are still great directors out there and brilliant writers, but they are often buried under awful schedules, dumb political BS and outsiders
 

tassletine

Member
It's the same for the film industry.

There's a common misconception about both -- That the people in charge are auteurs. This is almost entirely false.
The truth is, the auteurs who push the industry forward but they make up about 1% of the total.

Most directors aren't very smart and get into that position because the people spending the money want someone to take the fall, or just be a basic floor manager. They hire inexperienced people especially for this reason.

This is the reason you see games that are just copy and paste. No real risk has to be taken.
Only Auteurs want that risk. Most people back away and fold before they get any where near that level of pressure or responsibility.
 

Rolla

Banned
Because most of the publisher behind these studios are trying to sell us to their investors, instead of building a great gaming experience first and foremost.
 
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