What Is the Games Industry Missing?
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- The games industry is an ouroboros, telling the same stories, catering to the same people, and focusing on the same motivations, experiences and mechanics. What are we, as an industry and a community, missing?
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Transcript: bit.ly/pixeladay_missingtrans...
Introduction (0:00:00)
Part 1: The Demographic Ouroboros (0:01:29)
Part 2: Sorry, You Don’t Exist (0:11:52)
Part 3: What If You Had a Gun? (0:25:45)
Part 4: I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art (0:34:15)
Part 5: This is Not Game Maker’s Toolkit (0:40:11)
Conclusion (0:49:23)
The reference list for this video can be found on my Medium page at: bit.ly/pixeladay_whatarewemis...
People who lent their voices
Tracy Oliver voiced by Visionpoint on Fiverr
The Washington Post voiced by Like Stories of Old
Gamer Motivation Profile results voiced by Super Eyepatch Wolf
Tevis Thompson voiced by Jacob Geller
Martin Scorsese voiced by Adam Millard
i am error, hotcyder and SocraTetris voiced by themselves
Rose Brie Code voiced by herself
Teoh et al. voiced by kikikrazed
“Where are the mom games” compilation voices by: Darkfry, hotcyder, I am error, Aranock, Kai After Kai, Intercactus, Kevin from PixelLit, Questing Refuge, Secret Unlockable Goose, That 5th Puddle, kikikrazed, Chariot Rider, The Zapppfish Show
Video essays that are unique, poetic, inventive, vulnerable, surprising or inspiring, or that have a personal flair that is undeniably, distinctly that person’s (also available as a playlist: • Essays that are unique... )
General
Art is Everything | Is Art Still Relevant? | Art is Everything - CZcams
Aranock | Queer Relativity
Ladyknightthebrave | Remembering With A Twist - A Jojo Rabbit & The Book Thief Video Essay
Razbuten | I Hope This Video Doesn't Suck
Jacob Geller | Who’s Afraid of Modern Art: Vandalism, Video Games, and Fascism
hotcyder | Another Minute Remaining
The Essay Library | The Exquisite Relay: An Essay Library Co-Construction
Solar Sands | Everything is Television
Games
Lambhoot | Why I haven't played Hades
Static Canvas | The Cost of Horizons | Static Canvas
Socratetris | Behind This Waterfall? - Secrets
Afterthoughts | World of Warcraft and the Joy of Doing Nothing
GST Channel | isn't it weird how newer games manage to look more realistic than older ones?
GC Vazquez | Representing Latines and Hispanics In Games
Electron Dance | The Five Stages of Starseed Pilgrim
John Battle | The Last of Us 2: The Story of a House
Leadhead | The Game That Defined Me
Samantha Close | Play, Failure, Affect, Sadism
People whose work I used:
Ouroboros picture by Gustavorezende on Pixabay
Gamer photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels
Corporate presentation photo by Kampus Production on Pexels
Photos of scientists by Edward Jenner on Pexels, and Hernandez & Sorokina on Stocksy
Music used in this episode:
A Glow - Joe & Bob Johnson
Thorofare Hike - Chris Remo
Lovely Arps - James Primate
Seeds of the Crown - Disasterpeace
The Machinist - Amos Roddy
Maneuvers - Simon Chylinski
Petrichor V - Chris Christodoulou
Games mentioned at 29:41-30:03 - Signs of the Sojourner, Wilmot's Warehouse, Umurangi Generation, Overcooked!, Unpacking, Gone Home, Jusant, Subnautica, AER, Little Inferno, Moonlighter, Before Your Eyes, Heaven's Vault, Wandersong, VA-11 HALL-A, A Mortician's Tale, Untitled Goose Game - Hry
If you like what I do please consider throwing me a bit of money on Patreon, check out the tiers and benefits here: www.patreon.com/pixeladay
Thanks Kat - very important video
As someone who is actively afraid of leaving comments, this is hard - but just wanted to say: love this, good job, hear hear, etc. I’m a woman who plays games and watches videogame essays. Glad you exist ❤
I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable if someone reacts to your comment but I want to let you know that I'm proud of you for overcoming your fear. Especially to let someone know you appreciate what they do. It makes a difference.
I appreciate it, thanks for commenting and for watching!
Absolutely cracking vid as per usual, elaborated a lot of things I've been thinking for a long time now and made me hate myself in exciting new ways I never thought possible - couldn't be better timed alongside The AAA Games Industry Advertising Event And Also We Throw A Bone To, Like, One Fairly Safe Indie Game Per Year Awards, truly great stuff.
They should rename it that way XD
If at least one indie award winner doesn't make me angry is it really a game awards event
This captures so much of my struggles with video games. My partner and I actually play puzzle games together, but one of us has to stream the game while the other watches on a video call and we talk about it. Our way of playing literally doesn't exist in games research, even though Obra Dinn style games are actually way more fun with multiple people.
I played both The Witness and Obra Dinn with my boyfriend and both experiences were *chef's kiss*
Wake up babe new Pixel a Day video dropped
Hbomberguy, Joseph Anderson, Pixel a Day, what an amazing end of the year for video-essay believers
Who are those other guys, don't know em
ad revenue in december go brrrrr
@@PixelaDay
Just some guys who also like Dark Souls
Just need a Noah Caldwell-Gervais as a little dessert.
We only need an action button review
Amazing video as always. I'm also somebody that would rather play more games that have unique narratives and gameplay than another competitive shooter. To think I would ever prefer that games will stay the same is something I have never wanted ever. I have always felt that video games is a medium with so much potential that isn't explored because of this industry. I am very happy that somebody like you would also like games as much as I do and I support everyone to be able to play games. I truly believe that games aren't just time wasters, but are a valuable exploration of culture and experience that no other medium has as much potential to explore. There should be mom games too.
There are some, just not in the AAA space!
Pixel a Day: 1 Hour video about what the game industry is missing
Game Industry: More Live Services !!
WHY WON'T ANYONE LISTEN TO ME
This video was really magnificent, so informative and important. I deeply hope this video spreads and gets seen by a larger number of people.
22:44 : Have encountered that many, many times. Puzzle games and other "niche" genres are so often excluded or grouped into the wrong category (match-3 or other matching games that aren't quintessential puzzle style games like Baba Is You).
sokoban variant should be its own checkbox tbh
Accessibility is a big issue. There is no clear way for a person who’s never played games to learn how to play them. I’m glad you brought that up, I rarely see this being discussed.
An idea I had is standardizing every game to include an optional tutorial that is aimed specifically for non-gamers and teaches them the fundamentals of that games genre from the ground up. The goal would be to ensure that everyone, gamer and non gamer, has a clear entry point to the game.
But the industry currently if you’ve never played a game before? Tosses you a monopoly set thats missing the instruction manual then slaps you on the ass before laughing on the way to the bank.
this video hits even harder after this year's Game Awards, felt like a single game was announced with 20 trailers, couldn't tell when the trailer for the next one was starting.
also the gun shooting was the reason why I couldn't finish Control and Alan wake 2, it felt so out of place, I love these 2 games and their "vibes", but they had to add these boring mechanic(telekinesis was fun in Control), I had to finish them both on youtube.
56:02 - 56:13 this is amazing, you put my feelings for the entire games industry(meaning AAA😉) in this sentence.
I was wondering whether this video would be out of place releasing at a very "let's celebrate games being wonderful" time of year... but then yeah, The Game Awards were so horrid maybe it highlighted these problems? lol I don't know. I share your feelings about the Remedy games 100%
@@PixelaDayyes, it highlights the problems even more, they were like "we wanted to make something unique" and than show the most generic looking shooter ever.
I only finished Control because I maxed out telekinesis and powers. Throwing rocks at enemies is so much fun. I hardly ever used a Director's gun, and it was a good walkthrough without struggles.
I didn't finish Control because it crashed all the time and performance was crap on PS4. But I would have abandoned it anyway, it was really boring. For telekinesis, I think Scarlet Nexus is way more fun
I watched a playthrough of Control because it looked too bogged down with repetitive combat to be fun for me. Nice vibes and oh do I dig the SCP feelings, but I would have wanted to play it if the combat had been drastically scaled back and instead of that there was a mechanic for freeing the captured agents from the Hiss. How satisfying that would have been!
Thank you so much for making this! I think the world has become a little bit better, because this video exists.
This was phenomenal. Well done. Before the end part where you talk about this project brewing for years, I could feel the thoughtfulness and yet vulnerability coming through. It must have been tough to get all these thoughts in order and push them out. I hope you’re happy you made “the thing”. I think it’s important and I enjoyed watching it. 🙂
You're the best Dave
Took the survey, got *The Skirmisher* which states I want "fast-paced team arenas that are accessible and easy to jump into," and that I "dislike games that require thinking and planning."
The Legend of Zelda is my favorite franchise. Sure, I also enjoy Team Fortress 2 a lot, but that game isn't quite accessible with how mechanically deep it is.
Absolutely fantastic video. It's well written, articulate, and while you're calling for action, you're not disparaging what already exists. Honestly, you'd think that this all would be bare minimum for youtubers, but it's remarkably rare.
It's really funny to me, the section of this video where you brought up the player types, because I went to school for Game Design and Development and we spent some times talking about these types, but in an incredibly un-critical fashion. My professor, who was a woman, presented these as fantastic tools to find and cater to our intended audience. The reason this is so funny is because, when reflecting on them even a little, it's so obvious that they don't really hold any water. The same week we learned about these player types, we also learned that the average gamer is a middle-aged woman because of how popular mobile phone games had become, and most of those games don't really factor into these player types. On top of that, there are so many obvious player types that aren't accounted for, like the person who is waiting in line and wants to distract themself, the person playing purely to spend time with a loved one, a player who games to improve motor skills or brain function, and of course the gamers that act differently based on the kind of game they happen to be playing.
All of that is just to say that, i can't believe this is the first video I've seen critiquing this, and it's fantastic to see you not stop there, but continue to illuminate the flaws we currently have in how games are thought of, let alone created. Why do we believe that games should be a certain way, when art has shown us time and time again that it has no restraints.
it's too bad not enough people will see this video, but i'm so glad I started following you so I could. Don't ever try to be like other creators, I don't need 10 channels all telling me the same thing.
Amazing to have a comment from someone who actually did game design studies! I wonder where you're writing from and if there's a strong AAA industry there that college is seen as sort of a direct pipeline to? I've been reading Brendan Keogh's wonderful book The Video Game Industry Does Not Exist and my favourite chapter has been how game design courses are positioned and taught. There seems to be a disconnect between how these courses are marketed (targeting largely traditional Gamers, many of whom lack critical thinking about their favourite hobby) versus the sort of critical mindset and open mindedness that will actually help one succeed in this very unreliable field. At least here in Australia where we basically don't have a AAA industry any more, the lecturers in these courses seem to be aware of this and do their best to embed flexibility (and often also critical thinking) in their grads.
@@PixelaDay Actually, my experience is probably fairly unique in the grand scheme of things. I went to UCCS where they have a Bachelors of Innovation program, and in this program, one of the 12 disciplines is "Game Design and Development". For better or worse, there is exactly zero pipeline from that program into the AAA industry. In fact, I had to work fairly hard and get lucky to even have a chance to work in the industry after graduating, and I currently do not work as a game developer. I do use the majority of what I learned in my current job, and I think the program at UCCS is probably one of the best when it comes to making you think like a good developer. Most of the Game Design focused classes have extremely open ended assignments where the whole goal is to make you think like a game dev (and in some cases work like one too). One of the first assignments in my first course, prior to even learning programming, was to create a short game (maybe 5 minutes long) and I created a Zelda like dungeon with enemies from different games.
In my final semester, one of the classes I had was for each student to think of, create, and officially release a full game to the world. The professor would grade your game at the end based on literally how good of a game it was. I ended up making a Bejeweled style game, but rather than moving a piece in one of the 4 cardinal directions to create a match, I had you swapping pieces with a set of gems in your "hand". I also made it so you could rotate the whole board so you could decided which direction the gems would fall in. While not an incredible game by any stretch, I did have to create a whole game and release it within about 3 months of time (a single semester) and, for me at least, I found this process to be incredibly inciteful and useful, even though I don't create games presently.
In general, most colleges that have "Game Design" degrees are exactly like what you stated above, and it's a real issues as it doesn't generate good game developers, it just generates useful code monkeys for the industry, and usually for the worst parts of the industry. Most of the marketing for these degrees and colleges promise that each year the students create a full game that you can put on your portfolio, the issue is that this process doesn't really teach the students much and instead just prepares them to take orders.
To make a good game, you actually have to critically think at every stage in the process. You have to consider what you want to create, then deal with set backs, what your team is capable of, deadlines, bugs and other unforeseeable issues; but you still need to create something fun in spite of all of this. This means that you constantly have to make decisions about what to change, what to continue focusing on, when and how to pivot development, and the whole time you have to make your employees happy and your customers happy. Game Development is often marketed as this holy grail style job that is perfect for people who like to play games. Enjoying a game and making a game have almost nothing to do with each other. I mean, it's like saying that, "You love watching movies? Well then you can become an amazing director just like all your favorites! Sign up today and join your classmates in making a movie over your 4 year college education!" Just because you like movies doesn't mean you can act or direct or write a good script, it just means you like movies. In the same way, enjoying video games has nothing to do with creating enjoyable video games.
To really give you an idea of how difficult making a game really is, here's an interesting stat for you. In my degree, about 150 students joined the Game Design and Development program at the same time as me. Not a ton of people, but a pretty healthy amount based on how little known the degree was at the time. When I graduated, there were 11 other people who graduated with me, and most of them came from the year prior to mine as they needed extra time to get enough credits. The hemorrhaging rate for people out of the program was huge, and it's not because the classes sucked or the teachers were terrible (actually my teachers were pretty fantastic) it's because a ton of gamer bros joined the program thinking that they could make games since they liked playing them, and then they discovered how difficult the process actually was. Most people that started the program ended up switching to either cyber security or software engineering because they were easier. I had one class senior year where we had to design, develop, and show off a game each week that was not only enjoyable, but also something that could possibly teach a simple skill to the player. That class started with about 30 students and ended with about 6.
Bottom line, you hit the nail on the head, but I luckily had a great program, but even this program didn't guarantee a job in the industry . Sorry for long response
Thanks for the extremely insightful reply!
When you bring up the idea of a "Nurturer" or a "Maverick" player type, I identified far more with both than any of the other types they have, despite being fairly close to the stereotypical target demographic.
I think a lot of us have that experience, since I'm pretty sure the stereotype isn't even good at describing young cis white male gamers. Besides, there's probably also some correlation between those player types and the people who watch hour-long meta-essays on the culture of vide games.
See I always thought I was quite on top of a topic like this and agreed with everything, but you still managed to catch me out and think "wow - i never thought of that"!
Great video, thank you for making it!
I've been a gamer since the late 1970s. This video echoes many of the same complaints I have had for a very long time. In the late 1970s/early 1980s, when video games first achieved mainstream popularity, it was relatively inclusive, and in those experimental early years, games weren't held down to genre expectations and demographics. Things changed after the video game crash of 1983, and the gaming hobby became the domain of mostly young men. For decades, it seems like the vast majority of prominent games have featured a lot of action, a lot of fighting, and the fanciest graphics that the technology of the day could achieve. On rare occasions, something different would appear and take the gaming world by storm, clearly indicating that there was demand for something that wasn't high energy and bloodthirsty. SimCity was one such game, and it inspired a whole group of other city builders and related types of games. This kept me engaged with gaming at a time when some of my favorite genres were in decline or had become extinct. I'm glad I stuck with it, because notwithstanding the train wreck that is the AAA space these days, the indie scene has really blossomed, and for the first time since the late 1970s/early 1980s, there are so many games compatible with my interests that I barely have time to scratch the surface.
Action combat is one game mechanic I have never liked, but over the years, I played a few of the games with action combat and even came to regard some of them as among my favorites, but this was in spite of the combat. These games (i.e. Morrowind and Fallout: New Vegas) had so much else to offer that it was worth putting up with the combat. It helps that the combat isn't particularly challenging in these games. Combat is seen as such a basic feature in games that even many of the ostensibly low stress, so-called "cozy games" have combat. Stardew Valley is great in many ways, but having to fight endless hordes of monsters sometimes puts me off. For as long as I can remember, I have had a real hunger for non-violent games. This is what pushed me into the city builders and has led me to look for non-combat "cozy games" and walking simulators, and to play games such as No Man's Sky and Valheim in the peaceful mode. I don't mind turn based combat so much since it feels more like a logic puzzle than a fight when it is well designed. Baldur's Gate 3 is quite possibly the best in this regard out of all the CRPGs I have played since the 1980s. It is one of very few games in which I have actually enjoyed combat.
Video games can and should be so much more than fighting. The art form is incredibly flexible, and it is a shame that so many of its possibilities went unexplored for so long. I have little hope for the AAA studios. Like the big Hollywood film studios, they are risk averse corporations that will continue beating to death whatever has brought in the money in the past, and they will do so until it no longer works. Just as Hollywood churns out one action superhero movie after another in tired decades-old franchises, the big companies will continue to churn out action combat games that are flashy and fancy-looking on the surface (and have cash shops and battle passes to hoover up as much money as possible from their customers) but have no depth and little variety. They are the fast food of movies and video games - good for a quick adrenaline fix but offering little else. With very few exceptions, it is the small indie developers and privately held companies not unduly beholden to investors (such as Larian) that will push the art form forward.
Incredible comment! So you witnessed the start of this artform... I listened to a very good podcast/yt vid a while ago (in French unfortunately) that highlighted this turn towards young men in the early 80s, looking at ads before and after... and wow, adults and girls playing games! Didn't last, I wonder what could have been.
Not, as you put it well, that we're lacking in cool and diverse games those days!
@@etamr60 It would be nice if there had been better diversity in games between the mid-1980s and 2010s, but gaming is in better shape now. What is this video/podcast you mention? I'm not fluent in French, but I have some basic knowledge, so I might be able to understand it.
@@heatherharrison264 It's "le canard et la plume #3" from Canard PC. The topic is broader, on the representations of videogames in the media and political discourse, but there are interesting observations especially on how the medium was conceived and marketed.
Warning : early-covid era sound quality
Thanks as always for your wonderful and important take :) I wish we had a lot more people like you in the hobby!
Thank you so much for making this video.
As someone currently looking through games data and player research, it's incredibly frustrating to see such limited categorizations of players and de-emphasis on where the industry can improve to bring in those with much more limited game knowledge into the medium. Games are great and we've come a long way in even the past 10 years, but there is still so much work to be done.
Heyyyy thanks and thank you so much for helping out with the video! Let me know if I can help out with your project
Huge thanks for persevering and making the video that's been on the tip of your tounge for litaral years - it's a triumph.
Part 2 of your video resonated with me especially since I've always felt like an atypical gamer. I just did the gamer motivation test for myself and also found myself a little deflated by the questions as it seemingly tried to pidgeonhole me into a type of player that I'm not. I've got such an appitite for emotionally challenging games that try to do something a little unique with the medium, but they are much rarer than I'd like.
Excellent video! I too, hid my face, specifically as I knew I wouldn't be taken seriously as a non-white creator. I was able to leverage my accent and voice in a faceless way that enabled me to get the views I did and what I wrote about to be taken seriously without prejudice.
Sid!! It's been a minute!
I feel like I can't properly put into words all my thoughts and emotions about this but I'll say one thing. I think what you are saying is extremely important and good, and I think you really should be proud of it.
This came out even better than I imagined when you first mentioned the idea which is unbelievable!
You have touched on so many frustrations and a huge potential I truly believe in that games can do. 💜
The idea of not just noticing, but *staring* at the lack of something is genuinely affecting me in a way I can't really describe. To the point that after 4 chapters building on that idea, Carmen Maria Machado's quote actually made me skip a breath.
I was recommended this video, and I really appreciate how you direct attention to other innovative artists.
I always hated it when people tell me that those companies are "taking risks" to earn their money, yet it seems they always try to play it safe to appeal to as wide audience as possible.. Even though it has been proven many many times that people love more experimental games, movies etc. but as u said all of these are thought of as exceptions, and with that mindset dominating all those industries it feels bleak
huge thanks for this essay it feels so good to finally be understood and find many people who share my beliefs, not to even mention how much it broadened my understanding of the subject
thanks for all ur work
Glad the video hit! Thanks for the lovely comment!
I've never heard of your channel before, but after seeing this video, I INSTANTLY subscribed! I also have felt this way about the game industry for a while now and like it's seriously time for a MAJOR shift in the industry. Especially AAA. Incredible work! (Leaving this comment to help boost your video)
Excellent video. I liked the numerous examples in Part 1 and Part 2. It really helps to understand this Blind Spot when you see it in action. Also, your comment about growing out of Video Games hit home for me. It's not that I am getting too old for video games, Video Games as a medium fail to grow with me (with some notable exceptions, of course). It's not that I don't want to game anymore, it's just I don't want another AAA game with some boring chosen one storyline and crafting system, I have done that long enough. Games like Citizen Sleeper, Paradise Killer, Signalis and even Death Stranding on the other hand are an auto-buy.
Thanks so much for the comment!
Fantastic work, one of the best video essays in a month stacked with great video essays!
Kat, thank you so much for this work. One of your most important pieces and such important things being said here. I’m very proud to have been supporting you and will continue to do so!!
Joe you're a gem and I'm so proud to have you as a supporter!
Wonderful, thank you so much for this! Voices like yours give me hope for the future of this medium.
I feel like we've having the same thing for years now. Your video is probably one of the best about this, but I can't believe so much time has happened and nothing has changed.
You are one of my favorite creators in the platform. Thank you for everything you create, especially this video.
I found your channel through your recent indie game video and am loving the content. I won't repeat all the deserved praise from everyone else, I just want to say I'm like 80% sure the poster from part 3 is from Pathologic 2 and I love it.
IT IS!
Damn Kat, this video is so impressive and meaningful to me as a woman and mother who has often felt alienated from the games industry. I am honored to have even a small role in this important work.
(also, I now want to make a game where you breastfeed a baby)
"breastfeeding simulator" is now immortalised in my search history for all time
Also I can tell you that I now know there is a gap in the market here
@@PixelaDay Good to know!
What an incredible video! This was my intro to your channel, and I cannot wait to dig into your back catalogue! Though I anticipate returning to this one again, and I will certainly be pointing friends toward it as well. I have also felt at times like I'm aging out of this hobby. But I'm not left with a sense of dread or the feeling that this will be an inevitability after watching your video! You've so beautifully articulated the case that things can and should be different, and you've left me at least walking away with a sense of hope that they will be. Thank you for advocating for that better future in a medium I'm not ready to age out of just yet.
That's really nice to hear, thank you so much for your heartfelt comment. I have much hope (for the indie scene at least), and who knows what the future will bring!
Thank goodness for the indie scene!!
This is so incredibly valuable. There are so many stories untold because the people who have the decision making power prefer stories in their own demographic. And so the world stays small, the stories stay stale, and the gaming community stays insular. I can't wait to see a future where "gamers" is a truly inclusive term
You did an outstanding job with this video and this makes me want to try checking out games that are trying unique ideas and different perspectives.
Regardless of the amount of views this gets, this is a very well crafted piece of art. Awesome work!
I'm a MUDder and remember the discussions about the limitations of the Bartle test back in the day. It was a good start but really only scratched the surface. It feels like that new test actually took some steps back by narrowing focus to AAA games, rather than expanding to the full range already on display (not to mention the even greater possibilities.)
I remember these too! Love the dear doctor's work of course, but we recognized then the need to expand on it. Some did (much later)! Yee for instance? But yes, much more is needed.
I watched this on my TV and forgot to comment. Absolutely fantastic video, mate. Really important topc and something we should be actively addressing.
I cant really offer more than the verbal encouragement that your voice is unique and important among video essayists covering games, and that i truly hope that you'll continue your work.
That means a lot, thank you so much
Always appreciate you're videos! Thank you for making this and sharing it
Thank you for your support!!
Thank you for making this video. It's nice to hear smart people talking about these things I feel, and helping me find words to describe them. I particularily liked the rise to colour at the end :-)
Thanks a lot for doing this. It absolutely helps to talk about this collective blind spot we have, all thoses things that could have been (and could be). So important!
I love this video so much! Just found your channel yesterday, and i'm sooo happy i did, you do amazing work!
Thank you! Welcome to the channel, great to have you here :)
Just found your channel after watching your SOMA review. Love your work.
(Disclaimer: I'm a cis het white guy) Thank you for making this amazing video. 1. Everyone deserves games that are accessible to them and that speak to their interests and experiences, and I want there to be games that address the common blind spots of people like me, and of the industry as a whole! 2. I personally want more variety in games! I certainly like some traditional AAA games, but I also like a bunch of obscure indie games that have premises and verbs and approaches and artistic visions that are unique/underrepresented. That Quantic Foundry survey doesn't really include me well at all. My favorite games are mostly games that don't yet exist, which take some refreshing vision and give it AAA-level polish.
I loved every single piece of this! thank you for sharing ❤
loved this, thank you
What a breath of fresh air this video is…
Thank you for making it
This was a pretty great essay! Hopefully it does really well!
This!!! Oh god this! I've watched pretty much all the essays from the people you mentioned, both on political and gaming topics, but never before has one seemed so personal to me.
I always struggled describing the games I like. And every time I try, it starts with an exclusion - "I like games that aren't mainstream 3D shooters with a lot of violence" - and then I move on to my list, but there is very little in common between the games in it. Even something as basic as genres - I have never been able to say that I'm a fan of any specific one, because every new game that catches my eye doesn't correlate with the genres of games before that, to help define my tastes. And I only now realized why.
The games that I like can't be easily classified because... I love experimentation. I love unique mostly non-combat game mechanics. I love recognizable and distinctive non-photorealistic art styles. I love games with free progression, focused on giving the player the options and freedoms of what to do. I love games with atmospheric music and captivating sights that make me feel something beyond simple immersion.
Of course my favorite games aren't similar - or if they are, it mostly vibes, rather than actual substance - because if I'm impressed by a game, I don't want to play a clone of it. I want to play something as good as it, with the same passion, but applied to a different idea. It seems so simple now, but then your preference is "novelty" mixed with "quality", it's not something you can pin down and concretely describe. It's by definition vague an elusive, something you know only then you see it. I like games that fill in the gaps.
And it's stupidly fitting because... I write stories that fill in the gaps. That's what I do, that I pride myself in - I explore all the popular ideas in my specific area and then create stories out of missing pieces, out of everything I didn't see during my research. I just do it in a different medium. And there is always this initial fear when I upload, that my Ideas are too niche, that if someone wanted them, then they would have written it already. But... No. As it turned out - and shock me in the process - I have an audience much larger than I ever expected, and many of them told me that my stories were something they either always wanted, or never knew they wanted.
I just was the first one to actually implement it, to actually capture it in the text. And many said that that's what made my creativity stand out, leaving an imprint in their minds to a point, that other works didn't impress them anymore. Because everything around was too samey, and I have effectively set a new standard. It's strange, to be honest - to get compliments like that. It's always feels like a guilty pleasure, like I didn't do anything special and didn't deserve that much praise, no matter how stupidly happy I am to hear it.
But this video, this whole talk of yours... It made me realize much more than just my tastes in games. It's empowering and reassuring in ways I can't describe. The only thing I can do is wholeheartedly agree. There is a lot of trends, and a lot of gaps they inevitably leave behind. Following a trend is eazy. Exposing a gap takes some effort, but generally possible. But finding what to fill these gaps with - that's the actual challenge, that is criminaly underappreciated. But then someone does it, it's never a waste of effort. It's risky, it's hard, it takes immense creativity and passion. And results are rarely a success in metrics we recognize. But for people like me, the existence of such works is essential! And I would always advocate for more!
Thank you for this essay. Really. It has finally put into words this series of confusing thoughts and feelings of mine, transforming them into something understandable and meaningful. You filled the gap in my soul I didn't know was there.
You don't know what it means to read this! It really fills my heart to hear my video resonated so much. Thanks and all the best for your very valuable and important creative work!
Thanks so so much for your video ! Hope you will be heard by the gaming industry !
Opinion -> Altering AAA industry is almost impossible, since it's driven by money and not by innovation/art. Mainly indie as you said is where gems are from and which occasionally change the larger mainstream industry. It's a nice dream to have a more diverse AAA industry, but I don't believe there's a world where that happens without some indie blowing up (which would probably bring in only a one genre to AAA).
I work in the gaming industry and do game porting to consoles - the idea that a cool and largely innovative project will come out of AAA is almost unthinkable for me. The teams are large and often are separated by place/time - multiple time zones, countries/cities, soit's difficult to get across/communicate new ideas. The development is slow due to bureaucracy and a lot of leadership/execs are looking at the potential money, they look at trends and so new ideas just get shut down due to a potential risk. Maybe I have blinders on and it's always good to have a discussion about things and criticize, but it's very difficult for me to see a potential change there. Ouroboros feels like exactly what you're fighting.
Niche -> I don't find it atrocious that certain games are niche and have a very dedicated player base, which is not representative of whole industry. I think there's a certain beauty in it. There are bonds, which are tighter than anything that could happen ever in AAA space (I'm exaggerating, but I do also mean it). Industries will keep chasing trends, but there will be always an indie scene which is amazing/innovative/weird.
What I find amazing about your channel is that it celebrates games like Outer Wilds, Celeste, Rain World, Undertale, Citizen Sleeper, Edith Finch, Venba and other awesome ones which I don't even know of. (I know I've added a game not covered ^^)
PS: Great video and I'm looking forward to seeing the discussion this video brings
Yeah!
You're not the first person to yell at me on here about playing Venba XD I'll make sure I get to it over my summer break
This might be a bit off-topic, but as a person who lives outside of the Anglosphere (that is, English-speaking countries) I'm finding it frustrating to see how much of a monopoly USA's pop culture has got over storytelling in games, with its influence having impact even on titles made outside of it (think of Guerrilla's Horizon!). Not only that: as "People Make Games" noticed, people in higher positions within the game industry mostly come from middle/upper class backgrounds. The stories that emerge out of these two factors mostly tend to show only a really partial view of the world, taking for granted principles that might not be as set in stone as some would like to think (Vogler's prefaction to his "Hero's Journey" does tackle a similar subject). Some of these conventions are so ingrained within these storytellers that you can almost immediately tell if a game was made in the US (or specifically for that that target audience) or not; think of Disco Elysium, Saturnalia or even The Witcher 3 and how distinct they can feel from English-language pop media.
Thanks so much for adding this, highly on point.
It's been a handful of years now that I started (at first playfully) rolling my eyes when a new AAA shooter game got announced in a big games event. I usually watch these with my older brother, to whom I mostly owe my love for gaming. Nowadays, it's gotten to the point where even he's just loudly sighing when another new and interesting aesthetic is revealed to be an excuse to shoot some guys with guns. There are literally so many other verbs out there!!!!
Like, just as an example: what if you HUGGED guys with guns? Duck in and out of cover, close the distance and go for a big hug. Or sneak up from behind and do a stealth hug. At least in the movies space I've seen it work before...
On the flip side, events have gotten so big we don't really complain about a dedicated shooter segment anymore: gives us a neat bathroom break where we can be sure we won't miss any interesting announcements.
Ive been trying to write a couple different video essays for a while, im not sure if i will ever get them done or not, maybe they might be kinda doodoo but youre definitely one of the channels i hope to match! thank you for all your hard work and good thoughts!
Thanks for all your support over the years
Many thanks for this Kat - you covered a lot of ground there, and I'm pleased for you that you managed to finally make this video! The timing is beautifully fortuitous; a great counterpoint to the massive and unavoidable hype around the GTA VI trailer in the last week or so. Nothing against GTA, but there's so much more this industry could and should be, and so much more we should be excited about. A lot of progress has been made, but there's still so much further to go. Yours is an important and unique voice - keep going.
If I may, I'll also take this opportunity to say I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Happy Christmas and NY!
As one of those white males I won't lie, I feel like my tastes were perfectly catered to this year. Between Armored Core, RE4 Remake, Alan Wake II, Remnant II, Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, Spider-Man 2, FF16. Amazing indies like Cocoon, Dredge, Jusant, Sea of Stars, and Chants of Sennaar. Just absolutely insane year.
Sucks that not everyone gets to feel the same way. I do wish more big AAA money would get thrown at experimental projects. Indies are killing it these days, but imagine what some of these studios could do with the same budget Insomniac gets for Spider-Man.
I also feel like my tastes have been catered to lately - not as a white male (although I am that, too), but as a language nerd. Heaven's Vault, Tunic, Chants of Sennaar... but notably, that's all coming from indie developers.
Why is this channel getting so few views? this is criminally underrated
Fantastic video as always
Super interesting stuff! Thank you.
I wanna show Part 3 of this video to literally everyone with gaming as a hobby. I can't think of how anyone can disagree with it. Once you notice the void, it becomes impossible to ignore. You perfectly put into words how I (and probably many other people too) have been feeling about the industry for a while now.
Thank you, that means a lot.
This video is so important! Thank you so much for having the courage to make and post this. I watch a lot of video game essays and every time I stumble upon a channel made by a woman or a minority, it makes me so happy! We should be able to tell our stories in video or video game format. There is an audience for it, for real!
I believe this too!
What a fantastic video! As a puzzle afficionado as well as an indie game designer, I felt really seen.
It's so rare to find games that I like because most "non-action" games are lumped together into this one master indiscriminate "puzzle" category, from Bejeweled to Portal 2, from Braid to 5D Chess. And even when I do find puzzle games that I enjoy, they'll have one element or another of what I call "mainstreamness". For instance, The Talos Principle 2 released recently, and having played the first, I was really looking forward to the second. My about-average graphics card, however, was not. Though the focus of the game is puzzle-solving, with some elements of narrative, the game tries its absolute hardest to sell itself as this grand, ultra-realistic, very big blockbuster AAA game with ultra HD graphics and raytracing. Even the story left a sour taste in my mouth towards the end in how it tried to appeal to certain ideals of story-telling. Conversely, a huge surprise for me was the game Outer Wilds, which rocketed itself (pun unintended) to my top 2 games of all time. Creative and innovative in every single facet: gameplay, narrative, visuals, everything. You can see passion and love pouring from every prop, from every bit of text, and from every narrative thread. It reminded me that yes, games can still be pieces of art.
Even when designing my own games, I feel like I'm swimming against the current. Time and again I have heard about how the types of games I enjoy aren't commercially viable, or how they need X and Y to draw attention, and how we can take inspiration from so-and-so big studio game. But if the friends I made in these niches can enjoy what I make at face value, free of biases, why can't a broader audience?
I'm happy to have been recommended this channel - albeit a little later than I wish I had - and am about to binge all of your videos. The Outer Wilds/Rain World ones seem especially appetizing 👀
Looking forward for more amazing and insightful commentary from you, keep up the spectacular work!
Thanks for the amazing comment! I have the same feeling too of swimming against the current on this terrible bloody website with its preference towards videos that are shorter, more frequent, more spicy and reactive and drama-y, with more clickbaity thumbnails, and the list goes on. The pressure is constant. I'm sure you have already but make sure you tap into a supportive community who will remind you every day that the stuff you make is valuable BECAUSE it's uniquely yours.
We are all trapped as you said. Gamers, developers, creators.
It is "sadly" the world we live in. You see the problem is not because of the game industry, but an upper layer that determines incentives. We want time. To have time we need money. We have little time to spare, we have only a limited time to make a game, to make a video. The time we put into our videos, into your games, into our creations, we want to get the most out of it. We want the reassurance, the money. We are not at the point where we create things solely because we enjoy creating. We may enjoy creating, but we develop games, or we make youtube videos because we NEED money. Instead of saying need, we can say we want, we want money, so that we can do the things that we enjoy, like playing a video game, or making an essay about a video game.
The problem that I see is that we are all scrambling to make money, and therefore we are incentivised to satisfy the algorithm, or we are incentivised to develop shooting games of dads killing hordes, so that we can make money, and then we can do whatever we want.
Only when we get past the incentive of money can we get to what this video is about. I must argue that is very hard to achieve.
It is very hard to not want to satisfy the collective society so that we can reap a benefit.
Thank you for making such a thoughtful video, and for posing questions I'll be thinking about for a good while. iamerror included your work in her 2023 round-up list, and rightly so.
Appreciate the thoughtful take on the opportunities we're missing! I, too, remember Razbuten's series with his wife being a shock to my system, as I'd taken for granted so many of the basic mechanics and UI conventions of modern gameplay. Accessibility, diversity of tone and focus, and a broadening of the "culture" of gaming can go along way. Forbidden City, Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Witness have been some of my favorite experiences without a hint of FPS ultra-violence among them...
It will get missed in the excellence of the rest of the video, but I love that your example for "people the AAA industry doesnt bother to represent" was "adults".
I watched Jacob Gellers top ten kist just before this, and as much as I loved hearing about all these interesting games, it mad me sad and kind of angry that so many wonderful experiences are locked behind 40+ hours of game play: AAA Will Never Die, But You Will
This was really amazing
“i like to think of it as an ouroboros though, because it sounds cooler to say” had me rolling
Thank you for your hard work!
Amazing job. Well done
I basically never comment on youtube videos because the comment section is, well, we all know, BUT thank you for making this video. I feel genuine glee whenever I see a new one from you and this was an important video to share with everyone.
Thank you!
Thank you so much. This was great! I imagine someone might have already mentioned this, but We Happy Few has a distinct mothering section. It's mechanical and the infant you take care of is more like a timer than a living being, but added something I'd never experienced before.
Ooh, I own this but haven't played it!
@@PixelaDay It's somewhat of a frustrating game, but worth it (I think) to make it through the first section of the campaign to see that mother/child dynamic.
I've gone so far as to not describe what i'm working on, and hoping for, as a "game". I simply call them "experiences". Afraid it might be difficult to get this to catch on. Not going to stop trying though (at least until someone suggests something more useful for me to latch onto)!
Thank you so much for laying these sets of problems out, with much needed intellectual and emotional depth. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 💖
Thank you for making this video
Stellar video that brilliantly articulates what many if us never knew how to express 👏
fascinating video. thanks a lot for the hard work.
And thanks for your support!
This is a wonderful message. I've been sharing it around to all my industry networks. I've been in the games biz since the mid 90s when virtually all studios were basically frat houses, and it's been amazing watching the evolution, yet frustrating how slowly the demographic change of the workforce has manifest in the levels of leadership that could actually steer the industry out of our current stagnant water. I truly believe videogames can be the most powerful artform humans have created, but first it's gotta break free of the teen boy edgelord phase we've been trapped in for over 3 decades! Thanks for your admonition and testimony. Keep up the great work!
Ah, thank you so much for sharing with your people, that's a huge compliment! It's so great to hear from people who feel the same way
This is awesome. I just found your channel and I'll be looking forward to your future content.
I've been trying to find where my effort is best utilized in the game development space (as a generally solo developer on the side of my unrelated full time work). I feel like the exact points you bring up here about underserved games is not only a way to broaden the culture but also build games as an industry into a new vision.
All the best and I look forward to future insights!
Amazing video as always! I can imagine it took a lot to put this out there, especially considering how critical gamers/gaming community can be when the issues within the industry/community get pointed out. A lot of what you said made clear to me some nagging feelings I've had about games for a long time. Like why I've become so bored with new AAA games when I used to love that style of game. And you also made me see some of my own blind spots, like groups who are left out this conversation that I never even thought of before. I'll definitely be thinking about this video for a long time and I'll have to come back and watch it again. As always, thank you for what you do, I really love your work and your insights.
Thank you so much for your support too!
Thanks for opening my eyes to this.
really good video
and about playable game moms, i can only think of Saga Anderson from Alan Wake 2 but her parenthood is not as prominent as with the dads, but still a step in a good direction i think
also, hyper light drifter score detected
based
Creating a cultural shift is very, very difficult. The necessary shift cares not for how needed the change might be. Recycling, voting, overworking for underpay, etc.
Historically telling and retelling the narrative with a view on perspective has been the solutions that have had some success (Martin Luther, Woman's Suffrage, Arab Spring, etc). It really does not help that a lot of these are framed as the individuals problem despite the system being in control of it. You are correct, it is a two way street. But the power is not on the individual, but rather the organized (please unionize!). When both parties are organized, mediation actually occurs.
So I am commenting in the hopes that the algorithm reads this data point and juts it out towards someone who'll listen.
Oh yay a new Pixel A Day video! Guess i know what i am watching on repeat for the reat of the day!
You're doing very important work. I think you speak for a very wide audience with the sentiments you've expressed here, and your summary of existing gamer-type research was especially illuminating - you just made the rationale behind decades of ill-fitting marketing decisions make sense to me! I always look forward to your insightful discussions :)
Lovely comment
This is wonderful.
amazing video, I want to see more like this :)
Thank you A LOT for this video.
Great points. The bad survey got me thinking about Myers Briggs and similar psych inventories.
One thing that could be done, that would at least get some sort of clarity on the gamer classes that actually exist in the wild rn would be to do some sort of cluster analysis on the steam libraries that folks have + playtimes etc. Of course, this excludes the mobile space, or the libraries folks have on itchio or other services, and it of course fails utterly to see what isn't there atm, but it could at least advance us past the silliness of that survey.
Great essay!
Those data ain't free... then again, steam is probably not at all reprensentative.
Don't get me started on the Myers Briggs!
@@PixelaDayyeah, just invented from whole cloth, whereas say big five comes from a more 'let the data speak' approach. So, how would you do that with games is I guess the question that survey made me think about. But its valve and apple and google who would have the biggest, beefiest data sets. Maybe gog or itchio would be more amenable.
And that could only map the terrain that is, not the terrain that could be, that you're gesturing towards.
I adore this. Bravo. Thank you!
I still come back to the Paradise Killer video occasionally. The story of rat universe 25 added such great context I would not have found otherwise thanks for raising it Pixel.
I really wish more games had reading lists / Civilopedia styles of teaching in them so you could directly use them as a step to further knowledge.maybe it would nudge them into more real world concepts.There are so many interesting technologies and social relations that never seem to be modeled, compared to the amount of shooting simulators ove seen
This was a great video. I needed someone to say everything you put forward. Despite being the general target demographics that games companies and media is targeted tward, I have felt like I am not being focused on, and I wondered why. Then your description of a theoretical "Maverick" gamer hit me like a lead brick. While I am not that style of gamer all the time, a lot of my time looking for games media has been focused on seeking small indie projects that are artistically unique and emotionally resonant. Maybe it is my autism, but I am finding it harder to like games based on traditional game play, and I just want experiences that affect me mentally in the way any other artistic medium would, with interactivity deepening the connection even further.
Thank you for making me see the gaps in experiences I have been missing, so that I now know where to look for.
I don't have much hope for AAA gaming, but I believe that the Ouroborus is "in fact" eating it's self, and that is opening doors. The gaming industry is starting to self destruct due to these toxic cycles mentioned and it is driving more gamers, non-gamers, and media to seek what they actually want from the indie scene. I can say I feel hope, not for what is currently here to be fixed, but for what comes after to be better.
I hope to see more form you in the future.
Thank you for this video, it meant a lot to me.
This is an amazing comment to receive, thanks so much for leaving it. I'm so happy to hear the video resonated! I also wouldn't mind if the whole thing ate itself - not sure how likely that is but I'm joining you in the hope that things will be very different one day
Great video, sending to all my friends
Thank you!
thanks for making this video :)
I also wish there was more emphasis on game variety and what it means to be a gamer. Most conversations I have with new people I meet when we find out we are both gamers, it almost always boils down to "Oh! What games do you play?"
"I've been really into Elden Ring and Baldurs Gate, [bigger game to initially sound less niche] recently!"
"Oh, never heard of it. Do you play Valorant though??"
Another challenge to creativity is the fact that FIFA can annually make more money than Elden Ring in its lifetime. So we get stuff like gachas, live service, and battle passes emphasized over content or substance.
I almost never mention I game to people I don't know well, for this exact reason!
dude i got shivers watching this. i feel so heard!!!
Thank you so much.