Advances in gaming technology have been the norm since the first consoles landed in stores over 40 years ago. Since then, each generation has produced more powerful gaming hardware that allows for better-looking, better-sounding and more advanced games. However, with the rise in gaming technology also came the rise in development costs. What used to be possible with a handful of programmers and artists now requires teams of dozens to hundreds of employees to produce a modern AAA game. Rockstar even stated that over 1,000 people were involved in the development of Grand Theft Auto V.

With this rise in development costs, is this killing innovation in gaming?

Argument for yes

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The 80’s and 90’s built the foundations of the gaming industry and cemented most of the standards that we take for granted today. With lower development costs, we saw a lot of original and creative games that weren’t afraid to go out on a limb and try some wacky ideas and pushed the boundaries of what we should expect. Games like The Ooze put you in control of a puddle of slime, Haunting Featuring Poulterguy let you act as a ghost trying to spook humans out of your house and Uniracers was a high-speed racing game where you played as a sentient unicycle. There was a ton of crazy and original stuff coming out constantly from big publishers.

However, as the budgets for games crept upward as more programmers, more designers and more artists were required to build immersive 3D games, massive worlds and realistic characters in games from World of Warcraft to L.A. Noire, gaming developers started to take less risks since the cost to develop games has risen into the realm of tens of millions of dollars. A single flop can singlehandedly bankrupt a development studio.

It became far more common last generation, when we literally got a dozen separate Call of Duty games on the 360/PS3 and the ‘roster update’ joke that’s plagued sports games for years was now appropriate when discussing other genres. Series like Assassin’s Creed started pumping out yearly sequels that were little more than new character and map packs for older games, while more creative games like Catherine and Viva Pinata started becoming less and less common.

The drive to create bigger and more immersive games has driven the cost of AAA game development to the point where few publishers are willing to take chances on new ideas. They have to play it safe and crank out reliable sellers like predictable FPS games, marginally updated sports games and racing sequels that only give us new tracks and cars. As we march forward, this problem will only get worse.

Argument for no

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While advanced hardware pushes AAA developers to create bigger and more costly games that lock them into safe genres and franchises, the rise of built-in storage and online stores has allowed the indie scene to grow and thrive.

Without the expense of physical distribution and high-end production values, indie developers have had the ability to step in and innovate where the big boys can’t. They’re small and nimble and have the flexibility to try some crazy stuff because the bar has been lowered for these guys. Granted, its a highly-competitive scene since so many small game developers have risen up to fill this niche, but the cream usually rises to the top.

Games like World of Goo, Undertale, Super Meat Boy, Shovel Knight and even the mighty Minecraft would have likely never been possible in the era just before digital marketplaces like Steam and the eShop became common. These games are able to try the same sort of innovative, wacky ideas that were common in the days when games still came on cartridges.

In conclusion

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More advanced gaming systems have been both a blessing and a curse, locking AAA developers into creating safe, big-budget spectacles while indies have been able to sprout and bring us fresh experiences. Much how like Hollywood is sometimes able to balance Avengers Infinity War with A Quiet Place, gaming seems to be finding a good equilibrium as well. While we’re probably not going to find a lot of AAA games that go out on a limb in the future, we thankfully have the indie scene to take chances and create new, creative gaming experiences.

What do you think? Let’s discuss?

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