Why Indie Games Trump AAA: Revealing the Truth - Gaming Rant

Over the years, many gamers have noticed a decline in the quality of AAA title games from major game companies. One primary reason for this decline is the pressure to release games on a tight schedule, often resulting in rushed and incomplete games being released to the public. Additionally, many companies prioritize profit over quality, leading them to cut corners and release games that are buggy, unoptimized, and filled with microtransactions.
Honestly, I hope one day AAA will realize that making things expensive, releasing DLC that isn't worth the price, or releasing a game that isn't finished is not working and it's an awful way to go about it.

[@DatBoiSaint]

I feel a comparison could be made to the movie/film industry.
The people at the top will ALWAYS get paid, regardless of the product being good or paid. They don't want to experiment, just sequels & easy cash grabs.
They turned games/movies from an art form into a business.

[@keeganmcfarland7507]

Interesting video, IndieVoice.
Not every triple AAA game is hot garbage, there are some good triple AAA games like Super Mario Bros Wonder for a example.
The best part about the development of Super Mario Brothers Wonder is that they decided to take their time without any deadlines.
Yeah other than that, let's hope Nintendo and Sega decides to take notes from indie/AA game developers in the future.
Let's also hope that Sega and the developers of Splatoon decides to take notes from the development progress of Super Mario Brothers Wonder.
Plus, good thing I'm becoming a indie game developer.

[@IndieVoice]

That is true not every AAA title game is bad. There are several companies that do the justice to the games they create but it just feels that most of them seem to bring less quality games and expect for us to pay about $60+ dollars for games.
I do hope some point in the future Nintendo would be willing to make a partnership with Indie Developers to expand more games and allow people to bring back old titles to today's generation. But Yea I agree with you on this :)

[@keeganmcfarland7507]

@@IndieVoice true

[@archonthaaproducer]

I rather play 1 Elden Ring every few years vs 10 of the best indies in the same time frame. That's just me though. Indies are nice and I have put a lot of time into Stardew, Minecraft, and Terraria for example but when you actually get groundbreaking AAA games, they will never compete.

[@zedspoint4614]

Interesting, 308views with 2.8k likes

[@edgevalmond6173]

I have been a gamer for two and a half decades. My first game was the old Mario, then it was Pokèmon. Anyway, I have played on many different types of platforms. And if you've been tracking it over the years, you'd see how games grew, how large companies became as well as how they've halted in innovation.
Over my years, I've played thousands of games. Hell, in the last two months. I've beaten close to 40, that's a rather low amount for me really. Anyway, the thing is. AAA games are tied to their publishers/shareholders. Usually those people are ones who really don't care about games, but the amount of money they can squeeze out of the average person.
I suppose you can look at mobile games, and see how malicious it has become. Down to the psychological tactics used. We'll cut this, and resume on a more easier line. Between Indie and AAA games, it is different priorities. While there are some Indies that prioritizes profits, and it shows with scams or predatory practices. The same applies to AAA, but at a much wider range due to their reach. These games typically sells on brand, good, bad, functional be damned.
Indie games live and die based on the quality of their projects. You can call it an all or nothing gamble. They have to hit the mark and differentiate themselves from not only other Indie's, but the larger studios. AAA on the other hand, they have the money and brand. That even if they sell a bad game. They are good much of the time. This also falls on the consumers, that keeps engaging with it despite complaints.
Give them money, and they'll see it as a winning formula and do the same thing and steadily increase their predatory practices. Games from AAA doesn't even need to be properly functional. They can release and fix later, and many times this takes a while. And even if it does get fixed, it still has other problems. The gameplay themselves usually mirrors each other, and as a result comes across as boring.
They also have the budget for really good graphics, but nowadays feels like I am watching a movie rather than playing a game. I'd be fine with this, if the gameplay was also really good. Which more often than not, it is just poor. Their stories are also formulaic, now and then it might be nice to fall back on them. Much of the time? It comes off as lazy. That or just plain bad where I can't remember anything about it.
Music has also been something in games for a long time. AAA games, I can't even remember them most of the time. I often question if they even had music in it. This is not all, but really just most, they are forgettable.
Now, transitioning to the Indie side of things. They have to put out a product that can pierce the line. As a result, there are many different types of mechanics for the gameplay. Things are diverse enough to where you want to engage with the system.
The stories of these games are very varied. Hell, I remember the stories of the games I played in the last two months quite well. And really over the past few years. They make a lasting impression.
Music, while it can be a bit limited. They really do make use of what they have, and it fits quite well. As a result, it ends up being memorable.
Graphics, there are quite a bit of Indies that can make graphics that rivals what an AAA can do. Though, they are more about the art style direction. And then there are those that does both, and wonderfully so. So, visually it is also pleasing.
Now between exploration of Indies and AAA. AAA typically focuses on open world, which is fine. I don't have a problem with this. What I have a problem with, is how empty a lot of them feels. You have all this space, all these designs, yet it is just there for the scenery. Might be nice to look at, but it is still a game. There needs to be actual stuff within the spaces. Without that, it often feels like a slog between objectives.
Indies as I said, have to ensure they hit the nail on the head. So, in their games. Yes, some also do an open world thing. They would put some interesting stuff within their environments. Whether it is backtracking at a later point for some power up, or could be a very strong enemy, boss, etc. That or maybe even some puzzles to unlock something. Point is, you got a reason to explore their world, and it is often rewarding.
Now, within both they have their share of bad games. The difference is, the range in which it happens. There are so many Indie games out there, that sure you might not like some. Though, more often than not, there is something enjoyable to amazing. Their price point is usually low, $1 - $40, some times slightly more. However, typically around the $15 - $30 mark. So, they are affordable.
On the other hand AAA games are expensive(Around $60 - $70, and this is usually incomplete), tends to be littered with micro-transactions. Not all I should say, just most. Comes in a terrible state, tends not to be innovative. They mirror each other many times, and have lackluster gameplay much of the time.
Now, I should also mention Indie games do have micro-transactions, but not nearly as much. And they are typically just additional things. Costumes, music, art. In few cases, they might sell the post game for like an extra $10. Take that to Scarlet and Violet that sold their expansion for what? $30 on top of their $60? And the game was mediocre at best.
While both has their issues, AAA tends to have more and survive really just on brand. Doesn't matter if it is good or not, they have a base that would happily keep paying into their predatory practices. And then there are those who believes anything Indie is bad, and only AAA is good. So, that simply encourages the those larger companies to keep doing what they are doing.
AAA, you can't really blame the developers. Well, much of the time that is. As their hands are tied to the higher ups who just prioritizes money. And while you can blame the higher ups, the fault also rests on the consumers. If the consumers keeps purchasing terrible products, it will create the cycle. Gaming is a business first, so profits are important.
However, the big difference is how this is handled. Indies have to try and create a great product. AAA doesn't have this pressure. And the thing is, Indies can enjoy and be proud of their work while making money. Also, they have to prioritize the game first in order to get to the money. AAA, sometimes this can happen. Though, so long as they are tied to publishers/shareholders demands. They really won't be able to be creative.
There are benefits to going AAA, but at the end of the day. Depends what you are willing to lose to achieve it. And the concluding point, is that. It falls on the consumers. They keep buying a bad product, then that just encourages more to come. If enough engages with this practice, it becomes normal.
Okay, this went on a lot longer than I thought it would. Anyway, to give a bit more. Game development is difficult. Though, there is a clear difference in the quality given out between Indies and AAA. AAA tends to rush, Indies will more often take their time since they have to land the mark.

[@pauls9034]

You're just trying to justify your channel and convince yourself that you're right.