My TH-cam videos? Highlights of my insights - quick, engaging, and to the point. But on Substack, I unpack the full story. Subscribe for full access to all my essays with all the details that didn't make it to the video at www.belindaercan.com And something that bolsters my perspective: NEXON CEO Owen Mahoney on how THE FINALS shows that a smaller dev studio + advanced tech demonstrate how our industry can come out with more fun & innovation, without "throwing bodies at the problem" => www.gamefile.news/p/owen-mahoney-nexon-interview-happy?r=1mnl2c
I noticed that you focused mostly on multiplayer games, but this it true for single player ones as well. I work at a game studio with a lot of younger Gen-Z that's half my age, and I've been really surprised by how many of them are playing classic single player games from the Gen-5 and Gen-6 era of gaming. They're discovering these gems for the first time and they are really into retro game collecting as well which mostly had an audience of grey-haired gamers just a few years ago. I have several theories about this. One theory may be a longing for a game that's feels polished and finished without bugs or microtransactions. Before game "updates" and patches were the norm, there was more rigorous QA from big game studio releases before the game had a "gone gold" status. That's because once that game was burned on the CD/DVD and sent to retail stores, that was it. That's the game and that will always be the final game even years after the release. It's a reaction to the constant disappointment from new overhyped, expensive releases filled with technical bugs and bland gameplay. There's also a demand for a game that is more game and less "cinematic experience". Cutting edge graphics don't impress gamers anymore. They don't care about the production value of the game. They want a game with heart and soul poured into it and not something that feels like it's just chasing a popular trend.
Spot on. This describes me (born 2000). I grew up with what I would call the absolute peak of gaming, in the era of Halo, Gears of War, and Assassin's Creed. But I also experienced games before my time thanks to my brother, like Age of Empires II and Command & Conquer Red Alert 2. A big part of why I gravitate towards old games is because every AAA game feels the same nowadays. It's all low-risk, family friendly, and as generic as possible for that "wider audience" all the companies are chasing. I think that's why Helldivers 2 was such a breath of fresh air. They went all-in on one specific idea and executed it perfectly, much like Doom does. But yeah, I'm playing through Starcraft 1 for the first time right now :)
@@Marmotus : Good point about going all-in on being a game about one thing. As you said, not trying to get to the wider audience, just trying to stick to their genre. I (born 1972) grew up with very early video games that were often just "shoot stuff in space" and that was it, but they were polished and more importantly, fun! I occasionally find a modern game that has a really simple objective and find that it's just plain cathartic. And honestly, some of the more complex ones are really interesting to play but that really depends on how much the developers actually cared about what they were doing. Nice to see younger people who get some of the older ones.
Jesus, if Fortnite is nostalgic then I should be an archeological exhibit by now. Anyway, it's a really great video, though hard to present the whole thing in 15 minutes but it's enjoyable. I think the Hegelian dialectic in a nutshell was well presented and very easy to follow.
I got a lot of question - why does this brilliant designed and executed video just show up in my feed from a channel with 64 subs? Who are you, and who is behind the camera? This is too good for it being a one-off video of a new channel. I tip my hat to this execution. Oh, and amazing video, thank you 😅.
Another great video! As an indie game dev using UE5, I can confirm that these new tools are shrinking the gap between indie and AAA games, massively! Big studios really need to step up because they had the advantage of better graphics and bigger worlds until now, but that might not be the case anymore. When tools are available to everyone, the best ideas will move to the top. It's a memes-genes survival of the fittest situation.
This extends to a personal journey spanning the last 20+ years toward this project, for the first time portrayed in a single video. Very impressive and very emotional. THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are SO SO SO CLOSE to the truth. Would love to make contact sometime.
You do a wonderful job of communicating... thank you! my first pc game was Oregon Trail on an Apple II. my earliest memory of console gaming was on an atari 2600 when you could still buy them in stores. even now, i probably spend more time gaming than i do at my full time job. and while i don't play any of the games in that top 10 list, i know what you are saying and mostly agree.
@@BelindaErcan currently enjoying Shadow of the Erdtree, Manor Lords, Once Human & Helldivers 2... looking forward to Shattered Space [starfield], Ashes of Creation beta & [hopefully] Crimson Desert early 2025
Wow what an incredible video! Your editing an production is top notch gives me profeessional docu-series vibes. I'm not sure we are at a cross-roads just yet. I think if the VR continues to grow then we will see a new "greatest hits" in gaming but for now the formula seems to be set. I know for me and from watching my son play neither one of us have the attention span to play these long campaign games anymore. Growing up I used to play Diablo, Resident Evil 1 & 2, and even Onimusha but after a long gap in playing time even I find it much more satisifying to play a short game like Brahalla or Fortnight over a long campaign like Horizon. Also these "greatest Hits" games are all platform based and there was no metion of Mobile gaming. I wonder where games like ROK would rank in terms of player base? I had to give that game up because I have spent far more money on that one game than any other combined.
Thanks for you input! I like your take on VR, makes absolute sense to me. The VR market will be an interesting one to observe. I excluded mobile gaming from this video because that's an animal on its own and the gaming charts were centred around PC/Console only. I still have a desire for both long campaign and quick-fix games (Fortnite Rocket Racing in between meetings, Alan Wake II at night) but I get your point and think that long campaign games gotta deliver a top-notch captivating storyline to compete against the instant gratification of shorter ones. Just checked ROK: 60 million users and $1.1 billion in revenue....might be a topic for my next video :)
@@seancdavis13 Thank you Sean :) I just want to invite people to look at things through the big picture lens when watching my videos. And whether that’s 10 or 100 people, I’m happy if even one or two find it helpful.
It inspires me in my conquest in innovating in the area of AR / VR experiences and forces thinking beyond the technical and into what matters to players.
Very good video! Popped up on my feed, good title and thumbnail, gave it a watch and was not disappointed. Subscribed and looking forward to seeing what it next :)
Been watching several of your videos. Incredible production value, great editing, delivery and information. I hope your channel continues to thrive it is very high quality
Astonishing video and amazing work! I do actually like how you are answering all the questions instead of covering selected topics in favor of own opinion how many other TH-camrs do. I'll leave a note btw, Roblox is actually a platform for games, something like Newgrounds/Steam but with their own game engine (Roblox Studio) and community (Roblox), I love to compare Steam and Roblox but Roblox takes more revenue cuts from developers and provides services like service hosting and also implies more greedy economy to run the company. Robloy has it's own IP problem, there are many games copied from other platforms, "roleplay" games, cashgrabs exploiting children and silly games that took probably a week to develop. However Roblox also has unique tiles, for instance - DOORS; had a billion "visits" in a ~month, because it's provided an aesthetic, innovative and polished gameplay.
Within minutes i realised how good the quality of your video is. You speak and explain well, it's edited well and you are beautiful. You have everything, the subscribers will defo come - I will be your 44th 🙂 Are you a developer? If so, who for? Looking forward to more of your perspective on gaming.
🥹and within minutes your comment meant the world to me. So glad it resonated with you! A developer I’m not, but a marketer at a game dev company. Thank you for being my 44th sub 🙏🙂
@@Herrrsus I have someone edit it for me. I couldn't do half the magic he does. I think it's important to invest in a good editor; it helps frame the message so much better.
There are lots and lots of innovative games which do achieve moderate success. But in order to fund the massive development costs of a AAA title children which are not as discerning and more easily marketed to must be appealed to. That or nostalgia farming. Another thing about the long tail is that for the most part you could plot innovativeness along the x axis as well. Over time even if individual games do not get popular they increase the mental availability of specific game mechanics, design choices, art styles etc., eventually the new things become adopted industry-wide, even if they feel stale by that point. I worry that the convergence you are talking about may lead to a synthesis of the worst of both worlds, rather than the best, such as microtransactions in AAA console/PC games in the mobile vs. not framework. I bet AI will also be used for game balancing in competitive games, if it isn't already. Great video! I'm glad TH-cam recommended this to me.
Good point regarding the “game balancing” And regarding your concern of synthesis bringing about the worst - well, that’s when we gamers come in and dictate - with our money - what’s good and not good for us. One of my next videos will be about in-game protests and how those virtual protests can send game makers a signal of what and what NOT to do. Stay tuned and thanks for your input :)
Balatro and crowdfunding made a buncha money fast. Vid is a weird juxtaposition with criticizing the gaming is dying theme. There's still collector's editions and limited run games is poor but still sells physicals and there's play-asia for asia english versions and others.
I think there were plenty of new and innovative games in the past years. Only seems stale if you focus on the super popular titles. And to be fair, there's simply not enough time to play through all the great titles already. I'd need years to catch up, even though I don't play sport games for example. Especially if I played regularly updated games as well, like Don't Starve Together, Rimworld, StarSector, Against the Storm, X4, No man's Sky and a LOT more. What's happening is that the AAA industry is dying for years (most of them are creatively dead for years), and a lot of people haven't yet noticed all the indie games out there. The video is great, but the premise just doesn't seem to be true. I don't need more or better games, I need more free time! :D
I expect in 20 years Vanilla WoW still be on the top of MMRPGs, hahaha. Everything in games is already invented and the new games are just mixes of previous games. So, yes, innovation in gaming is pretty much dead, and AI just will help that happening faster.
Wow! Amazing video, you’re definitely one to watch 👀 As much as i think tech like AI will boost creativity in the space, i really doubt the giants are going anywhere. In fact, with the rise of UGC in games like Fortnite and Roblox, I think we’re edging closer to a world where new games are birthed on these user generated content platforms and then grow into full fledge, standalone games. Either way, we’re getting close to a whole new era, especially if VR really kicks off too!!
The video was excellent, until the hagel part. The dialect ideia is not science. The "synthesis" part cannot be proof, because all the thoughts that made this "calculation" is base on personal believes.
Correct. This is not a science. It’s a hypothesis I’m proposing. And I still ‘believe’ (not know) that the line between what a triple A and an indie game defines is blurring with tech. Take Black Myth: Wukong. Hailed as a triple A game. Because it feels an and looks like one. But it was made by what we call an “indie studio” that was previously “only” making mobile games in China. That’s a hypothesis. And not science for sure as your rightfully pointed out
@@BelindaErcan I will sugest that you can tray use propositional calculus to do that. Don't know the viability of it, but is abble to put the viriables that you believe to be important on paper.....
Why fortnight sucks and yet is it popular? Because it jumped the gap between shooter and crafter. Why no better 2nd gen Fortnite will break through? Because there is no improved soccer in the world. No one wants to watch a sport with two balls in play to balance the game more.
My TH-cam videos? Highlights of my insights - quick, engaging, and to the point.
But on Substack, I unpack the full story. Subscribe for full access to all my essays with all the details that didn't make it to the video at www.belindaercan.com
And something that bolsters my perspective: NEXON CEO Owen Mahoney on how THE FINALS shows that a smaller dev studio + advanced tech demonstrate how our industry can come out with more fun & innovation, without "throwing bodies at the problem" => www.gamefile.news/p/owen-mahoney-nexon-interview-happy?r=1mnl2c
At the risk of distracting from this great content, that is the best hoodie I've ever seen...
I noticed that you focused mostly on multiplayer games, but this it true for single player ones as well.
I work at a game studio with a lot of younger Gen-Z that's half my age, and I've been really surprised by how many of them are playing classic single player games from the Gen-5 and Gen-6 era of gaming. They're discovering these gems for the first time and they are really into retro game collecting as well which mostly had an audience of grey-haired gamers just a few years ago.
I have several theories about this. One theory may be a longing for a game that's feels polished and finished without bugs or microtransactions. Before game "updates" and patches were the norm, there was more rigorous QA from big game studio releases before the game had a "gone gold" status. That's because once that game was burned on the CD/DVD and sent to retail stores, that was it. That's the game and that will always be the final game even years after the release. It's a reaction to the constant disappointment from new overhyped, expensive releases filled with technical bugs and bland gameplay.
There's also a demand for a game that is more game and less "cinematic experience". Cutting edge graphics don't impress gamers anymore. They don't care about the production value of the game. They want a game with heart and soul poured into it and not something that feels like it's just chasing a popular trend.
Spot on. This describes me (born 2000). I grew up with what I would call the absolute peak of gaming, in the era of Halo, Gears of War, and Assassin's Creed. But I also experienced games before my time thanks to my brother, like Age of Empires II and Command & Conquer Red Alert 2.
A big part of why I gravitate towards old games is because every AAA game feels the same nowadays. It's all low-risk, family friendly, and as generic as possible for that "wider audience" all the companies are chasing. I think that's why Helldivers 2 was such a breath of fresh air. They went all-in on one specific idea and executed it perfectly, much like Doom does.
But yeah, I'm playing through Starcraft 1 for the first time right now :)
@@Marmotus : Good point about going all-in on being a game about one thing. As you said, not trying to get to the wider audience, just trying to stick to their genre.
I (born 1972) grew up with very early video games that were often just "shoot stuff in space" and that was it, but they were polished and more importantly, fun! I occasionally find a modern game that has a really simple objective and find that it's just plain cathartic. And honestly, some of the more complex ones are really interesting to play but that really depends on how much the developers actually cared about what they were doing.
Nice to see younger people who get some of the older ones.
Coming out the gate with videos of this quality is wild, great work!
This video was so well made and i was shocked to see that you only had 86 subscribers. Keep up the good work
appreciate your comment so much! Thanks for the sub :)
Jesus, if Fortnite is nostalgic then I should be an archeological exhibit by now. Anyway, it's a really great video, though hard to present the whole thing in 15 minutes but it's enjoyable. I think the Hegelian dialectic in a nutshell was well presented and very easy to follow.
I got a lot of question - why does this brilliant designed and executed video just show up in my feed from a channel with 64 subs? Who are you, and who is behind the camera? This is too good for it being a one-off video of a new channel. I tip my hat to this execution. Oh, and amazing video, thank you 😅.
Ah thank you - lots of planning goes into each video🙏 And I’m just someone working in the industry who would like to say one or two things about it :)
Another great video! As an indie game dev using UE5, I can confirm that these new tools are shrinking the gap between indie and AAA games, massively!
Big studios really need to step up because they had the advantage of better graphics and bigger worlds until now, but that might not be the case anymore. When tools are available to everyone, the best ideas will move to the top. It's a memes-genes survival of the fittest situation.
This extends to a personal journey spanning the last 20+ years toward this project, for the first time portrayed in a single video. Very impressive and very emotional.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are SO SO SO CLOSE to the truth.
Would love to make contact sometime.
You do a wonderful job of communicating... thank you! my first pc game was Oregon Trail on an Apple II. my earliest memory of console gaming was on an atari 2600 when you could still buy them in stores. even now, i probably spend more time gaming than i do at my full time job. and while i don't play any of the games in that top 10 list, i know what you are saying and mostly agree.
Never played it but I know of Oregon Trail. I like the educational intent/idea behind that game. What do you play these days?
@@BelindaErcan currently enjoying Shadow of the Erdtree, Manor Lords, Once Human & Helldivers 2... looking forward to Shattered Space [starfield], Ashes of Creation beta & [hopefully] Crimson Desert early 2025
Wow what an incredible video! Your editing an production is top notch gives me profeessional docu-series vibes. I'm not sure we are at a cross-roads just yet. I think if the VR continues to grow then we will see a new "greatest hits" in gaming but for now the formula seems to be set. I know for me and from watching my son play neither one of us have the attention span to play these long campaign games anymore. Growing up I used to play Diablo, Resident Evil 1 & 2, and even Onimusha but after a long gap in playing time even I find it much more satisifying to play a short game like Brahalla or Fortnight over a long campaign like Horizon. Also these "greatest Hits" games are all platform based and there was no metion of Mobile gaming. I wonder where games like ROK would rank in terms of player base? I had to give that game up because I have spent far more money on that one game than any other combined.
Thanks for you input! I like your take on VR, makes absolute sense to me. The VR market will be an interesting one to observe. I excluded mobile gaming from this video because that's an animal on its own and the gaming charts were centred around PC/Console only. I still have a desire for both long campaign and quick-fix games (Fortnite Rocket Racing in between meetings, Alan Wake II at night) but I get your point and think that long campaign games gotta deliver a top-notch captivating storyline to compete against the instant gratification of shorter ones. Just checked ROK: 60 million users and $1.1 billion in revenue....might be a topic for my next video :)
Another great video. You're channel is going to get big.
@@seancdavis13 Thank you Sean :)
I just want to invite people to look at things through the big picture lens when watching my videos. And whether that’s 10 or 100 people, I’m happy if even one or two find it helpful.
@BelindaErcan You have great insight and your video quality is top notch. Are you still working in the industry?
@@seancdavis13 yes I do - doing marketing at a game dev company.
The quality of this video as others noted is really good! Gives great perspective in how to build a great product.
It inspires me in my conquest in innovating in the area of AR / VR experiences and forces thinking beyond the technical and into what matters to players.
As someone who plays new IP but very niche, the community is small but flourishing, we keep getting more games especially after the disease.
Very good video! Popped up on my feed, good title and thumbnail, gave it a watch and was not disappointed. Subscribed and looking forward to seeing what it next :)
surprisingly high production value for a channel with so few subs
wow , the video quality is really nice : i am amazed that your channel was a small one first i thought it would have minimum 1 mil subscribers
Been watching several of your videos. Incredible production value, great editing, delivery and information. I hope your channel continues to thrive it is very high quality
Funny to hear Fortnite being called nostalgic when I've been playing tf2 since 2013 hahaha
The modern gaming is about to repeat the Gameapocalypse of late 80s. Simply due to overproduction.
Very high quality video! You've earned a sub!
The storm broke loose, but not the expected one, was it?
Nah, Big Studio screwed up.
Now it will be up to the indies to save gaming.
Astonishing video and amazing work! I do actually like how you are answering all the questions instead of covering selected topics in favor of own opinion how many other TH-camrs do.
I'll leave a note btw, Roblox is actually a platform for games, something like Newgrounds/Steam but with their own game engine (Roblox Studio) and community (Roblox), I love to compare Steam and Roblox but Roblox takes more revenue cuts from developers and provides services like service hosting and also implies more greedy economy to run the company. Robloy has it's own IP problem, there are many games copied from other platforms, "roleplay" games, cashgrabs exploiting children and silly games that took probably a week to develop. However Roblox also has unique tiles, for instance - DOORS; had a billion "visits" in a ~month, because it's provided an aesthetic, innovative and polished gameplay.
Within minutes i realised how good the quality of your video is. You speak and explain well, it's edited well and you are beautiful. You have everything, the subscribers will defo come - I will be your 44th 🙂 Are you a developer? If so, who for? Looking forward to more of your perspective on gaming.
🥹and within minutes your comment meant the world to me. So glad it resonated with you! A developer I’m not, but a marketer at a game dev company. Thank you for being my 44th sub 🙏🙂
@@BelindaErcan Just a question... Do you edit your videos yourself?
@@Herrrsus I have someone edit it for me. I couldn't do half the magic he does. I think it's important to invest in a good editor; it helps frame the message so much better.
@@BelindaErcan I agree. Shout out to the editor ✌️
man, i just felt the biggest hit of fomo about fortnite in my whole life lol
LOL well I guess you already had a video covering the point I made on your intro video.
There are lots and lots of innovative games which do achieve moderate success. But in order to fund the massive development costs of a AAA title children which are not as discerning and more easily marketed to must be appealed to. That or nostalgia farming.
Another thing about the long tail is that for the most part you could plot innovativeness along the x axis as well. Over time even if individual games do not get popular they increase the mental availability of specific game mechanics, design choices, art styles etc., eventually the new things become adopted industry-wide, even if they feel stale by that point.
I worry that the convergence you are talking about may lead to a synthesis of the worst of both worlds, rather than the best, such as microtransactions in AAA console/PC games in the mobile vs. not framework.
I bet AI will also be used for game balancing in competitive games, if it isn't already.
Great video! I'm glad TH-cam recommended this to me.
Good point regarding the “game balancing”
And regarding your concern of synthesis bringing about the worst - well, that’s when we gamers come in and dictate - with our money - what’s good and not good for us. One of my next videos will be about in-game protests and how those virtual protests can send game makers a signal of what and what NOT to do. Stay tuned and thanks for your input :)
Balatro and crowdfunding made a buncha money fast. Vid is a weird juxtaposition with criticizing the gaming is dying theme. There's still collector's editions and limited run games is poor but still sells physicals and there's play-asia for asia english versions and others.
very good video again
I have only ever played stradew valley the most and i buy mostly oder games
I think there were plenty of new and innovative games in the past years. Only seems stale if you focus on the super popular titles.
And to be fair, there's simply not enough time to play through all the great titles already. I'd need years to catch up, even though I don't play sport games for example. Especially if I played regularly updated games as well, like Don't Starve Together, Rimworld, StarSector, Against the Storm, X4, No man's Sky and a LOT more.
What's happening is that the AAA industry is dying for years (most of them are creatively dead for years), and a lot of people haven't yet noticed all the indie games out there.
The video is great, but the premise just doesn't seem to be true. I don't need more or better games, I need more free time! :D
Why do you only wear black? And why the headphones?
keep it up belinda !
I would listen to your podcast
You're really smart and articulate
I expect in 20 years Vanilla WoW still be on the top of MMRPGs, hahaha. Everything in games is already invented and the new games are just mixes of previous games. So, yes, innovation in gaming is pretty much dead, and AI just will help that happening faster.
This is Kantian dialectic, not Hegelian.
chat fake if CS not there ahaha. really one reason game stays top it because it multiplayer . its hard repalce game like CS DOTA
Subscibed 4 Hegel
Great video as always. Albeit a bit optimistic in my opinion :D
Wow! Amazing video, you’re definitely one to watch 👀
As much as i think tech like AI will boost creativity in the space, i really doubt the giants are going anywhere. In fact, with the rise of UGC in games like Fortnite and Roblox, I think we’re edging closer to a world where new games are birthed on these user generated content platforms and then grow into full fledge, standalone games.
Either way, we’re getting close to a whole new era, especially if VR really kicks off too!!
All good points! UGC and VR should have been mentioned. Thank you :)
The video was excellent, until the hagel part. The dialect ideia is not science. The "synthesis" part cannot be proof, because all the thoughts that made this "calculation" is base on personal believes.
Correct. This is not a science. It’s a hypothesis I’m proposing. And I still ‘believe’ (not know) that the line between what a triple A and an indie game defines is blurring with tech. Take Black Myth: Wukong. Hailed as a triple A game. Because it feels an and looks like one. But it was made by what we call an “indie studio” that was previously “only” making mobile games in China.
That’s a hypothesis. And not science for sure as your rightfully pointed out
@@BelindaErcan I will sugest that you can tray use propositional calculus to do that. Don't know the viability of it, but is abble to put the viriables that you believe to be important on paper.....
...could be a crazy video kkk
DAMN THIS VIDEO IOS TOP TEIR
My only suggestion is try to get a better mic
what’s wrong with the mic?
sounds really good tbh
Why fortnight sucks and yet is it popular? Because it jumped the gap between shooter and crafter. Why no better 2nd gen Fortnite will break through? Because there is no improved soccer in the world. No one wants to watch a sport with two balls in play to balance the game more.
After two videos, I clicked do not recommend this channel. Comments look super spammy/bought.
@@drachenfels6782 I guarantee you nobody needs to pay me to tell you how much you suck. Not a single thing you said made sense.