I finished the Concord video and immediately found myself binge-watching your entire channel in one sitting. It is so refeshing to hear someone speak thoughtfully about games culture from the development side. You are passionate, succinct and don't insult my intelligence. I am encouraged by your optimism about where the artform is going, and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future. Great work.
I always wondered why companies say things like "appealing to modern audiences" when they have millions of fans already ready to consume products for the series. Whether it's Halo, Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings. Leading to questionable decisions that either stomp on the original visions of the IP or try to overwrite existing material established by series creators. It's like you're making less money, turning on the fanbase that made the IPs what they are, and not gaining enough new fans to justify the choice.
Quite simple, customers/audiences aren't the most important vector for companies these days, it's the money suits, that bring their own corporate agenda that often goes against public opinion, or perhaps it because they WANT to shape public opinion so they use games/moveies etc to push their goals even if it hurts the end product. If the company succeeds good, more profits, and if it fails they acquire the IP for their portfolio anyway, no loss to them. Games devs are waking up to this now, but too many have fallen not realising the Faustian bargain.
In my opinion, this happens as a consequence of a certain fallacy where instead of targeting established audiences that you already know the likes and dislikes of, you go and you seek out audiences that you do not have. They assume that the pre-established audience is with them for the ride, regardless of what they make. And they instead put their full attention into capturing new audiences. For example, newer younger generations, which they hope to convert into lifelong customers and fans. The problem with this approach is that it completely ignores the fact that established audiences already know what they like and will not be happy if you start to reimagine and reinvent what they already like in a very dismissive kind of way. They won't just eat up any slop you serve them just because you give it the wrapper of the IP that they love. And to make matters even worse, the new audience they're trying to capture, which is very often younger audiences, they don't even necessarily understand that audience very well nor what they like and dislike. And so what they try, is a spray and pray mentality with the themes and ideas that they present. Very often they fall back on design by committee approaches where they aggregate the numbers and look for the most popular keywords and try to cater the design to what they think is the most trending themes based on the statistical analysis. But this approach in itself is often extremely hit and miss because the sources from which they get their data are often not really representative of their audiences. Often, the methods that they had that were successful at gauging the interests of their older audiences are no longer effective for the newer audiences, and they haven't really evolved their approach for gauging their interests effectively. At this stage, if you have already changed the source material so much that you have betrayed the original audience that you've had and you no longer have their support or attention, and you've also flubbed the catering to the new audiences that you hope to attract, then you have no one left to consume your content outside of very fringe audiences that are merely present by accident.
Your channel is a gold mine. Good management explained. Bad management dissected. All with clarity, deep knowledge of the problems under all angles of attack, and unparalleled intellectual honesty. Thanks for what you're doing, I'd pay to learn what you're gifting us with for free.
I rarely comment but your videos are fantastic and give such a rich insight into the industry. The games I played as as kid (there are many) felt like the team had poured their heart and soul into it. As though they had been crafted to deliver a personal experience to you, the player. Sadly today I don't see that in games. They are completely risk averse and just regurgitate the same game with a new theme. Although I didn't end up in the games industry (general software development instead), I did get my university degree in games. The lecturers were actually teaching us not to innovate and instead to make the smallest number of changes possible between iterations of the game to maximize profit. That and encouraging microtransactions and freemium models...
I still remember the Mad World soundtrack for the Gears trailer. Absolutely unreal. Nothing has hit the same in terms of an advertising masterpiece like that for me.
When you were talking about Oculus development in that busy place that connected all areas of the project, I was thinking about Boeing deliberately moving offices away from factories and engineering so they don't complain too much.
i discovered this channel yesterday with the culture video about concord and i must say, this is probably one of the most interesting and insightful channels out there. this will be a binge watch for sure
Engineer: makes off hand comment about there not being almond milk in the fridge at their workplace TH-cam commenter years later: lol that whole company
@@mechanicalmonk2020this isn't the polite way to challenge someone. You are both wrong and right at the same time but you aren't getting your point across with this approach
Laura, you are a true gift to gaming, your insights are incredible and you have an absolute incredible regalness to your demeanor. Please consider collaborating with other "essay style" TH-camrs to expand your reach so that you can connect with more people that can hear your message.
This is such a great video, been binging your channel. Shared it with a buddy, as this seems criminally underwatched. This is such a rare perspective for devs to hear from in an unfiltered manner, and from someone who clearly gets it, so can really underline what went wrong. I’m subbed and hoping for more.
Binge watching this channel and definitely want to comment to help the algorithm. Your explanation really helps explain why some movie or game sequels just fall flat or some new media with established IP fail. The producers don't respect the source material and the target audience. Disney Star Wars is one where the sequel movies are meh (depending on who you ask 😅) while most of the animated ones are excellent, like rebels and bad batch. Dave filoni single handedly saved Star Wars, in my opinion. There are also some outliers like the Judge Dredd movies. The sly stallone one was popular because he was one of the action heroes of the time. But as a comic book fan, I prefer the grittier more recent dredd where he never removes his helmet. So, as a long-time fallout and halo fan, I never saw the tv series as I'm afraid they would make me hate the franchise more, just like what star wars is doing with their tv shows. That and Fallout 76 already did that
People have asked me how I've done good licensed IP games. I tell them, "I respect the franchises. I add to and expand, sure... but at the core, it's about realizing the IP for gamers, NOT about ME and my ego adding or changing the IP." Hell, even the games I've worked on that aren't considered "licenses", I treat them like licenses. I make sure they don't forget the people that made it so someone wants to make a sequel/prequel/side-story/reboot.
I found your channel through the Concord piece since that’s trending and I’m glad I did, you have such a depth of industry knowledge I left games seven years ago to work in high tech and I’ve always loved these retrospectives. As a side note, I totally share your feelings on e day. Gow2 is one of my all time favorites, I can still Visalia and hear the intro to the big assault in tip of the spear. I hope they also nail the military themes and the tumultuous world the cog faces in e day’s setting.
One thing I’m curious about your response on is the idea that many franchises should end. In my mind, narratives are satisfying in their arc, and simply rehashing, retconning, or reskinning old arcs feels bad. Similarly, just reaching back for prequels and flashbacks can feel hollow.
Your experience and perspective is so valuable for understanding what shapes the games on the market today. Thanks for making these videos, they're very informative.
So happy your still making videos. I love your views and insight. Just wish someone like jake baldino at gameranx or the act man some one with a large following help and share your channel help give you a little boost. Please don't get discouraged you do have your fans who love your content. Much love.
This is just lovely, pretty much info straight from the source I've always wanted to see something like that, it's hard to find something more than development notes and even there the game is the bigger focus than the process behind it
Laura I love this channel and the insight you provide. Would you consider doing a broad video on tooling and developer workflows and how they impact production? Apparently 343 had a hard time with Halo Infinite's engine, Bungie famously had issues with developers using tools before they were ready, BioWare struggled with Frostbite, etc.
Thank you for the video... It is always interesting and fun to listen to the insight you have for, and within, the entertainment industry... You sound like a very passionate person when it comes to the various industries which you've taken part in... Although I'm very sure there are still some gaming industry companies that have that same sort of passion and drive, it does at the surface feel like some of that same passion has faded from so many companies in recent years... The quality of so many entertainment spaces has waned, to a point where it feels like they care more about ideological messaging and internal politics, over entertaining folks who are passionate about the various IP's... The number of indie studios in the gaming market have grown, especially with the early access model, that many of adopted... Yet I find that early access has far too many times been a losing bet, as they are very much a gamble... Will they ever finish, will they be any good, will they stick to their promises, and how long will it take to get there? Those are just some of the questions and/or worries when buying into early access... There are lots of various game titles coming out over the next year or so, that look very promising... We'll just need to hope they deliver on the promises and hype the marketing teams love to throw out into the void...
Firstly, an excellent video discussing the state of the industry. Secondly, I loved the Mad Max game, it truly captured the essence of the Fury Road film. My favourite memory was the unique aesthetic of each different zone. So thank you to you and your team for being true to the original work.
Loving your content! As a product designer I also often see companies going for a mismatch between the end product and the market. Continuous research and feedback is the only way to stay on the top of the game. I bet if key elements of Rings of Power, Concord or Acolyte were shown to the fans they’d tell the creators how they feel about it.
Omg, this is the amazing. I couldn't agree with the things you say even more if I tried. I think if you were in Sarah Bond's position right now, Microsoft would be in a LOT better place. Also respect, you worked in two of my favorite games ever. Gears 1/2 were AMAZING, and Shadow of Mordor/War were incredible. The only downside to them is I wish they didn't patent the Nemesis system! It is such an incredible game design and I WISH it was in more games. It would make ANY open world infinitely more interesting, add replayability, and just make it better. My only hope is that Monolith makes a great Wonder Woman game and it's a badass superhero game for fans.
Another excellent video, and another outstanding Tom Sowell quote! When you say it doesn’t matter WHY these things go wrong, I’m not sure I precisely agree. I think it may come down to a philosophical and/or cultural issue. These creative conflagrations don’t have to happen, they’re willed into existence by arrogant people. Amazon’s tepid Rings of Power series might be a great example of the ethos I’m getting at. The attitude being, “We’re going to do it right this time.” Like you pointed out, there are multiple blueprints of how to, and even better how NOT to. Lastly, that Gears of War trailer was phenomenal. I’m extremely excited to get my hands on it and am cheering for The Coalition!
Your channel is wonderful! A lot of these concepts are applicable to working with a team regardless of profession. I especially like the tactic of holding your thoughts until the rest of the team has shared theirs. Some members of my team always bring me ideas 1 on 1, but in a team meeting with management, they never speak up because our management tends to commandeer the meeting. Also, your point on only taking on work that you know your team is suited for (or assemble a team that is) is a hard pill to swallow for far too many people. Knowing your limits is hard but it's the only way to achieve repeatable results.
I agree! Many people won't bring something up in front of management so you have to seek out the information. I'm glad you are enjoying the channel! Thank you for watching!
@@laurafryer6321 I'm an mechanical engineer and gamer. Your channel is the first time I've seen analysis of game development from both the bottom up and the top down. I like spotting the parallels with my own career. New subscriber here 👋!
Love your videos. I feel gaming and movies have abandon us in a way. Creators forgetting who they are making them for. Hope you are right about it turning around. I haven't gone to the movies or bought a new AAA in quite a while. Now, can you put a bug in someone's ear about putting Gears 2 and 3 on PC? It is time.
They absolutely haven't. Watch the stuff that's right for you (I guarantee you it exists) rather than bemoaning what you dislike in the popular thing. I've been gaming for 35 years and there's loads more unique and interesting games now than there were when I was a kid.
You seem so smart, business savvy.i feel as an xbox fan they should give you an over seeing position.for their big franchises.like Killer Instinct,they revive (finally) the franchise to let it slip into oblivion again.to this day still the best fighting game to date (only true rival is MK).
Another awesome insight from inside game industry itself, as commoner its help me so much putting in perspective of whats going on inside game development. Thank you
I just wanted to say, that I've recently played Mad Max for the first time, and it's definitely an underrated gem. It was sad to hear George Miller's harsh words about it.
I know we can literally never have what once was with some of these franchises, but I sat up and yelled when Dom grabbed Marcus’ hand and mad world played….so many memories. We need a trailer like this with Chief and Johnson if they’re truly remaking Halo 1. “crazy fool, why do you always jump?” (We literally never see him jump any other time like this in the series…so a call back to that in a trailer would get the Halo 3 vibes in a CE remake for sure.)
Refreshing to hear someone with a level headed take on the current state of the gaming industry and the software / gaming development lifecycle. It's clear that you know how to deliver 😄
I think youtube auto hid my other comment that added more context to/corrected the "we didn't play the game" quote from the Halo TV show. Also, nice content.
I had vaguely heard that Mad Max could have gone to another team instead of Avalanche. However complicated the development was, a lot of great decisions were made for that game. I'd put that Mad Max game up there as one of the best licensed games ever made. When I think about what else could come close, only one thing springs to mind: Batman Arkham Asylum. I avoided that one for a few years, since I assumed it was a mediocre tie-in for one of the Dark Knight movies around that time. Once I got to play it, I realised that I could not have been more wrong, and its optional lore is what sold me on Batman as a whole. It's tragic to see the Rocksteady name attached to Suicide Squad. An equally remarkable game, but this time as an example of what not to do.
Ahh that was so great at the end. And it's true, I LOVE Gears as a Franchise, but 4 was okay, and 5 had it's moments but it wasn't the same badass game about brotherhood, camaraderie, and testosterone filled awesomeness. They'd consider that "toxic masculinity" nowadays and I just hope they don't neither E-day. Because I haven't been this excited for a Gears game since 3. 🙏 🤞
3:38 So I've been in more than a handful of situations that had a change of leadership or kinetic environment. There are personality traits that I've found some* of my leadership had...pride and/or narcissism. In your experience, did you observe the same thing? I notice you didn't really touch on that. Excellent channel by the way
I work in the film industry and I think it is unfortunately very common for directors to ignore source material in order to make an IP "their own". Blatant disrespect for source material is a lazy trend that is rampant through the modern media landscape. Disney Star Wars, Halo, Netflix animation adaptations like Avatar, and Rings of Power are all examples of this. It is hard to manufacture genuine passion for something which is why you need to pick people who care about what they are making. It seems like common sense, but studios have repeatedly messed this part up.
As always, I cherish your videos for the wisdom you impart and how well you deliver and present it. I have to say that the way modern creative have handled some beloved IPs lately has led me to just stopping altogether. From their announcement that they are chasing a new audience, often dubbed "modern audiences", whatever that means. The way they discard legacy content for creating what is essentially a new IP with the skin of an existing IPs thrown on top. It is out of place and just wrong. The Halo show was such a disappointment. The team delivered great content in their ad campaigns that were more emotional and memorable than whatever that show became. Such a waste of potential and I'm just shocked Microsoft ever gave that the green light.
oooh no! 24 hours later after this video, it was announced that the Halo TV show was canceled. I can't help but feel like you had something to do with it. :P
never bought Shadow of Mordor, they decided to copyright the nemesis mechanic; the industry was built on creators iterating on each other, its incredibly selfish
Many content creators such as critical drinker have been expressing this problem in these industries for some time now. The years of industry experience and practical leadership you have really elevate and bring even more legitimacy to the argument. Every show runner, script writer and actor needs to listen to your perspective, let go of their ego and change their work ethic.
Thank you for your kind comments! It's interesting to me that creatives feel limited by the worlds/stories that came before. Every great designer will tell you limits and constraints are a good thing.
Simple answer, before watching the video, is what I think: Why franchises fail, is because of EGO. Writers and producers ego, they use the franchise to as an excuse to write and create what THEY want, not what the fans want. Writers want their own stamp on it, and all the lore just stands in the way of that. Fans just get in the way of that. So they chose to ignore both. And when the product fails, it's so convenient to blame the fans, again, because the writers have too much ego to admit they themselves are to blame.
For me there's an issue in the modern media pipeline that everything is assumed to be endless ideally. And endless as in "an endless stream of revenue". I'm kinda bored and annoyed by it. As it weakens the artistic expression. Imagine the the headline "X is bringing back Y!". I saw that a lot in recent years. Usually meaning "someone dead that still has economic value gets returned by either a pre-mid-quel or being revived, being not really that dead or just the multiverse". And as characters have economic value, it is just a matter of time until it will be done. Someday we will get "Somehow, Sauron returned". Destiny2 is bringing back Cayde6. His death was the big emotional thing in Forsaken years ago. Now they really really need the money so they use the assets they have. Get that corpse back on stage. In the past i would have cared more about my favorite franchises getting a good adaptation. But by now the pattern is obvious. A HALO show that did not suck in season 1 would not have a clear ending of the story planned. It would need to go on until i stops being good, until the actors quit and them it's finalized with a "meh"-ending. Wait a few years until the reboot does it again. Franchises. Mhh.
I dont know why you dont have more subs. I never get notifications either 😢. I hope you keep sharing your insights during these interesting times in gaming. Can you do a collab with Amy Hennig for insgiht into women in gaming?
Please write a book !!! You’re dropping so much unique knowledge as a game exec that it is too good for u s! Please monetize. I’ve never begged someone to do that before haha
@@laurafryer6321 you’re doing an amazing job with the videos so far. I pray that the algorithm will reflect that soon. In the meantime, I’ll like and comment as much as I can !
It's good to hear that fans are not giving time and money to these weird new experiments. But they still have ESG money to sustain them for a good while (as far as I know). I hope companies can see the light before going bankrupt. Also, did they get their almond milk?
LAURA! What would you do if you ran XBOX?? If you had Phils job. I think we all would love to know. Like would you still release Game Pass? Or maybe go for different acquisitions like maybe Capcom and Epic. Or something you would try totally Different? Stay loyal to the console no Day and date PC releases. Just trying to feed you some ideas. Tried to do another Super chat so sorry. I have TH-cam premium it takes the money just fine for that and it asks for my password I must be ending it wrong or something sorry.
That's an interesting question! I'll have to think about it more. The challenge is that without knowing the internal confidential data he is seeing, it's hard to predict the best path forward. I do think it's obvious that he needs a better system for evaluating games. Thanks for watching Adam!
@@laurafryer6321 OK that might be difficult maybe think of other companies who had really rough launches or just bad PR. Like maybe CD Project Red launch of cyberpunk or Square has had some rough months launch of forsaken and announcing NFT games. Or just do what you think you would want remember your rich your Microsoft lol much love and Thank you.
@@laurafryer6321 That is so cool though that you got to work on it! It was where I spent a lot of my time playing Asheron's Call, and Age of Empires. :)
I feel like gears of war e day just doesn’t land for me, I don’t want a repeat of early gears games. We got enough of those! Such a boring and lame reveal. That’s the problem with all of these adaptions and continuations. The IP was never strong enough to survive long term, and they run out of steam. This is how I feel about Star Wars now, it was good but I don’t think we need it anymore. The IP doesn’t have any excitement left. Doesn’t matter how good the craftsmanship is if there’s not enough meat on the bones to make anything quality.
Imo Steam needs to upgrade their platform and add a video streaming/sales division now. And gabe needs to become immortal so it is always being operated correctly haha
It's not easy! I think Shadow is a good example though. The team stayed true to the original and then created the Nemesis system and the unique story of Talion. Thank you for watching!
I'm not going to tell you how to make your thumbnails, but this one ain't great... Love your videos btw, I just think the thumbnail should match the quality of your work.
Making a great game and giving the players what they want and not pushing an extremely mentally insane fascist communist political message I miss those times.
Dear Laura. I may have misunderstood your intentions on making this video. Whatever you intended to say didn't come through (or maybe it did). Please know that what you _did_ say inspires this kind of an audience and I really don't think you want this kind of an audience. Or maybe you do. Idk.
I hope for all gamers that gaming companies learn that woke games never sell well and they start making good quality games again preferably with conservative devs.
did you even watch the video, the problem is that the Devs aren't listening to the target audience and are not paying respect to the source material. It has nothing to do with conservative or liberals, it has everything to do with their ego and thinking they know better than the franchise they are tasked with creating games or tv for. They ignored fans, ignored the source material and ignored everyone that disagree with them. That is the problem and that is a problem not politically driven but ego driven and everyone have that issue, regardless of you being a conservative or liberal.
Historically? A complicated multi-factor reason. Today? Talking down to fanbases & hiring people (from writers, to artists, to devs) based on DEI, not *actual* talent. That's how. This video could''ve been 10 seconds long. :))))
@@mechanicalmonk2020 My brother in Christ, as North Americans would put it: I have no words for how completely oblivious you are. Please get to know some level-headed people (on the political spectrum) working in AAA gaming studios (but not just), see how f*cking pissed they are for having to work alongside incompetent colleagues, how often they have to swallow their words and (fact-based) opinions on said colleagues and the quality of the work they put out, and then get back to me. Until then, 🤫
@@justaguyfromeurope I live in North America and work at a tech firm. Your ilk would take one look at my team and screen "DEI hires" despite them being top notch engineers through and through. You're the oblivious and delusional one in this conversation, not me.
@@justaguyfromeurope says the actual oblivious one. I live in America and work in tech. If you took one look at my team you'd think "oh these must be diversity hires" and then go tell everyone they suck. In reality they're fantastic engineers.
This is an underrated channel
That's very kind of you to say! Thank you!
I came in from the concord video. Now I'm binging it haha😅
@@laurafryer6321A hidden gem for sure!
@@yobodev Same, the content here is super insightful. I have a feeling this channel will blow up once more gamers get a whiff.
@@yobodev lol same thing. Her insights are very interesting and she backs up everything with examples. Love it.
I finished the Concord video and immediately found myself binge-watching your entire channel in one sitting. It is so refeshing to hear someone speak thoughtfully about games culture from the development side. You are passionate, succinct and don't insult my intelligence.
I am encouraged by your optimism about where the artform is going, and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future. Great work.
Me too man! I will be doing the same thing over the next few days.
The channel's vibe feels like a vault of memories from the early 2000s, and I love every second of it.
same bro
In a world where TH-cam videos want to be edgy and regurgitate the same old unsubstantiated comments, This channel is a joy!
I always wondered why companies say things like "appealing to modern audiences" when they have millions of fans already ready to consume products for the series. Whether it's Halo, Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings. Leading to questionable decisions that either stomp on the original visions of the IP or try to overwrite existing material established by series creators.
It's like you're making less money, turning on the fanbase that made the IPs what they are, and not gaining enough new fans to justify the choice.
Do you think Jackson's LOTR movies are faithful adaptations?
because they want more money
Quite simple, customers/audiences aren't the most important vector for companies these days, it's the money suits, that bring their own corporate agenda that often goes against public opinion, or perhaps it because they WANT to shape public opinion so they use games/moveies etc to push their goals even if it hurts the end product.
If the company succeeds good, more profits, and if it fails they acquire the IP for their portfolio anyway, no loss to them.
Games devs are waking up to this now, but too many have fallen not realising the Faustian bargain.
@@Sam-uz4iy "How business doesn't work 101"
In my opinion, this happens as a consequence of a certain fallacy where instead of targeting established audiences that you already know the likes and dislikes of, you go and you seek out audiences that you do not have. They assume that the pre-established audience is with them for the ride, regardless of what they make. And they instead put their full attention into capturing new audiences. For example, newer younger generations, which they hope to convert into lifelong customers and fans.
The problem with this approach is that it completely ignores the fact that established audiences already know what they like and will not be happy if you start to reimagine and reinvent what they already like in a very dismissive kind of way. They won't just eat up any slop you serve them just because you give it the wrapper of the IP that they love. And to make matters even worse, the new audience they're trying to capture, which is very often younger audiences, they don't even necessarily understand that audience very well nor what they like and dislike.
And so what they try, is a spray and pray mentality with the themes and ideas that they present. Very often they fall back on design by committee approaches where they aggregate the numbers and look for the most popular keywords and try to cater the design to what they think is the most trending themes based on the statistical analysis. But this approach in itself is often extremely hit and miss because the sources from which they get their data are often not really representative of their audiences. Often, the methods that they had that were successful at gauging the interests of their older audiences are no longer effective for the newer audiences, and they haven't really evolved their approach for gauging their interests effectively.
At this stage, if you have already changed the source material so much that you have betrayed the original audience that you've had and you no longer have their support or attention, and you've also flubbed the catering to the new audiences that you hope to attract, then you have no one left to consume your content outside of very fringe audiences that are merely present by accident.
Your channel is a gold mine.
Good management explained. Bad management dissected.
All with clarity, deep knowledge of the problems under all angles of attack, and unparalleled intellectual honesty.
Thanks for what you're doing, I'd pay to learn what you're gifting us with for free.
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying my videos!
I rarely comment but your videos are fantastic and give such a rich insight into the industry. The games I played as as kid (there are many) felt like the team had poured their heart and soul into it. As though they had been crafted to deliver a personal experience to you, the player. Sadly today I don't see that in games. They are completely risk averse and just regurgitate the same game with a new theme. Although I didn't end up in the games industry (general software development instead), I did get my university degree in games. The lecturers were actually teaching us not to innovate and instead to make the smallest number of changes possible between iterations of the game to maximize profit. That and encouraging microtransactions and freemium models...
Thank you! It's disappointing that they were teaching you not to innovate. Thanks for sharing that information.
It destroys creativity completely. Kinda sad
I still remember the Mad World soundtrack for the Gears trailer. Absolutely unreal. Nothing has hit the same in terms of an advertising masterpiece like that for me.
"The creatives are there to serve the franchise, not the other way around." - Excellent point.
this channel is hella underrated. keep up the great content. subbed.
Thank you for your kind comment and for subscribing!
When you were talking about Oculus development in that busy place that connected all areas of the project, I was thinking about Boeing deliberately moving offices away from factories and engineering so they don't complain too much.
i discovered this channel yesterday with the culture video about concord and i must say, this is probably one of the most interesting and insightful channels out there. this will be a binge watch for sure
Thanks for sharing your insight on all of this, Laura! Facebook spending an entire day bemoaning a lack of almond milk explains a lot in hindsight 😂
You're welcome! Thank you for watching!
Engineer: makes off hand comment about there not being almond milk in the fridge at their workplace
TH-cam commenter years later: lol that whole company
@@mechanicalmonk2020 details were “complained all day”, not “mentioned there was no almond milk”. Get your ears checked
@@mechanicalmonk2020this isn't the polite way to challenge someone.
You are both wrong and right at the same time but you aren't getting your point across with this approach
absurd amounts of leadership game in all these videos, thank u
Thank you!
Laura is gifted with clarity of mind, thanks for sharing your experience!
Laura, you are a true gift to gaming, your insights are incredible and you have an absolute incredible regalness to your demeanor. Please consider collaborating with other "essay style" TH-camrs to expand your reach so that you can connect with more people that can hear your message.
Thank you! I appreciate your comments! I haven't thought about collaborating but that's an idea to consider.
This is such a great video, been binging your channel. Shared it with a buddy, as this seems criminally underwatched. This is such a rare perspective for devs to hear from in an unfiltered manner, and from someone who clearly gets it, so can really underline what went wrong. I’m subbed and hoping for more.
Thank you for recommending my video and for subscribing! I'm glad you like my channel!
Such a great channel with interesting insights, keep up the great work! I love how mellow and informative the commentary is.
Thank you for watching!
I just found this channel and it is a privilege to hear your insight and experiences from IPs that I loved.
This video deserves millions of views. Thank you for sharing!
Binge watching this channel and definitely want to comment to help the algorithm.
Your explanation really helps explain why some movie or game sequels just fall flat or some new media with established IP fail. The producers don't respect the source material and the target audience. Disney Star Wars is one where the sequel movies are meh (depending on who you ask 😅) while most of the animated ones are excellent, like rebels and bad batch. Dave filoni single handedly saved Star Wars, in my opinion.
There are also some outliers like the Judge Dredd movies. The sly stallone one was popular because he was one of the action heroes of the time. But as a comic book fan, I prefer the grittier more recent dredd where he never removes his helmet.
So, as a long-time fallout and halo fan, I never saw the tv series as I'm afraid they would make me hate the franchise more, just like what star wars is doing with their tv shows. That and Fallout 76 already did that
Just found you through the concord video as well. Your doing amazing work!
I played Mad Max recently and I gotta give you credit. You did the best with what you had to work with and I really enjoyed it :)
People have asked me how I've done good licensed IP games. I tell them, "I respect the franchises. I add to and expand, sure... but at the core, it's about realizing the IP for gamers, NOT about ME and my ego adding or changing the IP." Hell, even the games I've worked on that aren't considered "licenses", I treat them like licenses. I make sure they don't forget the people that made it so someone wants to make a sequel/prequel/side-story/reboot.
I agree, stowing the ego is key. Thank you for sharing your experience!
I found your channel through the Concord piece since that’s trending and I’m glad I did, you have such a depth of industry knowledge
I left games seven years ago to work in high tech and I’ve always loved these retrospectives.
As a side note, I totally share your feelings on e day. Gow2 is one of my all time favorites, I can still Visalia and hear the intro to the big assault in tip of the spear. I hope they also nail the military themes and the tumultuous world the cog faces in e day’s setting.
One thing I’m curious about your response on is the idea that many franchises should end. In my mind, narratives are satisfying in their arc, and simply rehashing, retconning, or reskinning old arcs feels bad. Similarly, just reaching back for prequels and flashbacks can feel hollow.
Your experience and perspective is so valuable for understanding what shapes the games on the market today. Thanks for making these videos, they're very informative.
So happy your still making videos. I love your views and insight. Just wish someone like jake baldino at gameranx or the act man some one with a large following help and share your channel help give you a little boost. Please don't get discouraged you do have your fans who love your content. Much love.
Thank you! I love making videos! I find it intrinsically rewarding and I love reading the thoughtful comments from everyone!
Great video! It's really great to hear insider info from games industry!
I haven't yet played Mad Max game, but heard it's a cool game!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
What an insightful, well done video this is. Well done.
Underrated Channel. Im watching all your videos now. Love your commentary!
This is just lovely, pretty much info straight from the source
I've always wanted to see something like that, it's hard to find something more than development notes and even there the game is the bigger focus than the process behind it
Laura I love this channel and the insight you provide. Would you consider doing a broad video on tooling and developer workflows and how they impact production? Apparently 343 had a hard time with Halo Infinite's engine, Bungie famously had issues with developers using tools before they were ready, BioWare struggled with Frostbite, etc.
Thank you! That's an interesting idea. I'll think about it!
Thank you for the video... It is always interesting and fun to listen to the insight you have for, and within, the entertainment industry... You sound like a very passionate person when it comes to the various industries which you've taken part in... Although I'm very sure there are still some gaming industry companies that have that same sort of passion and drive, it does at the surface feel like some of that same passion has faded from so many companies in recent years... The quality of so many entertainment spaces has waned, to a point where it feels like they care more about ideological messaging and internal politics, over entertaining folks who are passionate about the various IP's...
The number of indie studios in the gaming market have grown, especially with the early access model, that many of adopted... Yet I find that early access has far too many times been a losing bet, as they are very much a gamble... Will they ever finish, will they be any good, will they stick to their promises, and how long will it take to get there? Those are just some of the questions and/or worries when buying into early access... There are lots of various game titles coming out over the next year or so, that look very promising... We'll just need to hope they deliver on the promises and hype the marketing teams love to throw out into the void...
Good points! Thank you for watching!
came from the conrod video on Gameranx but now love this channel. Subscribed and binging. Also, thanks for making games for gamers over the years.
Firstly, an excellent video discussing the state of the industry.
Secondly, I loved the Mad Max game, it truly captured the essence of the Fury Road film. My favourite memory was the unique aesthetic of each different zone. So thank you to you and your team for being true to the original work.
Loving your content! As a product designer I also often see companies going for a mismatch between the end product and the market. Continuous research and feedback is the only way to stay on the top of the game. I bet if key elements of Rings of Power, Concord or Acolyte were shown to the fans they’d tell the creators how they feel about it.
Omg, this is the amazing. I couldn't agree with the things you say even more if I tried. I think if you were in Sarah Bond's position right now, Microsoft would be in a LOT better place.
Also respect, you worked in two of my favorite games ever. Gears 1/2 were AMAZING, and Shadow of Mordor/War were incredible. The only downside to them is I wish they didn't patent the Nemesis system! It is such an incredible game design and I WISH it was in more games. It would make ANY open world infinitely more interesting, add replayability, and just make it better.
My only hope is that Monolith makes a great Wonder Woman game and it's a badass superhero game for fans.
Another excellent video, and another outstanding Tom Sowell quote!
When you say it doesn’t matter WHY these things go wrong, I’m not sure I precisely agree. I think it may come down to a philosophical and/or cultural issue. These creative conflagrations don’t have to happen, they’re willed into existence by arrogant people.
Amazon’s tepid Rings of Power series might be a great example of the ethos I’m getting at. The attitude being, “We’re going to do it right this time.” Like you pointed out, there are multiple blueprints of how to, and even better how NOT to.
Lastly, that Gears of War trailer was phenomenal. I’m extremely excited to get my hands on it and am cheering for The Coalition!
That's a fair point! Thank you for watching!
The level of candor from an industry insider is unbelievable. 👍👍
Thanks for watching!
Your channel is wonderful! A lot of these concepts are applicable to working with a team regardless of profession. I especially like the tactic of holding your thoughts until the rest of the team has shared theirs. Some members of my team always bring me ideas 1 on 1, but in a team meeting with management, they never speak up because our management tends to commandeer the meeting. Also, your point on only taking on work that you know your team is suited for (or assemble a team that is) is a hard pill to swallow for far too many people. Knowing your limits is hard but it's the only way to achieve repeatable results.
I agree! Many people won't bring something up in front of management so you have to seek out the information. I'm glad you are enjoying the channel! Thank you for watching!
@@laurafryer6321 I'm an mechanical engineer and gamer. Your channel is the first time I've seen analysis of game development from both the bottom up and the top down. I like spotting the parallels with my own career. New subscriber here 👋!
I loved working with the mechanical engineers at Oculus. They were incredibly creative. Thank you for the sub!
Love your videos. I feel gaming and movies have abandon us in a way. Creators forgetting who they are making them for. Hope you are right about it turning around. I haven't gone to the movies or bought a new AAA in quite a while. Now, can you put a bug in someone's ear about putting Gears 2 and 3 on PC? It is time.
They absolutely haven't.
Watch the stuff that's right for you (I guarantee you it exists) rather than bemoaning what you dislike in the popular thing.
I've been gaming for 35 years and there's loads more unique and interesting games now than there were when I was a kid.
Thanks! It was a bummer with Gears PC because it didn't get the reaction we wanted even though we made new content for PC. Maybe now is the time. :)
You seem so smart, business savvy.i feel as an xbox fan they should give you an over seeing position.for their big franchises.like Killer Instinct,they revive (finally) the franchise to let it slip into oblivion again.to this day still the best fighting game to date (only true rival is MK).
@@mechanicalmonk2020ah I think you have missed the point.
They LOVE 'popular thing' which is why when it changes direction they are saddened
Another awesome insight from inside game industry itself, as commoner its help me so much putting in perspective of whats going on inside game development. Thank you
I'm glad you found the video helpful. Thank you for watching!
I just wanted to say, that I've recently played Mad Max for the first time, and it's definitely an underrated gem. It was sad to hear George Miller's harsh words about it.
Another great video. I love your insights and stories about the video game industry.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
my new favorite youtube channel
I know we can literally never have what once was with some of these franchises, but I sat up and yelled when Dom grabbed Marcus’ hand and mad world played….so many memories.
We need a trailer like this with Chief and Johnson if they’re truly remaking Halo 1.
“crazy fool, why do you always jump?” (We literally never see him jump any other time like this in the series…so a call back to that in a trailer would get the Halo 3 vibes in a CE remake for sure.)
That moment was awesome! Thanks for watching!
Refreshing to hear someone with a level headed take on the current state of the gaming industry and the software / gaming development lifecycle. It's clear that you know how to deliver 😄
I think youtube auto hid my other comment that added more context to/corrected the "we didn't play the game" quote from the Halo TV show. Also, nice content.
Gears of War makes me feel how I felt about Final Fantasy 7 Remake. And they pulled it off with FF7, it's SO GOOD. I'm really excited.
Fantastic, thank you. I'm also looking forward to gears 🤘. R.i.p. halo😢
Amazing analysis. Great.
I had vaguely heard that Mad Max could have gone to another team instead of Avalanche. However complicated the development was, a lot of great decisions were made for that game. I'd put that Mad Max game up there as one of the best licensed games ever made. When I think about what else could come close, only one thing springs to mind: Batman Arkham Asylum. I avoided that one for a few years, since I assumed it was a mediocre tie-in for one of the Dark Knight movies around that time. Once I got to play it, I realised that I could not have been more wrong, and its optional lore is what sold me on Batman as a whole. It's tragic to see the Rocksteady name attached to Suicide Squad. An equally remarkable game, but this time as an example of what not to do.
Ahh that was so great at the end. And it's true, I LOVE Gears as a Franchise, but 4 was okay, and 5 had it's moments but it wasn't the same badass game about brotherhood, camaraderie, and testosterone filled awesomeness. They'd consider that "toxic masculinity" nowadays and I just hope they don't neither E-day. Because I haven't been this excited for a Gears game since 3. 🙏 🤞
This channel is a diamond in the rough! Have you made a video about the culture shift in bungie? I would love you hear your thoughts on it!
Imagine if Microsoft truly capitalised on being a true digital storefront before Valve made Steam.
3:38 So I've been in more than a handful of situations that had a change of leadership or kinetic environment. There are personality traits that I've found some* of my leadership had...pride and/or narcissism. In your experience, did you observe the same thing? I notice you didn't really touch on that. Excellent channel by the way
I've definitely seen those personality traits in some leaders. Thanks for watching!
I work in the film industry and I think it is unfortunately very common for directors to ignore source material in order to make an IP "their own". Blatant disrespect for source material is a lazy trend that is rampant through the modern media landscape. Disney Star Wars, Halo, Netflix animation adaptations like Avatar, and Rings of Power are all examples of this. It is hard to manufacture genuine passion for something which is why you need to pick people who care about what they are making. It seems like common sense, but studios have repeatedly messed this part up.
As always, I cherish your videos for the wisdom you impart and how well you deliver and present it.
I have to say that the way modern creative have handled some beloved IPs lately has led me to just stopping altogether. From their announcement that they are chasing a new audience, often dubbed "modern audiences", whatever that means. The way they discard legacy content for creating what is essentially a new IP with the skin of an existing IPs thrown on top. It is out of place and just wrong.
The Halo show was such a disappointment. The team delivered great content in their ad campaigns that were more emotional and memorable than whatever that show became. Such a waste of potential and I'm just shocked Microsoft ever gave that the green light.
I agree, it has been disappointing to see so much potential wasted. Thank you for your kinds words!
The people at Facebook being entitled and inconsiderate definitely checks out.
I find this is definitely an issue with a lot of new shows: the showrunners just ignore the source material. Look at the Witcher.
Excellent videos, great channel.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy them.
oooh no! 24 hours later after this video, it was announced that the Halo TV show was canceled. I can't help but feel like you had something to do with it. :P
LOL! That's weird timing for sure! :)
Yay! A new vid!
never bought Shadow of Mordor, they decided to copyright the nemesis mechanic; the industry was built on creators iterating on each other, its incredibly selfish
perfect explanation
Many content creators such as critical drinker have been expressing this problem in these industries for some time now. The years of industry experience and practical leadership you have really elevate and bring even more legitimacy to the argument.
Every show runner, script writer and actor needs to listen to your perspective, let go of their ego and change their work ethic.
Thank you for your kind comments! It's interesting to me that creatives feel limited by the worlds/stories that came before. Every great designer will tell you limits and constraints are a good thing.
Simple answer, before watching the video, is what I think: Why franchises fail, is because of EGO. Writers and producers ego, they use the franchise to as an excuse to write and create what THEY want, not what the fans want. Writers want their own stamp on it, and all the lore just stands in the way of that. Fans just get in the way of that. So they chose to ignore both. And when the product fails, it's so convenient to blame the fans, again, because the writers have too much ego to admit they themselves are to blame.
Thanks Laura
Wow I think you're the first! Thank you very much!
For me there's an issue in the modern media pipeline that everything is assumed to be endless ideally. And endless as in "an endless stream of revenue". I'm kinda bored and annoyed by it. As it weakens the artistic expression.
Imagine the the headline "X is bringing back Y!". I saw that a lot in recent years.
Usually meaning "someone dead that still has economic value gets returned by either a pre-mid-quel or being revived, being not really that dead or just the multiverse". And as characters have economic value, it is just a matter of time until it will be done. Someday we will get "Somehow, Sauron returned". Destiny2 is bringing back Cayde6. His death was the big emotional thing in Forsaken years ago. Now they really really need the money so they use the assets they have. Get that corpse back on stage.
In the past i would have cared more about my favorite franchises getting a good adaptation. But by now the pattern is obvious. A HALO show that did not suck in season 1 would not have a clear ending of the story planned. It would need to go on until i stops being good, until the actors quit and them it's finalized with a "meh"-ending. Wait a few years until the reboot does it again.
Franchises. Mhh.
Cant wait for more videos
Hear, hear Laura!!
I dont know why you dont have more subs. I never get notifications either 😢. I hope you keep sharing your insights during these interesting times in gaming. Can you do a collab with Amy Hennig for insgiht into women in gaming?
Thank you for watching! Weird that you aren't getting notified. I wonder why?
love your videos
Thank you! I'm glad you are watching!
Please write a book !!! You’re dropping so much unique knowledge as a game exec that it is too good for u s! Please monetize. I’ve never begged someone to do that before haha
I actually wrote a draft but then decided videos were a better way to tell the stories. I'll think about it and thank you!
@@laurafryer6321 you’re doing an amazing job with the videos so far. I pray that the algorithm will reflect that soon. In the meantime, I’ll like and comment as much as I can !
Thank you!
It's good to hear that fans are not giving time and money to these weird new experiments. But they still have ESG money to sustain them for a good while (as far as I know). I hope companies can see the light before going bankrupt.
Also, did they get their almond milk?
Glad to see you back! Yes they did! It was only a temporary outage thank goodness! :)
@@laurafryer6321what are your thoughts on the ESG money though?
@@mechanicalmonk2020 It's probably too political of a topic for her to get into on this channel.
@@AzureSymbiote she's actively stoking the flames and being ok with people lying in her comments.
There's no ESG money, there's no woke agenda.
Great video
Welp, time to binge a channel
It seems that leadership failures just go across all forms of careers lol
Mad Max was 9/10 game for me why it did not get a sequel? I heard only good stuff about the game from internet and friends that played it.
great video
LAURA! What would you do if you ran XBOX?? If you had Phils job. I think we all would love to know. Like would you still release Game Pass? Or maybe go for different acquisitions like maybe Capcom and Epic. Or something you would try totally Different? Stay loyal to the console no Day and date PC releases. Just trying to feed you some ideas. Tried to do another Super chat so sorry. I have TH-cam premium it takes the money just fine for that and it asks for my password I must be ending it wrong or something sorry.
That's an interesting question! I'll have to think about it more. The challenge is that without knowing the internal confidential data he is seeing, it's hard to predict the best path forward. I do think it's obvious that he needs a better system for evaluating games. Thanks for watching Adam!
@@laurafryer6321 OK that might be difficult maybe think of other companies who had really rough launches or just bad PR. Like maybe CD Project Red launch of cyberpunk or Square has had some rough months launch of forsaken and announcing NFT games. Or just do what you think you would want remember your rich your Microsoft lol much love and Thank you.
I think she might have created videogames
I wish Internet Gaming Zone was still around.
Thanks! I loved the Zone although it was a difficult project. :)
@@laurafryer6321 That is so cool though that you got to work on it! It was where I spent a lot of my time playing Asheron's Call, and Age of Empires. :)
Age of Empires was the best!
I feel like gears of war e day just doesn’t land for me, I don’t want a repeat of early gears games. We got enough of those! Such a boring and lame reveal.
That’s the problem with all of these adaptions and continuations. The IP was never strong enough to survive long term, and they run out of steam. This is how I feel about Star Wars now, it was good but I don’t think we need it anymore. The IP doesn’t have any excitement left. Doesn’t matter how good the craftsmanship is if there’s not enough meat on the bones to make anything quality.
Me too.
Imo Steam needs to upgrade their platform and add a video streaming/sales division now. And gabe needs to become immortal so it is always being operated correctly haha
That could be interesting! Thank you for watching!
Will Naughty Dog get credit for cancelling factions
Nice channel!
Thank you! I appreciate that you checked out my videos!
I wish you were working on the new gears of war to bring your expirience
Thanks! It would be fun to work on Gears again.
So how do you avoid being derivative?
It's not easy! I think Shadow is a good example though. The team stayed true to the original and then created the Nemesis system and the unique story of Talion. Thank you for watching!
I'm not going to tell you how to make your thumbnails, but this one ain't great...
Love your videos btw, I just think the thumbnail should match the quality of your work.
Thanks!
Making a great game and giving the players what they want and not pushing an extremely mentally insane fascist communist political message I miss those times.
Dear Laura.
I may have misunderstood your intentions on making this video. Whatever you intended to say didn't come through (or maybe it did). Please know that what you _did_ say inspires this kind of an audience and I really don't think you want this kind of an audience.
Or maybe you do. Idk.
A fun game has to be the priority! Thank you for watching!
an extremely mentally insane fascist communist political message?? sounds wild
i imagine bish's attitude is "the more viewers, the better". whatever else would it be, and why??
@@laurafryer6321 this seals it I suppose. You're going to either ignore actively anti trans sentiment or you endorse it.
The audio on mobile is a bit quiet.
Thank you for letting me know and for watching!
@@laurafryer6321I personally had no issues and watched from my S24 Ultra.
Those oculus headsets selled very poorly and they're a stupid idea just like wokesofts kinnect idea it's all just a huge waste of money.
Kinect was great tech but not a great product. I love playing games in VR but there are many issues which may hold it back. Thank you for watching!
Meta quest is going in a great direction I hope it picks up.
They've lost so much money selling the gear at this price
I hope for all gamers that gaming companies learn that woke games never sell well and they start making good quality games again preferably with conservative devs.
oh yes woke products never sell
oh yes woko haram totally doesn't sell
did you even watch the video, the problem is that the Devs aren't listening to the target audience and are not paying respect to the source material. It has nothing to do with conservative or liberals, it has everything to do with their ego and thinking they know better than the franchise they are tasked with creating games or tv for. They ignored fans, ignored the source material and ignored everyone that disagree with them.
That is the problem and that is a problem not politically driven but ego driven and everyone have that issue, regardless of you being a conservative or liberal.
Historically? A complicated multi-factor reason.
Today? Talking down to fanbases & hiring people (from writers, to artists, to devs) based on DEI, not *actual* talent.
That's how. This video could''ve been 10 seconds long. :))))
I'd recommend actually watching the video. It's more than just the summarised title.
bAsEd On DeI nOt AcTuAl TaLeNt 🤡🤡🤡
@@mechanicalmonk2020 My brother in Christ, as North Americans would put it: I have no words for how completely oblivious you are.
Please get to know some level-headed people (on the political spectrum) working in AAA gaming studios (but not just), see how f*cking pissed they are for having to work alongside incompetent colleagues, how often they have to swallow their words and (fact-based) opinions on said colleagues and the quality of the work they put out, and then get back to me.
Until then, 🤫
@@justaguyfromeurope I live in North America and work at a tech firm. Your ilk would take one look at my team and screen "DEI hires" despite them being top notch engineers through and through.
You're the oblivious and delusional one in this conversation, not me.
@@justaguyfromeurope says the actual oblivious one.
I live in America and work in tech. If you took one look at my team you'd think "oh these must be diversity hires" and then go tell everyone they suck. In reality they're fantastic engineers.