Cliff Bleszinski – Dude Huge; Cliffy
B, if you will – has departed Epic Games. It's a sad time, when one
of the great designers and innovators in the way we play, and view
games, decides to move on. Though, after 20 years, you can't really
blame a guy, either. Some of the best games I've played in recent
years have come through Epic games, and under Cliff's eye – Unreal
Tournament, and Gears of War, being fairly operative. He's left an
indelible mark, that will undoubtedly shape the future of gaming, and
gamers, everywhere.
Then, I think of others who've moved
on, recently – Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk,
founders of BioWare – again, nearly two decades. Is there something
about the 20 year milestone? Shigeru Miyamoto – though not a true
retirement – stepped down, and took a less 'direct' role late last
year, and Walter Day, renowned for his game score-keeping, called it
quits in 2010 (Ok, he's not technically a developer, but you get the gist). Eventually you
start to wonder, is it just that these people, and others, are done,
ready to move onto the next chapter in their life, or is it that the
face of gaming has changed to much, from where it once was? Could it
be that, instead of the innovation of technology, methods to tell
stories, and producing new and inventive ways to immerse players,
that the landscape has instead become to muddied by corporate
expansionism, acquisitions, stagnant creation, and repetitive
cycling? Or, maybe it's something to do with the increase in digital
sales, over traditional retail, having a direct impact on how DRM and
piracy concerns are managed in the age of the Internet.
Late last year, and earlier this year,
there was an issue, with major UK retail station, GAME, which being
the largest of the market in Europe, lost favor among major developers in the wake of its falling stock, and plummeting revenue.
Unfortunately, the only thing soaring for GAME, at the time, was its
operating costs. Eventually they went into administration, and were
purchased by OpCapita. What this is, is a telling story on the
distribution model of games today, EA promised to go totally digital
in the future – and then there's the fallout of used games market,
something companies including EA have taken an interest in
eliminating, likely with an increase in the digital distribution
market, thereby capping the total flow of lost, "potential,"
revenue.
With all that together, maybe it's not
just a hanging it up, but a moving on, to greener pastures, for game
designers like Cliffy B, and the beloved, "Doctors." Things
are certainly different, and there's a lot more corporate influence
than ever before, with the need for higher profit gains, faster
output, and repetitive game features and clones. If anything, it's a
time to stop and assess the situation – what can we do about it,
and how can we keep the strong growing indie sector from coming under
the clamp, too?
