So you think the publisher would come and say "What are these lines of dialogue you've written here? We have quest compass in this game, erase them!"
I think the developers have a little more freedom than you give them credit for.
Oh, I think you're overestimating their "freedom"
It's a subtle and slow development - but if you listen to modern AAA developers, you have the CREATIVE people saying these things. It's not just the people holding the money.
They've actually convinced the artists that complexity, depth, and challenge aren't desirable qualities. Well, at least not in any meaningful way.
Well, I think all this doom and gloom talk is a bit exaggarated.
Where are all these hand-holding RPG's that are selling billions? Mass Effect and Fallout 3?
Ok, so it's a bit exaggerated. But can you blame me? The end-result is that there has never been more potential in gaming as an art-form, and we've never seen a more creatively corrupt AAA industry.
Yeah, yeah - I'm pessimistic and jaded - but it's not entirely bullshit, even from an objective viewpoint.
DA2 is received far worse than DA:O. Risen and Divinity 2 did just fine and were not exactly low-budget indie titles. Dungeon Siege 3 looks to be bombing critically and commercially. The publisher pressure for dumbing down new games is obviously there , but I'm not really seeing it paying off. What we need is to see some of these "me-too" "AAA" games that cost a billion dollars to really fail hard and brutally in their effort to get the "CoD"-crowd.
Dragon Age 2 is the FIRST - and I do mean FIRST example of Bioware stepping over the line in the eyes of the general public. They've taken all their streamlining in every other case so far - and it seems Mass Effect 3 will outsell them all.
Risen and Divinity are not AAA games.
The "middle-market" is very healthy and growing.
I'm exclusively talking about the "top-dogs", and if we talk about our favorite genre - that would be Bioware and Bethesda.
Overall, though, I think we agree. You're just less pessimistic than I am