Parting Post: GTA V's success is bad for the videogame industry.

[johnlucas]

OdinHades said:
Good games deserve good sales. If other developers can't keep up with Rockstar, it's not their fault. They were themselves a small studio once. But instead of bringin some artistic nonsense and writing "INDIE!!" all over it or spending too much money on games they can't afford, they just made high quality games. One after another. Raising the quality every time. So now they are at GTA 5 and I have no doubt they will raise the bar again in 5 years with GTA 6.

Everything Rockstar has is well deserved. Small studios simply do not sell millions of copies. And if they think they must, they are out of their mind.You have to work your way to the Top. Rockstar did just that. You don't just start at the top because other developers are kind enough to not pack everything they can in their games.

The flaw with 'indie' anything is that if they become fully successful they can no longer remain indie.
It's this way in videogames, it's this way in music, it's this way in film, any creative medium.
Those who start small & gain a following eventually become big with a larger & larger following.

EVERY developer wants to one day have their ideas spread to as many people as they can get them to.
What is the purpose of creating things for an audience if you want to limit that audience?
You may as well just show it to your friends & leave it at that.
If you are in the business of commerce, you are trying to sell your ideas to as many people as you can possibly sell them to.
That doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your craftsmanship, the devotion to your customers, or the integrity of your product.
But the whole purpose is to get your idea in as many hands as possible.

So today's indie is tomorrow's behemoth given enough success.

Here's the catch.
While people appreciate the big boys, it doesn't mean the small guys have no impact.
The small guys have nothing to lose so they take more risks in creativity & try out new things.
While the giant has a legacy to lug around & has to stay true to what they have created over the years.

But see, people like variety.

They want the established names they have come to trust while also wanting to give up-and-comers a shot at greatness.
Grand Theft Auto V does nothing to stop the indies because you can't scrub the narrow corners with a big vacuum cleaner.
You need a little brush to do the job. Different jobs take different tools.
That's how 5' 3" Muggsy Bogues thrived in that land of giants called the NBA.

Rockstar wouldn't DREAM of making an Angry Birds. But an indie up-and-comer like Rovio WOULD.
Some people get tired of the overdeveloped megaadventures & just want something simple to play.
Nintendo is married to the ever-growing grandiose legacy of The Legend of Zelda.
Gaijin Games then comes in with the simple accessible BIT.TRIP games.
There's room for both & there always will be.

Now Rovio's getting to be a giant with all the success they got from Angry Birds. Soon they won't be indie anymore.
Who's the next indie to take Rovio's place? Who can fulfill that role of intimate local-band-done-good gamemaker?
Everybody started from somewhere. These giants didn't get to be giants overnight.

Michael Jackson is a Giant among Giants in the world of music.
But what if Michael & his brothers (The Jackson Five) never left Steeltown Records from Gary, Indiana in the 1960s?
Would it have been worth missing out on all the music they & later Michael himself made just to keep the indie cred intact?

Rome wasn't built in a day. At one time it was just another backwater village like any other.
If they're lucky, today's indie will be tomorrow's giant.
It's like expecting a baby to never grow up. And that's absurd.

John Lucas