Triple-I

[Polyludic]

HoloDust said:

Polyludic said:

Since what used to be mid-tier seemed to all but vanish, I am good with triple I standing for the former midtier title. I take it as an indie developed game, or a small internal studio that us part if a company that hit it bug. I would use this thread to flesh out the meaning.

I take Cuphead as one example and Minecraft as another. 

I would go with triple I because the games originate from small studios

 Even No Man's Sky can be argued to be a triple I title.

Yeah, Cuphead and NMS are good examples, not sure for MC though, while it made crapload of money, that game was not really expensive to make. Some other examples would be succesfull multimillion Kickstarters.

I find Kingdom Come: Deliverance an interesting case that bridges indie and AAA - they initially had private investor to make a prototype, then had very succesful Kickstarter and later made a deal with Koch Media to publish the game (earlier this year Koch acquired them) - it's a game with budget, scope and ambition that started out pretty much as indie only to grow and rocket to success.

If indie and triple I is defined by studio, Minecraft is likely the most successful triple I title ever.  Mojang was an indie studio before Microsoft bought them. It still is a smallish studio, but just has a big company owning them now.  If there were a Minecraft 2, that Microsoft put out, then I would say no.  The fact it is debatable now, shows the boundary of triple I. Gears 5 is not triple I but I consider Minecraft to be.

The thing about Minecraft is, even now, while a huge name, it does not have a huge production value feel to it, and embodies to me, what triple I is about. Cuphead is another. Deliverance Kingdom Come is closer to the feel of a AAA title to me than Minecraft.

Triple I would likely fit in the gap between indie and triple A. If it has attributes of both triple A and Indie, it is triple I. A title promoted like Cuphead as a flagship title by Microsoft is triple I. A title that is smallish but hugely popular is triple I. 

There may also be a need for double I.  This may result in the following scale replace a. Aa an aaa.

Indie: I,  ii and iii

Triple A.

This is true now because major publishers will generally just pick up a title done by an indie studio and publish it. 

Triple I is worth discussing for the sake of the future of the industry direction discussion. 

Last edited by Polyludic - on 18 September 2019