No worries. I tend to get far too wordy that I need to learn to keep things short though fails most of the time.
That is how I want my postings to be..... There is just too much to cover or too much on my mind so I make the mistake of over-wording things.
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At first your had big companies making quality games (for that time) like Sony, Blizzard, Bethesda, Activision, EA, etc.. that were able to throw dollars at their projects.
Over time they flipped to putting returns over quality and these once great company`s stepped into a downward spiral and turned to crap or in the case of Sony, sold off their gaming division.
Used to make quality games, I agree. But even then, back in like 2003, they kept screwing around failing to do make games to their fullest. Because I felt disappointed with games back then I spent my time checking out games for a long while deciding if I wanted to support them or not. I believe Titan Quest has to be one of the few epic games to survive the test of time with actual honest developers. I haven't heard any political nonsense come from them, nor have I heard of any grand standing nonsense from them, as I do with both AAA and indie developers.
Battlefield 1942, Titan Quest, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2, just to name a few.... Everything else just appears meh. Everything dipped off gradually ever since. Nobody wanted to do actual things needing to be done......It forced me to go into the realm of Japanese gaming and entertainment, and maybe for the better. Anime here, there.... Everywhere. There is a reason I worship anime.
You have game developers worked to the core, harassed by SJW/political nonsense, or you even see Sony sell off what used to make them the best company and console around. They're stuck in time prisons forced to bump things out without really exploring the full potential of their IP. Now? They turned into fragile weaklings turning their (Sony) games into political nonsense. I'm now happy to be back in Nintendo's hands, even if they may be backwards thinking in various areas. I grew up on Nintendo and I'm back to being with Nintendo with their Nintendo Switch. Sony America is just doing everything wrong and its depressing.
Its a shame you see too many milk-cow type games. I know I shouldn't post games, but to get a point across I have to sharing this 'Pragmata' game as necessary example:
Pragmata is releasing on PS5 which makes me feel sad for it. Censored, butchered, and etc. It'll be a victim of censorship. Thankfully, I've seen its going to release on Xbox and Windows. Thankfully. If it was a PS5 exclusive I'd feel horrible for this game with high potential. It appears like Nier: Automata to me. I'm genuinely relieved to find out its not releasing on PS5 as an exclusive, yet as a mostly accessible game. I've went to fanboying Sony to now cursing them because they've corrupted themselves with Californian political nonsense.......
I feel its also the people who go out of their way to purchase a PS5 also being the problem. I warned them about censorship and they seem fine with it. A game can't get to its fullest if various parts are clipped, cut, and chopped off. Its like seeing a bird without wings....... I want to steer towards people who know how to express themselves without censoring themselves.
Enter the rise of the Indie developer with limited resources and too often, with limited know-how and vision.
Using Steam as a petri dish, over time video games have now turned into a wasteland of shit with an occasional gem mixed in.
I'll nod to this one because I see it time and again. I'll admit I've fought with a few indie developers because they refused to grasp simple suggestions, or too reluctant about adding co-op or other features. They never properly weighed their options to the point we had to fight. Subnautica developers are ones I constantly bring up because they themselves desired co-op and VR, they then chickened out for various reasons. As shitty as VR is for Subnautica, people love it. It brings out a new experience, something we NEED to see. People wanted to see the scarier side of it 'in person'. They disappointed a good chunk of their playerbase when they've announced how they're going to go lazy, yet Uboat developers found a way to make the impossible, possible. Third party VR.
Other developers (Dutch ones) desired to go political to the point I had to tell one to ease up. I agree you get varying results of games, some which fill in voids, other which muddies the void. They spawn something yet never complete it.......
Which ties into the third, the paradigm. I think what you want simply doesnt exist yet. You said you`d like to develop your own game to your own vision (paraphrase) and I`ll jump back into the anime example and hope you`ve seen what I reference.
It doesn't exist because people are doing everything in their "mood" to make it not happen.
1) Canadians in WW2 can happen, simply refused because 'minor nation', or more work than they desire.
2) No proper surface warship mods, especially with Canadians in them. Nothing wants to learn from Silent Hunter 3's open world experience.
3) Bandai Namco is too lazy in making a Gundam VR game, probably because Sony bailed on them or they're too reliant on a Gundam MMO experience.
4) Lacking Ship & train games (simplified versions). Something like Train Sim World & Train Sim, just something easier on the system (more accessible & still beautiful).
There are just too many voids.
As for making my own game..... Yeah, I made a few test RPG games. I'm still looking out for any proper game makers with naval experiences in mind. I want to make it similar to how I've seen Japanese indie developers do it where you have a hub, go explore outwards, and kill ships in a weighted combat manner then come back and rest. How complicated or detailed the game would be is depended on my skill and what I'm supplied with. Currently, I doubt I'll accomplish that sort of game I desire, more so to fill in a void. I first need to find something which shall allow me to even have this done in the first place.
Even in RPG Maker I've even seen ways I could add co-op/Multiplayer. If I didn't lose my files I would have experimented in making my RPG project a co-op experience. If there is a will, there is a way. I lost my will so there is now not a way to do so with having lost my files. Speaking of which,..... Too many indie developers don't have a proper will and motivation to do things. They seem highly stunted. Chained. They give themselves conditions which they then subconsciously follow making them not achieve their full potential. They say certain things can't be done yet it can be accomplished regardless. They get certain features implemented one way or another.
If there is a will, there is a way.
SAO2 where "the Seed" has been distributed to the world and now anyone can make their own world, own characters, rules, and reality with real life quality.
The technology is advanced enough where resources (money) isnt really an issue. All that`s needed is vision. Imagination unleashed, Also, internet bandwidth has obviously progressed to allow for this. We`re just not there yet.
I'm amused you brought up 'The Seed' because I loosely thought of 'Unity' being that. Or the worlds I've seen in VRChat & etc. We somewhat have this with various engines, but if we can have something proper (with all game genres in mind) the future would be something as neat as in concept for SAO.
Vision is indeed what we need and its mostly tied in with a few Europeans and a certain enlightened group of Asians from Japan, China, and various other regions. Imagination unleashed (will and desire) is something we also need to work on. Inspiration has took a nose dive, more so with SJW nonsense, to the point we need to inspire proper people again. The amount of creativity and journeys I've been on would parallel experiences in Anime. Isekai genre, and etc. Magical feeling you get in dreams when having a good time, a drink, and etc. I wish I could express myself properly, but we're near that state. We need to stop in-fighting amongst ourselves to achieve this.
We can have the right things if we can inspire the right people. Its going to be hard when we live in a growing censorship filled world climate.......