Do We Care Who Makes Our Games?

This week, two games came out that weren't entirely made by their original authors, which has Nick wondering about authorship in games, and whether it really matters to most gamers. What do you think?
Talk to Nick on Twitter! / babylonian
Nick's interview with Geometry Wars creator Stephen Cakebread: www.bytejacker.com/blog/interv...
Keita Takahashi's GDC talk: www.gamasutra.com/view/news/11...
Hideki Kamiya on not directing Bayonetta 2: www.nintendolife.com/news/2013...
Keita Takahashi on not wanting a Katamari sequel: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology...
Tweets cited: / 522424419386281985 / / 521694615359877121

[@NatStarlight]

This is an excellent topic that no one ever talks about, so kudos to you, Nick, for bringing this up. Personally, I'm constantly thinking about this, and I honestly don't really have a solid opinion on the matter except that the people who make the games I play do definitely matter to me, in one way or another. More and more these days, I like to pay close attention to the people that actually make the games, and not the publisher or company name that is attached to something. It really disheartens me how often people confuse publishers and developers, often ignoring the actual development studios of games and ignoring the talented individuals responsible for bringing a game to life in favor of giving all the credit to a big faceless company that only cares about money.

[@IvoryOasis]

Companies have tried VERY hard to distance the people from the product. That is why you rarely see an artists name on a piece of artwork in general consumerist world (advertising? concept art? all lacking the artists signature typically). It is so the people become interchangeable for the company (giving the company all the power).

[@MisterGutsy108]

I forget who it was, but I remember someone (maybe totalbiscuit) arguing that people should be more exposed to the people behind the games, similar to how the film industry works, instead of just attaching the development company's name to the product. This would allow consumers to be better informed about what to expect from a game. For example, consumers expected a certain pedigree from Bungie, and lots of people were disappointed with Destiny as a result. But when you think about it, the team that worked on Destiny was probably composed of very few of the same people that made up the original team of creators that worked on Halo. His point was that looking at game development from such a broad perspective can skew our expectations, especially with such large dev studios.

[@VikingGoblin]

I love thinking about who created the game, it has a huge impact for me on a series. I find it exciting to follow directors and when stuff is passed on to see who now holds the reins, it has a significant effect on my excitement for a game. What I also find when following directors a lot is that you can find little things in games that certain people really like to use.

[@BestintheWest25]

Excellent video, would love to see more content like this really getting into the nitty gritty of production, studio autonomy etc.

[@mariorruiz]

Really nice to see some space for thought in this channel. Great reflection nick. Keep it up!

[@metalsnakezero]

I think it matter when the quality of the game goes down like how the Modern warfare want down after a large portion of Infinity ward left and having what I loved from the series show up in Titan fall. It may not be THE creator you are looking for but the team. I love Atlus because while they change who will lead a project, the whole team, new or old, are willing to put in the work for their fans.

[@airfoemoe]

Legend of Korra is being made by platinum games, I'm mad excited. That should tell you developers matter.

[@mario4everd]

Really great video, I love when a different director takes over and takes a series and gives it a unique different feel. Look at majoras mask, when miyamoto gave eiji aonuma the lead, he created a zelda game like no other. That's why people always argue about it, it's certainly off putting and that's why I love it. But then you get to the spyro games and without insomniac the other games don't feel as polished as the original 3. Bayonetta is a different story though as many of the original developers of the original returned for the sequel.

[@torandi]

Yes, more of these kinds of videos! :D

[@RossLlewallyn]

Great video and interesting idea!

[@LiquidPr1d3]

Your shirt.

[@RobertButler1]

More videos like this one please!

[@BrenJeebus]

Mmm, the Nick's "Something"s are starting to feel pretty good. Nice open conversation about different concepts that occur through the industry. Glad to watch something this directly stream of conscious and thoughtful.

[@srduncanbyu]

This is GREAT! Nick, I love seeing opinions, with literature and examples. I have really enjoyed Rev3, but this is sooooo good.

[@horhito93]

I know that Satoshi Taijiri directed Pokemon Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, Gold, Silver, and Crystal but all other Main series Pokemon games were directed by Junichi Masuda with Satoshi as a producer

[@AlexanderWeir01]

I think the people who make games deserve to be recognised, obviously for their hard work but also because it would be better for everyone who loves games. When all the credit goes to a company and not the people who really worked on the game it's easier to push creators around, make changes for the sake of profit instead of quality, or even cut people out entirely.

[@OldCrow120]

I like hearing about the developers behind the games I love. Especially what lead them to their ideas and what inspired them in the first place. I think they deserve as much appreciation as their games do.

[@JoshTrevett]

It's also worth noting that a lot of creative decisions in games which feel very important to the overall "vision" are often made from the bottom rather than the top. There are some game directors who absolutely have a profound effect on the artistic presence of their games, but it's not always all on them, either.

[@Madgear82]

interesting you bring this up the week that The Evil Within comes out, quite relevant in this discussion. It really did matter that Mikami left the resident evil franchise, now were getting the spiritual successor to resident evil 4.