Myst's Latest Spinoff Can't Find Funding, Signaling the Death of Double-A Games
No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore
Myst sold over 6 million copies in the '90s, but its latest spinoff couldn't secure any funding, highlighting an existential crisis for double-A games. The article explores how the middle market of gaming—games that aren't indie or AAA—is collapsing, leaving developers of ambitious, puzzle-driven experiences without financial support.
No one can afford to make Myst games anymore.
- languagehacker
Myst was really interesting when it first came out, but games like that are woefully out of date in a world where most games are immersive, and where players are accustomed to onboarding systems like tutorial levels to help prevent frustration and focus on story and enjoyment. I also just really don't think that in this world's collective attention span, nobody wants to play a game where you have to traverse the entire map a bunch of times to solve a puzzle by trial and error.
Give me a new Journeyman Project instead!
- bob1029
The biggest issue is that it has become very accessible to approach AA quality in a solo setting. The jump from indie to AA is much more plausible than the jump from AA to AAA. The middle of the market is in a gigantic space trash compactor right now.
I could sit down with one other level designer / environmental artist and create something that would be visually competitive with Myst in record time using modern tools.
AI assistance is most dangerous (for your competition) when you mostly need it for the scripting and code, and not for the art or direction. You don't need an AI disclosure on steam if you use AI responsibly.
- flohofwoe
The article reads like it's about 15 years late to reality. Trying to get funding from a publisher as an independent studio was always somewhere between hard and impossible, and especially towards the 2010s. That's why Kickstarter became such an unbelievable success.
PS: The one exception was when Epic was on its aggressive rampage to buy as many exclusives for the Epic Game Store as possible. But I guess that money shower has also dried up by now.
- swiftcoder
I wonder how much increasing fidelity requirements are the main culprit here? Myst was made by a team of about 7 people (only 4 of them full-time), in just about 2 years, and cost under a million (adjusted for inflation).
Riven had a team twice the size, took twice as long, and cost 10-15x as much. Apart from Exile, which was handed to a more experienced developer who got it done faster and cheaper, the remaining sequels follow a similar trajectory.
- drsalt
aren't all these guys rich? why do they need funding?
- TACIXAT
The article said they are looking for $1m to $10m in funding. Given the hype and pedigree, I feel they could crowdfund the low end of that trivially.
- sgt
Games is one of those industries that I can't fathom how to do profitably, and that's why I'm not a game designer. There's just so much competition and I don't really understand the market either.
- y7