Dragon Age: The Veilguard

[spudbynight]

It's really not - there's been some great AAA games, even as recently as this summer (Space Marine and Black Myth: Wukong) - it's really specific games people have a problem with. Lets use this game for example - it's a OK game, it's certain not half as bad as people make out. But the hate machine is in full swing and people are almost blinded by it - at least Neil gave it a go for a couple of hours.

I thought that neither Space Marine nor Black Myth were AAA games? I've not played either but I remember most of the reports at the time referring to them as more indie titles. They certainly did not have AAA budgets.

A lot of the discussion as to the state of AAA gaming at the moment compares the success of games from the indy sector.

 

[ColdAsIce]

Yeah the Witcher 3 story was utterly bland. The best parts were the side quests. I also often wondered why it was hailed as one of the best open world games, it felt just like any Ubisoft “far cry” type, “ooh look a question mark on the map” style of exploration. The expansions helped a lot with the poor story in the original. Loved the game though.

I still enjoyed the main game due to the side quests and the world design + sound track. Bloody Baron / Crones quest lines were 10/10. Visiting Skellige for the 1st time was 10/10. The music throughout the game was 10/10 and often the choices the player made in side quests were neither black or white. Just the over all arc of the main story was a bit meh and looking back the combat was fairly simplistic. I had more fun playing a 2nd time either going full magic / full potion builds.

 

[Mobius 1]

I still enjoyed the main game due to the side quests and the world design + sound track. Bloody Baron / Crones quest lines were 10/10. Visiting Skellige for the 1st time was 10/10. The music throughout the game was 10/10 and often the choices the player made in side quests were neither black or white. Just the over all arc of the main story was a bit meh and looking back the combat was fairly simplistic. I had more fun playing a 2nd time either going full magic / full potion builds.

The skellige music is fantastic. And so is the blood and wine gwent music. I still listen to them now.

 

[xaldub]

I thought that neither Space Marine nor Black Myth were AAA games? I've not played either but I remember most of the reports at the time referring to them as more indie titles. They certainly did not have AAA budgets.

A lot of the discussion as to the state of AAA gaming at the moment compares the success of games from the indy sector.

Correct. Neither are AAA titles. More misinformation from certain individuals in this thread.

 

[ICDP]

Wukong is widely regarded as the first Chinese AAA game. So yes, it is considered AAA. It was developed over 6 years and the budget was $70 million. Hardly indie developers by any stretch of the imagination, because they are backed by several investors and game publishers. In other words there is an (or multiple) controlling interests involved.

Space Marine would not be AAA in my opinion, maybe AA so fair enough there.

It’s like the people who tell us BG3 was done by a small indie studio, despite having a $100 million + budget and Larian studios having 400 employees. Technically they are an indie developer because the term indie only means free from a controlling interest like a publisher. It has nothing to do with budget and team size.

In summary AAA and indie are not mutually exclusive. AAA means well known brand, big budget and lots of marketing. “Indie” games can also be AAA with big budgets and large teams.

For additional clarity “indie” should not be assumed to mean one or two developers working from their basement.

 

[TheLegacy]

Yeah Wukong is definitely widely regarded as a AAA game.

On the topic of the actual game, it took me a while but after 1 hour I'm getting into it more. I didn't like the start, even though I have played all previous DA titles (when they released), it felt a bit rushed, like I missed something between DA:I and this.

At the moment though at least, Metaphor: ReFantazio and LAD:Infinite Wealth are better RPGs this year, the former being my current GOTY. I'm hoping DA:V get's better after time, I am really impressed by the PC options for performance though.

 

[Dem2k]

I thought that neither Space Marine nor Black Myth were AAA games? I've not played either but I remember most of the reports at the time referring to them as more indie titles. They certainly did not have AAA budgets.

A lot of the discussion as to the state of AAA gaming at the moment compares the success of games from the indy sector.

Black Myth Wukong is considered a AAA title. They had the second largest publisher in the world behind them Tencent only Sony is bigger, who just so happens to have a 40% stake in Epic Games that's your unreal engine expertise covered. Just because a game doesn't have the costs associated with AAA budget does not mean it is not considered a AAA title. TenCent's investment in Tim Sweeny's business probably helped them a lot with that.

 

[Neil79]

Correct. Neither are AAA titles. More misinformation from certain individuals in this thread.

Wrong

 

[xaldub]

Wrong

Nope. Game Science made the game with a team of 30. It attracted additional investment after the core of the game was already made, and has gone on to generate huge sales - usually reserved for AAA titles. This success may have propelled them into AAA status now, but they certainly weren't when they started this project 4 years ago.

 

[hornetstinger]

Just seen the "I'm binary part "

rofl

 

[Neil79]

Nope. Game Science made the game with a team of 30. It attracted additional investment after the core of the game was already made, and has gone on to generate huge sales - usually reserved for AAA titles. This success may have propelled them into AAA status now, but they certainly weren't when they started this project 4 years ago.

So you basically said it wasn't an AA title, but the success propelled them into AAA status

So partially wrong

But anyway, game still isn't doing too good on the player count and seems to be slowing

89,418
all-time peak 16 hours ago

Shame we can't see the EA app stats!

 

[xaldub]

So you basically said it wasn't an AA title, but the success propelled them into AAA status

The argument was that both Wukong and Space Marine 2 are AAA games. I never mentioned AA status.

 

[Sythe79]

Hey games can identify themselves as having as many As they choose to, bigots.

It's meaningless marketing jargon, generally meaning, hey it's really good honest, and we've spent a lot of money on this, so please buy me.

 

[montymint]

Correct. Neither are AAA titles. More misinformation from certain individuals in this thread.

I'm sorry but if you need over 100 staff to make a game, it's not an indy.

edit: and also charge £50 for the base game, that's a premium price for what you'd count as a premium product. This is how you are like for liking these titles with other AAA games.

 

[hornetstinger]

The argument was that both Wukong and Space Marine 2 are AAA games. I never mentioned AA status.

But is it "AaaaaAAaaaAAA!!!"

 

[Sythe79]

I'm sorry but if you need over 100 staff to make a game, it's not an indy.

edit: and also charge £50 for the base game, that's a premium price for what you'd count as a premium product. This is how you are like for liking these titles with other AAA games.

Can you be an indie band playing indie music on a mojor label ?

 

[xaldub]

I'm sorry but if you need over 100 staff to make a game, it's not an indy.

edit: and also charge £50 for the base game, that's a premium price for what you'd count as a premium product. This is how you are like for liking these titles with other AAA games.

The core of the game was made with a team of 30 - fact ! And when did having a price point of £50 constitute being labelled as triple AAA ?

 

[Neil79]

Hey games can identify themselves as having as many As they choose to, bigots.

Could be worse, and I have one up on xaldub here

Ubisoft aaaa
Ubisoft has repeatedly referred to Skull & Bones as a “AAAA” game, justifying its $70 price tag. According to CEO Yves Guillemot, the game’s scale and scope warrant this classification. Here are some key points:

There's even an AAAA !

Can't wait for the AAAA+++

 

[montymint]

The core of the game was made with a team of 30 - fact ! And when did having a price point of £50 constitute being labelled as triple AAA ?

Even with 30 staff, you’re already paying over a million per year in wages alone. Then along with hardware, cloud computing cost and licensing you are beyond the scope of a small Indy development imo.

 

[Sythe79]

I'm just glad we've moved on from unimportant issues like if the game's review scores were rigged, what the game's only metric for success tells us so far, and the obviously, least important issue of if the game actually is any good. To debate the real, important issues of what largely meaningless marketing buzzwords mean.