I work in software, so I get it. However I don’t think it’s graphics. There’s a lot of bugs to do with other things. I probably don’t hang out in the same game forums as you but a lot of complaints about unfinished games are about bugs or just incompleteness. Also, organisational challenges as well. I enjoyed FF15 but that game felt disjointed and when we look into why, it’s obvious why it was a nightmare.
I think you have a good point that games can have unrealistic expectations now and there’s only so much time and money.
I think the thing is that putting out an incomplete game at full price with microtransactions now feels like a slap in the face from the consumer point of view.
Microtransactions are a scourge on gaming. But, I can see why they’re drawn to it. Games are a huge financial investment upfront, and a big risk on release with no guaranteed return.
That said, I do think expecting better and better graphics is a big part of why games end up being a mess, but certainly not the only reason. I also work in software, and work on games in my spare time, so while I’m not an expert or have any inside information from the gaming industry, I do know that graphics suck up a huge amount of time, and resources on a project.
Oh yeah, they definitely do. Most people think it don’t, but there’s a lot of work going into it.
I took a hiatus from gaming and when I bought a PS5, I was like, wow these PS5 graphics are killer! Then I realized I was playing PS4 God of War …
I think it’s a huge burden for AAA, which is why it’s a huge relief for those indie games going with sprites.
