While there are some advantages to being an independent game developer, with additional creative freedom and full independence from publishing companies, there are also many downsides. The biggest is funding, as indie game studios tend to have far smaller budgets. Major gaming developers are funded by wealthy publishers, with sometimes incredibly high budgets.
But perhaps the biggest advantage that AAA studios have over indie developers is the fact that that can afford to make mistakes. Publishers like EA and Activision can afford for their developers to have a few hits and misses every now and then, and often bounce back from unsuccessful games. Indie studios, however, are far less likely to bounce back from failed games, and, as a result, there is far more at stake for them as a business. Because they’re often more at risk, indie studios should learn from major developers and their many mistakes that they’ve made; here are a few things that they could learn from major developers and their AAA historically based games.
Don’t Rush
One of the first things that any business owner should learn, whether developing a video game or not, is to take their time. Deadlines are sometimes an unavoidable thing, but it’s important to remember that developers need to set realistic goals for their games and not try to race to the finish. Far too often, game developers and publishers rush out titles in order to meet a holiday release date only for the product to come out half-baked and a shadow of its true potential.
Though most Call of Duty games in recent memory have come out fairly decent, not every entry into the series has been as fortunate. Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified, which released back in 2012 for the PS Vita, is one example of a historically based video game that came out horribly wrong thanks to insufficient development time and a rushed release date. Indie developers need to learn from these mistakes to ensure that their product gets enough development time in order to become the game that they want it to be. As the famed Shigeru Miyamoto once said, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.”
Do Your Research
Another incredibly important lesson to be learned from major developers is to do the necessary research when developing a historical video game. Many historical video games lack much historical depth, and result in feeling a bit shallow. This is a huge point, as many fans of historical games enjoy them because of all of their rich details and historical relevance. When developers don’t do the proper amount of research for their games, it shows. Franchises like Civilization and Total War are filled to the brim with details and obviously took a huge amount of research by the developers. Indie developers should learn from these great games and do the same when creating their own games based on historical events.
Take Creative Liberties Occasionally
At the end of the day, it’s also good to remember that you’re creating a game – and games are meant to be fun. Video games rooted within history, just like films and books, can sometimes stray from the facts every now and then. If it makes the game more enjoyable to play, then it’s perfectly fine for your game to not be 100% historically accurate, so long as it still shows that history respect.
We all know that mythical creatures and monsters aren’t real, but Assassin’s Creed Valhalla included them because they make the world more exciting to explore. At the same time, women weren’t widely prominent as soldiers on the front lines of World War II, but Battlefield V included them in order to allow players to better customize their characters and add more diversity into the game. Maybe most importantly to remember about this is that you won’t appease everyone. No matter the liberty you take, regardless of how big or small, you’re going to upset someone.
These are just a few lessons that indie developers could learn from AAA historical games, as it’s clear as what has and has not worked out well for major game studios when developing these historical video games. If you’re developing a historical video game, feel free to contact Epoch Xperience, and we can help with the development of your game. With our team of writers and historians, we can help with your game’s historical research, as well as pre-and post-release marketing. Contact us today!
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At Epoch Xperience, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch Xperience’s service on our parent site, SJR Research.
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(This article is credited to Ben Price. For as long as he can remember, Ben has always loved playing, discussing, and writing about video games. Since receiving his B.A. in English, he now writes about them for a living.)