Q&A: November 15th, 2023 (Patreon)

Ze Nightman Asks
Continuing the conversation, in terms of this statement "This isn't just going to resolve itself by making "better" games"  

Wouldn't you agree that a gamechanger (albeit extremely unrealistic), one of a kind, unique AAA installment could entice and provide some form of solace towards the large majority of a disappointed audience who are looking for something engaging?  

I mean, if could find another Far Cry 3 with modern day CGI and some decent storytelling, where i can be a psycho wanna-be saviour while murdering innocent civilians cause why not, I'd buy it in a second.

When has it?

Baldur's Gate III is the talk of town today, but it's still a galaxy apart in-profit from the biggest games on the market.

BG3 sold 5 Million Copies.

In other words.

10% of PUBG's monthly playerbase.

Unless there's 45 Million people who've been looking to buy a unique AAA experience like Baldur's Gate III and just aren't aware of it, popular gaming as you know it isn't going to fade, and especially not by one game, no matter how much of a gamechanger it may be seen as.

Mastiffio Asks
If you had to choose a game to be remade to realise an original vision or concept what game would that be? For me watch dogs is such a cool and fascinating idea for a video game, or really any media, and it sucks so much that it turned into another Ubibox formulaic slog, with a subpar story and gameplay.

I've been thinking a lot recently about R-Racing Evolution.

Though similar to my ideas for a WET Reboot, I'm not really taking much for the original material, I mainly just want the main-character design, and the premise.

For R-Racing, I'd want to make it "2000s: The Video Game", using Rena (Protagonist) and Gina ("Antagonist") to explore the era I grew up in, with all of its wild west rampantly sexist advertising, corporatized edginess, and hideously unforgiving public scrutiny.

Physics and Engine-wise, I'd want to just rip both from something else, as the focus wouldn't be on pushing physics or tech in racing games, but pushing design and context.

High-Level Ideal: You'd have a storyline with branching paths based upon your results and interactions with other drivers. The game would have 200+ unique drivers with their own profiles, voices, and unique interactions that you'd run into at various points depending on which divisions you're in.

There'd be proximity chat with them during races, like in SSX 3, where each character has unique lines for every other character depending on their relationship.

Only here, we combine that with the Grudge/Ally feature from Nascar Thunder '04.

I'm envisioning a variety of endings like Cyberpunk 2077, many with a similar bittersweet tone. For instance, one where Rena was denied the sponsorship opportunities and is trapped forever in the Junior categories like so many drivers, especially female drivers, before her.

There's just so, so many stories you can do in Motorsports, and yet, we keep making the same damn films, and the same damn Campaigns. Talanted Rookie is immature, works with Old Dog to learn how not to shit themselves, they win, Zzzzzz.

Oh, and I just really wanna make that opening of the game where Rena drives an Ambulance playable, set to Time's Running Out by Cirrus.

Seriously... like, THAT would be a mother-fuckin opening!

Slovakian_Shmack Asks
I used to get super excited for the VGAs back in early days from 2005-2012. Now it just feels like a shell of itself with little personality (seriously Samuel L. Jackson was awesome), zero focus on the awards, and more emphasis on being a “world premiere” platform.

What are your thoughts about the state of the Game Awards?  And just for funsies… who do you think will win game of the year? And will Rockstar do something out of their norm and reveal the GTA 6 trailer then?

I really don't mean to be mean but...

I'm gonna assume that's nostalgia.

I mean, their Game of the Year for 2003 was...

Jenna Jameson ending the "Virgin Mobile Lucky Virgin Call" saying she should undress on the Red Carpet, non-stop advertisements, "Best Independent Game FUELED BY MOUNTAIN DEW", Megan Fox winning Best Performance in Transformers, Self-Promotion of Spike's own programs, 50 Cent: Bulletproof being nominated for Best Action Game.

Seriously, it was a sight to behold.

There were occasionally some good bits later on its life, like the Nominations in 2012 that had 4th-wall breaking gags from both Commander Shepards playing ME3 Coop with Garrus, but for everyone of those, there's 10-20 of exactly what you describe today.

Little to no focus on Awards, endless "Premieres", etc.

Generally, I think the VGAs have improved massively from the Spike days, but only because the bar was set so low to begin with. It still suffers from so many of the issues that plagued E3 Conferences, where the ratio of what's "Live" really ought to be chopped in half, as it's mostly done by people who are not stage actors or performers.

Steam Nextfest is fantastic, and the idea of being a hub for all things gaming like eSports, Content Creators, is cool... only its got a long way to go when apparently, one of the eSports coaches nominated didn't coach this year.

I think if that side of the show is going to be taken more seriously, The Game Awards stage should integrate with eSport Leagues as the Grand Finale of a season or something, or the equivalent of a Major.

As for which game will win, I'll be shocked if it isn't Baldur's Gate III.

GOTY usually fall under three categories...

A) Technical Marvel [Last of Us 2]
B) Hipster's Pick [It Takes Two]
C) Everyone Played [Elden Ring, Overwatch, God of War, Sekiro, BOTW, Overwatch, Witcher 3]

As seen, one of these has quite a heavy bias, so I'm going to assume its BG3.

And I'll also be surprised if GTA6 doesn't debut there, the timing with all the rumors recently is just too convenient, and now that E3 is gone, The Game Awards has become really the only place to generate that world stage kind of hype for a game, which Rockstar will want to use...

Though honestly, they'd be helping The Game Awards more than The Game Awards will be helping Rockstar.

Submit your questions in the comments below, for future Patreon Q&A's.