Q&A: October 16th, 2020

Brandon Asks
Do you think CDPR and Naughty Dog are getting easy passes by some people, be it industry figures and just random types of gamers, for their reported terrible work environments and/or terribly optimized buggy release (this half applies most to CDPR) versus other companies that are always marked as an easy bad guy (EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Bethesda) even if sometimes these studios do great work in some major way?  Essentially, is nuance dead or is the AAA side of game industry as a whole hopeless?

I'm not sure they are getting easy passes, both companies seem to be in the spotlight whenever this topic is brought up. The main problem with crunch is that we don't have raw data to put together side by side. We can't measure a selection of games with crunch, and without crunch, and verify the necessity, we've only got peoples word.

Really, there's two big problems. One, the conversation around crunch has become as such that "crunch" is a wide sweeping turn now. It might sound apologist to some, but there's a large difference between a handful of workers spending the weekend to prototype something unscheduled in development that'd be awesome, and common workers puking from the amount of mandatory overtime.

The second big problem is how much of this can't be solved even by giving people information about how widespread crunch is in multiple industries. Tweets won't change Government support systems to allow workers at least the option of leaving company treating them like trash without putting their lives on the line.

The Great Leveler Asks
What are you most excited about and most underwhelmed about from the game awards trailers?

I can't really comment much on this, as I didn't watch the Game Awards, and that Vin Diesel memes were the most shared material after it aired, tells me not a whole lot was shown.

Parker Brown Asks
Did you ever play the Jason Bourne video game from like 2008? Talk about a forgotten game that I have fond memories of (and some frustration because I remember it being absurdly difficult in some boss fights). And now High Moon has had a really weird collection of projects, from Deadpool to Transformers to COD.  Do you have a game that seems to be forgotten by time but have fond memories of?

I did not play the Jason Bourne game but I do have it in my collection, and have been meaning to give it a shot since Gamespot surprised me with a positive review of it. As for games long forgotten by history but I enjoyed, I spent days and days binging Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter with friends in split-screen co-op. Those were the days...

OzarkTempses Asks
What do you believe is the true mark of a "spiritual successor" in regards to games? Can a spiritual successor carry across genres if it maintains the same narrative / aesthetic despite major differences in gameplay?

If The Witness is considered a spiritual successor to Myst, then yes. Though, I think the opposite can be true too. I think you can make a spiritual successor that's radically different in narrative and aesthetic if the gameplay is an iteration on something from the past. For instance, I've always dreamed of a Black Lagoon game, that despite its obvious differences in visuals, characters, tone, and world, I'd consider "My Max Payne 3."

Ferenc Viczmandi Asks
podcast when?

Used to do one, like being a guest on them occasionally, but I don't consider myself to be a particularly quick witted person, so leading one, or just riffing one alone I don't think is something I could do. There's several times when talking to friends that we'd be making a great podcast episode if it was recorded, however, I think that's the magic of private discussions. That there isn't an audience, is what makes the shared experience special.

John Qu Asks
EA just outbid Take-Two with a $1.2bn offer to buy Codemasters. Your thoughts?

Kill me. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me.

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