Man, money’s great, isn’t it? Especially in today’s current economic environment. You know what’s great besides money itself? Money for doing what you love. Imagine that? The opportunity to do something that you would do anyways - except that there is someone out there giving you money because they believe in your product. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it?

Now imagine that someone constantly looking over your shoulder telling you how to do that thing you love, even if it makes no sense. And you let them because they’re the one giving you all that money. Kind of changes things, huh?

Now apply that theory to video game development. How much product gets thrown out the door half finished simply because the corporate money has set the release date based on their need to adhere to projected quarterly earnings? And the quality is screwed because the same corporate money has its own ideas about how the game should be developed, even though they’re in the business of making money - not video games. Ever play a game that seems to be doing several things at the same time, but none of it works, like it’s been just thrown together? Well sometimes, corporate ‘reasoning’ is the cause.

Never thought about that, huh? Yeah. It sucks.

Now granted, these few examples are on the extreme end of the development process, but I don’t believe that these cases are as rare as people would like to think. A lot of undue pressure falls on the shoulders of developers and publishers, but you have to remember that these people are owned by large conglomerates that have more pull that anyone under their influence will dare speak of. After all, video game development needs money. Roll your eyes if you must, but the almighty dollar is still one of the largest motivators in the world. Not that you aren’t already aware of this, but I feel the need to write it. But really, that’s a big part of the whole debacle.

Now, this theory that I have is hard to lay proper claim to; that’s the insidious part of it. Those in the position to give the real story will come under immediate scrutiny from their owners. And the owners would rather dice their genitals rather than give ANY insight to the reality of big business (our minds are far too small to comprehend their positions properly…feh).

How does one spot a sign of these goings-on? It’s tough (and perhaps neigh-impossible), but I have an idea (yes, just an idea - I apologize). Look towards the small companies that constantly put out close-to-good games. We all know the ones. Those who seem to have a good idea or premise of story but fall short of execution. In today’s world of tried-and-true formulas, so many crappy games seems unfathomable to me, as I’m sure it does to you. With franchises such as Gears of War, Call of Duty, Bioshock, and Resistance out amongst the fold, how does so much crap get released?! And that’s just one genre. The solution to many of these ‘flimsy’ games, I believe, is more time in development. That and listening to input from other failed projects - there’s no shortage of information these days, after all. But I refuse to believe that more than a handful of developers simply stop caring about the product they’ve been laboring over for often years at a time because they’ve become bored or something equally unlikely. Somebody near the top of the ladder must have pulled the trigger. And it’s those people who view profit margin more than anything else. Thus, a percentage of shit games come into existence. Yeehah.

Could this be some sort of conspiracy theory that I’ve hatched up? Perhaps. But never underestimate the brutal simplicity of the corporate mindset. Some of these people are so intelligent yet so far removed from their core audience it’s scary.

Then we come back to those titles that will always rise to the top because of their brilliance; that’s the flip side to this article. On occasion, some large companies see the potential of a small developer and take the time and effort to nurture their strengths and work around their weaknesses. These are the motions that step outside the natural barrier of what is perceived to be (and rightfully so) the corporate mentality. It is unfortunate that others in similar positions can’t act with the same vision. I suppose that’s what make the great games so great. I just wish the quality gap would close a bit. But it won’t. And that is truly a shame.

The fact is that more times than not, we compare the vision and creativity of one game to the shortcomings and lack of vision of another. In this sense, the games with less effort afforded to them serve a purpose, if nothing more than in the most depressing fashion possible. It gives a drab outlook of things to come. But if we could change these things, then they wouldn’t be an issue in the first place.

I leave you now in the hope that you will view your hobby (or lifestyle as it were) in a slightly different light. Perhaps future events will come to pass that will change things as they are. But being a pessimist, I doubt it.

In any case, let us know what you think. At the very least, this article is something to ponder. So give us an inkling to your thoughts, yeah?