Since when is 30 small?

Video games have come a long way over the past two decades. We’re talking one or two-man development teams making big-hit games up until the days graphics became more than a simple chain of pixels. After artists and voice actors were added into the mix, video games stepped into a quasi-Hollywood dimension where production costs reach well into the millions. Needless to say, the days of “blockbuster” titles being written by small teams is dead.

At least, so says Chris Lee of FreeStyle Games, though his definition of “small” is a little untraditional. In my world, a “small” development team is still half a dozen people, not 30.

While Lee may be right that innovation in games will kick in now that graphics can’t get much better, at least compared to the leaps they’ve been making in the last ten years, that innovation alone won’t necessarily sell games, at least so long as rich development houses have the cash to market their games and utilize the fanciest in engines. Small development houses may not be able to push a niche for themselves, let alone obtain mass-market visibility. Look at games like Beyond Good and Evil, which received tremendous reviews, but couldn’t keep itself on store shelves because it got lost in the noise of lesser titles.

Smaller development houses may also not have the talent or money to develop/buy/license gaming engines. In most liklihood, I anticipate developers of smaller gaming houses getting a chance to develop games that briefly flash on the industry radar, right before these promising developers are swallowed up by larger development studios who can afford bigger salaries and better benefits.

Where innovation will pay off in the next-generation of titles is in the emulation of what early adapters could call the “Wii-syndrome”. That is to say, develop a game that appeals to traditional non-gamers, or gamers incapable of hardcore gaming behavior that is a prerequisite for most MMORPGs and other titles that require significant bouts of gaming time. Games like Wii Sports don’t need to be particularly refined, since it’s their physical interaction and lack of complexity that makes them appeal to the non-gamer crowd.

Of course, as games such as Wii Sports begin to convert non-gamers into the video game-mindful, it’s only a matter of time before games of this ilk become ubiquitous across multiple gaming platforms. By then, the larger development houses will be writing similar games, but until then, smaller companies have a chance to prove themselves and make some money, even if their efforts will eventually be swallowed up by the big dogs.

Even 10 years ago, the gaming scene wasn’t one easily broken into. One of the easiest ways, however, was to prove oneself by writing microcosmic components, such as designing and scripting levels for games already in existence (i.e. the Cliffy B or Counterstrike methods). As games become more complex, in part because writing engines is plain hard work, it will be those who utilize the engine’s development tools that will have a shot at the big stuff. After all, there are just as many positions writing game components other than the engine, as there are slots for developers writing the engine code.

In the end, for the would-be developer, it’s things like Flash and level designer tools that will pave the way for a promising future in the industry. For those who already have what it takes to help develop a good game, the smaller game studios will be a temporary stepping stone to the big leagues, in much the same way indy films are a method for would-be’s to enter the true Hollywood fray. Every once in awhile, a Clerks may set off a cult revolution, but this will likely be the exception in a world dominated by big Microsoft dollars, not the rule.

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