Are Prestige Video Games the Future?
Are Prestige Video Games the Future?
Are Prestige Video Games the Future?
By Josh Bycer
November 29, 2022
Summary
Today, we are seeing more and more discussions about who is writing, starring, and directing a game on the AAA side, and many smaller developers seem to ignore design and UX conventions in favor of making "Art." I'm using art in air-quotes, as many reviewers of mainstream sites and Youtubers will often eat up these games as some kind of "Brave, new," expression of games, such as 12 Minutes from 2021.
Like the whole debate over "Wholesome" games, I see this argument over prestige games as trying to both put a label on games and trying to separate themselves from "The lessers."
Onboarding is often the Achilles heel of prestige games, as the designer tends to be focused so much on the art and the experience, they forget to explain how to play the game.
Immortality, one of the most celebrated games this year, only kept me for about 45 seconds before the UI frustrated me to the point that I uninstalled the game.
Speaking of Hideo Kojima and the concept of "Celebrity game designers", this takes me to another point about prestige games.
Studios learn the hard way that just because streamers are making videos about their game and talking about it, doesn't mean that they've "Made it." Many of the prestige games that have come out often have a huge critical response, some of it from influencers, but then horrible churn rates from the general audience and a decline from game to game.
Within the indie space, I've seen a lot of games from first-timers, or relatively new designers, which are miles above the games from established studios.
Reference
Bycer, J. (2022, November 29). Are prestige video games the future? SUPERJUMP. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/are-prestige-videogames-the-future/