NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
Beyond focus testing and tame publishers, I wonder if it goes back to the notion that creators are able to do something greater if they are in some sense shackled, trying and succeeding magnificently at evoking something meaningful through otherwise technically limited means, i.e. composers working with 8-bit music back in the day, or artists with 8-bit sprites. Those supposed limitations seem in some cases key to the stellar creativity, not only due to relatively lower development costs but especially in terms of the creative drive of making something more with less.
The limitations indeed were why you got levels like we did in Doom 1 & 2. Realistic levels would have been atrocious, you couldn't flesh them out. So you go the other way, get rid of real and just make it a game.
We still have limitations, but they hit at a far higher point then back then.. and one of the biggest is the cost of just producing all that unique art. It all takes time.. making that extra path in Doom, not that much.. you were reusing assets.. making that path today and making it unique? That's time and money. How many branching paths can you make to still give the illusion of choice, but without costing a fortune? That's the choice now.
I don't see that going away though.