BbMajor7th
Gold Member
They have and it worked out for them: the games enjoyed an increasing level of success that allowed them to build bigger and better games each time. Games sell to a market and the demands of that market will shift, not just in terms of art direction, but in terms of features too. Assassin's Creed was entirely rebooted with Origins to fold in the most popular elements that had emerged in gaming since the series' inception over a decade earlier; Zelda did something similar. Current trends will - for better and for worse - present the same challenges and opportunities for game makers and each will address them differently. It's bizarre to give this latest shift it's own label.Looking at Witcher 1 and 2 there's no way they could have rendered realistic characters with what they had at hand. Having said that, you're right, they have beatified Geralt a lot to make him more marketable.
Are people going to look at Elden Ring and say 'go open, get broken'? No, they're not. They know that in some small way FROM are capitulating to market forces in adding some of these more popular elements - crafting, open world design, pop-up tutorials, etc - but they appreciate that for them it's business, part of the hustle. That's all Activision are doing with Vanguard and what many other game makers have already done and will continue to do so long as the market continues to shift and they continue to build their business on making money.
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