it's kind of wild to think about how small game teams used to be. like yeah tools are more accessible so small indie teams now can reach the level of quality big titles were at 20 years ago but also like the titles weren't actually that big
Sometimes I think about the bloat in budget in AAA games, and then I remember the OG Hollywood crash where budgets got too big and they just couldn't make their money back and several large studios closed.
And that was when they were the only game in town really, movie-wise. Imagine if people could have seen other movies at the same theater that might have been shorter and a bit less well made, but at a third of the cost to them.
Wishful thinking though, I think advertising budgets and hyper-monetization might stave off any such result for a good long while.
