Corporate gaming is taking over. So says Stéphane D’Astous, the ex-founder of Eidos-Montréal, who states that games are “much more Excel than passion-driven.” For those unfamiliar, Eidos-Montréal is a game studio established in 2007, famous for major franchises such as Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
In a recent interview with Thunderpick, D’Astous explains his views on the game industry, calling 2005-2015 its “glory days”, noting that the landscape has since changed for the worse. He points out how project decisions are now driven heavily by spreadsheets (Excel) rather than creative passion.
“The people with the money and the decision power are much fewer, and their pockets are much deeper,” says D’Astous. It is this reality that D’Astous believes is how game development went from being creative endeavors led by passionate directors into a highly optimised manufacturing process controlled by financial institutions.
What Else Changed The Industry?
D’Astous claims that COVID and AI contribute to the damage of the gaming industry. To elaborate, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, investors took the chance to green-light flawed projects under the pretense that the high-engagement traffic from the pandemic would be sustained.
Additionally, modern executives demanded impossible benchmarks; D’Astous regales how he was “asked to do the Witcher 3-like game with a limited budget in less than four years with a new team.” He further stresses how the industry lacks the discipline to say “no” when it comes to “scope creeping”. Essentially, this means knowing when to say no when an idea might be unreasonable.
As for AI, while it is inevitable, D’Astous says that there is a fear that it will result in a lack of human innovation. “I’m afraid that AI will suggest a normalized solution and that innovation will normalize its output,” he notes. “It depends on the prompt, I understand all that. But I’m afraid that innovation, creativity in a certain human way, will be lacking. Everything that is related to pure creation, storytelling, music, for me, needs to be done by a human, and should be kept human-produced.”
What’s Next?
D’Astous expresses disappointment about the decision to halt the Deus Ex franchise, calling it the “bread and butter” and DNA of the studio. To wrap up the interview, he claims that should there be an opportunity to work on a new Deus Ex game, he would take it. He further states that he would “gather former employees who worked on it and other people that would love to work on it.”
Ultimately, D’Astous believes in staying true to the traditional mechanics of choice and consequence while also making use of the technology we have today. He adds that he would focus on the single-player experience, rejecting mobile as he doesn’t “believe it’s the proper platform for it.”
Unfortunate claims for fans of the franchise, as it doesn’t look like there are plans for a new installment anytime soon.
(Source: Techspot, Thunderpick, FRVR)
