After much trial and tribulation, including a broken recording and some Garageband and OSX updating, I present to you podcast number 30. It is not the podcast 30 Hard Reset intended to post, but intact the special extra show for the launch of the PS4, but hey, you can always listen again after your PS4 has arrived.
The story in part 3 of Sony Interactive Entertainment and Naughty Dog's The Last of Us series may explore a "congregation of immune people."
Former Naughty Dog artist Gabriel Betancourt explains why the "sweet spot" for game teams is under 200 people and how AAA "factories" kill creativity.
There’s definitely some truth to this. When teams get too large, coordination starts to outweigh creativity—layers of approval, risk aversion, and tight deadlines can turn bold ideas into “safe” ones. Keeping a team under ~200 people sounds ideal for maintaining clear communication and a shared vision. That said, massive AAA projects also come with huge technical demands and expectations, so scaling up isn’t always avoidable. The real challenge is figuring out how to keep that small-team creativity alive inside big studio structures.
More than that, it's logistically untenable. Inevitably, when teams get too large, how do you keep tabs on accountability? I suspect this massive team size is a consequence of the perfectionism streak Naughty Dog has.
I wish we could have so many people working on something and it turns out great because I'm all for collaboration in spirit - the problem is too many people as part of the larger team and smaller units. Suppose for example that you have too many people in the art department; you will very often come up against fiercely competing visions for how things should look. That competitive vision will cause friction between team members, team doesn't work as a unit, the back and forth can further delay parts that the other departments are waiting for, etc etc.
A 200-person team says, to me, that we need to scale back game development. Even if it means we go back to PS2 era costs and scale, why not? Those games are still great fun, the budgets were in check, and you could literally break the 200-man team into like 10 20-man teams working on different projects.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD have been delisted from digital stores without warning.
Stupid headline. Should state that they are being updated or discontinued. This makes the crazy people that only read headlines think it some kind of conspiracy to take away peoples already purchased games.
If you want to all of a sudden own them now and haven't played them yet because a remastered is coming out, shame on you. I can't believe people are complaining about this 15 years later when it was bound to happen anyway. "A new remaster is out, quick, I'd better buy the original from the shop."
Gamers: "Physical? who needs physical? everyone knows that digital online games are the future. stop living in the past. we don't need no stinking disc drive"
Same gamers: "How dare the delist a digital game that I own!!!!"
And? What is your point?
Same gamers: "How dare the retailers to delist (quit selling) a physical game that I own!!!!"
I think you just read the headline and don't know how dilisting works with Sony. It's common knowledge that:
"Players who already bought the games will still have them in their library and can download and play them as usual."
So again, what is your point?
1. The Last Of Us
2. God of War 3
3. Demon's Souls
4. Uncharted 2
5. MGS4
Really hard to pick 5, but that would be mine =)
1. TLOU
2. TLOU
3. TLOU
4. TLOU
5. uncharted 2&3
1) The last of us
2) Uncharted series
3) God of war series
4) Grand Tourismo series
5) Ratchet and Clank series
(honorable mention little big planet)
So many great games to choose from, my choice:
1 - The Last of Us
2 - Uncharted Series
3 - Valkyria Chronicles
4 - God of War 3
5 - Infamous Series
Cannot argue with anyone if they chose Ratchet & Clank, Ni No Kuni or MGS4 or any of the dozens of amazing exclusives we have been spoiled with.
KEV BUTLER ( rip )
Infamous 1
Uncharted 2
Flower
Tlou