BT Games: "Do we require a multiplayer mode stuffed into every game on the market? Some games should remain singular experiences, argues Vikki Blake."
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.
The Last of Us Part I PS5 review covering visuals, combat feel, accessibility, performance modes, and whether it is really worth the asking price of $69.99.
100% agree. I don't mind good multiplayer every now and then but it shouldn't come at the expense of a great single player experience.
I believe there's room in the industry for both though.
From the name of the article you might think Vikki is going to somehow pan TLOU multiplayer, but she cites it as positive example. I just want to add that I think it's the best multiplayer game to come along maybe ever. Yes, for their time, Goldeneye, Warcraft 3, Tekken 1,2, & 3, etc. were as impactful, but the TLOU MP is just stunning and seemingly overlooked. THe announcement of even more MP content on the way demonstrates that Naughty Dog knows what they have here.