What will it take? It seems that, every single day, gaming journalists and fans are debating the validity of video games as a form of art. Most people who have witnessed a particularly creative, “o…
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.
With the 2025 Wccftech Awards GOTY, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 surpassed Elden Ring as the most awarded game of all time.
[TLOU SPOILERS]The Last of Us made me cry 3 times. The beginning (obviously), where ellie kills David and gets cradled by Joel and the university section where Joel is injured.
But nothing got me like "That Dragon Cancer". The part in the hospital where Joel won't stop crying is awful, I was literally blubbing, more so than I had ever cried over anything in real life. To the point where I had to stop playing for half an hour.
Gaming is an amazing medium and I look forward to seeing what other experiences I will have in the coming years
Try losing five hours worth of Soul grinding on Dark Souls, You will cry mortal man.
If you haven't yet, probably not. That Dragon, Cancer is a good place to start though.
If you havent shed a single tear by the end of mgs3, you are a heartless bastard!
I don't cry over movies, I sure as heck won't cry over a cartoon character..