AAA Games Are Developed More than ONE Person

I

Instant_Classic

Member
Too often the media and gamers in general provide the idea that hit games from the past, were made by a sole developer.

Yet, every developer who was given title as "Creator of Game", and left to go solo has NOT accomplished anything of note.

Need a few examples?

Ken Levine - "Creator of Bioshock"
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Glen Schofield - "Creator of Dead Space"
the-og-box-art-was-amazing-and-really-encapsulated-the-v0-s3opi0ma9zea1.jpg


Hideo Kojima - "Creator of Metal Gear Solid Games"
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Jade Raymond "Creator of Assassin's Creed"
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Literally none of these people who are quoted as "creator" of said hit series, have gone to make anything in decades aside from Kojima with Death Stranding.

Why?

Because games are by created by diverse skill sets on a team...

Ubisoft-Group-Photo-Full-Team-Toronto.jpeg


Not just...

Haven-Jade-Raymond_05-15-25.webp
 
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Sort of.., all those people need a guide and a blueprint or it all falls apart. It's the reason why movie directors are praised .. in the end it was their vision that drove the creation.
 
RoboFu said:
Sort of.., all those people need a guide and a blueprint or it all falls apart. It's the reason why movie directors are praised .. in the end it was their vision that drove the creation.
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This I can agree with. Look at FFXIV as a good example of this. Many talented devs worked on 1.0, but that game was a total disaster because it was just poorly managed with zero communication between the teams working on different aspects of the game. Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) comes in, sets the blueprint, engages with regular group workshop discussions, come up with a mostly well scheduled cadence to content release, amongst many other things, along comes 2.0/ARR. Game went from commercial flop of epic proportions to massive success.

You can dislike the game or the direction it's been going and or/his future works, but he course corrected that ship in ways unheard of. The most talented crews still need a good captain.
 
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You're not uncovering some grand truth

People already know game development is collaborative

This just comes off as self-important and unnecessary

Besides, giving a single person credit (like "creator of") is often just a shorthand for leadership or vision, not a literal claim that they made the whole game alone. It's how media simplifies things, not some conspiracy to erase the rest of the dev team.
 
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RoboFu said:
Sort of.., all those people need a guide and a blueprint or it all falls apart. It's the reason why movie directors are praised .. in the end it was their vision that drove the creation.
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You need talent from different backgrounds, to create successful products whether it be a movie or a AAA video game.

If it one provided, a "blueprint" the game was never great just because of that one person.
 
HRK69 said:
3txJBx9.gif


You're not uncovering some grand truth

People already know game development is collaborative

This just comes off as self-important and unnecessary
Click to expand...
No, too many people are shocked when a developer like Ken Levine for example goes solo and doesn't create a hit nearly 15 years.

They are like "why"?

Well, because it takes a team to create a successful multi-million dollar game.
 
Instant_Classic said:
No, too many people are shocked when a developer like Ken Levine for example goes solo and doesn't create a hit nearly 15 years.

They are like "why"?

Well, because it takes a team to create a successful multi-million dollar game.
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Everyone with a shred of sense knows it takes a full team to build something like BioShock.

Saying "it takes a team" isn't some profound insight, it's obvious.

You're just restating what most people already understand, as if it needs its own lecture lol
 
HRK69 said:
Everyone with a shred of sense knows it takes a full team to build something like BioShock.

Saying "it takes a team" isn't some profound insight, it's obvious.

You're just restating what most people already understand, as if it needs its own lecture lol
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This isn't really true though, a lot of people believe when said talent leaves to form another studio means a hit is in the works.

Usually, we end up without any results.
 
Instant_Classic said:
Too often the Media and gamers in general provide the idea that hit games from the past, were made by a sole developer.

Yet, every developer who was given title as "Creator of Game", and left to go solo has NOT accomplished anything of note.

Need a few examples?

Ken Levine - "Creator of Bioshock"
cover.jpg


Glen Schofield - "Creator of Dead Space"
the-og-box-art-was-amazing-and-really-encapsulated-the-v0-s3opi0ma9zea1.jpg


Hideo Kojima - "Creator of Metal Gear Solid Games"
what-is-the-worst-version-of-metal-gear-solid-3-v0-51hbu2rgbhxa1.jpg


Jade Raymond "Creator of Assassin's Creed"
$_57.JPG


Literally none of these people who are quoted as "creator" of said hit series, have gone to make anything in decades aside from Kojima with Death Stranding.

Why?

Because games are by created by diverse skill sets on a team...

Ubisoft-Group-Photo-Full-Team-Toronto.jpeg


Not just...

Haven-Jade-Raymond_05-15-25.webp
Click to expand...

Watch the Last of 2 Documentary to see the impact the Game Director has on the game.
 
Instant_Classic said:
This isn't really true though, a lot of people believe when said talent leaves to form another studio means a hit is in the works.

Usually, we end up without any results.
Click to expand...
That's not some grand misunderstanding. It's just hype. People get excited when a known developer starts something new because of their track record, not because they think that person single-handedly coded, wrote, and designed their past games.

And thanks for the revelation, next you'll be telling us movies aren't made by just the director
 
HRK69 said:
That's not some grand misunderstanding. It's just hype. People get excited when a known developer starts something new because of their track record, not because they think that person single-handedly coded, wrote, and designed their past games.

And thanks for the revelation, next you'll be telling us movies aren't made by just the director
Click to expand...
If it was really understood, though, people would not get hyped when they start something new and would remain cautiously optimistic at most.
 
"..left to go solo, has NOT accomplished anything of note."

"Hideo Kojima"

I know it's polarising, but it's successful and certainly of note:

Lets Go Bb GIF by PlayStation
 
Us humans usually sign a captain to a thing, and this captain is the primary person for good or bad of the thing

Not just games, but basically everything. The most common thing I could say is with politics. "Thanks, Obama" is not just a meme

...and Kojima is overrated since MGS4
 
HRK69 said:
So now excitement equals ignorance? People can be hyped and understand how teams work
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If the excitement stems solely on one person in a team, then it is misplaced faith and lacking a true understanding of the situation.

Same goes for musical super groups. People get hyped over every member being legendary but they get disappointed when the music isn't that great because they think individual talent can create a good team.
 
Thanks for putting it in bold text, your wisdom couldn't have reached the unclean masses any other way.
 
Instant_Classic said:
Too often the Media and gamers in general provide the idea that hit games from the past, were made by a sole developer.

Yet, every developer who was given title as "Creator of Game", and left to go solo has NOT accomplished anything of note.

Need a few examples?

Ken Levine - "Creator of Bioshock"
cover.jpg


Glen Schofield - "Creator of Dead Space"
the-og-box-art-was-amazing-and-really-encapsulated-the-v0-s3opi0ma9zea1.jpg


Hideo Kojima - "Creator of Metal Gear Solid Games"
what-is-the-worst-version-of-metal-gear-solid-3-v0-51hbu2rgbhxa1.jpg


Jade Raymond "Creator of Assassin's Creed"
$_57.JPG


Literally none of these people who are quoted as "creator" of said hit series, have gone to make anything in decades aside from Kojima with Death Stranding.

Why?

Because games are by created by diverse skill sets on a team...

Ubisoft-Group-Photo-Full-Team-Toronto.jpeg


Not just...

Haven-Jade-Raymond_05-15-25.webp
Click to expand...
LOL and why did you leave out Mario?
 
You guys act like this is obvious, a lot of people for example believed Steve Jobs created the iPhone by himself.

This same reasoning applies to games.
 
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Instant_Classic said:
You guys act like this is obvious, a lot of people for example believed Steve Jobs created the iPhone by himself.

This same reasoning applies to games.
Click to expand...

No one with a lick of common sense believes Steve Jobs created the iPhone by himself. Regardless, you are on a forum full of gamers who follow the industry closely and who understand quite well that AAA games are made by teams, not single individuals. That's why you are getting the responses you are getting. You are not telling us anything we don't already know.
 
but without that one person the game will likely be pretty different

example mgs without kojima:

capsule_616x353.jpg


are we also gonna pretend mario and zelda would originally be the same games without miyamoto?
 
Yes OP it's called having a spokesperson.
To understand why we need them, ask yourself :
would you rather look at those heartthrobs
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or some freak nerds like them
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Quantic Dream is the best example of the opposite, where the devs basically have to fight David Cage in order to make the games better than his fever dream ideas. Some amazing first hand anecdotes for Heavy Rain when that was being developed.
 
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Yup. Each and every one of the person that worked on a game or a movie should have their title revoked and renamed as Game Director xx.

I heard 300 Game directors are working on Marathon, and 500 Movie directors are working on Doomsday.
 
Instant_Classic said:
Too often the media and gamers in general provide the idea that hit games from the past, were made by a sole developer.

Yet, every developer who was given title as "Creator of Game", and left to go solo has NOT accomplished anything of note.

Need a few examples?

Ken Levine - "Creator of Bioshock"
cover.jpg


Glen Schofield - "Creator of Dead Space"
the-og-box-art-was-amazing-and-really-encapsulated-the-v0-s3opi0ma9zea1.jpg


Hideo Kojima - "Creator of Metal Gear Solid Games"
what-is-the-worst-version-of-metal-gear-solid-3-v0-51hbu2rgbhxa1.jpg


Jade Raymond "Creator of Assassin's Creed"
$_57.JPG


Literally none of these people who are quoted as "creator" of said hit series, have gone to make anything in decades aside from Kojima with Death Stranding.

Why?

Because games are by created by diverse skill sets on a team...

Ubisoft-Group-Photo-Full-Team-Toronto.jpeg


Not just...

Haven-Jade-Raymond_05-15-25.webp
Click to expand...
hey champ, i know this wasn't the point of your post, but i'd just like point out one of the differences between ms. raymond and the other people you listed is the others are/were game directors.

jade never directed a single game.
 
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