Just because one game decided to take an outward stance on something does not mean the whole genre is fucked lol. Personally I think that games having a desire to be as ideologically innoffensive and unchallenging is a lot worse. i'd rather take "preachy" over bethesda's desire to scrub fallout of any sort of genuine socio-political themes.
I can agree with this for sure.
This just shows you didn't properly read what I said at all. I said, there was NO NUANCE to TOW at all, which is what annoyed me.
Then actually explain what you mean instead of reiterating there was no nuance. Saying there's no nuance is easy. Explaining how will actually prove your point if you want people to find your takes agreeable or understandable.
It's not a death of a genre
Definitely not. This isn't the mid 2000s.
RPGs might be a bit few and far between when you hold them up to everyone else but apparently the Pathfinder games have been good. I heard good things about Baldur's Gate 3. Divinity: Original Sins 1 and 2 sold insanely well for the genre to people who aren't even big on these types of games. Obsidian and inXile came back into the fold with these games with Pillars of Eternity and Wasteland 2. And then followed them up with PoE2: Deadfire and Wasteland 3. Underrail is fucking awesome. ATOM, Encased, Torment: Tides, Tyranny, Dungeon Rats, Age of Decadance, and probably more I'm missing.
And then there's the plethora of first person/third person action games still being released with Bethesda still making their own Fallout games, TES VI will come eventually, I'm sure Starfield will be one, we also have Dark Souls trilogy + Bloodborne + Demons Souls and Elden Ring on the way, Elex and its upcoming sequel, and a plethora more I'm not going to bother listing. Sure, this isn't going to scratch the same itch as the other ones.
The genre is not dying, right now at least. We're seeing new releases from indies and small to medium sized development teams. You don't have to like these games but they're there. Be glad this isn't the time period that was between Arcanum/ToEE and Pillars of Eternity.
Play rpgs that aren't by companies
Most are made by companies of people. Most that aren't turn into them because making games isn't like drawing a commission. It's more akin to movie making. Yeah, there's small studios and individuals but most of the time, once they find success they'll hire more people. You need a team to make content in a decent timeframe and to cover the wider skillset that's necessary. Spiderwed Software has what? Two or three people still.
Kazams game wasn't made alone either I don't believe.
The AAA space doesn't really care for non-action games. Which TOW had action combat, had levelled loot. Things that are present in other big budget titles. I feel like people forget that Private Division bank rolled these projects including TOW. And if you don't know who Private Division is, they're a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive which aren't some small fish publisher. Yeah Cain and Boyarsky said they get a lot of creative freedom and whatnot. Cool PR but how true is it? Maybe it was 100% true and this is what Cain and Boyarsky thought would sell the best. Games are often meant to sell certain numbers and that influences how the game is made especially when its being funded very, very well.
I don't idolize any particular faction or hold the games as a catalyst for my views, lol.
Wise of you not to.
The noob is watching the noobs fight.
