{"id":474,"date":"2022-09-12T21:26:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T01:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sceneri.com\/?post_type=blog_post&p=474"},"modified":"2024-11-12T05:00:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T10:00:21","slug":"game-dev-evolves-how-its-changed-and-where-were-going","status":"publish","type":"blog_post","link":"https:\/\/www.sceneri.com\/blog_post\/game-dev-evolves-how-its-changed-and-where-were-going\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Dev Evolves: How It’s Changed and Where We’re Going"},"content":{"rendered":"

Image Credit: Nvidia Omniverse<\/p>\n

A sound development strategy is one of the better ways an indie creator can help shape their vision, garner interest from social media, and retain an engaged player base. It lets you discover user behaviours, project market fit, and build trust between you and who you’re trying to reach.<\/p>\n

As you can assume, it’s well worth understanding. But that’s easier said than done. Game development isn’t static. The landscape of the practice is constantly changing. It doesn’t look the same now as it did ten years ago, and in ten years it won’t look the same as it does now.<\/p>\n

It’s a difficult topic to pin down \u2014 one with a fascinating past and an exciting future. Out of both genuine interest and forward-thinking practicality, it’s important to understand both where it’s been and where it’s going.<\/p>\n

Here, I will try to give some perspective on both. We’re going to take a look at how game dev has evolved in the past decade, and how it’s going to evolve in the next one according to market trends.<\/p>\n

How Game Dev Evolved in the Past Decade<\/h2>\n

Unreal changed the game.<\/h3>\n

In 2014, Tim Sweeney and Epic sought to bring the world their next version of their game engine by driving the message “If you love something, set it free.” To say this was a monumental leap in game development would be an understatement. And it did indeed set us all free.<\/p>\n

But Unreal’s engine revolution wasn’t exclusively linked to monetary freedom. Epic’s meteoric rise to prominence \u2014 one of the most disruptive releases in development history \u2014 also had a profound impact on the gap between designer and programmer silos that existed for decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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It was tacit evidence that developer horror stories were being told online \u2014 well beyond the control of industry studios \u2014 and it was in their best interest to unify those workflows to free both designers and programmers alike.<\/p>\n

The change represented what is still a continuous effort by Epic to provide users with visual, no-code development experiences. And it did just that. The shift that set the stage for businesses to focus on producing more high-quality, engaging projects.<\/p>\n

Games as a service takes over.<\/h3>\n

It was not until this influx of free no-code tools that an influx of titles hit the market resulting in Games as a service’s (GaaS). One of the biggest shifts in launching a project to the public \u2014 also had a profound impact on the practice. As this strategy developed into mainstays of release planning, this presented new challenges for developers and scheduling of content to appease their audience.<\/p>\n

As GaaS evolved, it popularised a different kind of content consumption that evolves with not only the purchasing habits of the audience but also unique ideas on how to evolve the game from players themselves. The difference boiled down to a matter of “active versus passive engagement.”<\/p>\n

Consumers now latch onto titles and stay engaged much longer than the traditional product life cycle. Generally speaking, when you enter a game service you know the product will continue to evolve with you, you’re looking for a product that will entertain and define your presence online. GaaS allowed users to consume content drops more continuously on their preferred platforms. The content you see after a year on a title is constantly being updated and released \u2014 not strictly on launch.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Source: G.P. Bullhound<\/a><\/p>\n

That trend incentivized the creation of more shareable, attention-grabbing content that could easily be spread across social media channels. And sure did it work. Driving the profits of GaaS juggernauts like PUBG and Fortnite to swell into the billions each year.<\/p>\n

Roblox made a push.<\/h3>\n

Roblox also emerged as one of the prevailing user-generated communities as the decade progressed, particularly among younger players.<\/p>\n

As of 2021, roughly 200 MAU existed within the Roblox platform. Their stats overall speak to the shift in not only UGC but also the strength of having the collaborative community alongside it.<\/p>\n

Here are several figures to note about usage statistics within the platform:<\/p>\n