Zoeken

Venture Beat een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:56:56 ·

From dot-com to dot-AI: How we can learn from the last tech transformation (and avoid making the same mistakes)

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More

At the height of the dot-com boom, adding “.com” to a company’s name was enough to send its stock price soaring — even if the business had no real customers, revenue or path to profitability. Today, history is repeating itself. Swap “.com” for “AI,” and the story sounds eerily familiar.
Companies are racing to sprinkle “AI” into their pitch decks, product descriptions and domain names, hoping to ride the hype. As reported by Domain Name Stat, registrations for “.ai” domains surged about 77.1% year-over-year in 2024, driven by startups and incumbents alike rushing to associate themselves with artificial intelligence — whether they have a true AI advantage or not.
The late 1990s made one thing clear: Using breakthrough technology isn’t enough. The companies that survived the dot-com crash weren’t chasing hype — they were solving real problems and scaling with purpose.
AI is no different. It will reshape industries, but the winners won’t be those slapping “AI” on a landing page — they’ll be the ones cutting through the hype and focusing on what matters.
The first steps? Start small, find your wedge and scale deliberately.
Start small: Find your wedge before you scale
One of the most costly mistakes of the dot-com era was trying to go big too soon — a lesson AI product builders today can’t afford to ignore.
Take eBay, for example. It began as a simple online auction site for collectibles — starting with something as niche as Pez dispensers. Early users loved it because it solved a very specific problem: It connected hobbyists who couldn’t find each other offline. Only after dominating that initial vertical did eBay expand into broader categories like electronics, fashion and, eventually, almost anything you can buy today.
Compare that to Webvan, another dot-com era startup with a much different strategy. Webvan aimed to revolutionize grocery shopping with online ordering and rapid home delivery — all at once, in multiple cities. It spent hundreds of millions of dollars building massive warehouses and complex delivery fleets before it had strong customer demand. When growth didn’t materialize fast enough, the company collapsed under its own weight.
The pattern is clear: Start with a sharp, specific user need. Focus on a narrow wedge you can dominate. Expand only when you have proof of strong demand.
For AI product builders, this means resisting the urge to build an “AI that does everything.” Take, for example, a generative AI tool for data analysis. Are you targeting product managers, designers or data scientists? Are you building for people who don’t know SQL, those with limited experience or seasoned analysts?
Each of those users has very different needs, workflows and expectations. Starting with a narrow, well-defined cohort — like technical project managerswith limited SQL experience who need quick insights to guide product decisions — allows you to deeply understand your user, fine-tune the experience and build something truly indispensable. From there, you can expand intentionally to adjacent personas or capabilities. In the race to build lasting gen AI products, the winners won’t be the ones who try to serve everyone at once — they’ll be the ones who start small, and serve someone incredibly well.
Own your data moat: Build compounding defensibility early
Starting small helps you find product-market fit. But once you gain traction, your next priority is to build defensibility — and in the world of gen AI, that means owning your data.
The companies that survived the dot-com boom didn’t just capture users — they captured proprietary data. Amazon, for example, didn’t stop at selling books. They tracked purchases and product views to improve recommendations, then used regional ordering data to optimize fulfillment. By analyzing buying patterns across cities and zip codes, they predicted demand, stocked warehouses smarter and streamlined shipping routes — laying the foundation for Prime’s two-day delivery, a key advantage competitors couldn’t match. None of it would have been possible without a data strategy baked into the product from day one.
Google followed a similar path. Every query, click and correction became training data to improve search results — and later, ads. They didn’t just build a search engine; they built a real-time feedback loop that constantly learned from users, creating a moat that made their results and targeting harder to beat.
The lesson for gen AI product builders is clear: Long-term advantage won’t come from simply having access to a powerful model — it will come from building proprietary data loops that improve their product over time.
Today, anyone with enough resources can fine-tune an open-source large language modelor pay to access an API. What’s much harder — and far more valuable — is gathering high-signal, real-world user interaction data that compounds over time.
If you’re building a gen AI product, you need to ask critical questions early:

What unique data will we capture as users interact with us?
How can we design feedback loops that continuously refine the product?
Is there domain-specific data we can collectthat competitors won’t have?

Take Duolingo, for example. With GPT-4, they’ve gone beyond basic personalization. Features like “Explain My Answer” and AI role-play create richer user interactions — capturing not just answers, but how learners think and converse. Duolingo combines this data with their own AI to refine the experience, creating an advantage competitors can’t easily match.
In the gen AI era, data should be your compounding advantage. Companies that design their products to capture and learn from proprietary data will be the ones that survive and lead.
Conclusion: It’s a marathon, not a sprint
The dot-com era showed us that hype fades fast, but fundamentals endure. The gen AI boom is no different. The companies that thrive won’t be the ones chasing headlines — they’ll be the ones solving real problems, scaling with discipline and building real moats.
The future of AI will belong to builders who understand that it’s a marathon — and have the grit to run it.
Kailiang Fu is an AI product manager at Uber.

Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily
If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI.
Read our Privacy Policy

Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here.

An error occured.
#dotcom #dotai #how #can #learn

From dot-com to dot-AI: How we can learn from the last tech transformation (and avoid making the same mistakes)
Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More At the height of the dot-com boom, adding “.com” to a company’s name was enough to send its stock price soaring — even if the business had no real customers, revenue or path to profitability. Today, history is repeating itself. Swap “.com” for “AI,” and the story sounds eerily familiar. Companies are racing to sprinkle “AI” into their pitch decks, product descriptions and domain names, hoping to ride the hype. As reported by Domain Name Stat, registrations for “.ai” domains surged about 77.1% year-over-year in 2024, driven by startups and incumbents alike rushing to associate themselves with artificial intelligence — whether they have a true AI advantage or not. The late 1990s made one thing clear: Using breakthrough technology isn’t enough. The companies that survived the dot-com crash weren’t chasing hype — they were solving real problems and scaling with purpose. AI is no different. It will reshape industries, but the winners won’t be those slapping “AI” on a landing page — they’ll be the ones cutting through the hype and focusing on what matters. The first steps? Start small, find your wedge and scale deliberately. Start small: Find your wedge before you scale One of the most costly mistakes of the dot-com era was trying to go big too soon — a lesson AI product builders today can’t afford to ignore. Take eBay, for example. It began as a simple online auction site for collectibles — starting with something as niche as Pez dispensers. Early users loved it because it solved a very specific problem: It connected hobbyists who couldn’t find each other offline. Only after dominating that initial vertical did eBay expand into broader categories like electronics, fashion and, eventually, almost anything you can buy today. Compare that to Webvan, another dot-com era startup with a much different strategy. Webvan aimed to revolutionize grocery shopping with online ordering and rapid home delivery — all at once, in multiple cities. It spent hundreds of millions of dollars building massive warehouses and complex delivery fleets before it had strong customer demand. When growth didn’t materialize fast enough, the company collapsed under its own weight. The pattern is clear: Start with a sharp, specific user need. Focus on a narrow wedge you can dominate. Expand only when you have proof of strong demand. For AI product builders, this means resisting the urge to build an “AI that does everything.” Take, for example, a generative AI tool for data analysis. Are you targeting product managers, designers or data scientists? Are you building for people who don’t know SQL, those with limited experience or seasoned analysts? Each of those users has very different needs, workflows and expectations. Starting with a narrow, well-defined cohort — like technical project managerswith limited SQL experience who need quick insights to guide product decisions — allows you to deeply understand your user, fine-tune the experience and build something truly indispensable. From there, you can expand intentionally to adjacent personas or capabilities. In the race to build lasting gen AI products, the winners won’t be the ones who try to serve everyone at once — they’ll be the ones who start small, and serve someone incredibly well. Own your data moat: Build compounding defensibility early Starting small helps you find product-market fit. But once you gain traction, your next priority is to build defensibility — and in the world of gen AI, that means owning your data. The companies that survived the dot-com boom didn’t just capture users — they captured proprietary data. Amazon, for example, didn’t stop at selling books. They tracked purchases and product views to improve recommendations, then used regional ordering data to optimize fulfillment. By analyzing buying patterns across cities and zip codes, they predicted demand, stocked warehouses smarter and streamlined shipping routes — laying the foundation for Prime’s two-day delivery, a key advantage competitors couldn’t match. None of it would have been possible without a data strategy baked into the product from day one. Google followed a similar path. Every query, click and correction became training data to improve search results — and later, ads. They didn’t just build a search engine; they built a real-time feedback loop that constantly learned from users, creating a moat that made their results and targeting harder to beat. The lesson for gen AI product builders is clear: Long-term advantage won’t come from simply having access to a powerful model — it will come from building proprietary data loops that improve their product over time. Today, anyone with enough resources can fine-tune an open-source large language modelor pay to access an API. What’s much harder — and far more valuable — is gathering high-signal, real-world user interaction data that compounds over time. If you’re building a gen AI product, you need to ask critical questions early: What unique data will we capture as users interact with us? How can we design feedback loops that continuously refine the product? Is there domain-specific data we can collectthat competitors won’t have? Take Duolingo, for example. With GPT-4, they’ve gone beyond basic personalization. Features like “Explain My Answer” and AI role-play create richer user interactions — capturing not just answers, but how learners think and converse. Duolingo combines this data with their own AI to refine the experience, creating an advantage competitors can’t easily match. In the gen AI era, data should be your compounding advantage. Companies that design their products to capture and learn from proprietary data will be the ones that survive and lead. Conclusion: It’s a marathon, not a sprint The dot-com era showed us that hype fades fast, but fundamentals endure. The gen AI boom is no different. The companies that thrive won’t be the ones chasing headlines — they’ll be the ones solving real problems, scaling with discipline and building real moats. The future of AI will belong to builders who understand that it’s a marathon — and have the grit to run it. Kailiang Fu is an AI product manager at Uber. Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI. Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured. #dotcom #dotai #how #can #learn

VENTUREBEAT.COM

From dot-com to dot-AI: How we can learn from the last tech transformation (and avoid making the same mistakes)

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More At the height of the dot-com boom, adding “.com” to a company’s name was enough to send its stock price soaring — even if the business had no real customers, revenue or path to profitability. Today, history is repeating itself. Swap “.com” for “AI,” and the story sounds eerily familiar. Companies are racing to sprinkle “AI” into their pitch decks, product descriptions and domain names, hoping to ride the hype. As reported by Domain Name Stat, registrations for “.ai” domains surged about 77.1% year-over-year in 2024, driven by startups and incumbents alike rushing to associate themselves with artificial intelligence — whether they have a true AI advantage or not. The late 1990s made one thing clear: Using breakthrough technology isn’t enough. The companies that survived the dot-com crash weren’t chasing hype — they were solving real problems and scaling with purpose. AI is no different. It will reshape industries, but the winners won’t be those slapping “AI” on a landing page — they’ll be the ones cutting through the hype and focusing on what matters. The first steps? Start small, find your wedge and scale deliberately. Start small: Find your wedge before you scale One of the most costly mistakes of the dot-com era was trying to go big too soon — a lesson AI product builders today can’t afford to ignore. Take eBay, for example. It began as a simple online auction site for collectibles — starting with something as niche as Pez dispensers. Early users loved it because it solved a very specific problem: It connected hobbyists who couldn’t find each other offline. Only after dominating that initial vertical did eBay expand into broader categories like electronics, fashion and, eventually, almost anything you can buy today. Compare that to Webvan, another dot-com era startup with a much different strategy. Webvan aimed to revolutionize grocery shopping with online ordering and rapid home delivery — all at once, in multiple cities. It spent hundreds of millions of dollars building massive warehouses and complex delivery fleets before it had strong customer demand. When growth didn’t materialize fast enough, the company collapsed under its own weight. The pattern is clear: Start with a sharp, specific user need. Focus on a narrow wedge you can dominate. Expand only when you have proof of strong demand. For AI product builders, this means resisting the urge to build an “AI that does everything.” Take, for example, a generative AI tool for data analysis. Are you targeting product managers, designers or data scientists? Are you building for people who don’t know SQL, those with limited experience or seasoned analysts? Each of those users has very different needs, workflows and expectations. Starting with a narrow, well-defined cohort — like technical project managers (PMs) with limited SQL experience who need quick insights to guide product decisions — allows you to deeply understand your user, fine-tune the experience and build something truly indispensable. From there, you can expand intentionally to adjacent personas or capabilities. In the race to build lasting gen AI products, the winners won’t be the ones who try to serve everyone at once — they’ll be the ones who start small, and serve someone incredibly well. Own your data moat: Build compounding defensibility early Starting small helps you find product-market fit. But once you gain traction, your next priority is to build defensibility — and in the world of gen AI, that means owning your data. The companies that survived the dot-com boom didn’t just capture users — they captured proprietary data. Amazon, for example, didn’t stop at selling books. They tracked purchases and product views to improve recommendations, then used regional ordering data to optimize fulfillment. By analyzing buying patterns across cities and zip codes, they predicted demand, stocked warehouses smarter and streamlined shipping routes — laying the foundation for Prime’s two-day delivery, a key advantage competitors couldn’t match. None of it would have been possible without a data strategy baked into the product from day one. Google followed a similar path. Every query, click and correction became training data to improve search results — and later, ads. They didn’t just build a search engine; they built a real-time feedback loop that constantly learned from users, creating a moat that made their results and targeting harder to beat. The lesson for gen AI product builders is clear: Long-term advantage won’t come from simply having access to a powerful model — it will come from building proprietary data loops that improve their product over time. Today, anyone with enough resources can fine-tune an open-source large language model (LLM) or pay to access an API. What’s much harder — and far more valuable — is gathering high-signal, real-world user interaction data that compounds over time. If you’re building a gen AI product, you need to ask critical questions early: What unique data will we capture as users interact with us? How can we design feedback loops that continuously refine the product? Is there domain-specific data we can collect (ethically and securely) that competitors won’t have? Take Duolingo, for example. With GPT-4, they’ve gone beyond basic personalization. Features like “Explain My Answer” and AI role-play create richer user interactions — capturing not just answers, but how learners think and converse. Duolingo combines this data with their own AI to refine the experience, creating an advantage competitors can’t easily match. In the gen AI era, data should be your compounding advantage. Companies that design their products to capture and learn from proprietary data will be the ones that survive and lead. Conclusion: It’s a marathon, not a sprint The dot-com era showed us that hype fades fast, but fundamentals endure. The gen AI boom is no different. The companies that thrive won’t be the ones chasing headlines — they’ll be the ones solving real problems, scaling with discipline and building real moats. The future of AI will belong to builders who understand that it’s a marathon — and have the grit to run it. Kailiang Fu is an AI product manager at Uber. Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI. Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured.

·9 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
Unity een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:56:28 ·

9 statistics about how users engage with streaming apps

The video streaming industry is booming - but do we really understand how consumers feel about streaming apps and their logic behind engaging with these services?To offer you deeper insight into how to position your streaming app in such a competitive market, we ran a survey using our proprietary market research solution to discover how people use streaming apps on their mobile phones and why they download new ones. Here are some key findings:Streaming apps are a critical vertical for users1. 68% of respondents rank a streaming app among the Top 10 apps on their phones and over 60% consider two or more streaming apps among their Top 10.Streaming apps are an important vertical when it comes to users' app priorities, not just an afterthought.Takeaway: You’re competing for space. It’s important that you speak to users with a high level of confidence, communicating why your app should be in users' Top 10 above competitors’ apps and other app categories.2. 66% have a streaming app on their home screen for quick access.According to Comscore, 61% of smartphone users move an app to the home screen because of frequent usage, 54% because of easier access when ready to use, and 18% because of its looks.Takeaway: Aesthetics are key. Even before you highlight your app’s value, make sure your app icon stands out and grabs user attention among the many apps on the home screen.3. 59% of respondents admitted that if they woke up to find no apps on their phone, they'd download their favorite streaming app among the first five apps they restored...reaffirming the claim that streaming apps are an app category users can’t live without. Interestingly, Gen X are the least likely generation to keep a streaming app on their phone’s home screen, yet if they woke up to find no apps on their phone, they are the most likely to download their favorite streaming app as the first app they restored.Takeaway: Work with a channel that puts your app front and center when users are looking for new apps. After all, you want to be the app of choice from the very beginning in order to increase your likelihood of being an app users can’t live without.Streaming fatigue? It’s just a myth.4. Despite headlines that users are decreasing their number of streaming apps, only 7% said they would not download another streaming app.This means that 93% of people would be ready and willing to download your app if they haven’t already.Takeaway: While it's important to be the first app of your kind on users’ devices, there's also room to get downloaded later on if your app matches a user's need. Ensure you differentiate your offering and continue to reach users throughout the device lifecycle through your advertising.5. Of the 93% who would consider a new streaming app, 52% said it would be for a specific show/movie they want to watch.60% of women would download a new streaming service for a specific show/content, as opposed to only 48% of men.Takeaway: Your content is key.Price is make or break for many users6. Over 40% of users who cancel their subscriptions do so because of cost.Demographics play a major role here. Women are more price sensitive: 45% have canceled a streaming service because of a price increase, as opposed to 36% of men.Takeaway: It’s important to communicate why your app is more valuable than competitors. It may be best to address your cost head-on and explain why your app is worth its price.7. 49% of users say they would download a new streaming app if it was free or discounted.50% of women said they would download another streaming app if it was discounted or free, as opposed to 43% of men.Takeaway: Free ad-supportedapps are a growing niche in the streaming industry, and offer room for growth especially to the female audience.Growth in offering an ad-supported subscription option8. Nearly half of all streamers pay to remove ads from at least one streaming app.This trend is consistent across all age groups, with Gen X leading the charge at over 60%, likely because they have higher spending power and can afford the cost.Takeaway: There’s a huge growth opportunity in incorporating different monetization models into your streaming app’s strategy, such as a free ad-supported plan alongside a more expensive ad-free plan. When communicating the ad free plan in your advertising, it’s best to appeal to those paying the bills in the house.9. 37% of users don’t have free ad-supported televisionapps on their phones.Of those that do, 54% have between 1-4 apps. This means there are tons of users out there who haven’t started using FAST apps just yet, and they may use more than one app when they do. Takeaway: There’s a big opportunity for FAST apps to further grow their audience, which makes it that much more important to reach the right audience. Based on contextual triggers, on-device advertising is in a unique position to place your app directly in front of users that are likely to download and engage with your app into the future.Streaming apps continue to see growth and engagement, which means you want to set yourself up to reach users in the most effective way possible. Aura from Unity is an on-device advertising channel that recommends your app during critical moments of a device’s lifecycle, such as during device setup, as a native part of the device experience.
#statistics #about #how #users #engage

9 statistics about how users engage with streaming apps
The video streaming industry is booming - but do we really understand how consumers feel about streaming apps and their logic behind engaging with these services?To offer you deeper insight into how to position your streaming app in such a competitive market, we ran a survey using our proprietary market research solution to discover how people use streaming apps on their mobile phones and why they download new ones. Here are some key findings:Streaming apps are a critical vertical for users1. 68% of respondents rank a streaming app among the Top 10 apps on their phones and over 60% consider two or more streaming apps among their Top 10.Streaming apps are an important vertical when it comes to users' app priorities, not just an afterthought.Takeaway: You’re competing for space. It’s important that you speak to users with a high level of confidence, communicating why your app should be in users' Top 10 above competitors’ apps and other app categories.2. 66% have a streaming app on their home screen for quick access.According to Comscore, 61% of smartphone users move an app to the home screen because of frequent usage, 54% because of easier access when ready to use, and 18% because of its looks.Takeaway: Aesthetics are key. Even before you highlight your app’s value, make sure your app icon stands out and grabs user attention among the many apps on the home screen.3. 59% of respondents admitted that if they woke up to find no apps on their phone, they'd download their favorite streaming app among the first five apps they restored...reaffirming the claim that streaming apps are an app category users can’t live without. Interestingly, Gen X are the least likely generation to keep a streaming app on their phone’s home screen, yet if they woke up to find no apps on their phone, they are the most likely to download their favorite streaming app as the first app they restored.Takeaway: Work with a channel that puts your app front and center when users are looking for new apps. After all, you want to be the app of choice from the very beginning in order to increase your likelihood of being an app users can’t live without.Streaming fatigue? It’s just a myth.4. Despite headlines that users are decreasing their number of streaming apps, only 7% said they would not download another streaming app.This means that 93% of people would be ready and willing to download your app if they haven’t already.Takeaway: While it's important to be the first app of your kind on users’ devices, there's also room to get downloaded later on if your app matches a user's need. Ensure you differentiate your offering and continue to reach users throughout the device lifecycle through your advertising.5. Of the 93% who would consider a new streaming app, 52% said it would be for a specific show/movie they want to watch.60% of women would download a new streaming service for a specific show/content, as opposed to only 48% of men.Takeaway: Your content is key.Price is make or break for many users6. Over 40% of users who cancel their subscriptions do so because of cost.Demographics play a major role here. Women are more price sensitive: 45% have canceled a streaming service because of a price increase, as opposed to 36% of men.Takeaway: It’s important to communicate why your app is more valuable than competitors. It may be best to address your cost head-on and explain why your app is worth its price.7. 49% of users say they would download a new streaming app if it was free or discounted.50% of women said they would download another streaming app if it was discounted or free, as opposed to 43% of men.Takeaway: Free ad-supportedapps are a growing niche in the streaming industry, and offer room for growth especially to the female audience.Growth in offering an ad-supported subscription option8. Nearly half of all streamers pay to remove ads from at least one streaming app.This trend is consistent across all age groups, with Gen X leading the charge at over 60%, likely because they have higher spending power and can afford the cost.Takeaway: There’s a huge growth opportunity in incorporating different monetization models into your streaming app’s strategy, such as a free ad-supported plan alongside a more expensive ad-free plan. When communicating the ad free plan in your advertising, it’s best to appeal to those paying the bills in the house.9. 37% of users don’t have free ad-supported televisionapps on their phones.Of those that do, 54% have between 1-4 apps. This means there are tons of users out there who haven’t started using FAST apps just yet, and they may use more than one app when they do. Takeaway: There’s a big opportunity for FAST apps to further grow their audience, which makes it that much more important to reach the right audience. Based on contextual triggers, on-device advertising is in a unique position to place your app directly in front of users that are likely to download and engage with your app into the future.Streaming apps continue to see growth and engagement, which means you want to set yourself up to reach users in the most effective way possible. Aura from Unity is an on-device advertising channel that recommends your app during critical moments of a device’s lifecycle, such as during device setup, as a native part of the device experience. #statistics #about #how #users #engage

UNITY.COM

9 statistics about how users engage with streaming apps

The video streaming industry is booming - but do we really understand how consumers feel about streaming apps and their logic behind engaging with these services?To offer you deeper insight into how to position your streaming app in such a competitive market, we ran a survey using our proprietary market research solution to discover how people use streaming apps on their mobile phones and why they download new ones. Here are some key findings:Streaming apps are a critical vertical for users1. 68% of respondents rank a streaming app among the Top 10 apps on their phones and over 60% consider two or more streaming apps among their Top 10.Streaming apps are an important vertical when it comes to users' app priorities, not just an afterthought.Takeaway: You’re competing for space. It’s important that you speak to users with a high level of confidence, communicating why your app should be in users' Top 10 above competitors’ apps and other app categories.2. 66% have a streaming app on their home screen for quick access.According to Comscore, 61% of smartphone users move an app to the home screen because of frequent usage, 54% because of easier access when ready to use, and 18% because of its looks.Takeaway: Aesthetics are key. Even before you highlight your app’s value, make sure your app icon stands out and grabs user attention among the many apps on the home screen.3. 59% of respondents admitted that if they woke up to find no apps on their phone, they'd download their favorite streaming app among the first five apps they restored...reaffirming the claim that streaming apps are an app category users can’t live without. Interestingly, Gen X are the least likely generation to keep a streaming app on their phone’s home screen, yet if they woke up to find no apps on their phone, they are the most likely to download their favorite streaming app as the first app they restored.Takeaway: Work with a channel that puts your app front and center when users are looking for new apps. After all, you want to be the app of choice from the very beginning in order to increase your likelihood of being an app users can’t live without.Streaming fatigue? It’s just a myth.4. Despite headlines that users are decreasing their number of streaming apps, only 7% said they would not download another streaming app.This means that 93% of people would be ready and willing to download your app if they haven’t already.Takeaway: While it's important to be the first app of your kind on users’ devices, there's also room to get downloaded later on if your app matches a user's need. Ensure you differentiate your offering and continue to reach users throughout the device lifecycle through your advertising.5. Of the 93% who would consider a new streaming app, 52% said it would be for a specific show/movie they want to watch.60% of women would download a new streaming service for a specific show/content, as opposed to only 48% of men.Takeaway: Your content is key.Price is make or break for many users6. Over 40% of users who cancel their subscriptions do so because of cost.Demographics play a major role here. Women are more price sensitive: 45% have canceled a streaming service because of a price increase, as opposed to 36% of men.Takeaway: It’s important to communicate why your app is more valuable than competitors. It may be best to address your cost head-on and explain why your app is worth its price.7. 49% of users say they would download a new streaming app if it was free or discounted.50% of women said they would download another streaming app if it was discounted or free, as opposed to 43% of men.Takeaway: Free ad-supported (FAST) apps are a growing niche in the streaming industry, and offer room for growth especially to the female audience.Growth in offering an ad-supported subscription option8. Nearly half of all streamers pay to remove ads from at least one streaming app.This trend is consistent across all age groups, with Gen X leading the charge at over 60%, likely because they have higher spending power and can afford the cost.Takeaway: There’s a huge growth opportunity in incorporating different monetization models into your streaming app’s strategy, such as a free ad-supported plan alongside a more expensive ad-free plan. When communicating the ad free plan in your advertising, it’s best to appeal to those paying the bills in the house.9. 37% of users don’t have free ad-supported television (FAST) apps on their phones.Of those that do, 54% have between 1-4 apps. This means there are tons of users out there who haven’t started using FAST apps just yet, and they may use more than one app when they do. Takeaway: There’s a big opportunity for FAST apps to further grow their audience, which makes it that much more important to reach the right audience. Based on contextual triggers, on-device advertising is in a unique position to place your app directly in front of users that are likely to download and engage with your app into the future.Streaming apps continue to see growth and engagement, which means you want to set yourself up to reach users in the most effective way possible. Aura from Unity is an on-device advertising channel that recommends your app during critical moments of a device’s lifecycle, such as during device setup, as a native part of the device experience.

·8 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
Hitmarker | Gaming Jobs een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:41:51 ·

Head of Creative at Aspyr Media

Head of CreativeAspyr MediaAustin, Texas, United States42 minutes agoApply**Please note that all positions posted for Aspyr Media, Inc. are in-person/in-office only; remote positions are not available.**Aspyr Media, Inc. is an independent, full-service developer and publisher for the industry's leading games. Over the last 25 years, Aspyr has helped nearly 200 games reach their next level across all platforms and beyond expectations.Founded in 1996, Aspyr Media, Inc. got its start in Austin, TX by bringing the biggest PC gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, Sid Meier’s Civilization and Star Wars to Mac. Today, Aspyr is a video game publishing and development partner focused on maximizing the potential of games. We find the world's best games and connect them to new audiences, on all platforms.Responsibilities:The Head of Creative is responsible for leading the vision, quality, and execution of all creative elements across Aspyr’s portfolio. This includes ownership of game design, art direction, narrative, and player experience. As the senior creative leader, this role ensures that every product reflects a strong, cohesive vision that resonates with players and supports Aspyr’s business objectives. The Head of Creative will collaborate closely with executive leadership, product, production, and development teams, as well as external licensors and partners.Essential Functions:Define and champion the creative vision for Aspyr’s games, ensuring alignment with company strategy, market expectations, and player engagement goalsLead multidisciplinary creative teams including game design, narrative, and visual development, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovationEstablish and uphold creative standards and processes that ensure consistency, quality, and clarity of vision across all titlesPartner with Product, Production, and Engineering leaders to balance creative ambition with schedule, budget, and resource constraintsGuide concept development, IP pitch materials, and greenlight presentations with strong storytelling and visual impactWork directly with external licensors to maintain brand integrity and push creative boundaries within existing IP frameworksEnsure player-centric thinking is embedded in design, art, and narrative decisions throughout the game lifecycleAttract, develop, and retain top creative talent across disciplinesRepresent Aspyr’s creative philosophy and vision in internal leadership discussions and external partner communicationsPreferred Qualifications:Bachelor’s degree in Game Design, Fine Arts, Creative Writing, or a related field12 + years of experience in creative leadership roles in the video game industryProven track record as a Creative Director, Art Director, Narrative Director, or similar senior role on shipped titlesDeep expertise in at least one core creative disciplinewith working knowledge across othersDemonstrated ability to lead cross-functional creative teams and build cohesive, player-focused experiencesExperience working with licensed IPs and navigating approvals with major licensorsStrong presentation and communication skills with the ability to inspire teams and influence stakeholdersExperience shipping titles across multiple platforms including console and PCComfortable working in both hands-on and high-level strategic capacitiesPassion for storytelling, visual worldbuilding, and immersive gameplay experiencesAspyr is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Aspyr are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex, age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Aspyr will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Aspyr encourages applicants of all ages.
Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings.
Apply
#head #creative #aspyr #media

Head of Creative at Aspyr Media
Head of CreativeAspyr MediaAustin, Texas, United States42 minutes agoApply**Please note that all positions posted for Aspyr Media, Inc. are in-person/in-office only; remote positions are not available.**Aspyr Media, Inc. is an independent, full-service developer and publisher for the industry's leading games. Over the last 25 years, Aspyr has helped nearly 200 games reach their next level across all platforms and beyond expectations.Founded in 1996, Aspyr Media, Inc. got its start in Austin, TX by bringing the biggest PC gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, Sid Meier’s Civilization and Star Wars to Mac. Today, Aspyr is a video game publishing and development partner focused on maximizing the potential of games. We find the world's best games and connect them to new audiences, on all platforms.Responsibilities:The Head of Creative is responsible for leading the vision, quality, and execution of all creative elements across Aspyr’s portfolio. This includes ownership of game design, art direction, narrative, and player experience. As the senior creative leader, this role ensures that every product reflects a strong, cohesive vision that resonates with players and supports Aspyr’s business objectives. The Head of Creative will collaborate closely with executive leadership, product, production, and development teams, as well as external licensors and partners.Essential Functions:Define and champion the creative vision for Aspyr’s games, ensuring alignment with company strategy, market expectations, and player engagement goalsLead multidisciplinary creative teams including game design, narrative, and visual development, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovationEstablish and uphold creative standards and processes that ensure consistency, quality, and clarity of vision across all titlesPartner with Product, Production, and Engineering leaders to balance creative ambition with schedule, budget, and resource constraintsGuide concept development, IP pitch materials, and greenlight presentations with strong storytelling and visual impactWork directly with external licensors to maintain brand integrity and push creative boundaries within existing IP frameworksEnsure player-centric thinking is embedded in design, art, and narrative decisions throughout the game lifecycleAttract, develop, and retain top creative talent across disciplinesRepresent Aspyr’s creative philosophy and vision in internal leadership discussions and external partner communicationsPreferred Qualifications:Bachelor’s degree in Game Design, Fine Arts, Creative Writing, or a related field12 + years of experience in creative leadership roles in the video game industryProven track record as a Creative Director, Art Director, Narrative Director, or similar senior role on shipped titlesDeep expertise in at least one core creative disciplinewith working knowledge across othersDemonstrated ability to lead cross-functional creative teams and build cohesive, player-focused experiencesExperience working with licensed IPs and navigating approvals with major licensorsStrong presentation and communication skills with the ability to inspire teams and influence stakeholdersExperience shipping titles across multiple platforms including console and PCComfortable working in both hands-on and high-level strategic capacitiesPassion for storytelling, visual worldbuilding, and immersive gameplay experiencesAspyr is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Aspyr are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex, age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Aspyr will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Aspyr encourages applicants of all ages. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply #head #creative #aspyr #media

GAMEJOBS.CO

Head of Creative at Aspyr Media

Head of CreativeAspyr MediaAustin, Texas, United States42 minutes agoApply**Please note that all positions posted for Aspyr Media, Inc. are in-person/in-office only; remote positions are not available.**Aspyr Media, Inc. is an independent, full-service developer and publisher for the industry's leading games. Over the last 25 years, Aspyr has helped nearly 200 games reach their next level across all platforms and beyond expectations.Founded in 1996, Aspyr Media, Inc. got its start in Austin, TX by bringing the biggest PC gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, Sid Meier’s Civilization and Star Wars to Mac. Today, Aspyr is a video game publishing and development partner focused on maximizing the potential of games. We find the world's best games and connect them to new audiences, on all platforms.Responsibilities:The Head of Creative is responsible for leading the vision, quality, and execution of all creative elements across Aspyr’s portfolio. This includes ownership of game design, art direction, narrative, and player experience. As the senior creative leader, this role ensures that every product reflects a strong, cohesive vision that resonates with players and supports Aspyr’s business objectives. The Head of Creative will collaborate closely with executive leadership, product, production, and development teams, as well as external licensors and partners.Essential Functions:Define and champion the creative vision for Aspyr’s games, ensuring alignment with company strategy, market expectations, and player engagement goalsLead multidisciplinary creative teams including game design, narrative, and visual development, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovationEstablish and uphold creative standards and processes that ensure consistency, quality, and clarity of vision across all titlesPartner with Product, Production, and Engineering leaders to balance creative ambition with schedule, budget, and resource constraintsGuide concept development, IP pitch materials, and greenlight presentations with strong storytelling and visual impactWork directly with external licensors to maintain brand integrity and push creative boundaries within existing IP frameworksEnsure player-centric thinking is embedded in design, art, and narrative decisions throughout the game lifecycleAttract, develop, and retain top creative talent across disciplinesRepresent Aspyr’s creative philosophy and vision in internal leadership discussions and external partner communicationsPreferred Qualifications:Bachelor’s degree in Game Design, Fine Arts, Creative Writing, or a related field12 + years of experience in creative leadership roles in the video game industryProven track record as a Creative Director, Art Director, Narrative Director, or similar senior role on shipped titlesDeep expertise in at least one core creative discipline (game design, art, or narrative) with working knowledge across othersDemonstrated ability to lead cross-functional creative teams and build cohesive, player-focused experiencesExperience working with licensed IPs and navigating approvals with major licensorsStrong presentation and communication skills with the ability to inspire teams and influence stakeholdersExperience shipping titles across multiple platforms including console and PCComfortable working in both hands-on and high-level strategic capacitiesPassion for storytelling, visual worldbuilding, and immersive gameplay experiencesAspyr is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Aspyr are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Aspyr will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Aspyr encourages applicants of all ages. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

·41 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
GameDev.net een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:38:03 ·

Numbers

Author

My thoughts are:A FPS is very much a kill frenzy. Agility alows you to survive and win. When combat got better in FPS games, better sounds, better character and level design, down times have been introduced. Now you had to reload your weapon , half life for instance, and strafe during combat wasn’t required anymore.
A RTS has a diferent dynamic. You have not one but several machineguns, not one but several cannons. In a RTS you are also building momentum. There is no killing at the beggining of the game for instance. When you build something in a RTS you can see a direct consequence of your actions. You build a refinery, you can start gathering oil right away. You build an archery, you can start producing archers right away. But good RTS games have down times that “make no sense”. You need to deploy a tank to improve the fire range. Or you need to build a suplly depot to be albe to keep producing units. A supply depot provides no upgrades and doen’t produce units. It’s a wait time “just because”. My question is how do you decide numbers like building and unit build time or building and unit build cost? Factors like this are fine tuned by taking into account betatesters feedback, I understand that. But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive?

Calin said:But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? Be your own betatester. : )It's simple: Current AAA game is made by hundreds of people. One does not know what the others do. Decisions made are implemented by somebody down the hierarchy. It's chaos out of control, and thus those hundreds of devs need hundreds of betatesters to figure out if their game even eventually works.But if you make your game as a single person, you have everything under control. You have an idea, you implement it, you see yourself if it works as desired and how it feels. No need for additional testers. Ofc. you'll show your game to others and observe their responses if you can, but it's not a requirement.That's just personal opinion ofc.

Advertisement

Author

>Be your own betatesterHahaIs willingnes to take a survey a chatacteristic of a good American?

Calin said:Is willingnes to take a survey a chatacteristic of a good American? Haven't seen a lot of good americans recently : /

Author

>Haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recentlyTrying to mind my own business but you should keep the faith

Author

>haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recentlyDoes it mean you have seen people turning down requests to take a survey?

Advertisement

Calin said:>haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recently Does it mean you have seen people turning down requests to take a survey? No, but i've seen an american president applauding another nostalgic dictator on invading the continent of his ancestors, treating his neighbors like shit, doing damage to the whole world for nothing, and playing golf while tzar bombs getting ready.But well, it's never to late to learn. Maybe things improve.Otherwise, my ragdolls can walk now and making them run wont be too hard. Shooting is easy. Maybe i should head some kilometers eastwards to ask if they want to build some biped drones as well.Keep working on skynet. We might need it soon.

In case forum hides my posted image again, this is Arnie. Good American.

Calin said:My question is how do you decide numbers like building and unit build time or building and unit build cost? Factors like this are fine tuned by taking into account betatesters feedback, I understand that. But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? That kind of tuning is part of what designers do.Often up front everything is cranked up to extreme values just to find how big the fun and oddity can be. During play crank the super-sprint feature so you can run across the map faster than it loads. Adjust the super-strength feature to the point where bumping into something is an insta-kill, bumping into trees knocks them down, take out a building by touching it. It feels absurd when playing, but it's important do experiment around it.Designers will continue to fine tune values through development and even into launch. In highly competitive games designers might adjust by very tiny amounts to adjust balance, reducing the timing of something by a frame based on what they see players doing, or nudging points up or down. Often players talk about their favorite thing being ‘nerfed’ or ‘buffed’ when it happens. Generally no single thing is authoritative. Feedback from playing the game themselves, feedback from QA, feedback from playtests, feedback from data of how players are playing, the way the game feels in practice, all of them provide valuable information.Usually designers try to establish some sort of power curve that fits the game. Maybe a weapon that takes X ms per shot should do X*Y damage, so a rapid fire gun feels like a peashooter, a gun with a 2 second windup could destroy a tank, but they're also fairly balanced so if you hit with the peashooter for exactly 2 seconds you do about the same damage. Maybe different systems generate resources at a given rate, but across the board everything that costs X generates Y resources per minute, the upgraded level of the tools that costs 2X generates about 4Y resources, the third upgrade that costs 4X generates about 16Y resources. They figure it out for the game.For other types of balancing, such as the draw to pick certain behaviors versus other behaviors, that's again something done through iteration and playtesting. If an AI system isn't picking a behavior, nudge it. Working on The Sims, the designers would put a few objects on the lot and watch as Sims interacted with it, based on the attributes the object would interact with. They might put 3 different exercise items on a lot with an active-traited sim, crank the speed up, and watch how often they use them all versus do different things. For entertainment objects, are they using it about the same as other entertainment objects, for food objects are they using it about the same as other food objects. How does the draw for the object measure up compared to higher priority tasks like a timer to go to work or go to school? For larger games people in QA and design are playing the game constantly to get a feel for how the balance works. For AAA games everyone in the QA teams generally are asked about balance, and in meetings they discuss when something feels like it is too much or too little, and designers adjust them constantly.It's also important to build a range of probability distribution tools so designers can adjust probability. Not just random in a range, but the basics of uniform distributions, weighted value distributions, constant curves, logarithmic curves, Gaussian and/or Poisson and binomial distribution curves, sigmoids, control points on a spline for distribution, and whatever tools the developers can give to the designers that improves that game. In short-term games where you play a match like RTS games, you also want power levels to continue increasing over time to help avoid a stalemate. In an RTS you want pieces to keep escalating until both sides are pumping out nuclear bombs with their collection of nuclear bomb factories, the entire game is about churning out the high-power game ending units without an error. Or like FPS games with a “storm” where players get forced into smaller regions where they can't avoid each other plus must continuously travel around the board or lose. If the storm is closing around you the decision to take the high option or the low option can make the difference between having an escape route or facing death when the storm moves again. Or like high-level multiplayer Tetris, at some point even record-holding players are no longer focused on screwing over the opponent through attack moves but entirely focused on not making an error with what the game is constantly throwing at them. Instead of being about one player triggering a dump on their opponent, it becomes about raw survival against the breakneck pace of the game, the first player who doesn't play perfectly loses. How and when to make those shifts is part of game balancing.

Author

>I’ve seen an american prezident aplauding another nostalgic dictatorNo one is perfect.>designers workOk I get it. An orc programmer would say “I don’t work with that kind of numbers”…Setting those numbers is very easy, a designer must fill the remaining part of the day with something. My guess is he must be filtering through a ton of statistics provided by betatesters. After changing the numbers in question, a designer probably runs some kind of rudimentary battle autocalc. Waiting the results of a betatesting matchtakes too much time. They are probably relying on something else not just on betatesting.
#numbers

Numbers
Author My thoughts are:A FPS is very much a kill frenzy. Agility alows you to survive and win. When combat got better in FPS games, better sounds, better character and level design, down times have been introduced. Now you had to reload your weapon , half life for instance, and strafe during combat wasn’t required anymore. A RTS has a diferent dynamic. You have not one but several machineguns, not one but several cannons. In a RTS you are also building momentum. There is no killing at the beggining of the game for instance. When you build something in a RTS you can see a direct consequence of your actions. You build a refinery, you can start gathering oil right away. You build an archery, you can start producing archers right away. But good RTS games have down times that “make no sense”. You need to deploy a tank to improve the fire range. Or you need to build a suplly depot to be albe to keep producing units. A supply depot provides no upgrades and doen’t produce units. It’s a wait time “just because”. My question is how do you decide numbers like building and unit build time or building and unit build cost? Factors like this are fine tuned by taking into account betatesters feedback, I understand that. But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? Calin said:But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? Be your own betatester. : )It's simple: Current AAA game is made by hundreds of people. One does not know what the others do. Decisions made are implemented by somebody down the hierarchy. It's chaos out of control, and thus those hundreds of devs need hundreds of betatesters to figure out if their game even eventually works.But if you make your game as a single person, you have everything under control. You have an idea, you implement it, you see yourself if it works as desired and how it feels. No need for additional testers. Ofc. you'll show your game to others and observe their responses if you can, but it's not a requirement.That's just personal opinion ofc. Advertisement Author >Be your own betatesterHahaIs willingnes to take a survey a chatacteristic of a good American? Calin said:Is willingnes to take a survey a chatacteristic of a good American? Haven't seen a lot of good americans recently : / Author >Haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recentlyTrying to mind my own business but you should keep the faith Author >haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recentlyDoes it mean you have seen people turning down requests to take a survey? Advertisement Calin said:>haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recently Does it mean you have seen people turning down requests to take a survey? No, but i've seen an american president applauding another nostalgic dictator on invading the continent of his ancestors, treating his neighbors like shit, doing damage to the whole world for nothing, and playing golf while tzar bombs getting ready.But well, it's never to late to learn. Maybe things improve.Otherwise, my ragdolls can walk now and making them run wont be too hard. Shooting is easy. Maybe i should head some kilometers eastwards to ask if they want to build some biped drones as well.Keep working on skynet. We might need it soon. In case forum hides my posted image again, this is Arnie. Good American. Calin said:My question is how do you decide numbers like building and unit build time or building and unit build cost? Factors like this are fine tuned by taking into account betatesters feedback, I understand that. But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? That kind of tuning is part of what designers do.Often up front everything is cranked up to extreme values just to find how big the fun and oddity can be. During play crank the super-sprint feature so you can run across the map faster than it loads. Adjust the super-strength feature to the point where bumping into something is an insta-kill, bumping into trees knocks them down, take out a building by touching it. It feels absurd when playing, but it's important do experiment around it.Designers will continue to fine tune values through development and even into launch. In highly competitive games designers might adjust by very tiny amounts to adjust balance, reducing the timing of something by a frame based on what they see players doing, or nudging points up or down. Often players talk about their favorite thing being ‘nerfed’ or ‘buffed’ when it happens. Generally no single thing is authoritative. Feedback from playing the game themselves, feedback from QA, feedback from playtests, feedback from data of how players are playing, the way the game feels in practice, all of them provide valuable information.Usually designers try to establish some sort of power curve that fits the game. Maybe a weapon that takes X ms per shot should do X*Y damage, so a rapid fire gun feels like a peashooter, a gun with a 2 second windup could destroy a tank, but they're also fairly balanced so if you hit with the peashooter for exactly 2 seconds you do about the same damage. Maybe different systems generate resources at a given rate, but across the board everything that costs X generates Y resources per minute, the upgraded level of the tools that costs 2X generates about 4Y resources, the third upgrade that costs 4X generates about 16Y resources. They figure it out for the game.For other types of balancing, such as the draw to pick certain behaviors versus other behaviors, that's again something done through iteration and playtesting. If an AI system isn't picking a behavior, nudge it. Working on The Sims, the designers would put a few objects on the lot and watch as Sims interacted with it, based on the attributes the object would interact with. They might put 3 different exercise items on a lot with an active-traited sim, crank the speed up, and watch how often they use them all versus do different things. For entertainment objects, are they using it about the same as other entertainment objects, for food objects are they using it about the same as other food objects. How does the draw for the object measure up compared to higher priority tasks like a timer to go to work or go to school? For larger games people in QA and design are playing the game constantly to get a feel for how the balance works. For AAA games everyone in the QA teams generally are asked about balance, and in meetings they discuss when something feels like it is too much or too little, and designers adjust them constantly.It's also important to build a range of probability distribution tools so designers can adjust probability. Not just random in a range, but the basics of uniform distributions, weighted value distributions, constant curves, logarithmic curves, Gaussian and/or Poisson and binomial distribution curves, sigmoids, control points on a spline for distribution, and whatever tools the developers can give to the designers that improves that game. In short-term games where you play a match like RTS games, you also want power levels to continue increasing over time to help avoid a stalemate. In an RTS you want pieces to keep escalating until both sides are pumping out nuclear bombs with their collection of nuclear bomb factories, the entire game is about churning out the high-power game ending units without an error. Or like FPS games with a “storm” where players get forced into smaller regions where they can't avoid each other plus must continuously travel around the board or lose. If the storm is closing around you the decision to take the high option or the low option can make the difference between having an escape route or facing death when the storm moves again. Or like high-level multiplayer Tetris, at some point even record-holding players are no longer focused on screwing over the opponent through attack moves but entirely focused on not making an error with what the game is constantly throwing at them. Instead of being about one player triggering a dump on their opponent, it becomes about raw survival against the breakneck pace of the game, the first player who doesn't play perfectly loses. How and when to make those shifts is part of game balancing. Author >I’ve seen an american prezident aplauding another nostalgic dictatorNo one is perfect.>designers workOk I get it. An orc programmer would say “I don’t work with that kind of numbers”…Setting those numbers is very easy, a designer must fill the remaining part of the day with something. My guess is he must be filtering through a ton of statistics provided by betatesters. After changing the numbers in question, a designer probably runs some kind of rudimentary battle autocalc. Waiting the results of a betatesting matchtakes too much time. They are probably relying on something else not just on betatesting. #numbers

GAMEDEV.NET

Numbers

Author My thoughts are:A FPS is very much a kill frenzy. Agility alows you to survive and win. When combat got better in FPS games, better sounds, better character and level design, down times have been introduced. Now you had to reload your weapon , half life for instance, and strafe during combat wasn’t required anymore. A RTS has a diferent dynamic. You have not one but several machineguns, not one but several cannons. In a RTS you are also building momentum. There is no killing at the beggining of the game for instance. When you build something in a RTS you can see a direct consequence of your actions. You build a refinery, you can start gathering oil right away. You build an archery, you can start producing archers right away. But good RTS games have down times that “make no sense”. You need to deploy a tank to improve the fire range. Or you need to build a suplly depot to be albe to keep producing units. A supply depot provides no upgrades and doen’t produce units. It’s a wait time “just because”. My question is how do you decide numbers like building and unit build time or building and unit build cost? Factors like this are fine tuned by taking into account betatesters feedback, I understand that. But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? Calin said:But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? Be your own betatester. : )It's simple: Current AAA game is made by hundreds of people. One does not know what the others do. Decisions made are implemented by somebody down the hierarchy. It's chaos out of control, and thus those hundreds of devs need hundreds of betatesters to figure out if their game even eventually works.But if you make your game as a single person, you have everything under control. You have an idea, you implement it, you see yourself if it works as desired and how it feels. No need for additional testers. Ofc. you'll show your game to others and observe their responses if you can, but it's not a requirement.That's just personal opinion ofc. Advertisement Author >Be your own betatesterHahaIs willingnes to take a survey a chatacteristic of a good American? Calin said:Is willingnes to take a survey a chatacteristic of a good American? Haven't seen a lot of good americans recently : / Author >Haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recentlyTrying to mind my own business but you should keep the faith Author >haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recentlyDoes it mean you have seen people turning down requests to take a survey? Advertisement Calin said:>haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recently Does it mean you have seen people turning down requests to take a survey? No, but i've seen an american president applauding another nostalgic dictator on invading the continent of his ancestors, treating his neighbors like shit, doing damage to the whole world for nothing, and playing golf while tzar bombs getting ready.But well, it's never to late to learn. Maybe things improve.Otherwise, my ragdolls can walk now and making them run wont be too hard. Shooting is easy. Maybe i should head some kilometers eastwards to ask if they want to build some biped drones as well.Keep working on skynet. We might need it soon. In case forum hides my posted image again, this is Arnie. Good American. Calin said:My question is how do you decide numbers like building and unit build time or building and unit build cost? Factors like this are fine tuned by taking into account betatesters feedback, I understand that. But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? That kind of tuning is part of what designers do.Often up front everything is cranked up to extreme values just to find how big the fun and oddity can be. During play crank the super-sprint feature so you can run across the map faster than it loads. Adjust the super-strength feature to the point where bumping into something is an insta-kill, bumping into trees knocks them down, take out a building by touching it. It feels absurd when playing, but it's important do experiment around it.Designers will continue to fine tune values through development and even into launch. In highly competitive games designers might adjust by very tiny amounts to adjust balance, reducing the timing of something by a frame based on what they see players doing, or nudging points up or down. Often players talk about their favorite thing being ‘nerfed’ or ‘buffed’ when it happens. Generally no single thing is authoritative. Feedback from playing the game themselves, feedback from QA, feedback from playtests, feedback from data of how players are playing, the way the game feels in practice, all of them provide valuable information.Usually designers try to establish some sort of power curve that fits the game. Maybe a weapon that takes X ms per shot should do X*Y damage, so a rapid fire gun feels like a peashooter, a gun with a 2 second windup could destroy a tank, but they're also fairly balanced so if you hit with the peashooter for exactly 2 seconds you do about the same damage. Maybe different systems generate resources at a given rate, but across the board everything that costs X generates Y resources per minute, the upgraded level of the tools that costs 2X generates about 4Y resources, the third upgrade that costs 4X generates about 16Y resources. They figure it out for the game.For other types of balancing, such as the draw to pick certain behaviors versus other behaviors, that's again something done through iteration and playtesting. If an AI system isn't picking a behavior, nudge it. Working on The Sims, the designers would put a few objects on the lot and watch as Sims interacted with it, based on the attributes the object would interact with. They might put 3 different exercise items on a lot with an active-traited sim, crank the speed up, and watch how often they use them all versus do different things. For entertainment objects, are they using it about the same as other entertainment objects, for food objects are they using it about the same as other food objects. How does the draw for the object measure up compared to higher priority tasks like a timer to go to work or go to school? For larger games people in QA and design are playing the game constantly to get a feel for how the balance works. For AAA games everyone in the QA teams generally are asked about balance, and in meetings they discuss when something feels like it is too much or too little, and designers adjust them constantly.It's also important to build a range of probability distribution tools so designers can adjust probability. Not just random in a range, but the basics of uniform distributions, weighted value distributions, constant curves, logarithmic curves, Gaussian and/or Poisson and binomial distribution curves, sigmoids, control points on a spline for distribution, and whatever tools the developers can give to the designers that improves that game. In short-term games where you play a match like RTS games, you also want power levels to continue increasing over time to help avoid a stalemate. In an RTS you want pieces to keep escalating until both sides are pumping out nuclear bombs with their collection of nuclear bomb factories, the entire game is about churning out the high-power game ending units without an error. Or like FPS games with a “storm” where players get forced into smaller regions where they can't avoid each other plus must continuously travel around the board or lose. If the storm is closing around you the decision to take the high option or the low option can make the difference between having an escape route or facing death when the storm moves again. Or like high-level multiplayer Tetris, at some point even record-holding players are no longer focused on screwing over the opponent through attack moves but entirely focused on not making an error with what the game is constantly throwing at them. Instead of being about one player triggering a dump on their opponent, it becomes about raw survival against the breakneck pace of the game, the first player who doesn't play perfectly loses. How and when to make those shifts is part of game balancing. Author >I’ve seen an american prezident aplauding another nostalgic dictatorNo one is perfect.>designers workOk I get it. An orc programmer would say “I don’t work with that kind of numbers”…Setting those numbers is very easy, a designer must fill the remaining part of the day with something. My guess is he must be filtering through a ton of statistics provided by betatesters. After changing the numbers in question, a designer probably runs some kind of rudimentary battle autocalc ( That’s a term from Heroes of Might and Magic). Waiting the results of a betatesting match ( battle between human players) takes too much time. They are probably relying on something else not just on betatesting.

·49 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
Wccftech een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:34:33 ·

Watch The NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang, Computex 2025 Keynote Live Here!

Menu

Home
News

Hardware

Gaming

Mobile

Finance
Deals
Reviews
How To

Wccftech

Computex 2025Hardware
Watch The NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang, Computex 2025 Keynote Live Here!

Hassan Mujtaba •
May 18, 2025 at 03:00pm EDT

NVIDIA will be hosting its Computex 2025 keynote featuring CEO, Jensen Huang, which will be live from the Taipei Music Center in Taipei, Taiwan.
NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, To Present Computex 2025 "CEO" Keynote Live In Less Than 24 Hours!

We are just a few hours away from the NVIDIA CEO keynote, which will feature CEO Jensen Huang as he presents his vision of the future of AI. The event will take place today at 11 AMat the Taipei Music Center in Taipei City.
The keynote is expected to be 1:30 hours long and will feature lots of guests, mainly hailing from Taiwan, as the firm enters the next chapter of its AI journey on all fronts, including data centers and client PCs. NVIDIA has been leading the charge in AI as they were the first to enter the realm of today's most popular tech world back in 2017 with the arrival of Volta GPUs and their Tensor architecture, which later entered the more mainstream realm with the arrival of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 20 series in 2018.
NVIDIA has since released Hopper and Blackwell, both of which are in high demand, and we are likely going to hear about the next big update from NVIDIA in the form of the Blackwell Ultra AI series, which will feature the GB300 class chips and AI infrastructure.

Watch the NVIDIA Keynote at COMPUTEX

May 18, 8:00 p.m. PT | May 19, 11:00 a.m. Taipei Time
Join us at the Taipei Music Center for NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s live COMPUTEX keynote and other exciting events.
A COMPUTEX conference pass is required to attend in person, or you can watch the livestream for free.
via NVIDIA

NVIDIA is also likely to make some consumer-centric updates for the RTX segment, which will include the new GeForce RTX 5060 GPU and several AI software updates. The company will also showcase how it plans to further extend its operations within Taiwan and secure a closer relationship with the likes of TSMC and other suppliers and equipment manufacturers.

NVIDIA Computex 2025

Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox

Follow us on

Topics

Sections

Company

Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC
Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn
advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
© 2025 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
#watch #nvidia #ceo #jensen #huang

Watch The NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang, Computex 2025 Keynote Live Here!
Menu Home News Hardware Gaming Mobile Finance Deals Reviews How To Wccftech Computex 2025Hardware Watch The NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang, Computex 2025 Keynote Live Here! Hassan Mujtaba • May 18, 2025 at 03:00pm EDT NVIDIA will be hosting its Computex 2025 keynote featuring CEO, Jensen Huang, which will be live from the Taipei Music Center in Taipei, Taiwan. NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, To Present Computex 2025 "CEO" Keynote Live In Less Than 24 Hours! We are just a few hours away from the NVIDIA CEO keynote, which will feature CEO Jensen Huang as he presents his vision of the future of AI. The event will take place today at 11 AMat the Taipei Music Center in Taipei City. The keynote is expected to be 1:30 hours long and will feature lots of guests, mainly hailing from Taiwan, as the firm enters the next chapter of its AI journey on all fronts, including data centers and client PCs. NVIDIA has been leading the charge in AI as they were the first to enter the realm of today's most popular tech world back in 2017 with the arrival of Volta GPUs and their Tensor architecture, which later entered the more mainstream realm with the arrival of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 20 series in 2018. NVIDIA has since released Hopper and Blackwell, both of which are in high demand, and we are likely going to hear about the next big update from NVIDIA in the form of the Blackwell Ultra AI series, which will feature the GB300 class chips and AI infrastructure. Watch the NVIDIA Keynote at COMPUTEX May 18, 8:00 p.m. PT | May 19, 11:00 a.m. Taipei Time Join us at the Taipei Music Center for NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s live COMPUTEX keynote and other exciting events. A COMPUTEX conference pass is required to attend in person, or you can watch the livestream for free. via NVIDIA NVIDIA is also likely to make some consumer-centric updates for the RTX segment, which will include the new GeForce RTX 5060 GPU and several AI software updates. The company will also showcase how it plans to further extend its operations within Taiwan and secure a closer relationship with the likes of TSMC and other suppliers and equipment manufacturers. NVIDIA Computex 2025 Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox Follow us on Topics Sections Company Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com © 2025 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada #watch #nvidia #ceo #jensen #huang

WCCFTECH.COM

Watch The NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang, Computex 2025 Keynote Live Here!

Menu Home News Hardware Gaming Mobile Finance Deals Reviews How To Wccftech Computex 2025Hardware Watch The NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang, Computex 2025 Keynote Live Here! Hassan Mujtaba • May 18, 2025 at 03:00pm EDT NVIDIA will be hosting its Computex 2025 keynote featuring CEO, Jensen Huang, which will be live from the Taipei Music Center in Taipei, Taiwan. NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, To Present Computex 2025 "CEO" Keynote Live In Less Than 24 Hours! We are just a few hours away from the NVIDIA CEO keynote, which will feature CEO Jensen Huang as he presents his vision of the future of AI. The event will take place today at 11 AM(TPE Time) at the Taipei Music Center in Taipei City. The keynote is expected to be 1:30 hours long and will feature lots of guests, mainly hailing from Taiwan, as the firm enters the next chapter of its AI journey on all fronts, including data centers and client PCs. NVIDIA has been leading the charge in AI as they were the first to enter the realm of today's most popular tech world back in 2017 with the arrival of Volta GPUs and their Tensor architecture, which later entered the more mainstream realm with the arrival of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 20 series in 2018. NVIDIA has since released Hopper and Blackwell, both of which are in high demand, and we are likely going to hear about the next big update from NVIDIA in the form of the Blackwell Ultra AI series, which will feature the GB300 class chips and AI infrastructure. Watch the NVIDIA Keynote at COMPUTEX May 18, 8:00 p.m. PT | May 19, 11:00 a.m. Taipei Time Join us at the Taipei Music Center for NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s live COMPUTEX keynote and other exciting events. A COMPUTEX conference pass is required to attend in person, or you can watch the livestream for free. via NVIDIA NVIDIA is also likely to make some consumer-centric updates for the RTX segment, which will include the new GeForce RTX 5060 GPU and several AI software updates. The company will also showcase how it plans to further extend its operations within Taiwan and secure a closer relationship with the likes of TSMC and other suppliers and equipment manufacturers. NVIDIA Computex 2025 Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox Follow us on Topics Sections Company Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com © 2025 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada

·36 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
Gaming – Polygon een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:34:27 ·

The top two GOTY 2025 front-runners are AA games and that’s a good sign

A familiar refrain over the last few years has been the death of what we like to call AA games: mid-budget games made by mid-sized teams. AA games have production values that are comparable with AAA blockbusters — you know: full voice acting, cinematic cutscenes, fancy 3D graphics — and occupy similar genres, but tend to have a more modest scope and realistic set of ambitions. They used to be the industry’s stock-in-trade, until they were squeezed out by an exploding indie scene on one side and risk-averse publishers’ focus on mega-budget sure bets on the other. Now they’re an endangered species.Or are they?A post on the gaming forum ResetEra recently alerted me to something interesting. The two best-reviewed games of 2025 so far– and the two leading front-runners for Game of the Year at The Game Awards in December — are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Split Fiction. These both retail for — not the industry-standard or the increasingly widespread premium price point of. The poster framed this as a triumph of fair pricing over the greed and bloat of AAA gaming.Personally, I’m wary of constructing critical arguments around pricing and value — not least because paying more for our games is an arguably necessary, if painful, counter-measure if the game industry is to survive inflation, skyrocketing development costs, and stalling growth in the gaming audience.But it’s also true that accepting more expensive games that take even longer to make isn’t the only path to sustainability for gaming. Alternatively, we could reframe our expectations for the scope and technical specifications of the games we play, and the sheer amount of labor that goes into making them. As the meme puts it: “I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I’m not kidding.”Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Image: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive via PolygonThat sounds like a description of a AA game to me. Well, maybe not the “paid more to work less” part — certainly not in the category’s 2000s heyday — but even this might have room to change as new publishing and development models emerge.Consider Clair Obscur and Split Fiction. Neither can really be called an indie game, but they’re both made on the outskirts of the traditional publishing system. Clair Obscur is the debut game of Sandfall Interactive, an independent French studio founded by Ubisoft veterans. It has a team of about 30 people, supported by outside contractors. The game was funded and released by Kepler Interactive, a young, hungry publisher that was itself founded by a coalition of indie studios.Split Fiction is more of an establishment release, but only kind of. It was bankrolled by industry giant Electronic Arts. But its Swedish developer Hazelightis fully independent, and like Hazelight’s previous games, Split Fiction was published under the EA Originals label in an arms-length relationship that gives the developer full creative control. I don’t know what the working conditions are like at Sandfall and Hazelight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were better than the industry norm.That’s one thing that sets these two releases apart from the AA games of old. Another is their critical reception. The AA classics of the past — games like Second Sight, Stranglehold, or The Darkness — were good, but seldom considered great in their time. They were enjoyably pulpy genre efforts that mostly stayed in their lanes, and were gently penalised by reviewers for their lack of ambition.Split Fiction. Image: Hazelight Studios/Electronic ArtsClair Obscur and Split Fiction, however, have both enjoyed universal acclaim, reflected in 90-plus ratings on both Metacritic and Opencritic. Review scores like these are usually reserved for AAA blockbusters, expensive first-party vanity projects, and mold-breaking indies.It’s very unusual for mid-budget productions like these to resonate with reviewers in this way — although perhaps a bit less unusual as time goes on. You can argue that last year’s acclaimed Metaphor: ReFantazio belongs in this category, and even 2023 GOTY winner Baldur’s Gate 3.The two new games succeed for different reasons. Split Fiction is laser-focused on a style of gameplay – split-screen, co-operative gaming for two players – that’s very popular, but underserved by the industry.Split Fiction stands out just by executing this rare breed of game very well. Clair Obscur resurrects a AAA genre of the past — basically, the turn-based Final Fantasy games of the 2000s — with a more modest scope and a strongly individual flavor in its writing and artwork. It feels both nostalgic and fresh.But, more broadly, the games do have something in common. Unencumbered by the need to be huge, or to appeal to the widest possible audience, they’re both able to give players something specific that they crave and that the mainstream gaming industry isn’t giving them. And they do so in a gaming vernacular that looks almost indistinguishable from a full-blooded AAA release. That’s why they’re resonating so strongly with critics and players.In the game industry’s current crisis of sustainability, it’s heartening that AA games are having a moment and earning a respectability that they’ve never enjoyed before. If Split Fiction or Clair Obscur is crowned Game of the Year at The Game Awards in December — which, following Grand Theft Auto 6’s delay, is quite possible, perhaps even likely — we’ll know for sure that the AA comeback is happening at last.See More:
#top #two #goty #frontrunners #are

The top two GOTY 2025 front-runners are AA games and that’s a good sign
A familiar refrain over the last few years has been the death of what we like to call AA games: mid-budget games made by mid-sized teams. AA games have production values that are comparable with AAA blockbusters — you know: full voice acting, cinematic cutscenes, fancy 3D graphics — and occupy similar genres, but tend to have a more modest scope and realistic set of ambitions. They used to be the industry’s stock-in-trade, until they were squeezed out by an exploding indie scene on one side and risk-averse publishers’ focus on mega-budget sure bets on the other. Now they’re an endangered species.Or are they?A post on the gaming forum ResetEra recently alerted me to something interesting. The two best-reviewed games of 2025 so far– and the two leading front-runners for Game of the Year at The Game Awards in December — are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Split Fiction. These both retail for — not the industry-standard or the increasingly widespread premium price point of. The poster framed this as a triumph of fair pricing over the greed and bloat of AAA gaming.Personally, I’m wary of constructing critical arguments around pricing and value — not least because paying more for our games is an arguably necessary, if painful, counter-measure if the game industry is to survive inflation, skyrocketing development costs, and stalling growth in the gaming audience.But it’s also true that accepting more expensive games that take even longer to make isn’t the only path to sustainability for gaming. Alternatively, we could reframe our expectations for the scope and technical specifications of the games we play, and the sheer amount of labor that goes into making them. As the meme puts it: “I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I’m not kidding.”Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Image: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive via PolygonThat sounds like a description of a AA game to me. Well, maybe not the “paid more to work less” part — certainly not in the category’s 2000s heyday — but even this might have room to change as new publishing and development models emerge.Consider Clair Obscur and Split Fiction. Neither can really be called an indie game, but they’re both made on the outskirts of the traditional publishing system. Clair Obscur is the debut game of Sandfall Interactive, an independent French studio founded by Ubisoft veterans. It has a team of about 30 people, supported by outside contractors. The game was funded and released by Kepler Interactive, a young, hungry publisher that was itself founded by a coalition of indie studios.Split Fiction is more of an establishment release, but only kind of. It was bankrolled by industry giant Electronic Arts. But its Swedish developer Hazelightis fully independent, and like Hazelight’s previous games, Split Fiction was published under the EA Originals label in an arms-length relationship that gives the developer full creative control. I don’t know what the working conditions are like at Sandfall and Hazelight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were better than the industry norm.That’s one thing that sets these two releases apart from the AA games of old. Another is their critical reception. The AA classics of the past — games like Second Sight, Stranglehold, or The Darkness — were good, but seldom considered great in their time. They were enjoyably pulpy genre efforts that mostly stayed in their lanes, and were gently penalised by reviewers for their lack of ambition.Split Fiction. Image: Hazelight Studios/Electronic ArtsClair Obscur and Split Fiction, however, have both enjoyed universal acclaim, reflected in 90-plus ratings on both Metacritic and Opencritic. Review scores like these are usually reserved for AAA blockbusters, expensive first-party vanity projects, and mold-breaking indies.It’s very unusual for mid-budget productions like these to resonate with reviewers in this way — although perhaps a bit less unusual as time goes on. You can argue that last year’s acclaimed Metaphor: ReFantazio belongs in this category, and even 2023 GOTY winner Baldur’s Gate 3.The two new games succeed for different reasons. Split Fiction is laser-focused on a style of gameplay – split-screen, co-operative gaming for two players – that’s very popular, but underserved by the industry.Split Fiction stands out just by executing this rare breed of game very well. Clair Obscur resurrects a AAA genre of the past — basically, the turn-based Final Fantasy games of the 2000s — with a more modest scope and a strongly individual flavor in its writing and artwork. It feels both nostalgic and fresh.But, more broadly, the games do have something in common. Unencumbered by the need to be huge, or to appeal to the widest possible audience, they’re both able to give players something specific that they crave and that the mainstream gaming industry isn’t giving them. And they do so in a gaming vernacular that looks almost indistinguishable from a full-blooded AAA release. That’s why they’re resonating so strongly with critics and players.In the game industry’s current crisis of sustainability, it’s heartening that AA games are having a moment and earning a respectability that they’ve never enjoyed before. If Split Fiction or Clair Obscur is crowned Game of the Year at The Game Awards in December — which, following Grand Theft Auto 6’s delay, is quite possible, perhaps even likely — we’ll know for sure that the AA comeback is happening at last.See More: #top #two #goty #frontrunners #are

WWW.POLYGON.COM

The top two GOTY 2025 front-runners are AA games and that’s a good sign

A familiar refrain over the last few years has been the death of what we like to call AA games: mid-budget games made by mid-sized teams. AA games have production values that are comparable with AAA blockbusters — you know: full voice acting, cinematic cutscenes, fancy 3D graphics — and occupy similar genres, but tend to have a more modest scope and realistic set of ambitions. They used to be the industry’s stock-in-trade, until they were squeezed out by an exploding indie scene on one side and risk-averse publishers’ focus on mega-budget sure bets on the other. Now they’re an endangered species.Or are they?A post on the gaming forum ResetEra recently alerted me to something interesting. The two best-reviewed games of 2025 so far (alongside the indie darling Blue Prince) – and the two leading front-runners for Game of the Year at The Game Awards in December — are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Split Fiction. These both retail for $50 — not the industry-standard $60 or the increasingly widespread premium price point of $70 (never mind Nintendo’s decision to break the $80 taboo with Mario Kart World). The poster framed this as a triumph of fair pricing over the greed and bloat of AAA gaming.Personally, I’m wary of constructing critical arguments around pricing and value — not least because paying more for our games is an arguably necessary, if painful, counter-measure if the game industry is to survive inflation, skyrocketing development costs, and stalling growth in the gaming audience.But it’s also true that accepting more expensive games that take even longer to make isn’t the only path to sustainability for gaming. Alternatively, we could reframe our expectations for the scope and technical specifications of the games we play, and the sheer amount of labor that goes into making them. As the meme puts it: “I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I’m not kidding.”Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Image: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive via PolygonThat sounds like a description of a AA game to me. Well, maybe not the “paid more to work less” part — certainly not in the category’s 2000s heyday — but even this might have room to change as new publishing and development models emerge.Consider Clair Obscur and Split Fiction. Neither can really be called an indie game, but they’re both made on the outskirts of the traditional publishing system. Clair Obscur is the debut game of Sandfall Interactive, an independent French studio founded by Ubisoft veterans. It has a team of about 30 people, supported by outside contractors. The game was funded and released by Kepler Interactive, a young, hungry publisher that was itself founded by a coalition of indie studios.Split Fiction is more of an establishment release, but only kind of. It was bankrolled by industry giant Electronic Arts. But its Swedish developer Hazelight (team size: around 80) is fully independent, and like Hazelight’s previous games, Split Fiction was published under the EA Originals label in an arms-length relationship that gives the developer full creative control. I don’t know what the working conditions are like at Sandfall and Hazelight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were better than the industry norm.That’s one thing that sets these two releases apart from the AA games of old. Another is their critical reception. The AA classics of the past — games like Second Sight, Stranglehold, or The Darkness — were good, but seldom considered great in their time. They were enjoyably pulpy genre efforts that mostly stayed in their lanes, and were gently penalised by reviewers for their lack of ambition.Split Fiction. Image: Hazelight Studios/Electronic ArtsClair Obscur and Split Fiction, however, have both enjoyed universal acclaim, reflected in 90-plus ratings on both Metacritic and Opencritic. Review scores like these are usually reserved for AAA blockbusters, expensive first-party vanity projects, and mold-breaking indies. (And Nintendo games, which arguably often fit the AA template, but that’s an argument for another time.) It’s very unusual for mid-budget productions like these to resonate with reviewers in this way — although perhaps a bit less unusual as time goes on. You can argue that last year’s acclaimed Metaphor: ReFantazio belongs in this category, and even 2023 GOTY winner Baldur’s Gate 3.The two new games succeed for different reasons. Split Fiction is laser-focused on a style of gameplay – split-screen, co-operative gaming for two players – that’s very popular, but underserved by the industry. (Hazelight’s previous game, It Takes Two, has sold an astonishing 20 million copies.) Split Fiction stands out just by executing this rare breed of game very well. Clair Obscur resurrects a AAA genre of the past — basically, the turn-based Final Fantasy games of the 2000s — with a more modest scope and a strongly individual flavor in its writing and artwork. It feels both nostalgic and fresh.But, more broadly, the games do have something in common. Unencumbered by the need to be huge, or to appeal to the widest possible audience, they’re both able to give players something specific that they crave and that the mainstream gaming industry isn’t giving them. And they do so in a gaming vernacular that looks almost indistinguishable from a full-blooded AAA release. That’s why they’re resonating so strongly with critics and players.In the game industry’s current crisis of sustainability, it’s heartening that AA games are having a moment and earning a respectability that they’ve never enjoyed before. If Split Fiction or Clair Obscur is crowned Game of the Year at The Game Awards in December — which, following Grand Theft Auto 6’s delay, is quite possible, perhaps even likely — we’ll know for sure that the AA comeback is happening at last.See More:

·50 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
gaming bolt een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:33:48 ·

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support

News

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support
The free-to-play title is getting delisted from Google Play and Apple's App Store, but servers will remain online for now.

Posted By Ravi Sinha | On 19th, May. 2025

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, launched in March 2024 for iOS and Android, will no longer receive new content. The official Twitter account has confirmed that the title didn’t meet expectations and will be delisted from the Google Play and Apple App Stores.
Its social features will also be retired, but those who install it before May 19th can still play with servers remaining online. Even cross-progression remains available. Unfortunately, there won’t be any new seasons or updates to the gameplay. Call of Duty Points and Black Cell also won’t be available to purchase. If you have any left, they’re still redeemable in the in-game store.
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile’s woes began almost immediately after launch, as it reportedly earned million in its first four days. Call of Duty Mobile earned million in the same period when it launched in 2019, translating to a 67 percent drop for the new title.
Tagged With:

Elden Ring: Nightreign
Publisher:Bandai Namco Developer:FromSoftware Platforms:PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, PCView More
DOOM: The Dark Ages
Publisher:Bethesda Softworks Developer:id Software Platforms:Xbox Series X, PS5, PCView More
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Publisher:Sony Developer:Kojima Productions Platforms:PS5View More
Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support The free-to-play title is getting delisted from Google Play and Apple's App Store, but servers will remain onl...
Syberia Remastered Announced, Launches in Q4 2025 The remaster of Benoît Sokal's classic point-and-click adventure features redesigned characters, revamped puz...
Physint Requires “5 or 6 Years” to Develop, Says Hideo Kojima After that, the director of Death Stranding 2 may "finally decide to make a film," especially since he's "gett...
Injustice 3 is NetherRealm’s Next Title – Rumor A sequel to NetherRealm's DC-focused fighting game is seemingly in development, according to teases from a Mul...
Former SIE President Says or is a “Steal” for “Really Great Games” "As long as people choose carefully how they spend their money, I don't think they should be complaining," say...
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Feels Like an Updated Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Says Kojima Visiting the DHV Magellan reminds the director of returning to Mother Base. VR Challenges also await across th... View More
#call #duty #warzone #mobile #ending

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support
News Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support The free-to-play title is getting delisted from Google Play and Apple's App Store, but servers will remain online for now. Posted By Ravi Sinha | On 19th, May. 2025 Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, launched in March 2024 for iOS and Android, will no longer receive new content. The official Twitter account has confirmed that the title didn’t meet expectations and will be delisted from the Google Play and Apple App Stores. Its social features will also be retired, but those who install it before May 19th can still play with servers remaining online. Even cross-progression remains available. Unfortunately, there won’t be any new seasons or updates to the gameplay. Call of Duty Points and Black Cell also won’t be available to purchase. If you have any left, they’re still redeemable in the in-game store. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile’s woes began almost immediately after launch, as it reportedly earned million in its first four days. Call of Duty Mobile earned million in the same period when it launched in 2019, translating to a 67 percent drop for the new title. Tagged With: Elden Ring: Nightreign Publisher:Bandai Namco Developer:FromSoftware Platforms:PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, PCView More DOOM: The Dark Ages Publisher:Bethesda Softworks Developer:id Software Platforms:Xbox Series X, PS5, PCView More Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Publisher:Sony Developer:Kojima Productions Platforms:PS5View More Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out! Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support The free-to-play title is getting delisted from Google Play and Apple's App Store, but servers will remain onl... Syberia Remastered Announced, Launches in Q4 2025 The remaster of Benoît Sokal's classic point-and-click adventure features redesigned characters, revamped puz... Physint Requires “5 or 6 Years” to Develop, Says Hideo Kojima After that, the director of Death Stranding 2 may "finally decide to make a film," especially since he's "gett... Injustice 3 is NetherRealm’s Next Title – Rumor A sequel to NetherRealm's DC-focused fighting game is seemingly in development, according to teases from a Mul... Former SIE President Says or is a “Steal” for “Really Great Games” "As long as people choose carefully how they spend their money, I don't think they should be complaining," say... Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Feels Like an Updated Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Says Kojima Visiting the DHV Magellan reminds the director of returning to Mother Base. VR Challenges also await across th... View More #call #duty #warzone #mobile #ending

GAMINGBOLT.COM

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support

News Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support The free-to-play title is getting delisted from Google Play and Apple's App Store, but servers will remain online for now. Posted By Ravi Sinha | On 19th, May. 2025 Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, launched in March 2024 for iOS and Android, will no longer receive new content. The official Twitter account has confirmed that the title didn’t meet expectations and will be delisted from the Google Play and Apple App Stores. Its social features will also be retired, but those who install it before May 19th can still play with servers remaining online. Even cross-progression remains available. Unfortunately, there won’t be any new seasons or updates to the gameplay. Call of Duty Points and Black Cell also won’t be available to purchase. If you have any left, they’re still redeemable in the in-game store. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile’s woes began almost immediately after launch, as it reportedly earned $1.4 million in its first four days. Call of Duty Mobile earned $4.2 million in the same period when it launched in 2019, translating to a 67 percent drop for the new title. Tagged With: Elden Ring: Nightreign Publisher:Bandai Namco Developer:FromSoftware Platforms:PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, PCView More DOOM: The Dark Ages Publisher:Bethesda Softworks Developer:id Software Platforms:Xbox Series X, PS5, PCView More Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Publisher:Sony Developer:Kojima Productions Platforms:PS5View More Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out! Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is Ending Support The free-to-play title is getting delisted from Google Play and Apple's App Store, but servers will remain onl... Syberia Remastered Announced, Launches in Q4 2025 The remaster of Benoît Sokal's classic point-and-click adventure features redesigned characters, revamped puz... Physint Requires “5 or 6 Years” to Develop, Says Hideo Kojima After that, the director of Death Stranding 2 may "finally decide to make a film," especially since he's "gett... Injustice 3 is NetherRealm’s Next Title – Rumor A sequel to NetherRealm's DC-focused fighting game is seemingly in development, according to teases from a Mul... Former SIE President Says $70 or $80 is a “Steal” for “Really Great Games” "As long as people choose carefully how they spend their money, I don't think they should be complaining," say... Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Feels Like an Updated Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Says Kojima Visiting the DHV Magellan reminds the director of returning to Mother Base. VR Challenges also await across th... View More

·40 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
Nature een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:14:23 ·

‘I don’t have the bandwidth’: how to juggle dating alongside a PhD

Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01388-2Is lasting love more likely if you date only other scientists? How much should you talk about your research on a first date? Researchers lift the lid on their experiences of when science meets affairs of the heart.
#dont #have #bandwidth #how #juggle

‘I don’t have the bandwidth’: how to juggle dating alongside a PhD
Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01388-2Is lasting love more likely if you date only other scientists? How much should you talk about your research on a first date? Researchers lift the lid on their experiences of when science meets affairs of the heart. #dont #have #bandwidth #how #juggle

WWW.NATURE.COM

‘I don’t have the bandwidth’: how to juggle dating alongside a PhD

Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01388-2Is lasting love more likely if you date only other scientists? How much should you talk about your research on a first date? Researchers lift the lid on their experiences of when science meets affairs of the heart.

·32 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
Popular Science een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 20:12:48 ·

MacPilot reveals the tricks your Mac’s been hiding all along

Your Mac is a marvel of modern engineering, offering a seamless blend of power and elegance. Yet, beneath its polished exterior lies a treasure trove of features that remain just out of reach for the average user.
The MacPilot tool is designed to bridge this gap, granting you access to over 1,200 hidden functionalities without the need to delve into complex command lines or system files.
Imagine being able to customize your Mac’s Dock by adding spacers and smart stacks or choosing to display hidden files in Finder with ease. Perhaps you’ve wished to silence the startup chime for a more discreet boot-up or change the default format of your screenshots to better suit your workflow.
MacPilot makes these adjustments possible and straightforward through an intuitive interface that feels right at home on your Mac.
Beyond these surface-level tweaks, MacPilot offers tools to optimize and repair your system. Running maintenance scripts, cleaning up logs, and resetting launch services can now be accomplished with a simple click, helping to keep your Mac running smoothly and efficiently.
Additionally, MacPilot provides detailed system profiles, offering insights into your hardware’s specifications, from graphics card details to RAM speed, all consolidated in one convenient location.
For those who appreciate having comprehensive information at their fingertips, MacPilot includes a built-in reference database. This feature allows you to look up network ports, error codes, and even keyboard shortcuts, eliminating the need for time-consuming online searches.
Embrace the full capabilities of your Mac by integrating MacPilot into your toolkit.
MacPilot is currently available for a one-time fee ofwhen you use the code MAC10 at checkout—but only until June 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT, or while supplies last!
StackSocial prices subject to change.
_

MacPilot Lifetime License
See Deal
#macpilot #reveals #tricks #your #macs

MacPilot reveals the tricks your Mac’s been hiding all along
Your Mac is a marvel of modern engineering, offering a seamless blend of power and elegance. Yet, beneath its polished exterior lies a treasure trove of features that remain just out of reach for the average user. The MacPilot tool is designed to bridge this gap, granting you access to over 1,200 hidden functionalities without the need to delve into complex command lines or system files. Imagine being able to customize your Mac’s Dock by adding spacers and smart stacks or choosing to display hidden files in Finder with ease. Perhaps you’ve wished to silence the startup chime for a more discreet boot-up or change the default format of your screenshots to better suit your workflow. MacPilot makes these adjustments possible and straightforward through an intuitive interface that feels right at home on your Mac. Beyond these surface-level tweaks, MacPilot offers tools to optimize and repair your system. Running maintenance scripts, cleaning up logs, and resetting launch services can now be accomplished with a simple click, helping to keep your Mac running smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, MacPilot provides detailed system profiles, offering insights into your hardware’s specifications, from graphics card details to RAM speed, all consolidated in one convenient location. For those who appreciate having comprehensive information at their fingertips, MacPilot includes a built-in reference database. This feature allows you to look up network ports, error codes, and even keyboard shortcuts, eliminating the need for time-consuming online searches. Embrace the full capabilities of your Mac by integrating MacPilot into your toolkit. MacPilot is currently available for a one-time fee ofwhen you use the code MAC10 at checkout—but only until June 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT, or while supplies last! StackSocial prices subject to change. _ MacPilot Lifetime License See Deal #macpilot #reveals #tricks #your #macs

WWW.POPSCI.COM

MacPilot reveals the tricks your Mac’s been hiding all along

Your Mac is a marvel of modern engineering, offering a seamless blend of power and elegance. Yet, beneath its polished exterior lies a treasure trove of features that remain just out of reach for the average user. The MacPilot tool is designed to bridge this gap, granting you access to over 1,200 hidden functionalities without the need to delve into complex command lines or system files. Imagine being able to customize your Mac’s Dock by adding spacers and smart stacks or choosing to display hidden files in Finder with ease. Perhaps you’ve wished to silence the startup chime for a more discreet boot-up or change the default format of your screenshots to better suit your workflow. MacPilot makes these adjustments possible and straightforward through an intuitive interface that feels right at home on your Mac. Beyond these surface-level tweaks, MacPilot offers tools to optimize and repair your system. Running maintenance scripts, cleaning up logs, and resetting launch services can now be accomplished with a simple click, helping to keep your Mac running smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, MacPilot provides detailed system profiles, offering insights into your hardware’s specifications, from graphics card details to RAM speed, all consolidated in one convenient location. For those who appreciate having comprehensive information at their fingertips, MacPilot includes a built-in reference database. This feature allows you to look up network ports, error codes, and even keyboard shortcuts, eliminating the need for time-consuming online searches. Embrace the full capabilities of your Mac by integrating MacPilot into your toolkit. MacPilot is currently available for a one-time fee of $29.97 (reg. $99) when you use the code MAC10 at checkout—but only until June 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT, or while supplies last! StackSocial prices subject to change. _ MacPilot Lifetime License See Deal

·59 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!
CGHOW | Ashif Ali een koppeling hebt gedeeld

2025-05-18 19:59:22 ·

Creating Cool Textures in Unreal Engine 5! #shorts

Watch as we enhance our magical trail effect by adjusting the size and adding curves for a stunning visual impact! Perfect for game developers looking to elevate their VFX skills. Don't miss out on these tips!#UnrealEngine #VFX #GameDev #Niagara #Tutorial
#creating #cool #textures #unreal #engine

Creating Cool Textures in Unreal Engine 5! #shorts
Watch as we enhance our magical trail effect by adjusting the size and adding curves for a stunning visual impact! Perfect for game developers looking to elevate their VFX skills. Don't miss out on these tips!#UnrealEngine #VFX #GameDev #Niagara #Tutorial #creating #cool #textures #unreal #engine

WWW.YOUTUBE.COM

Creating Cool Textures in Unreal Engine 5! #shorts

Watch as we enhance our magical trail effect by adjusting the size and adding curves for a stunning visual impact! Perfect for game developers looking to elevate their VFX skills. Don't miss out on these tips!#UnrealEngine #VFX #GameDev #Niagara #Tutorial

·40 Views

Please log in to like, share and comment!