Industry veteran Mark Cerny talks about the hugeness of modern developers
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Mark Cerny is a game developer with 30 years of experience under his belt, which just so happens to be notched with widely known projects like Marble Madness and Crash Bandicoot. In an interview with Gamasutra, Cerny discusses how the size of game development teams has ballooned in recent years.
He explains that there was more accountability when he developed games by himself, adding, "You couldn't blame upper management who didn't understand you, you couldn't blame the marketing guys who didn't put together the proper marketing campaign."
Cerny says that his role as a part-time mercenary developer becomes less effective when he's hired by hundred-strong teams, and that some games -- namely, Thatgamecompany's Flower -- simply can't be developed by a gargantuan ensemble. "Because you're taking such a curved path on the way to making the final product, you don't want the art staff of 20 just waiting, just building the models, when Jenova is going to have some idea that goes in a completely different direction," Cerny says.
We agree, though we think a larger staff would have allowed for the online deathmatch mode that Flower so, so desperately needed.
He explains that there was more accountability when he developed games by himself, adding, "You couldn't blame upper management who didn't understand you, you couldn't blame the marketing guys who didn't put together the proper marketing campaign."
Cerny says that his role as a part-time mercenary developer becomes less effective when he's hired by hundred-strong teams, and that some games -- namely, Thatgamecompany's Flower -- simply can't be developed by a gargantuan ensemble. "Because you're taking such a curved path on the way to making the final product, you don't want the art staff of 20 just waiting, just building the models, when Jenova is going to have some idea that goes in a completely different direction," Cerny says.
We agree, though we think a larger staff would have allowed for the online deathmatch mode that Flower so, so desperately needed.
Reader Comments (10)
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 1:37PM NormanCod said
How many people developed Flower? Anyone who played the final, credits level would be left with the impression that it must be around 400!
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 1:40PM Captain Planet Planeteer Power said
I like the idea of a smaller development team. I mean, if I was a game designer and I want to make the boss on level 6 spew acid from her teats instead of spit it out her mouth, I'm gonna make that happen. Fck the douche upstairs and the focus groups.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 1:42PM LunaticHigh said
I don't know if number of employees have a lot to do with a game's quality and production. Certainly, the more people that are involved, the more that can go wrong, but it it's more a problem of project organization and project management. In my humble opinion, project managers probably have the most influence on a game's quality and production.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 1:51PM PlagueDoctor357 said
All I have to say is, Assassin's Creed.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 2:59PM liquidsoap89 said
@PlagueDoctor357
Nailed it!
Small teams are good with the more "indie" titles, where the ideas seem more left field. I think the main reason many of these downloadable games from this generation have been able to succeed financially is because of the small teams. It costs a lot less to run a team of 20 people than it does 200 people. Plus those 20 people have much more say in what goes on during the development period (hence Mark Cerny saying how he "becomes less effective when he's hired by hundred-strong teams").
And then there are the Assassins Creeds and (dare I say it) the Call of Duties, which show why the massive 5 team collaboration games are just as special as the others.
Reply
Nailed it!
Small teams are good with the more "indie" titles, where the ideas seem more left field. I think the main reason many of these downloadable games from this generation have been able to succeed financially is because of the small teams. It costs a lot less to run a team of 20 people than it does 200 people. Plus those 20 people have much more say in what goes on during the development period (hence Mark Cerny saying how he "becomes less effective when he's hired by hundred-strong teams").
And then there are the Assassins Creeds and (dare I say it) the Call of Duties, which show why the massive 5 team collaboration games are just as special as the others.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 2:46PM Pure Black World Tendency said
Flower Deathmatch... I would have paid to play that!
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 3:11PM jaal said
Why not bring in artists and other additional workers as needed instead of keeping them all in-house. Do you really need all that artists and soundtrack composer during pre-production?
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 4:43PM broken 4th wall said
people still call Flower a video game? i thought it was just a piece of beautiful interactive art.





