LogFAQs > #968523778

GanglyKhan posted...

I don't know much about IPs and whatnot, but couldn't they make another game? Or hell, write a book or a TTRPG, even? I feel like they're creative enough to do so.

Certainly. But Disco Elysium was a surprise hit and a commercial success. They caught lightning in a bottle. It put their indie studio on the map.

Although the creators have some cache and swagger now, unless they can secure some investment or funding they'd pretty much be starting from scratch. It's no small task starting a new studio. Name recognition is great but it's not like these people are industry giants like Miyamoto, Ken Levine, Gabe Newell, Shinji Mikami etc etc. Even after reading several articles on their departures and being a fan of the game I couldn't tell you their names off the top of my head. They can say "from the creators of Disco Elysium..." but so can their former studio... So they'll have to make sure they can stand out and apart from ZA/UM.

I'm not saying their success and notoriety is worthless. They're definitely in a better position than when they founded ZA/UM. But it's an uphill battle. Catching lightning in a bottle is tricky and requires some measure of luck.

Having name recognition dulls the reliance on luck, but there's a multitude of factors that go into launching a project. Money. Having a decent idea for a game. Having the passion to see the project through. Disco Elysium was very much a passion project. Who's to say they'll have the desire to create an entirely new universe, characters, lore, plot, etc? It can be very demoralizing to have all of those things you worked so hard to establish be pulled from your grasp. To see the fruits of your creativity under someone else's control. Maybe they don't want to start over.

I dunno. I'm just pointing out that it's not so simple as just "hey, go make another game" and hoping it's as good and well-received as the last one. They beat the odds once. No guarantee that they can do it a second time.