Poll of the Day > Why do publishers get all the credit when the developer is who we care about?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Now look, I get it...
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/7/8/AAfGAbAADrkO.jpg

But when I see a company associated with a game, I only care about the staff who MADE it. The author. I dont care about who shipped it.

Someone explain why we should care about the publisher more than the writer, director, coders.

Like when I see a piece of art, i wanna know who the painter was. Not the arthouse it was sold in. Does that make sense?

Lots of times the company on the gamebox will just be the publisher or maybe it was in the old days. And who gives a shit about Apogee. I wanted to see ID, not Apogee. I guess Apogee makes the boxart and markets it.

Anyway. I always got confused by that as a kid. Like, who made the damn thing. Not who shipped it. Anyone else remember crediting the publisher and not knowing you were wrong? I remember not knowing who the fuck ID was for a long time. All I saw was Apogee all over the screen and floppies.

Apogee made the best games, Apogee for lief

Straughan posted...

But when I see a company associated with a game, I only care about the staff who MADE it. The author. I dont care about who shipped it.

Well you're fucking wrong then. Developers do make the game, but the publishers have the business people who come in and say "Add in micro-transactions or we'll get someone who will"

Lokarin posted...

Apogee made the best games, Apogee for lief

That's pretty much what I said. Then the real nerds looked at me like an idiot. I always get made fun of around the real nerds. I'm a fake nerd. And half the time I forget the corrected information. I had a hard enough time remembering authors of books. I just remembered the book's name. I never gave a shot who wrote it. I used to do bad on tests that would ask for information like that.

Who wrote it? When?
I don't fucking know. I just read it.

BlackScythe0 posted...

Well you're fucking wrong then. Developers do make the game, but the publishers have the business people who come in and say "Add in micro-transactions or we'll get someone who will"

Are there developers who make and publish the game too? Like no outsourcing?

Straughan posted...

Are there developers who make and publish the game too? Like no outsourcing?

That isn't a refutation of my point. Pointing to random games that pop up on steam or whatever doesn't really change my argument about the impact mega publishers have on so called "AAA" games.

Been searching online, the most common answer seems to be the golden rule. He who had the gold makes the rule. The publishers put up the cash so they are considered daddy. I guess...

It just seemed off from books I suppose. On books you usually see the title in big print then the author below then the publisher along the spine. Maybe it just programmed me to think that way when I was young.

BlackScythe0 posted...

That isn't a refutation of my point.

I don't really come here to argue so if you're interested in that and being aggressive you might wanna choose another topic. But have a good day either way. Thanks for the input.

Here's a couple interesting videos I found. I'm learning some stuff I didn't think about. I didn't think they had so much control.

https://youtu.be/4L8UGWFzicQ

https://youtu.be/nxiscoDXL1A

Self publishing does happen, digital makes it a lot easier. Sadly despite all the flaws, having a dedicated publisher does make things a lot easier.

In the past, it wasn't uncommon to have developer credits removed from games. -_-

DeltaBladeX posted...

In the past, it wasn't uncommon to have developer credits removed from games. -_-

Geez lol
Thanks, Delta.

Your reward, sir.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/5/5/AAfGAbAADrlb.jpg

Straughan posted...

But when I see a company associated with a game, I only care about the staff who MADE it. The author. I dont care about who shipped it.

Someone explain why we should care about the publisher more than the writer, director, coders.

publisher is still making larger-scale decisions. the dev can't do anything that the publisher doesn't let them do. publisher can make or break a game based on their decision making (usually break). the project itself wouldn't exist without the publisher's say-so. maybe not as important as the dev, but still (often) relevant.

Publishers have been the bane of video games for decades

Straughan posted...

Someone explain why we should care about the publisher more than the writer, director, coders.

The publishers interfere the most with the development. The important information about a games development is how much of a detriment the publisher was to the writer, director, coders being able to do their job.

Straughan posted...

I had a hard enough time remembering authors of books. I just remembered the book's name. I never gave a shot who wrote it. I used to do bad on tests that would ask for information like that.

Yeah, that. In school I could write essays about the plot of the book with no problem. But ask me about the author and I never had that information to begin with.

Without the publisher there would be no game.

do you think the dev is gonna make it by themselves on their basement computer?

by all means go play indie games only but even those have teams and financing.

money talks. Talent is replaceable.

Straughan posted...

I don't really come here to argue so if you're interested in that and being aggressive you might wanna choose another topic. But have a good day either way. Thanks for the input.

I'm genuinely confused by this. What publishers like EA and Activision do are well documented and widely known within the gaming community. You seem upset at me but your motivations in making this thread are very unclear to me.

Straughan posted...

Been searching online, the most common answer seems to be the golden rule. He who had the gold makes the rule. The publishers put up the cash so they are considered daddy. I guess...

It just seemed off from books I suppose. On books you usually see the title in big print then the author below then the publisher along the spine. Maybe it just programmed me to think that way when I was young.

The person who spends years writing a book before taking it to a publishers after they finish is a rather common trope in media.

Games on the other hand publishers tend to be involved from the beginning and exhibit a great deal of creative control on games.

I don't really understand why you would confuse these two.

Conner4REAL posted...

do you think the dev is gonna make it by themselves on their basement computer?

Yes, that is precisely how games were made in the 80s and early 90s.

Conner4REAL posted...

Talent is replaceable.

Sega didn't get the memo

Conner4REAL posted...

Without the publisher there would be no game.

do you think the dev is gonna make it by themselves on their basement computer?

by all means go play indie games only but even those have teams and financing.

money talks. Talent is replaceable.

Mass Effect 1 was better than the other two games.