Category: 2021

There’s a lot of discussion these days about the development of video games and one of the areas that I find most interesting has to be video game engines. These are such intrinsic and essential parts of video game development that can often shape the strengths and limitations of a video game and I think it’s important that we take a look at what these engines are, how they add or subtract from a video game and a concern of mine when it comes to a lack of competition.

Let’s start with the history of video game engines and the purpose that they serve. By the 1980s, video games had become significantly more complicated than they had been in previous decades. This meant that, rather than developing the tools needed to develop games on a game by game basis, some developers began to reuse development tools between games in order to more efficiently develop games. A notable example of this would be the 1985 classic “Super Mario Bros.” which reused the game engine that was developed for Excitebike, a game which had been previously released in 1984, in order to achieve the acceleration of Mario’s runs. However, one of the biggest shifts in the history of video game engines occurred with the release of the 1993 first-shooter classic “Doom”. The engine was very impressive from a technological perspective and many other developers became interested in using it themselves for their own games. As time went on, companies began to make more and more use of engines such as id Tech, Unreal Engine, etc. by buying a license to use the engine in order to develop games more quickly and efficiently. Thus, a new market emerged where some developers would develop game engines with the intention of licensing them out to other developers.

I want to start off by saying that I adore Square Enix. Squaresoft, one of the predecessors to Square Enix, created my favourite game of all time in the form of Final Fantasy IX. Beyond that, they’ve contributed greatly to my passion for gaming with series such as Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, Star Ocean and many others. However, as the years have passed, my enthusiasm for Square Enix has waned to the point now where I now view their products with scepticism. This is due to the many stupid strategies that Square Enix continue to follow, to the point now where they often surprise me. Taking all this into account, I thought I should write my current thoughts on Square Enix and why my passion for them has faded.

Probably the first time that I seriously began questioning Square Enix’s strategies was when Life is Strange 2 was announced. I had really enjoyed the first game, even though I had a few problems with its concept of choice, and was really looking forward to seeing how they could build upon the franchise. However, I was immediately taken aback by the pricing. The first game had been perfectly priced at €19.99 and I truly believe that this price tag contributed greatly to the incredible sales that it managed to reach. However, Life is Strange 2 was priced at €39.99, double the price of the original game! I couldn’t believe it and, while I don’t know how well it ultimately sold since Square Enix have never announced the sales figures, it felt like Life is Strange 2 didn’t come anyway near the cultural impact that the original managed to achieve. I was hoping that Square Enix might have learned their lesson but then they announce Life is Strange: True Colors, the third main game in the series, at a price tag of €59.99. I was stunned, I couldn’t believe that they had decided to raise the price tag even further and it felt to me that Square Enix were simply trying to milk the series for all it’s worth.

I’ve recently started playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the latest game released by FromSoftware, and, after a steep learning curve, I’ve been blown away by how incredible Sekiro is. I had doubts when I heard that Sekiro wasn’t an RPG like their Dark Souls series but I’ve been truly astounded by it’s quality and how fun it is. This, along with the hype for the upcoming Elden Ring, made me think that it might be interesting to take a look at the history of FromSoftware, a company that I consider to be one of the greatest game developers of all time!

For a company that took the gaming world by storm in the past 15 years, it might surprise you to learn that FromSoftware was originally founded in 1986 to develop software for businesses! Eventually, FromSoftware shifted to video game development and released their first game in 1994 for the PlayStation, King’s Field. A first-person RPG, King’s Field would go on to have three sequels and featured many mechanics that would go on to define their later games such as difficulty, exploration and abstract storytelling.