Ask a Game Dev

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

I don't think that we'll ever see pre-rendered cutscenes go away permanently. As in-engine rendering improves, AAA games will likely move away from pre-rendered cutscenes but AAA games are far from the only games that use cutscenes and have engines that can render high quality cinematic visuals (e.g.

Cutscenes 40

Cutscenes Render Cinematics AAA 40

PreMortem.Games

JUNE 29, 2023

A game trailer (especially for indie games) is part story and part instructional video. Fine line between flashy and simple editing I think one of the biggest mistakes a lot of indie games make is to chase the editing style of AAA games or Hollywood movies in hopes of looking like a ‘real’ or ‘legitimate’ trailer.

Editing 234

Editing Communications Entertainment Games 234

Radiator Blog

MAY 5, 2021

It's probably not worth the hassle for a solo indie. This is a convenient diegetic way of locking the player in-place for a cutscene, while also priming the player for an extended cutscene. Sit and listen. Whenever an NPC is about to dump backstory and exposition on you, they'll ask you to take a seat. Expendable companions.

Open World 52

Open World NPC Cutscenes Terrain 52

Radiator Blog

JUNE 2, 2023

Instead there's cutscenes without animation, scripted conversations without choreography, and readables you rarely read because the game never pauses. All the dynamic cutscenes and dialogue sequences relied on 4 player characters all bantering amongst each other like in Buffy or something. But not really.

Studios 98

Studios Co-op Open World Cutscenes 98

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

unlike Outer Wilds, golden loop here is heavily hard-gated by quest progression, not a "true" information game, compromise with AAA market? I know it's easy for armchair indies like me to complain about pulling punches. I imagine Arkane debated this a lot, and over the years, had to bow to AAA approachability and clarity.

Fighting 52

Fighting NPC Puzzle AI 52