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.

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Cutscenes Render Cinematics Engine 40

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 29, 2024

More and more South-Korean indie game developers take aim at the PC and console market. Set in a New York office building in the 1990’s, the game plays out as a action-filled mini series, including cutscenes that unravel the plot. “To Plus, various Korean indie games that launched on Steam have experienced considerable success.

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Indy Dev Cutscenes Prop 104

The Bottom Feeder

DECEMBER 15, 2021

If you've played a decent indie game in the last five year, It Takes Two probably has you play a superior version of that game for 10 minutes. It's really sharp and well-observed, and it isn't a cutscene. Fellow indie devs have privately, harshly turned on me for saying this, but it is true. It's great writing.

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Art Writing Indy Fighting 52

Radiator Blog

MAY 5, 2021

WE SHOULD ALL DO THIS / STEAL THIS: Dev-owned wiki. The dev team "SureAI" operates the official Endreal strategy guide and lore wiki. 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.

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Open World NPC Cutscenes Terrain 52

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

Perfect for pretending to have played Deathloop if you find yourself talking to a game dev. Not that you should ever talk to a game dev. I know it's easy for armchair indies like me to complain about pulling punches. I assume general game design knowledge but minimal Deathloop-specific knowledge.

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