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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheSword" data-source="post: 9728631" data-attributes="member: 6879661">Actually changed my mind. I’ll bite. You're clearly invested in this topic, but you're coming at my post like it's some kind of naïve shrug at causality, which it absolutely wasn't.When I said “it just happens,” I wasn’t suggesting the universe rolls dice and games magically fail. I was pointing out that even independent studios—yes, the ones supposedly free from publisher meddling—can still wreck their own franchises. Case in point: Dawn of War III. Relic was independent when they made DoW I and II, and by the time III came around, they were still operating with a ton of creative control. And yet they completely botched it. That wasn’t some evil publisher twisting arms—it was a studio misreading its audience and abandoning what made the series great. Sega only made the decision to pull the plug when it was clear the game was on its ass.You’re acting like independence is some kind of golden ticket to quality. It’s not. It’s a structural advantage, sure, but it doesn’t stop bad design decisions, poor pacing, or tone-deaf creative direction. Independence doesn’t mean infallibility.Also, your point about dev cycles being longer now? Yes you’re right. But that just means there’s more time for things to go sideways. Five years is a long time—teams change, visions drift, and priorities shift. Independence doesn’t protect against that either.You’re trying to frame this like I’m ignoring causation, when really I’m saying causation is messy. It’s not just “publisher bad, indie good.” Sometimes studios screw up all on their own. Pretending otherwise is just wishful thinking</blockquote>

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