Game developers are not lazy. It’s not exactly brain surgery, but it is a complex, demanding job – from QA testing right up to game directing – that has little room for off-days or rest. No, the right word is cheap. Game development studios as a whole, their bosses who make the decisions, and their publishers or owners who provide some or all of the money are as cheap as possible. They want more for less, they overscope projects (accidentally or otherwise) to fit in more features that almost certainly won’t be ready in time, they force crunch on employees to get things done.
The lazy developer is a myth, but the cheap executive is as blatant in this industry as it is everywhere else. Nowhere is it more obvious than the murky world of re-releases, remasters, remakes, and reimaginings. After playing a few new takes on some of my favorite games I have a message for everyone: we have to stop accepting the cheap remaster.
