"Heart is what makes good games": Baldur's Gate 3 publishing lead says gaming executives shouldn't rely on a "dysfunctional chain of command" to understand game quality

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"Resonance above all else is the key"

Wyll in Baldur's Gate 3
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

In a thread about whether video game executives should have a background in gaming, Larian Studios publishing director Michael Douse weighs in with his belief that CEO's need to independently understand a game's quality, rather than relying on the numbers.

Posting to Twitter, Douse writes, "I think that executives should be able to independently form ideas about the quality of a game so that they aren't relying on a dysfunctional chain of command that creates chaotic economic bets apropos of constant catalogue failures."

The gaming industry has been in turmoil for several years with news of layoffs and studio closures becoming a regular part of the cycle. In February alone we've seen PlayStation shut down Bluepoint Studios, the highly accomplished team behind remakes like Shadow of the Colossus, while Ubisoft laid off 40 people at the Toronto branch after the shake up that canceled six games including the long-awaited Prince of Persia remake.

"We live at a time where the distance between provider and audience has never been closer," Douse says. "Which makes the distance between an executive who doesn't play and the audience exponentially greater."

Above all, Douse believes that the best games will be made when people who love games are in charge of the decision making. "If that weren't at least somewhat true the corporate PR machine wouldn't be so meticulous at faking resonance. Resonance above all else is the key. Heart is what makes good games and connects players."

He thinks that the industry's "economic uncertainty" shouldn't be addressed by those looking at "numbers that make sense," and instead this way of thinking creates further "disconnection."

"Every good thing that has come from games has come because the people who did them understood and cared deeply about what they were doing, for better and worse," he writes

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George Young
George Young
Freelance News Writer

Freelance writer, full-time PlayStation Vita enthusiast, and speaker of some languages. I break up my days by watching people I don't know play Pokemon pretty fast.

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