Former Assassin's Creed director Alexandre Amancio has shared his thoughts about AAA development, suggesting we need "smaller teams" and admitting that big-budget developers cannot "solve a problem by throwing people at it".
In an interview, Amancio, who currently works at FunPlus, candidly discussed his experiences at Ubisoft. He stated that it's not "tenable" to keep creating larger games with increasing staff numbers.
"There's this theory that says that whenever humans create something that surpasses a hundred people, it completely changes the dynamic of it. As soon as you surpass that, the ratio of management to people working on the game explodes. You start having a very management-heavy structure: You need to have people to coordinate the people coordinating," he explained.
Amancio believes that many AAA studios mistakenly think adding more personnel can resolve issues. He cautioned that, instead, it can hinder productive team members, creating excessive noise.
"So I think the future lies in smaller teams," he concluded.
He compared the gaming industry's team dynamics to that of the film industry, noting how films have shifted to smaller, core teams, each designed for specific projects. Games, however, often evolve throughout their development, complicating team structuring.
"Since its inception, I think that the gaming industry has treated itself as being part of the software industry, but it is kind of a weird hybrid. I think the future lies in taking that learning from the film industry, where you have core teams that are complemented with either outsourcing or with co-dev for specific needs. You get the right crew for the right project at the right time," he added.
In related news, Netflix is actively working on an Assassin's Creed adaptation and has recently announced additional cast members, although character details remain undisclosed.
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