id Software co-founder John Carmack believes certain FPS developers and critics have become rather “snooty” over the concept of creativity in the genre.
“I’m actually happy Rage is a little bit different in terms of feeling and tone. It’s not just, ‘here’s your squad mates,'” Carmack told Industry Gamers.
“But that’s still a proven formula that people like, and it’s a mistake to [discount that]. As long as people are buying it, it means they’re enjoying it.”
According to Carmack, gamers snapping up the next Call of Duty are likely to do so because they want more of the same heart-pounding formula they experienced in the previous iteration of the franchise.
“So [yes], I am pretty down on people who take the sort of creative auteurs’ perspective. It’s like ‘oh, we’re not being creative.’ But we’re [actually] creating value for people – that’s our job!
“It’s not [really] to do something that nobody’s ever seen before. It’s to do something that people love so much they’re willing to give us money for.”
Carmack also noted that he is “pretty down” on people who continuously harp about the lack of creativity, especially some of the indie developers who traditionally adopt a “snooty attitude” on the subject.
“It’s almost as if it’s popular, it’s not good. And that’s just not true,” he emphasized.
