leftytighty

I wonder if this is a factor in why the steam link app (which allows you to stream your games) seperate from the steam app that lets you buy games.

that's just simply not true. if you look at the project lifecycle for a game very little resources are spent in preproduction, the bulk of the time is in production. preproduction usually has all of the core mechanics and ideas implemented by the end, then it's just about executing on that plan. there's not a lot of experimentation and iteration once you are in full tilt production mode

much of a game's development time is spent creating assets, using a new engine doesn't mean your existing low fidelity assets suddenly look better, just better lit

yes and if human well being was the goal over profit. profit benefits the few, and it's an amoral driving force. unfortunately it's been conflated with freedom and fairness.

If your goal is to achieve realistic looking city streets the best way to do that isn't an expensive online infrastructure and much more advanced simulation.

If the developers had the skills and time to do that they could more easily have more dense NPC crowds and richer local simulation.

The reason the games aren't already like that is likely just cost, talent, and target performance, which you'd need a lot more of to execute your plan.

there are lots of systemic forces that incentivize being an asshole as well

That's giving the algorithms too much credit. They don't encode user desires they encode user engagement bait. Like everything under our capitalist system the motivation is profit: in this case ad revenue. Sometimes positive things or agreeable things drive engagement, sometimes negative or divisive things. As long as users spend time scrolling on the platform they'll both be given equal weight.

As with anything profit motive driven it's just about what makes more money not what makes more sense or what makes better outcomes. The core assumption of capitalism (at least how it's sold) is that profit causing activity correlates with improvements to human well-being. How anyone still believes that, I'm not sure.

fuck I'm extremely far into my career I wish I got this tip sooner

It's easy for me to say, but now is the time to stubbornly live and be present and visible and together. They want you dead, defy them.

wouldn't it be nice if the profit motive wasn't the only driving force of the economy?