Right, but if you try to follow a more strict definition that mostly follows 2D games developed by a single person, even their publishing framework ends up encompassing dozens if not hundreds of people. It’s become hard to make that definition strict. At the very least, very few notable games are made by the really big labels: Ubisoft, 2K, EA, etc.
I mean, when they work indie, they don’t need to unionize.
We probably won’t see unions; just a collapse of AAA. The Game Awards this year was a joke with only about 3 big contenders, and most were regarded as “indie”.
Code Violet looks so cool in concept and screenshots. I’m just sad I get a vague impression the studio is biting off more than they can chew, with things like floaty animations and descriptions of potential feature creep. I’d be happy to be proven wrong.
It might be an option that doesn’t come up much, but older/lower-spec consoles are an option: The Playstation 4 and Xbox Series S. They’re not available for recent big AAA games, but that’s less and less of the big trends. There have still been many games coming out this year for the PS4.
That’s, of course, if you’re really on a low budget for hardware. Otherwise, a PC is a great investment for games on Steam sales.
I’ve used it for Epic and GOG, Lutris for Ubi/EA, but can either play MS UWP games? That seemed to be the one huge hurdle for any third party launcher in general.
The last few days, I haven’t run into any players fighting each other. There may in fact be some matchmaking effects deciding this, based on my past behavior.
It helps in my case that I have a lot of upgrades and don’t feel bothered about losing really good gear anymore. Interestingly, I’ve often felt the good gear helps against ARC, but not much against committed players. A well executed blindside ambush can take down even a player with a heavy shield.
The main defense is the psychology. Fostering a sense of communal protection by shooting the wasps that are attacking someone else, bringing one defibrillator in case you find downed players, and in some very rare cases, acting as protector for someone who was wrongly downed. Eventually, some PVP-heavy players decide they have more to fear from attacking others than being passive.
A weird tip to try; when seeking some objective and worried for ambushes, play the Recorder. Some attackers are looking for the thrill of combat, not loot, and are dissuaded by an open musician. Other players are just fearful you’ll shoot first, which is less likely when you’re announcing yourself and taking your hand off your gun for the instrument.
I could be wrong, I think it’s a rare case of a game releasing with zero levels. The idea there was to let people take it and make their own levels for it (which, I’m sure, many did)
I feel like another option for horror is to spam the effort. Literally have 5 to 10 studios all making horror games, with a fraction of the budget. One of the big successes in horror is that some of the best ones were made with large restrictions on technology, effects, budget, etc. If you search the “Survival horror” tag on Steam, there’s a pretty large wash of games succeeding in the space now.
You could also note how many “horror-focused” Resident Evil games go through some form of reset where you lose your buildup of equipment, or change pace. They recognize that the genre isn’t well-suited for a constant escalation of power until you fight god, the way JRPGs do. Thus, people who enjoy those games are more likely to munch through them like doritos. Many streamers even have nights where they will buy some half-dozen of the games on Steam and just keep going through them.
It is extremely rare - I do it when I have some form of dedication to the developer, or their rare variety of ambitious game. I may not have even done it once this year.
So I think that matches the OP’s feelings of buying early in support. Largely, it doesn’t matter.
Ark seems to fit into the same niche that enjoys Roblox, Fortnite, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. That might make a statement about how much money they have.