Games like Mundaun that focus on artstyle and experimentation before anything else are relatively uncommon, and they are typically made by smaller teams or even just individual people. Even so, exceptionally artistic games can often have a profound effect on the games industry even if they aren’t blockbuster hits with massive player counts. We asked Ziegler, a developer of a very experimental game, if he believes there’s room in the industry for larger scale games to focus on trying new things even at the expense of broad appeal.
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Death Stranding certainly did have a massive impact on the industry, even if reviews were mixed and opinions varied widely about how much fun it was and whether it deserved praise or scorn. Ziegler also mentioned Fumito Ueda, who was responsible for Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian—games that are now widely recognized as influential cult classics but perhaps a limited appeal. This made us wonder what someone like Ziegler would do with the resources of a massive studio.
The prospect of a AAA game in which small details of storytelling and worldbuilding are given as much or more budget than the visuals is interesting indeed, and instantly stirs the imagination. However, Ziegler also expressed that there are distinct benefits to working on smaller games, uninhibited by the large team structures and expectations of bigger projects. When asked if there are any advantages to focusing on smaller titles, Ziegler had this to say:
Mundaun will launch on March 16, 2021, on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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