Forgive and forget, that's my motto. Its worked well, too. Holding grudges brings conflict, and I'm a mellow guy -- conflict isn't my forte. Sure, I give anyone I know a "do-over," but do developers get the same treatment?
I just finished watching the new Last Guardian trailer and I couldn't help but wonder: What if this game sucks? Will Fumito Ueda (the developer of Last Guardian, as well as Ico and Shadow of the Colossus) get another shot at making a game? I'm not saying Last Guardian will be terrible. In fact, I hope with everything in me it's just as rewarding as Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Actually, I secretly hope it surpasses those two games, but what if it doesn't?
What if it fails horribly? Realtime Worlds just shut down APB, their massively multiplayer good guys versus bad guys game. They took a gamble and it didn't work. This could spell the end for Realtime Worlds as we know it. A real shame.
When it comes down to it, I know it's about the money. Roll the dice, gamble big; if it pays off, great! If it doesn't, so long! This is the reason developers don't take big risks. When it doesn't pay off, you don't get a second chance.
And it's not like we, the gamer and consumer, can say, "Hey, here's my $60. I know you'll do better next time." I wish I could, but I can't. Such is life. But the point of bringing up Last Guardian is this: It doesn't matter if the game is terrible, it's going to sell like crazy. But when I get home with a copy in my hand, and I pop it into my Playstation 3 and realize it's horrible, will I buy another Uedo game?
My answer: Yes, I would. But I might be a little more hesitant than before. "You're forgiven, Ueda, but please do better next time."
What do you guys think?
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2 comments:
Of course developers can make mistakes. Anyone can.
Realtime Worlds going into administration can't be compared to Uedo making a bad game, since the former was due to management issues, not design ones.
The fact that APB wasn't great was more down to the fact that the company were in trouble and it got rushed out of the door, which caused more trouble for the company when reviews (and therefore sales) didn't meet expectations. One would hope that Uedo won't ever have to deal with that, as he'll always have a big company behind him who want his services.
Developers are constantly making mistakes. The only time this is a problem is when those mistakes are in either the core game play or having bugs so bad the playability is affected. (see Elemental: War of Magic) A good plot of course helps if the game is mostly about a story. As long as you have those parts down pat, you will have a solid player base one way or another and the game will generally be worth your time/money. If nothing else, they're exceptional for passing the time during the dead zones of release dates.
As for games like Udeo puts out, all one can do is read reviews and perhaps rent before purchase. Given the history of Udeo however, we have little reason to doubt this time I believe.
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