Game Design, Programming and running a one-man games business…

More != Better

cliffski

I’ve been reading about the next star wars MMO.  This may turn out to be really good, but they way its being marketed at this stage scares me a bit. A huge chunk of PC Gamers interview with the developers is filkled with them listing how BIG the game is.

“its one of the most ambitious voiceover projects in the history of the videogame industry”

“by the time it’s done it will have more voiceover than the sum of all Biowares 17 other games”

“I’m suprised at the enormity of it”  (ooh-err)

etc.

It’s  not at all clear to me that ‘more content’ neccesarily makes for a ‘better’ game. I’m not even convinced it makes them more immersive. Aliens vs Predator (the original) was VERY immersive. By todays standards it would be very light on content. Maybe 1% of the impressive voice acting budgets of today. And those low res textures and low-poly meshes! eeek, how did we ever manage to be immersed!

Of all the ways to spend money and effort to make better games, voice acting has to be the lowest return on investment. I bet Patrick stewart got millions for Oblivion, yet his part in the game was memorable only for him sounding bored.

Big huge companies often throw a huge amount of money at projects and think that makes them better. Microsoft did it with vista (nice job guys!), and governments do it all the time, with hilariously poor results. The real hard, depressing, bitter fact is that more money doesn’t solve many problems. If the only way you can get people excited about what you are making is by telling them how much it cost, it’s a sad state of affairs.

Todays newspaper has an article on the new WW2 TV series with Tom Hanks in, From the cover-article highlight, I can currently tell two things about it. It has Tom Hanks in, and its THE MOST EXPENSIVE TV SERIES EVER!!!

That is apparently it’s unique selling point. I hope thats just crap marketing, and the series is good…

7 thoughts on More != Better

  1. I think with an MMO, enormity is a good selling point. We aren’t talking about a game that will be over in 8 to 12 hours, this isn’t even a game people play. It’s a game that people invest their lives in, and any promise to have the game last longer before throwing them back into the real world and their real lives (does this sound vicious, petty or all of the above?) would be a very good selling point to MMO players.

    Good point with the voice acting, i’m sure it sounds good on paper but it’s not as though the players are even going to listen to the recordings, they’ll read the little bit of text in their journals telling them how many nerfs they have to herd to gain the reward while trying their best to quit out of further interaction.

  2. The main issue I have with MMOs is the horribly generic take-it-in-turns battle system. I really hope they innovate a bit with star wars because it just doesn’t suite that kind of game universe.
    One good thing that might come out of voice acting is that they probably won’t be tempted to include random quests so much. Although… Freelancer had random quests with voice acting.
    As for the immersion, I can remember when I played Morrowind not because I wanted to complete it, but because I wanted to experience it. It was really immersive! I played it again about a year ago and I was quite shocked at how basic is seemed!
    I think the reason I liked it is because it had character. Unfortunately Bethesda hasn’t quite managed to keep up or surpass that kind of immersion in Oblivion or Fallout 3. Here’s hoping for TES V… ;)

  3. Dude, I still sometimes break out my AvP gold edition. Or compile it for linux and play it there.

    Since the source code of it was released you can have some fun by turning on the jetpack, marine, and grappling hook, Predator, things. While they don’t have any graphics associated for multiplayer (so only you see the line or light effect) they provide some extra entertainment.

    My big issue with MMOs is that the world’s are persistent and all, but so what? They never change, you never feel like you actually accomplish anything, and frequently it’s like trying to play a friendly game of cards with a bunch of gambling addicts. Not even addicts with good stories since so many are right around the 3rd grade reading level.

  4. Piling on more and more layers onto a cake is a predictable response. Innovation is risky, but production is less so. That’s why most publishers go for the “epic” angle. It suits their strength, which is their massive resource base. Plus, it’s easier to market. When was the last time you’ve seen “This game will be the best hour of your life.” on a box?

    You should be happy, Cliff – it leaves room for guys like you and I to compete. =)

  5. cliff don’t forget re: The Pacific they’re only reporting what they have seen so far and via headlines that will attract the most readers.

    Have you EVER seen a movie poster/review that headlines BEST STORY ABOUT DEATH AND VIOLENCE EVER!!1~!!

    :o)

  6. Hours of voice acting is a measurable quantum. Phrases like “better than …”, “best … ever” or “most immersive” are hard to show to the audience – if possible at all. Simple figures are easy to understand, regardless if they serve any gameplay purpose. So the big players are forced to use such hackneyed marketing phrases to get attention.

    I’m sorry for them and happy for being able to act outside of this doom loop.

  7. I’ve noticed a trend in my gaming life lately: I’m getting bored of the big production 3d games. I own an xb360 and usually get hold of the new blockbuster games. You know how the xbox tracks your gamer score as you progress through a game? Seems like I never get more than 1/10th of the score possible in most of these games, even the ones that sell millions of copies. I just quit playing. Maybe it’s just the kind of gamer I am that I keep coming back to weird pc games…but in any case, I’m sure I don’t like the blockbusters because they just don’t have enough voice acting.

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