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View Full Version : A question for game developers



clairavance
15-10-2010, 12:59 AM
I'll give you a scenario to better explain my question:

You're working with a small developing team, but because you're relatively new to the business not a lot of gamers know who you are. Along comes an established gaming company and shrugs one of their big brand titles onto your little shoulders and say 'show us what you've got'. Now, you know you've got it made, you're good at what you do, you have that confidence. You work for a long time on all the hundreds of nitty gritty details that encompass a good game, with extra baggage considering it's an already existing franchise, and finally your team decides on where you're taking this game. You get the green light from the established game company, and release a trailer of barely over a minute.

The response from the fans is total outrage. They believe that their voice should be heard in contesting this new idea you've presented them with. Because you are the lead developer of your team, you're singled out and become the most hated person in the world. Regardless that it was all a team effort and that your co-workers are also taking a hard blow by the negative response, since they worked late into the night alongside with you to get a simple trailer done, it is YOU that carries the burden of the fan backlash. You're the one who has to deal with the negative reaction. The problem is, you haven't done anything wrong. You're staying true to the franchise, but taking it to a whole new level as the big company that contracted your small company requested you to do. So, from a developer point of view, you're all pleased with the product you've come up with, even if it is only a stepping stone to send your team into the right direction, but as creative people you are denied any positive credit by the fans.

Of course, because it becomes well known just how hated you are for what you've produced, the question 'what do you think of the fan's reaction?' keeps popping up in interviews.

So what would YOU do? A game is nothing without its fans, and 90% of fans are unhappy with what you want to give them. They want you to change this or that or else it will ruin the franchise and they'll refuse to buy the game and throw rotten eggs at you if they were to ever walk past you in the street, etc etc. So what would you do about it? Would you stick to your guns and meet their verbal backlash with indifference? Or would you crack under fan-pressure and change your idea to suit their satisfaction, until it no longer resembles YOUR idea?

(virtual cookies for anyone who knows where this stems from)

dislekcia
15-10-2010, 03:02 AM
I wouldn't be working on Dota or a Sonic game in the first place... Obvious suicide is obvious.

However, this is a valid question, just without all the hyperbole: Basically, what do you do when your game has a following and your followers don't like your new version?

We might have something like this happen with DD. Yeah, it's got nothing like the fanbase that something like Dota has, but then again, what does? The full version of DD has some changes that will definitely catch people by surprise. Some people will hate that, others will love it. Basically you have to stick to your guns in the end: If you're sure something is better, then give it a chance to be better. If you're not sure, why the hell are you releasing it without hordes of testing in the first place?

P.S. Super-hardcore fans may think that they're the majority, but in truth they're just loud. For every 1 loudly disappointed hardcore anti-change screamer, there are usually a lot of people that are perfectly happy with whatever colour the Nurgler's bullets are now.

clairavance
15-10-2010, 06:01 AM
Thanks for responding. Those are my sentiments as well. The particular case I was referring to was the mass negative fan response to the new Devil May Cry trailer that was revealed by Ninja Theory at TGS last month, sporting a new revamped Dante, a new vibe, a new look, overall a new Devil May Cry. I understand the backlash from a fan point of view, but I also had speculations about how the backlash will be received by the developers and whether it will have any effect on them or not.

Again, thank you for replying :)

BlackShipsFillt
15-10-2010, 01:00 PM
Well if we are referring to Devil May Cry, I quite like the new look, though I think the fans' reaction is as much about the motivation for the change in style as much as change itself.

Frankly, the new Devil May Cry looks like a Jocky Westernized version and may as well be a new game and a new franchise... just like that new Tomb Raider. It kinda looks like Capcom is dissing the whole of Japan. I mean really, a British guy (with an identical hair-cut to their lead developer) holding a big Final Fantasy-esque sword.

Based on what the developer has done before they should definitely continue, make a great game and prove their naysayers wrong. But I'm not at all keen on the westernization of Japanese games, or the maximizing of profit margins at the expense of alienating original fans (which of course was not a problem for Tomb Raider because very few people were actually looking forward to another Tomb Raider)

xyber
15-10-2010, 01:55 PM
.... because very few people were actually looking forward to another Tomb Raider)


lolol :)

Fallen
15-10-2010, 02:02 PM
And this isn’t an isolated case, look at the new Max Payne game. There are aspects of the new Max Payne that I am looking forward too, but overall they changed so much that it won’t be the same game for me. If you go over to www.duke4.net you will see the same thing again, the guys on that forum are angry about something as minor as Duke Nukem looking younger that in the previous game.

I do hate the fact that every time a development house buys the rights to an existing franchise they want to change it and make it their own. Why not make a new game if you want to change the game so drastically. I do understand that they need to do something fresh with DMC, it hasn’t changed much in 4 iterations. And I love that fact that it's more gothic and grungy than DMC 4, but changing Dante’s look was just asking for trouble in my opinion.

BlackShipsFillt
15-10-2010, 02:15 PM
From wikipedia :

"Dante's confident and fearless attitude have gained him widespread popularity. He was ranked as the seventh of Game Crush's 'Top 10: Most Badass Video Game Characters' list, and third among the 'Top ten coolest video game characters' list of Screwattack. The popularity of the Devil May Cry series led to a line of Devil May Cry action figures produced by Toycom."

Does this mean all the fans have to buy new action figurines? This could also be part of the plan.

Ninja Theory are fantastic developers and so I'd back them on any gameplay direction they took the franchise in (except if they proposed a JRPG), but there was no need to redesign Dante, nor is there any good reason to keep the westernized Dante after the franchise's fans have voted against it, except for making more money.

dislekcia
15-10-2010, 06:51 PM
I think there's something that's important to note here: A new take on something can't retroactively remove or destroy the fun you had with a previous game.

Yes, sometimes franchises go in odd directions or do funny things, but all that's really broken in those cases are expectations. So I guess Zen gamers have it best ;)

EyeBall
16-10-2010, 12:01 AM
I think I would cry, that being the "ultimate final result", thats the thing about reality, you cant change the past, but, you can always look to a better future with the experience.

BlackShipsFillt
16-10-2010, 03:43 PM
I think there's something that's important to note here: A new take on something can't retroactively remove or destroy the fun you had with a previous game.

Hold on, no and yes. Depending on whether I'm understanding your stance or not.

I would argue that a new game can devalue past experiences. I feel totally different about Star Wars now that episode 1, 2 and 3 have been released. I would certainly argue that George Lucas retroactively removed some of the fun of the original Star Wars: discussing Star Wars today inevitably leads to dissing it and so the joy of having watched something that I can then relate to others who also appreciate it is lessened.

This was summed up quite nicely in that South Park episode about Indiana Jones.

I'm not saying that Ninja Theory will retroactively ruin Devil May Cry, I don't think they will, but I think it is possible.

clairavance
17-10-2010, 03:51 PM
As I understand it, Ninja Theory is working very closely with Capcom America and Capcom Japan is overseeing the creative field of the franchise to make sure noting good about the series is changed/left out. And they did make promises that they were going to win the already existing fanbase for Dante over, but that will only happen once gamers have something in their hands and take the chance to play it. You can't make promises like that unless you're confident that you'll be able to make good on your word, and I believe Ninja Theory will pull this off nicely.

The main thing fans have been obsessing over is Dante's dark hair. There is already implication in the trailer (whatnot with the white roots showing on the top of his head) that that little feature is going to change. They said they'd give us 'our' Dante by the end of the game. It's a retelling of his origins. It's all about Dante. There have been whiners saying that Dante was becoming a stale character, and wanted to push him out of the series completely. Given that fans have been complaining about wanting a 'different' game, wanting 'more Dante', wanting to know more 'about' Dante's past - they really are giving the fans what they've been asking for. So exactly why the fans are reacting so negatively toward this goes beyond my understanding.