Bioware's Plans - Page 2

SillyMonkey · 09-08-2007, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Savanja

No one wants to make challenging games, they wanna make games that spread like disease.

Sadly, its the truth. The WoW blueprint has affected all games and will continue to do so for a few years. Blizzard did something so brilliant that it was unheard of. They made a game that focuses on instant gratification. No more long hours to put into that character for a feeling of accomplishment. Now you can get it in 15min!! Want to get a sandwich but you're in the middle of crafting? No problem, hit "create all" walk away and come back later and you'll be done, no chance of failure or death!

WoW is nothing short of a game of hack'n'slash. There is no substance to that game. You have no sense of real accomplishment, no sense of real purpose, but this allows you to (as Walton said) jump in and out without regret. I'll admit, I'm no hardcore gamer. As a matter of fact, I'm the first guy who will tell you "It's just a game. Fucking relax!". So when *I* start thinking that games have become dumbed down and I'm wishing to go backwards to when games had some challenge, it's saying something.

The "WoW Effect" has caused EQ2 and other games to become easy and unchallenging. When you can level a toon to 20 in an hour through Neriak? It's sickening. Everyone wants to grab a piece of the WoW pie though, so they're altering their games to fit that mold in hopes of attracting back some of the people they lost. As Ily said, it's gonna be this way for some time to come and it's sad.

3devious · 09-09-2007, 02:05 AM

tru dat.

Illuminator · 09-09-2007, 05:29 AM

Nobody plays a game to work. If your pay-to-play game isn't keeping the player entertained and motivated every step of the way as it guides him/her from a position of small progress to one of large progress, then it's off track.

If the player wants to get to the end of your game because that's all s/he sees of value, because everything in between is shit, you fucked up.

Saying WoW is a taint just says that you aren't seeing the big picture. WoW-ification is the way it's probably going to be from now on.

Morara · 09-09-2007, 05:36 AM

Plenty of people play games to work. Read the shmups.com forums.

They're also a great example of end game content being make or break. Anyone can plow through both loops of a shmup on one life and memorize item locations. The top .001% can beat the true final boss, though.

Illuminator · 09-09-2007, 05:50 AM

This is what I saw as the winning quote:

Quote:

Shmups can be picked up for 10 minutes, and enjoyed fully in that space of time. They can literally last for decades - I'm still trying to complete Flying Shark today. Perfect for modern busy lifestyles I reckon - a short, intense burst of pure gameplay.

That's why I keep my SNES emulator handy. But the games that take long hours to reacquire skills that faded since the system was in vogue, are the games I've deleted one by one. I play for the sensory blitz, not the frustration blitz.

Morara · 09-09-2007, 05:56 AM

If I haven't smashed a controller playing a game, it's not a game worth keeping around.

Illuminator · 09-09-2007, 06:03 AM

I got tired of smashing controllers, and the last plastic shard splatter finally cued me in that I should stop playing those kinds of games. But I'm at least glad I wasn't the only one.

Thelounge · 09-09-2007, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Lesson Eight

"Don't tune for the hardcore." Turning to the audience, Walton asked for a show of hands: "How many of you have shipped an MMO? How many of you remember a discussion about making the game harder to keep people in the game longer?" He dismissed those who had but didn't, and suggested that this stems from "forgetting our object is not to keep people as long as humanly possible, but to provide entertainment." When it comes to grinding, "they will do it, but they will hate you."

When he first encountered WoW, he admits thinking that the game would be over in 50 days -- because it's so fast paced. But when its success became apparent, Walton realized something. "I was thinking about crazy people! Crazy people can finish the game in 50 days, but crazy people are not who we should be thinking about.... where's the real market, our real customers? If anything, I think people should make games that level faster than WoW -- that have the right content to hold up."

That saddens me, mostly because we keep getting shunned, and shit on, because we don't provide them a large revenue source. If you notice, most MMO's blow because they cater to the single player casuals, if you want single player don't play a fucking multiplayer game.

Morara · 09-09-2007, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thelounge

That saddens me, mostly because we keep getting shunned, and shit on, because we don't provide them a large revenue source. If you notice, most MMO's blow because they cater to the single player casuals, if you want single player don't play a fucking multiplayer game.

That's pretty much the same tune every developer plays. Games are getting stupidly easy on the whole because people want to say they play games, but don't want to put in the work necessary.

Illuminator · 09-09-2007, 05:12 PM

Isn't 8 hours a day enough work?