Random Rants LXIX: Life is a Dismal Chore
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What's with all the previously awesome game developers completely ruining the goodwill they have built up with their fans? Earlier this year we saw the fall of Bioware as a respected developer due to Mass Effect Andromeda, Relic has destroyed their reputation with the release of Dawn of War 3, and now Bethesda is starting to be described as "irredeemable trash" due to their Creator's Club (better known as "it's paid mods that aren't paid mods, but still paid mods"). Personally, I think Bethesda's fall is the worst because at least Bioware and Relic admit they screwed up, while Bethesda is seriously doubling down on this whole Creator's Club thing.
So sad to see once "good" triple A developers shoot themselves in the foot like this.
So sad to see once "good" triple A developers shoot themselves in the foot like this.
Snerk
Smeghead
A normal sleep cycle is for suckers. Create your own cycle and rule the galaxy.
As I said before, development studios are not the same as production companies, especially if their owners are widely renowned for their shoddy or counter-productive business practices. Assuming otherwise, even after years of experience, is extremely naive.
Akka
Moody old mage.
Greed. As so often.
I am aware of how it works. However, I still think developers are still just as much to blame as the publishers because I doubt anyone on the development side is arguing against these decisions. Nope, they just sit there and let it all happen because they are afraid that if they speak up the publisher will shut them down. Developers need to learn to speak up because they always, always, always catch the blame for everything that goes wrong with a game, whether the problem originated from the development side or from the publishing side.
We'll use Mass Effect Andromeda as an example: Was EA to blame for just about all the problems that occurred with Andromeda? Of course they were. But it's not EA's name plastered all over that game, it's Bioware's. So even though EA may have caused all the problems, Bioware is going to take the brunt of the criticism from the fans because those fans don't see it as an EA game, they see it as a Bioware game.
Also, of the companies I listed, only Bioware can legitimately blame their corporate overlords for losing the trust of their fans. Bethesda is an independent studio, so they have no excuse and all the criticism of Dawn of War 3 are all related to gameplay mechanics, which makes that 100% Relic's fault not Sega's.
Yeah. I have to say, I was really shocked by Relic's fall from grace though. Dawn of War 3 was really the first time they have screwed the pooch so monumentally with one of their games and it completely wrecked their reputation. They tried to cash in on the MOBA trend in RTS gaming and it blew up in their face big time. Not to mention the cartoony graphics not only goes against the art style of the two previous DOW games, but against the art style of Warhammer 40k in general. I mean, they had to know the fans would be upset about that, but they just charged forward with it anyway even after the community expressed its displeasure with both the gameplay and art style in the previews they were showing months before the release of the game.
It was also shocking that it took just one bad game for Relic's reputation to crumble. With Bioware and Bethesda, there have been problems brewing for a while that have just finally come to a head, but this was really Relic's first misstep and the community just turned on them almost immediately. I guess we are living in an era of video gaming now where developers aren't given any leeway by their fans. One mistake and you become literally the devil in their eyes.
Sleep is for those who are broke.
Just because Bethesda Game Studios is owned by a company that they originally set up does not mean that they still call the shots or that the different management styles haven't diverged.
Moreover, how do you know that the developers don't try to push back against their corporate overlords? Splashing what amounts to office gossip over Twitter, RPS, PCGamer etc. would likely turn out very badly for the people in question.
As is so often the case, the easier one's voice is to be heard, the worse the chatter is likely to be.
Moreover, how do you know that the developers don't try to push back against their corporate overlords? Splashing what amounts to office gossip over Twitter, RPS, PCGamer etc. would likely turn out very badly for the people in question.
As is so often the case, the easier one's voice is to be heard, the worse the chatter is likely to be.
Broken_Erika
Play with me.
I did it the easy way... bought a refurbished XP computer that can play the old Civ games.
Akka
Moody old mage.
"it doesn't work" is a bit vague as a problem. Be precise and detailed.
Broken_Erika
Play with me.
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