Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Good article, worth a read. There is a passage that is very relevant to us v.v. MEA and N7 day:
Rather than viewing these demos or trailers as suggestions of what development and the vision for a game is currently looking like, viewers frequently take them as promises. Because of the hype machine nature that is modern marketing, promising trailers and demos form an audience's expectations. And should anything change because of necessity or creative decision-making, a final product that does not effectively represent an early vertical slice seems like a failure, or a broken promise.
"Everyone is building their own fantasy of what the product needs to be, has to be, wants to be," Thisdale told me. "But you forget about what the product is." It's difficult to create an accurate depiction of what a game will look like further down the line, because developers don't exactly know what that is until they've created it. "Things change," Thisdale said. "Animations change. Our character, Adam Jensen, changed his animation like four times. If I showed you something three years ago to today, it would be completely different. It's not the same model, it's not the same face, not the same suit, not the same textures, not the same anything."
On the flipside, structure is what forces developers into making decisions. Though bemoaning the sometimes-unreasonable nature of the expectations of deadlines, some of the developers I spoke to felt like it also helps the process. "There are always 50 more questions that come up while trying to solve a problem or pin down a mechanic," Straley said. "There are hundreds of possible art styles or pipeline decisions. It's easy to think the priority is to go down every dead end road trying to come up with the most optimal, 'perfect' solution." Having an E3 deadline means having to nail down those decisions instead of pondering on the 50 alternatives a team of creatives can undoubtedly come up with.
Last Edit: Oct 20, 2016 17:42:05 GMT by PapaCharlie9
Inquisitor: Is that innuendo? Sera: No, it's at the front!
MarieRenée Brisebois @mariebrisebois In the "unexpectedly feels like a milestone" department: I just laminated my team's roadmap (all the way to ship) to my desk.
Good article, worth a read. There is a passage that is very relevant to us v.v. MEA and N7 day:
Rather than viewing these demos or trailers as suggestions of what development and the vision for a game is currently looking like, viewers frequently take them as promises. Because of the hype machine nature that is modern marketing, promising trailers and demos form an audience's expectations. And should anything change because of necessity or creative decision-making, a final product that does not effectively represent an early vertical slice seems like a failure, or a broken promise.
"Everyone is building their own fantasy of what the product needs to be, has to be, wants to be," Thisdale told me. "But you forget about what the product is." It's difficult to create an accurate depiction of what a game will look like further down the line, because developers don't exactly know what that is until they've created it. "Things change," Thisdale said. "Animations change. Our character, Adam Jensen, changed his animation like four times. If I showed you something three years ago to today, it would be completely different. It's not the same model, it's not the same face, not the same suit, not the same textures, not the same anything."
On the flipside, structure is what forces developers into making decisions. Though bemoaning the sometimes-unreasonable nature of the expectations of deadlines, some of the developers I spoke to felt like it also helps the process. "There are always 50 more questions that come up while trying to solve a problem or pin down a mechanic," Straley said. "There are hundreds of possible art styles or pipeline decisions. It's easy to think the priority is to go down every dead end road trying to come up with the most optimal, 'perfect' solution." Having an E3 deadline means having to nail down those decisions instead of pondering on the 50 alternatives a team of creatives can undoubtedly come up with.
See, this is the reason you shouldn't show off early vertical slices in first place. The fandom at large will always base their expectations on what you first show them - that issue will. never. go. away. NE-VER. And if your game does not live up that early (and often overly optimistic) vertical slice of your game, fans and journalists will call you on it every time.
This is why more studios should take on Bethesda's/Apple's marketing approach and show off the game when it's late in development, and very close to what shipping game will be like.
- Okay, maybe not MEA-related, but congrats Cameron!
Cameron Lee @cameron__Lee I bought a book... Jen and I will be welcoming a boy into our family in April. I will nerd him up so hard he won't know what hit him
Good article, worth a read. There is a passage that is very relevant to us v.v. MEA and N7 day:
Rather than viewing these demos or trailers as suggestions of what development and the vision for a game is currently looking like, viewers frequently take them as promises. Because of the hype machine nature that is modern marketing, promising trailers and demos form an audience's expectations. And should anything change because of necessity or creative decision-making, a final product that does not effectively represent an early vertical slice seems like a failure, or a broken promise.
"Everyone is building their own fantasy of what the product needs to be, has to be, wants to be," Thisdale told me. "But you forget about what the product is." It's difficult to create an accurate depiction of what a game will look like further down the line, because developers don't exactly know what that is until they've created it. "Things change," Thisdale said. "Animations change. Our character, Adam Jensen, changed his animation like four times. If I showed you something three years ago to today, it would be completely different. It's not the same model, it's not the same face, not the same suit, not the same textures, not the same anything."
On the flipside, structure is what forces developers into making decisions. Though bemoaning the sometimes-unreasonable nature of the expectations of deadlines, some of the developers I spoke to felt like it also helps the process. "There are always 50 more questions that come up while trying to solve a problem or pin down a mechanic," Straley said. "There are hundreds of possible art styles or pipeline decisions. It's easy to think the priority is to go down every dead end road trying to come up with the most optimal, 'perfect' solution." Having an E3 deadline means having to nail down those decisions instead of pondering on the 50 alternatives a team of creatives can undoubtedly come up with.
See, this is the reason you shouldn't show off early vertical slices in first place. The fandom at large will always base their expectations on what you first show them - that issue will. never. go. away. NE-VER. And if your game does not live up that early (and often overly optimistic) vertical slice of your game, fans and journalists will call you on it every time.
This is why more studios should take on Bethesda's/Apple's marketing approach and show off the game when it's late in development, and very close to what shipping game will be like.
I agree, but we're in the minority. Not that studios pay attention to fandom's demands -- demos and trailers have to be made for execs and investors footing the bill. And for advertising hype. Although I'm not sure who is driving the "shown with in-game engine" cinematics/demos trend. Why is that such a big deal before a game is released? I get why it's a big deal after.
Do you believe that putting a "SUBJECT TO CHANGE" banner across the video would be a workable compromise?
Last Edit: Oct 20, 2016 19:20:26 GMT by PapaCharlie9
Inquisitor: Is that innuendo? Sera: No, it's at the front!
See, this is the reason you shouldn't show off early vertical slices in first place. The fandom at large will always base their expectations on what you first show them - that issue will. never. go. away. NE-VER. And if your game does not live up that early (and often overly optimistic) vertical slice of your game, fans and journalists will call you on it every time.
This is why more studios should take on Bethesda's/Apple's marketing approach and show off the game when it's late in development, and very close to what shipping game will be like.
100% agree. Though I still wish on franchised games they'd stop being as secretive that they're working on it. I mean don't show anything, don't even put out a teaser with a title.
Fallout 4 is a great example of that. We all know it was happening, but they kept refusing it's existence which is silly. Same with DAI, they kept being vague when talking about it like it was this hypothedical non-existent thing lol. I dunno, I just find that equally as awkward.
Like BioWare right now is working on a new IP. We KNOW they are, they've said they are. Great! That's enough for me. Now when they're like 6 months out announce shit and dump information and all that good stuff. No reason to hide the fact they're literally working on something though (which they're not, which I'm happy about - I just mean in general like with FO4)
See, this is the reason you shouldn't show off early vertical slices in first place. The fandom at large will always base their expectations on what you first show them - that issue will. never. go. away. NE-VER. And if your game does not live up that early (and often overly optimistic) vertical slice of your game, fans and journalists will call you on it every time.
This is why more studios should take on Bethesda's/Apple's marketing approach and show off the game when it's late in development, and very close to what shipping game will be like.
I agree, but we're in the minority. Not that studios pay attention to fandom's demands -- demos and trailers have to be made for execs and investors footing the bill. And for advertising hype. Although I'm not sure who is driving the "shown with in-game engine" cinematics/demos trend. Why is that such a big deal before a game is released? I get why it's a big deal after.
Do you believe that putting a "SUBJECT TO CHANGE" banner across the video would be a workable compromise?
Trailers made for investors and execs are a whole different thing. For them, probably the more overly-optimistic the better... But the general public need never see those.
I know of a couple of reasons for the "in-game engine" cinematics trend. One, you create that perception in your audience just how awesome your game engine is. Second, it's a lot cheaper for studios to produce. Full CGI trailers are bloody expensive to create by comparison.
As far as a "Subject to change" banner goes, some do have the stamp of "Pre-Alpha Footage". However, that's still not going to change most people's expectations you're creating with what you're showing them. A more accurate banner would be, "This is very likely an overly optimistic idea of what we'd like our game to be. The final game will (probably) not be this cool. Temper your expectations accordingly."
Man I hope that's a toggle option not a 'we detect it for you' nonsense. Cause there is a good chance I'd use the '1080 high quality' option. Especially if that means a super sample at 1080 (that is, sampling at 1440) with some more bells and whistles on then the '4k' version.
Course, that wont matter much since I wont have a Scorpio to take advantage of that anytime soon (or a PS4 pro for that matter).
MarieRenée Brisebois @mariebrisebois Seeing more of the mysterious BioWare Magic™ in the game these days (AKA: "how is the end product greater than its individual parts?")
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition Posts: 2,591 Likes: 6,241
Mike Flaherty @flickamatuta Mass Effect Andromeda on Nintendo Switch would be absolutely fantastic. Imagine MEA on the go. Mind blown. @masseffect @bioware #MEAndromeda
Mike Flaherty @flickamatuta Mass Effect Andromeda on Nintendo Switch announcing on N7 Day??? *Looks over at @mariebrisebois @gamblemike aarynflynn and winks.*
Michael Gamble @gamblemike @flickamatuta @mariebrisebois aarynflynn PC, PS4, Neo, X1
Mike Flaherty @flickamatuta @gamblemike @mariebrisebois aarynflynn Straight to the point. Okay. Thanks.
Mike Flaherty @flickamatuta Mass Effect Andromeda on Nintendo Switch would be absolutely fantastic. Imagine MEA on the go. Mind blown. @masseffect @bioware #MEAndromeda
Mike Flaherty @flickamatuta Mass Effect Andromeda on Nintendo Switch announcing on N7 Day??? *Looks over at @mariebrisebois @gamblemike aarynflynn and winks.*
Michael Gamble @gamblemike @flickamatuta @mariebrisebois aarynflynn PC, PS4, Neo, X1
Mike Flaherty @flickamatuta @gamblemike @mariebrisebois aarynflynn Straight to the point. Okay. Thanks.
Interesting, that they still refer to as "Neo" instead of Pro. I've always wondered why Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo have so much better codenames then there actual names. I'm not looking for an answer just thinking out loud. Well that kinda answers my question on what kind of triple A support NX will have. It's got Skryim, but that's a 5 yr old game...and I doubt that's gonna get much interest from people still playing on there pcs.