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TECH DEMO VS. 'REAL' DEMO RELEASE
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Cirrocumulus-Cloud
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CloseHello there, I've got a pretty small question - or rather a topic I want to talk about.
What do you prefer in terms of demo releases? Is it good to release a small tech demo (I think Pocket Mirror did this more or less.) or do you prefer to get a more fleshed out demo with more content? The tech demo could be presented sooner, of course.
I'm asking this because I am thinking about it myself right now. I could finish the tech demo for my game in a short amount of time and I think the people that are waiting for the game would enjoy a first look. The real demo that I plan to release soon enough still requires a lot of tiles and details that are simply not done as of yet. There are already a lot of things that I can show, but does it make sense to have a small demo with just around 15 minutes of gameplay?
What do you prefer in terms of demo releases? Is it good to release a small tech demo (I think Pocket Mirror did this more or less.) or do you prefer to get a more fleshed out demo with more content? The tech demo could be presented sooner, of course.
I'm asking this because I am thinking about it myself right now. I could finish the tech demo for my game in a short amount of time and I think the people that are waiting for the game would enjoy a first look. The real demo that I plan to release soon enough still requires a lot of tiles and details that are simply not done as of yet. There are already a lot of things that I can show, but does it make sense to have a small demo with just around 15 minutes of gameplay?
Doesn't tech demo refer to a demo that has a soul purpose of demonstrating the technology behind the game.
If you think about the FF 7 tech demo for ps3, it was a demon that showed what the ps3 was capable of, not what ff was capable of.
Well, I know that it shows the technical stuff... I thought that could refer to the aspects of the game in general. Like minigames und stuff. Tech demo was the closest thing to what I mean. :)
For me both terms are almost interchangeable. A 'tech' demo is usually understood as a demo that showcases only the gameplay elements of a game. But does it have to be necessarily that way? Writing requires 'technique' too, art requires 'technique', everything requires 'technique', really. So the more complete your demo is these aspects, the better... This doesn't mean the demo has to be long, though. But it that is has to be "packed with awesome" as to give players an accurate portrayal of your abilities.
Well, it's perfectly fine. I mean, isn't it actually commonplace?
I can't see why would it be a bad thing.
I can't see why would it be a bad thing.
A standard demo would be around an hour long, judging by the demos of pro games that I've played in my time. If you're making a tech demo, then it'd be smaller- but it would also focus on a particular "killer app" of the game or something, like if Valve made a tech demo showcasing the portal mechanics in Portal.
I know that you can do whatever you want with your demos, but it's advantageous to keep them around that one hour mark, and most preferably to stage them at a point in the game where a lot of the key gameplay would be available. Demos shouldn't start at the beginning of the game, in my mind.
I know that you can do whatever you want with your demos, but it's advantageous to keep them around that one hour mark, and most preferably to stage them at a point in the game where a lot of the key gameplay would be available. Demos shouldn't start at the beginning of the game, in my mind.
From what I've seen, most tech demos aren't actually playable, and are usually just short videos or occasionally the presenter controlling the demo. They tend to focus on physics engines, graphics engines, or lighting engines as opposed to actual game content (an example is Killing Floor 2's most recent tech demo, which was a physics engine for millions of unique killing animations). It wasn't playable, but just showed how in-depth the explosion of heads and limbs went. Most tech demos aren't playable to the public and are more or less just used at E3 and other showcases.
Actual demos tend to last 20 minutes to a few hours, and are playable to some extent. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl demos were a preset party of new Pokemon, and a battle. After the battle, the game ended. The new Ruby & Sapphire games had a 30-second tech demo as a preview, which showed the new effects for Drought & Drizzle. Then some of the newer game demos use restrictions like "Reach Level 10 or 3 Hours" and ends after one of those conditions is met. I don't remember which game did it, but it was a year or two ago.
Of course, now that we are increasingly offered the privilege of paying to test games for developers through the purchase of Alpha or Beta access, demos are becoming a little less common.
Actual demos tend to last 20 minutes to a few hours, and are playable to some extent. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl demos were a preset party of new Pokemon, and a battle. After the battle, the game ended. The new Ruby & Sapphire games had a 30-second tech demo as a preview, which showed the new effects for Drought & Drizzle. Then some of the newer game demos use restrictions like "Reach Level 10 or 3 Hours" and ends after one of those conditions is met. I don't remember which game did it, but it was a year or two ago.
Of course, now that we are increasingly offered the privilege of paying to test games for developers through the purchase of Alpha or Beta access, demos are becoming a little less common.
The first impressions people form are hard to shake. What kind of impression do you want to make?
Tech demos can be valuable for you, the developer, because you people playing your game and you can be alerted to issues with the gameplay (like maybe X mechanic isn't as well-used as you thought) while you're still early enough in development you could (probably) change major things. Regular testing can do this just fine, but maybe you want a wider pool of people playing rather than a handful of testers.
SorceressKyrsty's written about some things to consider for demos before; I think it's useful.
I don't really have too many personal preferences when it comes to demos. I appreciate getting a peek at the game, and if I enjoy it... then I'm probably going to be interested in the full release!
Tech demos can be valuable for you, the developer, because you people playing your game and you can be alerted to issues with the gameplay (like maybe X mechanic isn't as well-used as you thought) while you're still early enough in development you could (probably) change major things. Regular testing can do this just fine, but maybe you want a wider pool of people playing rather than a handful of testers.
SorceressKyrsty's written about some things to consider for demos before; I think it's useful.
I don't really have too many personal preferences when it comes to demos. I appreciate getting a peek at the game, and if I enjoy it... then I'm probably going to be interested in the full release!
When you say 'tech demo' I hear 'cop-out'.
Honestly, I feel it's a bit arrogant to assume an RPG Maker game will ever be advanced enough technically/graphically to warrant a tech demo. For 3D 720p HD masterpieces or whatever, sure, but otherwise I probably won't think much of it.
Honestly, I feel it's a bit arrogant to assume an RPG Maker game will ever be advanced enough technically/graphically to warrant a tech demo. For 3D 720p HD masterpieces or whatever, sure, but otherwise I probably won't think much of it.
@PentagonBuddy: Ah, thank you! I will definitely check that out.
@Yellow Magic: Ah, I chose that word for lack of a better term. Basically a demo that shows what kind of aspects your game has. Your features, if you will. The general atmosphere that your game provides without diving too deep into the story. Pocket Mirror did something like that. And that's what I really meant - so I guess this is some kind of a misunderstanding?
@Yellow Magic: Ah, I chose that word for lack of a better term. Basically a demo that shows what kind of aspects your game has. Your features, if you will. The general atmosphere that your game provides without diving too deep into the story. Pocket Mirror did something like that. And that's what I really meant - so I guess this is some kind of a misunderstanding?
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