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IS “THIS GAME IS JUST TAKING TOO LONG TO COMPLETE” A VIABLE EXCUSE FOR PLAYERS FOR NOT PLAYING A PARTICULAR GAME
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"I was interested in it, until, like, you know, they decided to delay it until next decade."
I always thought that this was an interesting discussion with various people that I know that would refuse to play a game – even if it was highly anticipated with them preciously before – simply because it was delayed or pushed back for a while, even if it was because of last minute game breaking glitches or for just more additional testing purposes. Isn’t that just weird? I know I’ve had some games that I’ve pre-ordered or looked forward to before delayed a couple times, but to refuse to purchase a game because of a little additional waiting time? You gotta be kiddin’ me. But still, that’s the type of world we live in nowadays, I guess.
I wonder how this might apply to our own games on here. When a game generally gets pushed back or delayed on here, does it ultimately hurt its overall chances at being more of a success than just being released on the day of its initial release - or even earlier? For those of you that have finished a game before, and have had to delay the release a little longer because of some last minute bugs or testing purposes, have you had others tell you that they’re no longer interested it because of the wait or do they not simply care? What about if the game took 2, 3 maybe even 4 years to get finished over what you initially thought it would be? I mean, look at Duke Nukem Forever and how long it took to get that done. If the game was released much earlier on in its lifespan, it probably would have been a fantastic success, but instead it was just simply more than just an okay game.
So do delays and additional waiting times matter in the long scheme of things or are these people just missing out on the fun and are extremely impatient? Either way, it's something to think about it.
Most certainly longer wait times diminishes the impact of a game's release! Hype and anticipation wears thin, the next cool thing erodes interest, and the ultimate success of the game is hampered. You see it all the time in the world of entertainment (Duke Nukem Forever being an extreme example). By pushing back release day you are already dampening people's expectations, and whenever expectations don't live up to reality, the product suffers.
I have a few personal examples of that, too (Generica TNG and Aether Pulse. They both would have been much more successful had I released them when I said I would. G:TNG just now reached 400 dls.)
I have a few personal examples of that, too (Generica TNG and Aether Pulse. They both would have been much more successful had I released them when I said I would. G:TNG just now reached 400 dls.)
It depends on how much you're hyping it up. Half Life 3 is pretty much vaporware as far as anyone is concerned, but since Valve has wisely kept their mouth shut about it, there's really no fatigue in the anticipation, and I can bet when (if?) it finally DOES get released, it will be to pretty big fanfare.
BUT THEN AGAIN, an active and enthusiastic development phase can keep people excited for a long time. Final Fantasy: Blackmoon took quite a while to be released, but it had TONS of content on the way to release, hence it got a lot of downloads once it did.
BUT THEN AGAIN, an active and enthusiastic development phase can keep people excited for a long time. Final Fantasy: Blackmoon took quite a while to be released, but it had TONS of content on the way to release, hence it got a lot of downloads once it did.
author=kentona
Most certainly longer wait times diminishes the impact of a game's release! Hype and anticipation wears thin, the next cool thing erodes interest, and the ultimate success of the game is hampered. You see it all the time in the world of entertainment (Duke Nukem Forever being an extreme example).
However, Take-Two said Duke Nukem Forever was profitable despite its poor reviews. It might even fall into the So Bad It's Good category (I'm not going to quote TV Tropes, because we have lost many a great productivity there), which would have boosted sales of gamers just buying it because they want to see how bad it really is.
Blind
2262
“A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”
― Shigeru Miyamoto
In the commercial world, most development studios will compensate for delays with additional marketing. Of course, we don't have that luxury here lol. I guess you have to pick your battles in that regard. There's a reason I've been working on a single game since 2007 -___- But I don't think I'm entirely alone. I know Starless Umbra has been worked on roughly in the same time frame. Dondoran took SIX years.. etc.
― Shigeru Miyamoto
In the commercial world, most development studios will compensate for delays with additional marketing. Of course, we don't have that luxury here lol. I guess you have to pick your battles in that regard. There's a reason I've been working on a single game since 2007 -___- But I don't think I'm entirely alone. I know Starless Umbra has been worked on roughly in the same time frame. Dondoran took SIX years.. etc.
RyaReisender
200
I see this frequently with MMORPGs. When people first hear about an MMORPG with unique features the hype starts to build, it goes through all the MMORPG communities, everybody talks about it.
But if the game doesn't get released within say 3 months since the hype started, the interest is lost. Then if the game is actually released 2 years later, nobody is interested in it anymore.
It's very hard to start a hype wave on the same product twice, so you need to be very careful with when you actually want to reveal information about your product at all.
There is one thing however, that helps against this phenomenon: Write weekly blog articles! If you keep your player base updated weekly, they will keep on visiting the game's website and read more about the project and the hype will stay much longer.
But if the game doesn't get released within say 3 months since the hype started, the interest is lost. Then if the game is actually released 2 years later, nobody is interested in it anymore.
It's very hard to start a hype wave on the same product twice, so you need to be very careful with when you actually want to reveal information about your product at all.
There is one thing however, that helps against this phenomenon: Write weekly blog articles! If you keep your player base updated weekly, they will keep on visiting the game's website and read more about the project and the hype will stay much longer.
Shinan
4314
Well I just find that I am excited when a game is announced, then I notice that it'll be years until it's out so I sort of voluntarily forget about it (sometimes checking up every now and then to see if there's progress) and sometimes it's out and it's a pleasant surprise that the game I read about and was excited about years ago is finally out!
I do the same for kickstarters. I back a project, then ignore all the backer updates until there's one that contains a download.
I mean in the end I have enough games to last me five lifetimes so if one game is not out RIGHT NOW it's not like I can't wait.
In the hobbyist space I'm pretty much the same. I will see a game that looks interesting (usually because a buddy is making it) and I tend to just forget about it and then look it up again when it's released. Of course occasionally there's people all hyping up their games years before they're about to be completed but we all know that those people are going to lose their games in a "hardware crash" anyway.
I do the same for kickstarters. I back a project, then ignore all the backer updates until there's one that contains a download.
I mean in the end I have enough games to last me five lifetimes so if one game is not out RIGHT NOW it's not like I can't wait.
In the hobbyist space I'm pretty much the same. I will see a game that looks interesting (usually because a buddy is making it) and I tend to just forget about it and then look it up again when it's released. Of course occasionally there's people all hyping up their games years before they're about to be completed but we all know that those people are going to lose their games in a "hardware crash" anyway.
I agree with Shinan.
Not to mention that big hypes kill part of the enjoyment. I just want to try for myself, not go thinking "THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVAAR" to have these hopes crushed, as near-perfect games are scarce and rare.
Having a development hole does cut down on your awareness, though.
Not to mention that big hypes kill part of the enjoyment. I just want to try for myself, not go thinking "THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVAAR" to have these hopes crushed, as near-perfect games are scarce and rare.
Having a development hole does cut down on your awareness, though.
Yeah, given that for most of us making RPGs is a hobby, and there's no way we can churn out games at anything approaching triple A speed, I'm sure the hype downgrade is a very big issue.
But that's what I love about the Subscribe feature. A game I haven't heard from for a long while will get a big update, and then I'm excited about it again! And even if it takes forever to get completed, when it is done, I'll know, and be able to try it out as soon as it's available!
Very much this! The quality of the game shouldn't be sacrificed just to get it out while the hype's still big. In the end, I think people will flock to a good game even if the hype has died down. I've been known to be overly optimistic, tho :P
But that's what I love about the Subscribe feature. A game I haven't heard from for a long while will get a big update, and then I'm excited about it again! And even if it takes forever to get completed, when it is done, I'll know, and be able to try it out as soon as it's available!
author=Blindmind
“A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”
― Shigeru Miyamoto
Very much this! The quality of the game shouldn't be sacrificed just to get it out while the hype's still big. In the end, I think people will flock to a good game even if the hype has died down. I've been known to be overly optimistic, tho :P
RyaReisender
200
Subscribe feature helps, but it's also possible to just not tell everybody about your game until it's done. But just posting a game page on RMN probably won't even cause that big of a hype going. Just don't start advertising it on other websites until it's close before completion.
If a game is constantly getting delayed that's a great sign of their development pipeline being shot to shit and if that's the case then it's another great sign that the end result is going to be garbage. Nevermind timing your release at a good time / not at the same time as AAA blockbuster crap. People's obligations generally increase over time too giving less time for time wasters like video games. This is all before things like hype and reducing consumer confidence that others mentioned.
My favorite example of shitty games in development hell isn't Duke Nukem Forever, it's Diablo 3.
My favorite example of shitty games in development hell isn't Duke Nukem Forever, it's Diablo 3.
Haha, oh yes.
The second one really is hard to top. They didn't even get close.
Still, delays may raise suspicion or let you forget about the games, but it shouldn't decide the buy unless you see major potential flaws.
The second one really is hard to top. They didn't even get close.
Still, delays may raise suspicion or let you forget about the games, but it shouldn't decide the buy unless you see major potential flaws.
amerk
2539
A developer who stays in contact throughout the development cycle is probably going to keep the hype and anticipation going, and get more understanding fans when a project has to be delayed, so long as the developer is giving realistic measures for a time frame and reasons for the delay.
However, as Kentona noted, hype dies down. I don't think I'd ever refuse a game because it wasn't finished when the developer said it would be, but my list of priorities changes constantly when it comes to which games to buy/play; so if a hyped game I really wanted gets pushed back too far, I'll probably revise my list and push the game towards the end. When (if) the game is released, it's going to depend on whether I now have the money and/or time for it, what I'm currently playing, and what other things I'm now interested in.
However, I seldom ever get hyped over a game that is yet to even see the testing phase and give my attention more to the completed section. Quite often, people salivate over game pages for months on end, only for the project to be indefinitely on hiatus or cancelled, when they could have been spending that time on games that are finished of equal quality.
However, as Kentona noted, hype dies down. I don't think I'd ever refuse a game because it wasn't finished when the developer said it would be, but my list of priorities changes constantly when it comes to which games to buy/play; so if a hyped game I really wanted gets pushed back too far, I'll probably revise my list and push the game towards the end. When (if) the game is released, it's going to depend on whether I now have the money and/or time for it, what I'm currently playing, and what other things I'm now interested in.
However, I seldom ever get hyped over a game that is yet to even see the testing phase and give my attention more to the completed section. Quite often, people salivate over game pages for months on end, only for the project to be indefinitely on hiatus or cancelled, when they could have been spending that time on games that are finished of equal quality.
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