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[POLL] IS IT EVER TOO LATE FOR UPDATES?
Poll
Is it ever too late to update/add to a published game? - Results
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No, improvement is good.
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14
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73%
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Yes, but I'm not sure when.
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1
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5%
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Yes, there's a pretty clear period.
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4
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21%
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Posts
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Merlandese
3235
Merlandese
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CloseOXENFREE is an awesome indie game that came out early this year and just release an update for New Game+, as well as a couple of other neat things. The New Game+ adds a lot to the game as a whole, but without it the game was by no means incomplete. It's a real bonus.
It got me wondering, though, if it's ever too late to add more stuff to your game. Like, if they released OXENFREE two years ago and JUST NOW gave the New Game+, would that be seen as bad? Would it breathe new life into the old? Would it be seen as pathetic, as if they should have done this awhile ago?
We don't have as limited control over patches and updates as developers did in the 90s and before, so we could update graphics and performance and fix typos and add features for as long as the sun supplies us with sweet, sweet energy!
What's the consensus on this?
Is there a "soft" or "hard" time after which it's no longer appropriate to adjust a published game?
It got me wondering, though, if it's ever too late to add more stuff to your game. Like, if they released OXENFREE two years ago and JUST NOW gave the New Game+, would that be seen as bad? Would it breathe new life into the old? Would it be seen as pathetic, as if they should have done this awhile ago?
We don't have as limited control over patches and updates as developers did in the 90s and before, so we could update graphics and performance and fix typos and add features for as long as the sun supplies us with sweet, sweet energy!
What's the consensus on this?
Is there a "soft" or "hard" time after which it's no longer appropriate to adjust a published game?
I dunno, I'd be willing to go for a more "soft" time for appropriate-ness, but it depends on a lot of factors. How many games does this person have? What's the scale of the projects? Are they online/multiplayer? Do they have a meta-game that needs constant balancing?
I'd say that it's pretty good to live in a time when updates can come as they're needed, or as the developer wants them to come. If I'm a dev who wants to add something to an old project and I have the tools, well, it's my work, so. It's good that you can do that.
I feel like most devs however would find themselves reaching a point of happiness with projects where they don't want to change things, or don't want to go back to change them. I know that I could go and change some of my old work, but I'd rather make new stuff that has the improvements/the things I learned.
I'd say that it's pretty good to live in a time when updates can come as they're needed, or as the developer wants them to come. If I'm a dev who wants to add something to an old project and I have the tools, well, it's my work, so. It's good that you can do that.
I feel like most devs however would find themselves reaching a point of happiness with projects where they don't want to change things, or don't want to go back to change them. I know that I could go and change some of my old work, but I'd rather make new stuff that has the improvements/the things I learned.
I'd say it depends on whether or not your game has relevance and a demand past launch window. If your game has fans months or even years down the road and those fans have been wanting updates, it's worth a look. Yume Nikki is over a decade old and people still try to contact the dev to get them to update the game.
If you don't have the time to revisit a project that gets one download a week, then it's probably not worth it.
If you don't have the time to revisit a project that gets one download a week, then it's probably not worth it.
Seriously? It's been nearly 20 years and we're still getting updates about Final Fantasy VII. HD edition, remake, various de-makes, mods...
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
There are no finished games, only abandoned games.
Sometimes you gotta abandon a game to work on a different one of course. But the only hard limit I can see is when you die (at which point, theoretically, someone else could still update the game, since you won't be around to complain about them ignoring your artistic vision). There's definitely a point where people are incredulous just because they thought you'd abandoned the game, but that's more about the amount of time between updates than the amount of time since you released the game. And they don't complain or anything, they're just surprised.
Blizzard released a new update for Diablo 2 three months ago. Diablo 2 is sixteen years old.
My viewpoint might be pretty skewed compared to people who only make single-player offline games, since most of my game dev work is on an online MUD (which is like a text-based MMORPG) that's been out for eighteen years and is still in active development.
Sometimes you gotta abandon a game to work on a different one of course. But the only hard limit I can see is when you die (at which point, theoretically, someone else could still update the game, since you won't be around to complain about them ignoring your artistic vision). There's definitely a point where people are incredulous just because they thought you'd abandoned the game, but that's more about the amount of time between updates than the amount of time since you released the game. And they don't complain or anything, they're just surprised.
Blizzard released a new update for Diablo 2 three months ago. Diablo 2 is sixteen years old.
My viewpoint might be pretty skewed compared to people who only make single-player offline games, since most of my game dev work is on an online MUD (which is like a text-based MMORPG) that's been out for eighteen years and is still in active development.
I actually was going to mention Diablo 2 lol
I've planned an update for my game Infection that's been in the works, it still gets downloads and could use some polish in a few areas. It's also my baby and first game so I've already walked away from it feeling pretty good but it could use a better ending which always felt rushed but it's just one of those things.
It might never happen but it is still something I'd like to do.
I've planned an update for my game Infection that's been in the works, it still gets downloads and could use some polish in a few areas. It's also my baby and first game so I've already walked away from it feeling pretty good but it could use a better ending which always felt rushed but it's just one of those things.
It might never happen but it is still something I'd like to do.
I feel like getting a new computer, and not bothering to install RPG Maker VX on it, was an appropriate cut-off for the various games I've made in that engine.
As a general rule, though? No. It is never too late for a bug-report/update!
As a general rule, though? No. It is never too late for a bug-report/update!
If you want to do it then just do it. The Video Game Police ain't gonna show up to your door brandishing thumbscrews because you updated some ancient relic of a game.
e: Patch notes are good to have too so people know what the update is about.
e: Patch notes are good to have too so people know what the update is about.
Merlandese
3235
author=GreatRedSpirit
If you want to do it then just do it. The Video Game Police ain't gonna show up to your door with thumbscrews because you updated some ancient relic of a game.
If the Video Game Police don't enforce this kind of behavior then what are our taxes paying for!?
Hopefully it's brandishing said thumbscrews at people who don't patch their games to fix horrible game breaking bugs!
It's never too late to add to or update a game, but it's a good idea to keep in mind that just because it's been updated, it doesn't that you'll get the same amount of people to play it or a whole new recognition.
Thus you have to balance the thought - is updating my game going to be worth the time spent on it when I could be doing something else instead (working on the next project, perhaps).
I mean, obviously it can lead to a better game and experience for potential players but on the other hand, you might mess some stuff up in the game too, and this might annoy players, especially the older ones who enjoyed what the game already had to offer.
I forget the name of the game in question because it was ages ago now, but I do remember liking one game and then leaving it for a while. When I came back to it, they'd added an update but they'd changed the control scheme completely and messed with some of the gameplay balance, making it 'harder'... and instead had made it pretty much unplayable. Wish I could remember the name of it now, just so I could check it out again and see if they've fixed those issues. >.<
Thus you have to balance the thought - is updating my game going to be worth the time spent on it when I could be doing something else instead (working on the next project, perhaps).
I mean, obviously it can lead to a better game and experience for potential players but on the other hand, you might mess some stuff up in the game too, and this might annoy players, especially the older ones who enjoyed what the game already had to offer.
I forget the name of the game in question because it was ages ago now, but I do remember liking one game and then leaving it for a while. When I came back to it, they'd added an update but they'd changed the control scheme completely and messed with some of the gameplay balance, making it 'harder'... and instead had made it pretty much unplayable. Wish I could remember the name of it now, just so I could check it out again and see if they've fixed those issues. >.<
RyaReisender
200
I think it depends on how much the update adds.
Sometimes it might even be clever to make an update years later. Like when I just played through a game and then there is an update, I'm unlikely to play it again, because I want something new. But if a game I enjoyed 5 years ago gets a big update, I'm quite likely to try it again.
Sometimes it might even be clever to make an update years later. Like when I just played through a game and then there is an update, I'm unlikely to play it again, because I want something new. But if a game I enjoyed 5 years ago gets a big update, I'm quite likely to try it again.
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