Three things are certain in life – death, taxes and controversy in the video game industry. In fact, every decision of the developers has some consequences, and sometimes there is no fight for what is better, but simply for choosing the lesser evil. And no matter how it sounds, it is. Because sometimes two paths, differing only in details, can have completely different consequences. Snowball effect, flutter of butterfly wings and so on.
Taking this into account, sometimes it is difficult to even think about entering the proverbial shoes of a decision-maker . And there is probably no studio that does not deal with such choices – almost like in Antigone – at least once in the video game development cycle. However, one can imagine that most often such situations occur almost at the very end. Well, at least apparent.
I mean one specific situation. Deciding whether to announce the postponement of the premiere and actually give in to it, or whether it can release a production that is anything but flawless. In both cases, player criticism will be inevitable. So it is as I wrote at the very beginning – you have to hit the lesser evil. And sometimes it succeeds, and sometimes … Well, the best example of this second perspective we have seen recently.
The Last of Us Part 1 for PC
Some – like me – watched it from the sidelines. Others – like hundreds of thousands of fans – had the displeasure of finding out in the first person , on their own skin. I mean, of course, the infamous premiere of the latest refresh of the first part of the adventures of Joel and Ellie from Naughty Dog, after which they will have to wipe the dust off their tree-clean logo for some time.
The premiere was a huge event , and nothing foreshadowed the flop it turned out to be. After all, there is no shortage of fans of The Last of Us series. You can’t even say that there were fewer of them than ten years ago on the occasion of the original premiere, or several dozen months ago when we got the sequel. The series produced by HBO Max did the job – Hollywood has a lot of power.
Moreover, previous productions from Naughty Dog, which were transferred from Sony equipment to PC, were a qualitative success . This time, however, something went wrong, and after the first hours of play, players began to flood the Internet in droves to hammer the publishers who released such a project for sale and the distributors who allowed it to happen. Probably everyone missed it.
However controversial it may sound – deservedly so. The state of the game was indeed real, and you didn’t have to experience it yourself to be flooded with hundreds of memes, arguments and anecdotes related to how characters could break in half, Joel looked like from a failed fan animation, and buildings disappeared before our eyes they were dealing with a different Sci-Fi subgenre .
And it was enough to wait…
Now, of course, the situation is relatively under control, although the septic tank overflowed. The creators are doing a really nice job in the context of fixing what’s broken and polishing what’s broken a little less. However, the aftertaste remains. And theoretically, you can say that “a wise Pole after the damage”, but it’s hard not to be like that . Moreover, it seems to me that if I saw the state of the game, which was put into the hands of the players for the premiere, even before it, then I would also be the “wise”.
Where does this feeling come from? My assumption is simple – it’s better to be patient and get what you’re waiting for than to buy something that is a semi-finished product. I’ve always had this and it also applies to games. If I wanted Minecraft as a kid, I saved up for it long enough , instead of reaching for mobile fakes for a few bucks, which probably slipped into the official Apple and Google stores through the back door.
With the greatest AAA hits from gargantuan studios with thousands of employees, I have the same thing . I prefer to wait . Sure, when a month before the debut I find out that 30 days turn into 333, it’s not pleasant. Nevertheless, time flies, and perhaps it will make the contact with such a long-awaited title even more pleasant? I don’t know, but probability gives a clear answer.
If I were “on the other side”, I would be guided by exactly the same values . I know that today there are also stock exchange issues, millions of millions of collaborations and big contracts with big fish. Nevertheless, my inner romanticism, through which I often look at my beloved industry, calls out that the recipient should always come first – the consumer, player and fan (in one) who spends his money.
Morality
In conclusion, “I don’t want to but I have to” refer to the issue of morality. After all, it is not in line with it to be aware that something does not work well (or even does not work at all) and still release it. A case like Cyberpunk 2077, and I had the impression that the lesson would affect not only CD Projekt RED, but also the entire industry. However, no. Unfortunately, we are still dealing with this, because I can’t believe that no one has seen how much the whole thing is “bugged”.
So my stance on this is clear – it’s better to delay the release. Even twice – or even three times if necessary. It makes no sense to release an unfinished game, or one that will have to be repaired for the next few weeks. And it’s probably in the form of overtime, because spilled spoiled milk is harder to clean up than the one that just went bad in the carton.
Source: ppe