I’m sorry, I realise my first Sunday Thoughts is a bit late (I’ve been here for months!) but that’s because I’ve taken my time with it to think about it so that it’s as good as possible. In the same way, some games developers have to take their time with games to make them as good as possible. It’s evident that many don’t at all but some get it just right and the end product is nothing short of unmissable. That’s what I want: unmissable games, lots of them. I don’t care how long it takes, but if there’s enough time and effort put into a project, we should expect something near to perfection.
A lot of games have been delayed recently and I’ve seen a lot of people complain, I haven’t seen a single person pointing out that they’ll be able to make the game even better than any beta version or preview that we’ve already played. It means that we have to wait for a while longer before we get our hands on the game but it also means that on release the game isn’t going to be broken, incomplete or missing those extra features that we love so much.
That’s why I don’t complain too much, maybe I used to but I’ve come to the realisation that the game development process is a long, hard battle. However, if the game does end up being a broken mess, then that’s my trust for those developers gone; a delay, to me, is a promise that the game will be finished upon release. It’s the developers saying “Guys, we want to make this as good as possible – just hang in there for a few months and your mind will be blown”.
Some developers can do it: they’re able to get it out on time and make it awesome. Other developers can’t: they may delay it but nothing can change that it’s simply not a good game. Who knows what Polyphony Digital have been doing with Gran Turismo 5; in my opinion it’s been delayed for far too long. Maybe it’ll be the perfect racing game, but it seems that it’s been finished for a while and I’m not looking forward to it as much anymore. From my personal experience delays (providing they aren’t too long) always affect the game in a good way; movie games that are rushed out to meet the release date of the movie are never good.
I’ve seen a few games that could have done with a delay, there are some problems that just can’t be patched out. Take Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for example, remember that awesome Star Destroyer scene that we were all excited to play as soon as we gazed upon the back of the box? I have two words: Tie Fighters. They broke apart what could have been an epic moment, and the sequence was completely ruined as another wave of Tie Fighters flew towards you and tore you apart just as you began to feel powerful.
From what I can tell, if the game hadn’t been pushed out and the developers had spent more time on what could have been the best use of the Force in any form of Star Wars media. In fact, in an interview with MTV Multiplayer, the Producer of The Force Unleash admitted that if they had “spent another year on it, we would have done something even better, obviously”. Obviously; delays give the developers enough time to realise their flaws and make “something even better”.
Could you imagine a game like God of War, which in my opinion has some of the greatest boss battle sequences around, ruined by a wave of enemies every time you tried to do a quick time event? I waited for God of War 3, and I was extremely impressed. I’m even more excited for LittleBigPlanet 2 now that I know Media Molecule are going to put more time into it. Not everything can be patched, and delays give them more time to focus on these things.
Games should never be rushed, whether it’s to meet the consumer’s needs of a yearly instalment, to get it out in the same timeframe of the movie linked to it, or simply because the developers think they can. I’m probably going too far into this subject, when I don’t know everything about it. However, I do believe that more developers shouldn’t be scared of delaying a game if they need to. I know it’s not the same, but I’ll take a few looks over this article to make sure it’s perfect for going out this Sunday. If it isn’t, I might have to work on it for another week.
Quinlank
If delays help a game, then you’d have to be a bit of an idiot to cry foul when they occur. I personally don’t care about the likes of Gran Turismo 5 and I’m in no hurry to play LittleBigPlanet 2, but if something I was really looking forward to got delayed then I’d probably be annoyed, yes. Gears of War 3 is a good example here, as I was all set for buying a new 360 just to play it(And likely some of the more minor releases I’ve missed this year of course) and not only does it get delayed, but they come out and say they’re delaying it because they want more money from it’s launch period? I get the reasoning to an extent, sure, but actually telling the public this is why it’s happening? Pretty dumb.
Delay a game to improve it if you must, but don’t do it out of greed, and if you really have to, don’t tell us you are.
spooner_22
I think Fifa 11 is a perfect example of a game that has been released when its still broken…I’m having many problems with it. And knowing EA i don’t even expect a patch fix!