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Have you ever bought a game purely because of the designers behind it? Have you ever walked into a games store with your wallet bulging and picked a game straight off the shelf and put it on the counter without thinking anymore of it? This is hardly the way you shop for all your games, if you buy it online you always check out the reviews, you may even find the time to look through a magazine with a related review or preview. But whatever you choose to do it is most probably from information youíve picked up somewhere along the way.
If used cleverly this will be to the advantage of the designers. First time designers will be able to construct something so perfect that even if itís the only piece of work they ever do they will still be known for it. Itís not just for games this applies to, think about it. What if Steven Spielberg only ever made one film, and letís says for arguments sake that film was Jaws. The critics loved it, the audience loved it and therefore everyone was happy, then he goes into hibernation for the next 20 years only to reappear with Jurassic Park. From reputation youíd be driven to see it. Even if you see bad reviews of the film, itís not enough to determine you away from the cinema.
The same applies to sequels I suppose, because of the success of the original it brings you forward to go to the next stage, to experience something new that thrilled you the first time and now you ëknowí itís gonna do the same next time. A sequel is never far from the original game, maybe itís a bit faster, a few more options, but itís usually just an extra mission pack, so you know what to expect, and itís because of those reasons that you buy the game.
The press coverage surrounding the game already gives you the impressions of what Santa Claus and his little Elves will be bringing you for Christmas, the first impression is something that you only get once so they show you all the decent bits then leave out the rest. But more on the subject, as you go to buy this game youíve been waiting for all that time for, you suddenly come across something
something new, something the gaming industry has never seen before. This game looks like to smash records and sell in the millions, but there is a slight bit of trouble, at the same time Half Life 2 is being released, a games designer company with a reputation for themselves and a game that had a reputation as well.
In this world it would be my opinion that no matter what the other games looked like Half Life 2 would just wipe the floor and leave them all cowering in the corner wishing they hadnít been created. That wonít happen though, for some strange reason, weíve all been allowed our Own opinions, and that means we can choose the games for ourselves, game designers know that, whatever they make there will ALWAYS be a load of people waiting at 6am on Friday mornings for the game. Thatís not a bad thing though, if it wasnít for everyone wanting different games, weíd never have the reviews about them in the first place, except for the all singing, all dancing reviews and previews that the game producers write themselves saying. ìYour console wonít be the same without it, and if you donít have this game, your friends will think youíre sadî.
Game designers seem to make relatively similar games, e.g. FPS or RPGs they donít usually get distracted from the genre, so you can usually instantly expect whats going to be made next, e.g. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Perfect Dark wasnít a sequel, and although it used the same graphics engine, and had the similar ëSecret Agentí story line to it, they are the only things that were kept the same, and only because they sold the game, and anything else wouldnít have been as good, but did many of you know the gameís options and details inside out before you plugged it into your console? Or was your face beaming with surprise from the time the game started rolling to the time your fell asleep?
My prediction is that most of you did. You will have been told some of the details by your friends, and accidentally stumbled apon the official website, with information oozing out of every article. Itís everything you hear and see that attracts you into purchasing this item. From reading the simple review, screen shots to the snippets of the story line, all this information is valuable to you, when selecting a game. The designers will all have the effect, and the effect is your opinion. Just think about this, if your told itís brilliant constantly by different groups of people whether it be friends or just the gaming press then youíve already got in your mind that you love this game. So when you get it, chances are youíll still love it and will think highly of it. You might even go to your friendís house and watch or play the game for a while to get a basic idea of it. A good review from a friend is worth more than 100 reviews online, if your friend likes it, starts reminiscing about their favourite parts, the game is sold to you, and the only thing on your mind is, ëHow quickly can I get this game?í
Thanks for taken the time to read
Mr Nice Guy
If used cleverly this will be to the advantage of the designers. First time designers will be able to construct something so perfect that even if itís the only piece of work they ever do they will still be known for it. Itís not just for games this applies to, think about it. What if Steven Spielberg only ever made one film, and letís says for arguments sake that film was Jaws. The critics loved it, the audience loved it and therefore everyone was happy, then he goes into hibernation for the next 20 years only to reappear with Jurassic Park. From reputation youíd be driven to see it. Even if you see bad reviews of the film, itís not enough to determine you away from the cinema.
The same applies to sequels I suppose, because of the success of the original it brings you forward to go to the next stage, to experience something new that thrilled you the first time and now you ëknowí itís gonna do the same next time. A sequel is never far from the original game, maybe itís a bit faster, a few more options, but itís usually just an extra mission pack, so you know what to expect, and itís because of those reasons that you buy the game.
The press coverage surrounding the game already gives you the impressions of what Santa Claus and his little Elves will be bringing you for Christmas, the first impression is something that you only get once so they show you all the decent bits then leave out the rest. But more on the subject, as you go to buy this game youíve been waiting for all that time for, you suddenly come across something
something new, something the gaming industry has never seen before. This game looks like to smash records and sell in the millions, but there is a slight bit of trouble, at the same time Half Life 2 is being released, a games designer company with a reputation for themselves and a game that had a reputation as well.
In this world it would be my opinion that no matter what the other games looked like Half Life 2 would just wipe the floor and leave them all cowering in the corner wishing they hadnít been created. That wonít happen though, for some strange reason, weíve all been allowed our Own opinions, and that means we can choose the games for ourselves, game designers know that, whatever they make there will ALWAYS be a load of people waiting at 6am on Friday mornings for the game. Thatís not a bad thing though, if it wasnít for everyone wanting different games, weíd never have the reviews about them in the first place, except for the all singing, all dancing reviews and previews that the game producers write themselves saying. ìYour console wonít be the same without it, and if you donít have this game, your friends will think youíre sadî.
Game designers seem to make relatively similar games, e.g. FPS or RPGs they donít usually get distracted from the genre, so you can usually instantly expect whats going to be made next, e.g. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Perfect Dark wasnít a sequel, and although it used the same graphics engine, and had the similar ëSecret Agentí story line to it, they are the only things that were kept the same, and only because they sold the game, and anything else wouldnít have been as good, but did many of you know the gameís options and details inside out before you plugged it into your console? Or was your face beaming with surprise from the time the game started rolling to the time your fell asleep?
My prediction is that most of you did. You will have been told some of the details by your friends, and accidentally stumbled apon the official website, with information oozing out of every article. Itís everything you hear and see that attracts you into purchasing this item. From reading the simple review, screen shots to the snippets of the story line, all this information is valuable to you, when selecting a game. The designers will all have the effect, and the effect is your opinion. Just think about this, if your told itís brilliant constantly by different groups of people whether it be friends or just the gaming press then youíve already got in your mind that you love this game. So when you get it, chances are youíll still love it and will think highly of it. You might even go to your friendís house and watch or play the game for a while to get a basic idea of it. A good review from a friend is worth more than 100 reviews online, if your friend likes it, starts reminiscing about their favourite parts, the game is sold to you, and the only thing on your mind is, ëHow quickly can I get this game?í
Thanks for taken the time to read
Mr Nice Guy
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Have you ever bought a game purely because of the designers behind it? Have you ever walked into a games store with your wallet bulging and picked a game straight off the shelf and put it on the counter without thinking anymore of it? This is hardly the way you shop for all your games, if you buy it online you always check out the reviews, you may even find the time to look through a magazine with a related review or preview. But whatever you choose to do it is most probably from information youíve picked up somewhere along the way.
If used cleverly this will be to the advantage of the designers. First time designers will be able to construct something so perfect that even if itís the only piece of work they ever do they will still be known for it. Itís not just for games this applies to, think about it. What if Steven Spielberg only ever made one film, and letís says for arguments sake that film was Jaws. The critics loved it, the audience loved it and therefore everyone was happy, then he goes into hibernation for the next 20 years only to reappear with Jurassic Park. From reputation youíd be driven to see it. Even if you see bad reviews of the film, itís not enough to determine you away from the cinema.
The same applies to sequels I suppose, because of the success of the original it brings you forward to go to the next stage, to experience something new that thrilled you the first time and now you ëknowí itís gonna do the same next time. A sequel is never far from the original game, maybe itís a bit faster, a few more options, but itís usually just an extra mission pack, so you know what to expect, and itís because of those reasons that you buy the game.
The press coverage surrounding the game already gives you the impressions of what Santa Claus and his little Elves will be bringing you for Christmas, the first impression is something that you only get once so they show you all the decent bits then leave out the rest. But more on the subject, as you go to buy this game youíve been waiting for all that time for, you suddenly come across something
something new, something the gaming industry has never seen before. This game looks like to smash records and sell in the millions, but there is a slight bit of trouble, at the same time Half Life 2 is being released, a games designer company with a reputation for themselves and a game that had a reputation as well.
In this world it would be my opinion that no matter what the other games looked like Half Life 2 would just wipe the floor and leave them all cowering in the corner wishing they hadnít been created. That wonít happen though, for some strange reason, weíve all been allowed our Own opinions, and that means we can choose the games for ourselves, game designers know that, whatever they make there will ALWAYS be a load of people waiting at 6am on Friday mornings for the game. Thatís not a bad thing though, if it wasnít for everyone wanting different games, weíd never have the reviews about them in the first place, except for the all singing, all dancing reviews and previews that the game producers write themselves saying. ìYour console wonít be the same without it, and if you donít have this game, your friends will think youíre sadî.
Game designers seem to make relatively similar games, e.g. FPS or RPGs they donít usually get distracted from the genre, so you can usually instantly expect whats going to be made next, e.g. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Perfect Dark wasnít a sequel, and although it used the same graphics engine, and had the similar ëSecret Agentí story line to it, they are the only things that were kept the same, and only because they sold the game, and anything else wouldnít have been as good, but did many of you know the gameís options and details inside out before you plugged it into your console? Or was your face beaming with surprise from the time the game started rolling to the time your fell asleep?
My prediction is that most of you did. You will have been told some of the details by your friends, and accidentally stumbled apon the official website, with information oozing out of every article. Itís everything you hear and see that attracts you into purchasing this item. From reading the simple review, screen shots to the snippets of the story line, all this information is valuable to you, when selecting a game. The designers will all have the effect, and the effect is your opinion. Just think about this, if your told itís brilliant constantly by different groups of people whether it be friends or just the gaming press then youíve already got in your mind that you love this game. So when you get it, chances are youíll still love it and will think highly of it. You might even go to your friendís house and watch or play the game for a while to get a basic idea of it. A good review from a friend is worth more than 100 reviews online, if your friend likes it, starts reminiscing about their favourite parts, the game is sold to you, and the only thing on your mind is, ëHow quickly can I get this game?í
Thanks for taken the time to read
Mr Nice Guy
If used cleverly this will be to the advantage of the designers. First time designers will be able to construct something so perfect that even if itís the only piece of work they ever do they will still be known for it. Itís not just for games this applies to, think about it. What if Steven Spielberg only ever made one film, and letís says for arguments sake that film was Jaws. The critics loved it, the audience loved it and therefore everyone was happy, then he goes into hibernation for the next 20 years only to reappear with Jurassic Park. From reputation youíd be driven to see it. Even if you see bad reviews of the film, itís not enough to determine you away from the cinema.
The same applies to sequels I suppose, because of the success of the original it brings you forward to go to the next stage, to experience something new that thrilled you the first time and now you ëknowí itís gonna do the same next time. A sequel is never far from the original game, maybe itís a bit faster, a few more options, but itís usually just an extra mission pack, so you know what to expect, and itís because of those reasons that you buy the game.
The press coverage surrounding the game already gives you the impressions of what Santa Claus and his little Elves will be bringing you for Christmas, the first impression is something that you only get once so they show you all the decent bits then leave out the rest. But more on the subject, as you go to buy this game youíve been waiting for all that time for, you suddenly come across something
something new, something the gaming industry has never seen before. This game looks like to smash records and sell in the millions, but there is a slight bit of trouble, at the same time Half Life 2 is being released, a games designer company with a reputation for themselves and a game that had a reputation as well.
In this world it would be my opinion that no matter what the other games looked like Half Life 2 would just wipe the floor and leave them all cowering in the corner wishing they hadnít been created. That wonít happen though, for some strange reason, weíve all been allowed our Own opinions, and that means we can choose the games for ourselves, game designers know that, whatever they make there will ALWAYS be a load of people waiting at 6am on Friday mornings for the game. Thatís not a bad thing though, if it wasnít for everyone wanting different games, weíd never have the reviews about them in the first place, except for the all singing, all dancing reviews and previews that the game producers write themselves saying. ìYour console wonít be the same without it, and if you donít have this game, your friends will think youíre sadî.
Game designers seem to make relatively similar games, e.g. FPS or RPGs they donít usually get distracted from the genre, so you can usually instantly expect whats going to be made next, e.g. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Perfect Dark wasnít a sequel, and although it used the same graphics engine, and had the similar ëSecret Agentí story line to it, they are the only things that were kept the same, and only because they sold the game, and anything else wouldnít have been as good, but did many of you know the gameís options and details inside out before you plugged it into your console? Or was your face beaming with surprise from the time the game started rolling to the time your fell asleep?
My prediction is that most of you did. You will have been told some of the details by your friends, and accidentally stumbled apon the official website, with information oozing out of every article. Itís everything you hear and see that attracts you into purchasing this item. From reading the simple review, screen shots to the snippets of the story line, all this information is valuable to you, when selecting a game. The designers will all have the effect, and the effect is your opinion. Just think about this, if your told itís brilliant constantly by different groups of people whether it be friends or just the gaming press then youíve already got in your mind that you love this game. So when you get it, chances are youíll still love it and will think highly of it. You might even go to your friendís house and watch or play the game for a while to get a basic idea of it. A good review from a friend is worth more than 100 reviews online, if your friend likes it, starts reminiscing about their favourite parts, the game is sold to you, and the only thing on your mind is, ëHow quickly can I get this game?í
Thanks for taken the time to read
Mr Nice Guy
Nice post...
I find that the reputations of different companies can have quite an effect on gamers... companies like Rare, Squaresoft and Nintendo-EAD have very high customer expectations...
One reputation that sticks out above all is the Nintendo 'Kiddie' setup... that's a real shame. Mainly because of the potential of the console...
The way I see it is as follows... The Gamecube software is built very similar to the way PC games are made... bearing this in mind, there is quite a big chance that, with the ever-increasing cost of development, PC games companies will want to to send their 'babies' to other platforms... Gamecube and X-Box more-so becasuse porting will be easier...
Plus, the way X-Box and GC games are made are quite similar when compared to the way PS2 games are made... so with this in mind, companies might release a game for PC, X-Box and Gamecube, and leave the PS2 out because it's too fiddley... especially when they could be getting on with making another game!
It just seems that Nintendo's reputation... although fading, is still proving to be somewhat of a bÌtch for them to overcome! But still... the whole PC game ports seems like a good idea... Nintendo might have most of the PS2 games (because a lot of the developers are on board), All the Nintendo exclusives AND some would-be PC games... like Galleon!
But with me having talked about Nintendo's reputation, and how bad it is - they could be building a new one with the easy-to-develop-for system campaign... providing they pull it off, they could be top of the gaming world!
Make sense of that if you can... :D
Game
I find that the reputations of different companies can have quite an effect on gamers... companies like Rare, Squaresoft and Nintendo-EAD have very high customer expectations...
One reputation that sticks out above all is the Nintendo 'Kiddie' setup... that's a real shame. Mainly because of the potential of the console...
The way I see it is as follows... The Gamecube software is built very similar to the way PC games are made... bearing this in mind, there is quite a big chance that, with the ever-increasing cost of development, PC games companies will want to to send their 'babies' to other platforms... Gamecube and X-Box more-so becasuse porting will be easier...
Plus, the way X-Box and GC games are made are quite similar when compared to the way PS2 games are made... so with this in mind, companies might release a game for PC, X-Box and Gamecube, and leave the PS2 out because it's too fiddley... especially when they could be getting on with making another game!
It just seems that Nintendo's reputation... although fading, is still proving to be somewhat of a bÌtch for them to overcome! But still... the whole PC game ports seems like a good idea... Nintendo might have most of the PS2 games (because a lot of the developers are on board), All the Nintendo exclusives AND some would-be PC games... like Galleon!
But with me having talked about Nintendo's reputation, and how bad it is - they could be building a new one with the easy-to-develop-for system campaign... providing they pull it off, they could be top of the gaming world!
Make sense of that if you can... :D
Game
The Game wrote:
> Nice post...
Make sense of that if you can...
> :D
Game
Well to start with, 'At last, sign of life', but secondly yes I think I'm starting to understand what you are saying. I think because of my opinions on Nintendo, although I loved and owned the SNES, I just thought the complete opposite about the N64.
It gives you the impression and you only get one first impression, that can go to your advantage or perhaps not. But with the PS, it was released at a huge £300 but Sega didn't seem to be up to the challenge and they just got ignored. The same happened again with the PS2, Sega released it at the wrong time and the wrong price because of the reputation that Sony has already gained from it's PS.
Whilst the PS was still growing strong the Sega was looking worse and worse until finally they had to give into the console industry. I'm not sure at the moment as I'm still a cave man with the good old PS, which I hardly touch. I'm prefectly happy with my PC as in a few days I'm getting a new one and I'll be able to play any game of my choice on it, but it would also be nice to have the option to set infront of the tele and play a game without using the stupid keyboard and having to press 'q' to run and 'm' to walk if you get my drift.
For me it's the X-Box or PS2 as they both offer what I'm looking for and they both have a good reputation.
> Nice post...
Make sense of that if you can...
> :D
Game
Well to start with, 'At last, sign of life', but secondly yes I think I'm starting to understand what you are saying. I think because of my opinions on Nintendo, although I loved and owned the SNES, I just thought the complete opposite about the N64.
It gives you the impression and you only get one first impression, that can go to your advantage or perhaps not. But with the PS, it was released at a huge £300 but Sega didn't seem to be up to the challenge and they just got ignored. The same happened again with the PS2, Sega released it at the wrong time and the wrong price because of the reputation that Sony has already gained from it's PS.
Whilst the PS was still growing strong the Sega was looking worse and worse until finally they had to give into the console industry. I'm not sure at the moment as I'm still a cave man with the good old PS, which I hardly touch. I'm prefectly happy with my PC as in a few days I'm getting a new one and I'll be able to play any game of my choice on it, but it would also be nice to have the option to set infront of the tele and play a game without using the stupid keyboard and having to press 'q' to run and 'm' to walk if you get my drift.
For me it's the X-Box or PS2 as they both offer what I'm looking for and they both have a good reputation.
To start with that is a long post and being this late I may not make full sense in what I am writing and on how well I understood what you wrote but I'll make an attempt.
reputations can be good but they can also be bad. Take a good developer like Konami they make good games and were the people who brought MGS to the PSX, a game which gave them a great reputation. But thats not to say every game they make will be as good, its a hard game to live up too. I would never buy a game just because of the developer behind it. But I would imagine that some people do, for example EA seem to be very popular with sports games, just because they are the only developer who design games for certain sports. So automatically if someone wants a new sports game they will check out an EA title and if they think it looks good they will buy it. So what happens to new developers who come onto the scene? Will they get ignored? Well they shouldn't if there game is good enough but without a reputation they may never have the fan base to take on the likes of EA.
As I said before reputations can also be bad. If a developer makes a rubbish game then their name and the game name will always be given the title of being rubbish which makes it even harder for them to do well later on.
My advice would be don't buy a game just because of who develops it. These days games cost a lot of money and you don't want to waste it when you could have bought a better game.
reputations can be good but they can also be bad. Take a good developer like Konami they make good games and were the people who brought MGS to the PSX, a game which gave them a great reputation. But thats not to say every game they make will be as good, its a hard game to live up too. I would never buy a game just because of the developer behind it. But I would imagine that some people do, for example EA seem to be very popular with sports games, just because they are the only developer who design games for certain sports. So automatically if someone wants a new sports game they will check out an EA title and if they think it looks good they will buy it. So what happens to new developers who come onto the scene? Will they get ignored? Well they shouldn't if there game is good enough but without a reputation they may never have the fan base to take on the likes of EA.
As I said before reputations can also be bad. If a developer makes a rubbish game then their name and the game name will always be given the title of being rubbish which makes it even harder for them to do well later on.
My advice would be don't buy a game just because of who develops it. These days games cost a lot of money and you don't want to waste it when you could have bought a better game.
I would never buy a game on the basis of the developers. Pleanty of developers that usually create class games have had their failures. Usually I base it on the track record of the franchise and its review score. After all, that's what reviews are for!
But like what AliBoy said, people like EA get a good reputation for sports games and you must admit even when ISS Pro Evolution was released people still weren't sure and stuck to Fifa. That was what I was kinda getting at in a way, but most people wouldn't do it. If MGS2 was created by 'Bullfrog' then how would that make you feel? the designers of all the 'Themes' series create one of the most looked forward to games ever and the original designers aren't making it. I know I'll probally get a reply saying it wouldn't bother you as long as it looked good, but you get what I'm saying.
For the majority of the market, i think the cost of a game means you can't really compare them to films for how you chose them.
It's not the kind of cash most people would throw about without having some idea of what the game is like, i'd agree with that very nice guy totally there (with the exceptions of some of the dirt cheap clearance games, obviously), but sequels...
all the reasons from the original post, most everyone i know would use to explain why they wouldn't buy sequels if they had the original too.
Oh yeah, renting. Great if you can get hold of them. The only place near me now just does ps and ps2 games, but i used to love renting. My friend used to do it all the time too. I can't even tell you how many games he decided not to get from that!
It's not the kind of cash most people would throw about without having some idea of what the game is like, i'd agree with that very nice guy totally there (with the exceptions of some of the dirt cheap clearance games, obviously), but sequels...
all the reasons from the original post, most everyone i know would use to explain why they wouldn't buy sequels if they had the original too.
Oh yeah, renting. Great if you can get hold of them. The only place near me now just does ps and ps2 games, but i used to love renting. My friend used to do it all the time too. I can't even tell you how many games he decided not to get from that!
Maybe, but people stick with the FIFA franchise, not necessarily EA. Also, Bullfrog did create Theme Hospital which was actually quite good.
EA and Bullfrog make great games, there is no doubt that the next game to come from the 'Theme.....' series will be a big hit, also everyone knows that football games will be great sellers in the times to come, a console isn't the same without some kind of football game, i'm sure the GBA will have one soon.
Most games are playable to a certain extent, I think you can play any game and enjoy it, but not all games will keep you playing.
You won't want to buy every single game that gets released but no doubt you will play most of them, wether they be on demo cds or in a game shop on display...You'll definatly read reviews on all of them, so through that you get a good idea of all the developers and certain teams that make good games.
I have to use this as an example, RARE happen to make the best Nintendo games, everything they make turns into a classic and keeps you playing them for ages! with a few exeptions of course but no ones perfect.
Most games are playable to a certain extent, I think you can play any game and enjoy it, but not all games will keep you playing.
You won't want to buy every single game that gets released but no doubt you will play most of them, wether they be on demo cds or in a game shop on display...You'll definatly read reviews on all of them, so through that you get a good idea of all the developers and certain teams that make good games.
I have to use this as an example, RARE happen to make the best Nintendo games, everything they make turns into a classic and keeps you playing them for ages! with a few exeptions of course but no ones perfect.
Exactly, even the almighty Psygnosis produced the awful Psybadek.
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