No gamer would say no to better games. The boss of the legendary survival game DayZ on Steam believes that players have the cheat code in their own hands and just need to use it.
Who is it about? DayZ was originally a survival mod by developer Dean Hall, who transformed the military simulation Arma 2 into a zombie game. Today, DayZ is one of the enduring hits on Steam, with over 50,000 players at peak times during the day.
Its creator Dean Hall released his next game, “Icarus,” in 2021. In line with the console release, he recently discussed his work as a developer in an Ask-Me-Anything. He also explained how players can get better titles.
Here you can watch the trailer for DayZ:
The cheat code is in the hands of the players
What kind of cheat code is that? In the format, the developer explains that players can take charge of getting better titles. The trick is to make it clear that they don’t care about delays and that a better product is much more important.
The gaming industry is currently geared towards meeting release dates at any cost. This leads to unfinished features being left in the game, and the titles simply do not achieve the quality that was planned. That was likely the case for him too:
I believe that most delays arise because the quality is not achieved […] And even when developers want to deliver quality, they don’t have the money to achieve it. So they try to hide or ignore it. This happened with the release of Icarus, and we paid for it with mixed reviews on Steam.
When the studio had more financial security, we tried to break this cycle. But it’s hard. We play the game before release like a consumer (without cheating). Then we hold “Go/No-Go” meetings where we discuss whether we have achieved the quality we aimed for.
Dean Hall
He further explains that there are many different points that justify a delay of video games. These can also be petty, such as too few missions, unworthy loot, or too many bugs that spoil the game.
Giving developers the backing to ensure they have enough time and financial resources to make their game better sounds like a plan. However, it seems to be quite the opposite at Rockstar Games. Hardly any game is as highly anticipated, which is also reflected in the stock price: Industry expert explains the status of GTA 6: It is still far from being finished
