In recent years, many developers have been withdrawing from communicating with players. A game developer now reveals why this is happening.
In recent days, some developers spoke about this blog post, which discusses the issues in communication between players and developers. It particularly addresses why developers are increasingly hesitant to promise things or show details until the game is truly nearing its release. The main criticisms of the author can be summarized relatively quickly:
- There is no second chance for a first impression. Until a feature is finished, it looks ugly, has bugs, and barely works. It could scare off many players and diminish excitement for the game.
- Game development is malleable, player expectations are not. As soon as players see even a concept drawing of something, they interpret this as a promise that the feature will definitely be included in the finished game. It is common in the game industry for things to be cut or changed.
- Players have no idea about game development, but believe they are experts who could do everything better. The public never has access to all the information that game developers have, which leads to changes being made.
Prominent Example: Mass Effect 3
As a particular example of wildly exaggerated player expectations, the author mentions Mass Effect 3, or more specifically, the ending of the game. Many players were extremely disappointed because they were promised 16 different endings, but there were only 3. The bizarre thing is: No BioWare employee has ever said anything about 16 different endings. Nevertheless, players built high expectations that were not meant to be met.
Blizzard Employees Join the Discussion
Particularly some Blizzard employees commented on this article and shared their opinions, which almost always go in the same direction: The author is right. “The sooner the era of ‘A developer said it, so it MUST happen or there will be an uprising’ is over, the better”, it says. Additionally, comparisons are drawn to other productions, such as films: No one expects unedited scenes to be shown in advance – in the game industry, it seems to be different.
Another significant criticism is the distrust that developers constantly face today. As soon as a feature is even hinted at in its basic form, it is expected that this content will definitely be in the game. If developers fail to deliver (for whatever reason), they would immediately be labeled as liars, never to be trusted again, and thought to have nothing better in mind than to lead the community around by the nose.
Frustration and Silence
Many comments reveal clear frustration from developers and community managers. One player defends the insults that employees often have to endure with the statement: “For some people, it is hard to discuss things objectively when they put a lot of passion into a game”. Although the response was harsh, it was also refreshingly honest: “In 80% of cases, when someone on the internet says ‘passion’, they use it as an excuse to behave like a gigantic idiot.”
For the future, at least Blizzard wants to try other communication methods. Of course, they do not solely blame the players, yet they will now have to make do with less information: “We spoke too much too early about Warlords of Draenor (…)”) and “That was a big mistake and we will do everything to ensure that does not happen again with Legion” conveys a clear message.
On one hand, I am naturally saddened to hear less about the development of “Legion”, but on the other hand, I can very much understand developers who are tired of such witch hunts that increasingly adopt absurd standards. What do you think about this?
