Do game developers know that the games/game sections are going to fail???

[mets6886]

So I was recently thinking about how many games are released (especially for the wii) that are terrible. For example, Naughty Bear has had advertisements all over the internet, but the reviews ripped the game apart.

Another example is the mining part in Mass Effect 2. Awesome game with an awesome story but why would Bioware add in the mining part? Did they not play it and see that it was painful?

I understand some games are rushed to the shelves, especially games based on movies, but why waste money making the games if you know the sales will be terrible?

What are your thoughts

 

[TiefBlau]

Seemed like a good idea at the time.
Began to seem increasingly less fun.
Developers thought the gamers would see it in a different light.
Before you know it, they're in the shitter.

 

[thom_cat_]

Many game creators will design a game and playtest it and then go with the approach that 'more is better'.
Whereas a good game developer will cut out the bad bits or modify them to suit the audience or whatever.
So yeah, they know if it's going to suck. Whether they do anything to change that just shows if they are looking for easy cash or long term customers.

 

[JoshGod]

interestingly the ME2 mining game has been updated a planet takes me about 2 mins, before it took 5 with a stupid technique that hurt me fingers.

anyway they probly do realise its crap but havn't got the time/money to improve/replace it.

 

[migo]

I think it might be that they're in a catch-22, include the feature that's crappy, or leave it out and have something that's clearly missing.

 

[mets6886]

I understand that some game developers have a lot more time than others to release games (valve) but thats part of the reason why almost all of valves games are hits. they take their time.
Also, game developers could do betas like Bungie. What if Infinity Ward did a beta for MW2, the multiplayer could have been much more successful without all the bugs and glitches

 

[Meggiepants]

I think it's a bit more complicated than that. I think every piece of a game like Mass Effect 2 is decided on very carefully. Unfortunately, the reasons behind these decisions aren't likely to be made public if, for instance, they are used to hide another flaw.

Let's take the mining for example. If Bioware had made the mining easier, faster and thus, more enjoyable, they would have made the overall game faster. You no longer have to slow down between missions to get enough stuff to buy your upgrades to make the whole game more enjoyable. If that were the case, Bioware isn't likely going to come out and say, "We know the mining sucks, but if we didn't have it in there, the game would be 10 hours shorter and then people would ***** about how short it was."

That's just a guess as to why games like Mass Effect end up with things like mining.

As for why games like Naughty Bear get made, I think that is more simple. Someone thought it would sell. It doesn't take many people for something like this to happen, just one determined rich person. Sometimes the gamble pays off, sometimes it doesn't.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...

Wait.

Wait.

Are you implying that Mass Effect 2 didn't sell well?

 

[ItsAPaul]

Mining in ME2 wasn't bad my first playthrough, but then again I'm an astronomy nut. After that I went straight to the save editor; I'm definitely not mining in multiple playthroughs.

 

[mets6886]

no, Mass effect 2 was an awesome game and it sold well. I was just asking about biowares idea to add in the mining. i know some people dont mind it but after a while it got repetitive and irritating because i wanted to buy all the upgrades for the ship which meant i had to mine more

 

[Dexiro]

Some developers just don't realise what goes into a good game. They'll make 100 prototypes and not be able to nail down the exact reason why it isn't fun.
Or the problem most of the time is that they don't have the time or money to put enough development into any one aspect.

A lot of it comes down to testing too and the players having differing opinions. They might not entirely realise that a particular section isn't as fun as it should have been in the phases of development, or they don't have the resources to scrap part of the game and rewrite it late in development.