I guess I'm the type of person who loves to figure everything out for myself. I don't like having portions of my game spoiled which is why I avoid all message boards and trailers for games I'm planning on buying. However, every once in a while, I'll see a game that looks or sounds amazing, only to find it's still in development but a pre-access open alpha/beta is being offered. I'll never begrudge anyone to alpha/beta test a game (I've tested my fair share in the past during closed betas), but when a game offers pre-access in hopes of getting feedback and changing the game to suit the community, I just lose all interest - even if I've helped kickstart the game.
Lets take two games for examples: Starbound and Grim Dawn.
Starbound I've actually played during the closed alpha and it was a blast, but it seemed only a fraction of the game was finished. I got a small taste and I was hooked, but that was the problem. I was hooked on a game I couldn't hope to finish because the game wasn't even a quarter of the way developed. So I uninstalled it and periodically check the development process only to find snippets of content they are working on with no real end in sight. Basically just a list of spoilers without giving us a release date.
Grim Dawn I have not played, but I bought it solely off the fact it's being hailed as the spiritual successor to Titan Quest - a game I absolutely love and still play. Every few months I'll check the website for a progress report only to find the same list of spoilers about the game with the same release date of *it's finished when it's finished* still staring back at me.
Now, I don't expect a developer to give us a release date for a game still in development because that only causes grief down the line from the entitled kiddies who will scream boycott or just piss and moan about being lied to and expect refunds. Still, it irks me that in order to find any information regarding a release date, I must sift through all this content that is being released - content that is just spoiling the game for me. When I first played Diablo 2, I had no idea what type of monsters I would be facing in the next Act and it was a blast learning them for the first time. Watching the little Stygian Dolls run up to me then explode upon death was a harsh lesson I had to learn on my own. Now with this stream of new content being listed day by day, I would never be surprised about an enemy's attacks, weaknesses, strengths, etc. because they are all listed right there on the game's main page.
Does anyone else agree that developers are ruining the mystery and allure of upcoming games by telling us absolutely everything about the game right on the front page? Also, how do you feel about developers like Chucklefish constantly changing their game to suit the open beta player-base?
Lets take two games for examples: Starbound and Grim Dawn.
Starbound I've actually played during the closed alpha and it was a blast, but it seemed only a fraction of the game was finished. I got a small taste and I was hooked, but that was the problem. I was hooked on a game I couldn't hope to finish because the game wasn't even a quarter of the way developed. So I uninstalled it and periodically check the development process only to find snippets of content they are working on with no real end in sight. Basically just a list of spoilers without giving us a release date.
Grim Dawn I have not played, but I bought it solely off the fact it's being hailed as the spiritual successor to Titan Quest - a game I absolutely love and still play. Every few months I'll check the website for a progress report only to find the same list of spoilers about the game with the same release date of *it's finished when it's finished* still staring back at me.
Now, I don't expect a developer to give us a release date for a game still in development because that only causes grief down the line from the entitled kiddies who will scream boycott or just piss and moan about being lied to and expect refunds. Still, it irks me that in order to find any information regarding a release date, I must sift through all this content that is being released - content that is just spoiling the game for me. When I first played Diablo 2, I had no idea what type of monsters I would be facing in the next Act and it was a blast learning them for the first time. Watching the little Stygian Dolls run up to me then explode upon death was a harsh lesson I had to learn on my own. Now with this stream of new content being listed day by day, I would never be surprised about an enemy's attacks, weaknesses, strengths, etc. because they are all listed right there on the game's main page.
Does anyone else agree that developers are ruining the mystery and allure of upcoming games by telling us absolutely everything about the game right on the front page? Also, how do you feel about developers like Chucklefish constantly changing their game to suit the open beta player-base?