EA Learned From Mirror's Edge Mistakes

[Logan Westbrook]

EA Learned From Mirror's Edge Mistakes

New ideas can work, says EA Games president Frank Gibeau, but they have to be presented just right in order to do so.

Despite a lot of positive reviews, first-person parkour game Mirror's Edge [http://www.amazon.com/Mirrors-Edge-Xbox-360/dp/B00149PCAO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291112502&sr=8-1] suffered from poor sales when it came out in 2008. Gibeau thinks that this is because the game was released before it was really ready, and that while the concept was fun, the execution wasn't good enough for the game to be a success.

According to Gibeau, there were problems with pretty much every part of Mirror's Edge. The learning curve and difficulty were all wrong, the story wasn't up to scratch and the game lacked any kind of multiplayer. He said that Mirror's Edge had taught EA that for such a bold concept to succeed, the developer has to take it as far as it can go. "You have to execute," he said. "You have to spend more time on a game to ensure it's polished, and you need to have the depth and persistence of an online game."

He said the lessons learned from Mirror's Edge had helped shape the sequel to another underperforming game: Dead Space [http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Space-Playstation-3/dp/B000X1TC0U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1291112733&sr=1-1]. The sci-fi survival horror was much more successful than Mirror's Edge, although still didn't meet expectations. Gibeau said that for Dead Space 2 [http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Space-2-Xbox-360/dp/B00309U0M6/ref=pd_bxgy_vg_img_a], it was important to refine the concept, making the story and character more engrossing, and making the game work in a multiplayer context. This resulted in previously-silent protagonist Isaac Clarke gaining a voice, and the addition of a human versus necromorph - the name for Dead Space's monsters - death match mode. Gibeau said that EA didn't plan to abandon either IP, adding that while there was a lot of risk involved with new ideas, if done right, they had the potential to be huge.

While no one is likely to argue with Gibeau about the importance of polishing a game before it gets shoved out the door, it's a little troubling to hear him say that games that seem better suited to single player, like first person parkour games, or sci-fi survival horror need a multiplayer option in order to succeed. That said, if you want people to feel like they've gotten value from their purchase, and perhaps more importantly, not trade it in after they're done with it, there has to be something there to make them hang on to it - a role that multiplayer modes can often fill.

Source: Develop [http://www.develop-online.net/news/36479/Mirrors-Edge-fell-short-says-EAs-Gibeau]


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[Ranooth]

The only problem i had with Mirror's Edge was that it was too short, a sequel with more of the city to run around and maybe a level editor would be perfect.

 

[ENKC]

while the concept was fun, the execution was good enough for the game to be a success.

Say what now?

 

[Glamorgan]

The only problem i had with Mirror's Edge was that it was too short, a sequel with more of the city to run around and maybe a level editor would be perfect.

And multiplayer and coop. That would be awesome.

I honestly didn't hate Mirror's Edge. I had an enjoyable experience with it, asides from the above complaints. If they are learning from it, Im all for it.

 

[EmzOLV]

I really enjoyed Mirrors Edge, it was one of those games that felt kinda 'good' to play. You know, it wasn't really that stressful (unless I guess one of the harder play modes) but it was nice to play something where the stress left you by running around.

But I guess I can kinda see how it wasn't filling the expectations of the majority. Either way I still have it and I'd still be playing it if I didn't have other games to complete.

And anyone who shoves an incomplete game out of the door really needs to take a good long look at why they make games in the first place... surely making a complete (as it can be) game that makes gamers and consumers happy is better than making an incomplete game for the sake of getting it out and suffering from more than enough criticism for it? Or did I miss something there...

 

[ZiggyE]

Come on guys, give Mirror's Edge a break. You complain that the gaming industry is stagnant, and when someone tries to break the mold, at least recognise that and give them a break.

I'm glad of what EA is doing. And besides, better EA than Activision.

 

[Scabadus]

While no one is likely to argue with Gibeau about the importance of polishing a game before it gets shoved out the door, it's a little troubling to hear him say that games which seem better suited to single-player, like first person parkour games, or sci-fi survival horror need a multiplayer option in order to succeed.

I disagree that it's worrying; the guy's a buisnessman and wants to sell games. He can let creative directors and artists concentrate on making the game good and making every aspect work, but what he wants to do it put "now has multiplayer, just like COD!" on the back of the box to maximise sales. Now if it was the creative director of Dead Space saying that what it really needed to be a better game was a Halo style deathmatch (instead of say, sneaky survival multiplayer with weak but respawning bad guys and two or three humans that had to hold off the horde for as long as possible) that would be worrying.

 

[RvLeshrac]

Come on guys, give Mirror's Edge a break. You complain that the gaming industry is stagnant, and when someone tries to break the mold, at least recognise that and give them a break.

I'm glad of what EA is doing. And besides, better EA than Activision.

I can make bullshit-flavoured ice cream. That's "breaking the mould," but I'm pretty sure it won't sell well.

Point being: It isn't hard to break the mould, but it is incredibly difficult to put it back together and have something useful.

 

[MattRooney06]

Multiplayer could work

however i think Mirrors edge was fine apart from its short length

Oh and the fact the entire game told you to run away when the cops showed up because you had no health and no weapon.....but then for some reason the last few levels locked us in a room with heavily armed policemen and told us to fight :S

 

[Fasckira]

while the concept was fun, the execution was good enough for the game to be a success.

Say what now?

Yeah, been seeing a lot of typos lately, the authors must be hitting the Christmas sherry a little too early!

 

[nipsen]

..yes. Multiplayer would save the game. Just look at Matrix online, for example.

Actually, the game is impressive technically, it has a story that serves perfectly fine as background for the running. The levels are deceptively well written/created, and have some seriously great moments. If it is falling down through a glass roof, or getting across the roofs by jumping across a crane.

And the online mode suits the game extremely well. The pacing is the same throughout the game - intense even when slow. That's what the game is about. Only very rarely do they fall off into hyper-action and quicktime mode.

There's also the art-direction. The game looks good, and it's consistent in the world. The running mechanics themselves are fantastic. They can be improved, but they really are extremely good.

The problem with the game is that it features running. It also has politically edgy themes. And either of those makes publishers unwilling to market the game. Meanwhile, console-magazines are then having a hard time promoting it, and will - even if it reviews it favourably - mark it as a niche game that only a small number of people can possibly enjoy. Only because it doesn't /seem/ as if the game is a mainstream title.

And that's suddenly the impression a lot of people are left with. And presto - you get Matrix Online for a sequel. Hooray..

 

[Duffeknol]

Mirror's Edge was perfect the way it came out. I understand that they'd want to crank up the sales, but I personally don't see what went wrong.

 

[moretimethansense]

Why is it that Develpers and publishers feel the need to cram multiplayer in to everything?

Having said that,
If there were more ways of reaching your destination, multiple paths maybe a couple of dead ends you could make a good multiplayer out of mirrors edge.
You could have such as:
Races,
Maybe a Capture the bag mode where one player has the bag and has to get it to a specific location to earn points and the others have to intercept and take it there instead,
Perhaps a mode like above but non bag carriers play blues
or maybe a horse mode where players take turns doing insane stunt and the others have to match it.

The game would effectivly have to be a tottaly different game though.

Also we were supposed to play as a Runner we got to "Run" for like one level, don't give us an interesting concept then yank it out from under us it breaks Flow.

Overall I liked Mirrors Edge but it was so short and rushed it felt like I was missing two thirds of the game.

 

[Soxafloppin]

I can honestly say i hated mirrors edge, didnt like the Trial and Error style of play.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

Yeah, well...uh, hmm...

I want to refute this for some reason, but it's not a bad way of looking at it, and may prove to be very good reasoning. Hard to argue that new ideas have more need to be done well than old ideas to sell. I hope they take it in the right direction though, and don't just dumb everything down to siphon people away from similar games. If I'm understanding the view right, they should go all-out with the new ideas and make something grand and risky with what they've learned.

Oh, something I can refute! Dead Space's problem wasn't that people weren't interested, it just ended up an average game with an usual method of killing enemies. A fresh idea isn't enough to carry a game alone.

 

[Quaxar]

Mirror's Edge was perfect the way it came out. I understand that they'd want to crank up the sales, but I personally don't see what went wrong.

Well, apart from the occasional white glare that made it impossible to see something. Still, I loved that game too, especially because you could get through the whole game without firing one shot at a person (and even get an achievement for that)...

 

[somonels]

You mean EA unlocking the Unreal editor and not rake in thousands of potential DLC sales from the sheep?
I borrowed the game and loved it, right up to the point when guns became involved.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

In a speech referencing Mirror's Edge there is mention of a sequel that is not Mirror's Edge 2. This disheartens me, because I really did like the game and want confirmation on whether or not ME2 is going to get made or stay in DICE's development hell until they stop making Battlefield games.