EA Learned From Mirror's Edge Mistakes

[Littaly]

He's got it right save for the multiplayer part. A game shouldn't need multiplayer to sell, and it doesn't necessarily improve the overall quality. If the developers can use the time and effort they put into adding a multiplayer component to give the singleplayer the polish it needs, then they should do so. Don't add multiplayer just because it needs to be there, ensure that the game is good enough for multiplayer and that there is enough demand. Take notes from Assassin's Creed and Uncharted. Look at Enslaved too, sure, the lack of co-op was slightly disappointing, but the game was almost struggling to realize it's concept as it was, multilayer would just have made it worse. Now we got a game that was at least somewhat enjoyable.

And while I would love to see DICE get another shot at Mirror's Edge, don't forget why new IPs are awesome. C'mon EA! Show us that you are better than Activision!

 

[teh_Canape]

I HOPE they don't change the color pallete to gunmetal gray and brown

other than that, idk, I never finished Mirror's Edge (makes me feel stupid, as these comments say that it's short as fuck =P)

but only one problem I had is that it felt pretty slow and clunky, but that was with the 360 controller on PC

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Mirror's Edge had no multiplayer, and that's why it failed?

You, sir, are the only fail around here.

How on earth could you have a multiplayer parkour simulator, when it's a solo sport/martial art. You don't compete unless it's a race. And there's more than enough racing games.

May I suggest that a FP parkour with a blue hedgehog might sell rather better?

 

[Dogstile]

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.

But slow motion jump shooting was so fun!

 

[Somethingfake]

I loved Mirrors Edge, the gun play was annoying from time to time, but it's still a blast to race through with bullets zipping around your head.

 

[carpathic]

Since it is EA, we know what he means by "polished" is "we haven't figured out how to ding you for the DLC, so we will admit a small mistake, then promise the world, as long as you pay to download it after you already own the game"

 

[Lord_Gremlin]

Dismemberment always sells well. And multiplayer is not needed, it's just the game should be well-balanced.

 

[vallorn]

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.

or until they make "Battlefield: Bad Mirrors Of Honor"
/sarc... wait that could be quite good

 

[Dexiro]

Mirrors Edge was a brilliant game. Admittedly there was just a little room for improvement but pretty much all games have room for improvement, it's no big deal.

Mirror's Edge 2 is the kind of game that'd work well if it were open world, provided they do it right. Complete non-linearity wouldn't work but just give sense that you're forging your own way past obstacles and not just following a linear path.

With less linearity it'd be great to have split paths where you could either charge through an area full of enemies (for people that don't mind combat), or try and find a way to evade them.
And then you could have other split paths where one path is really difficult but has a bonus item at the end.

Dotting around collectibles would be really nice :3 As long as they don't overdo it and make it a chore to collect all of them. And maybe small RPG elements as an incentive to collect stuff, as long as the platforming part isn't affected.

 

[hitheremynameisbob]

I'm surprised they consider Mirror's Edge a failure at all. VG Chartz isn't always a reliable source, but the two million they have it selling can't be THAT far off, and that's a decent figure. That means that EA probably got in the neighborhood of forty million dollars off that game, and I really have a hard time believing they blew more than ten, twenty million on it. What's their metric for success? I mean, I know plenty of games do better, but come on, any profit is good profit. I suppose the real question is whether those developers could have been doing something that would have made more money with the time they spend on Mirror's Edge, but come on, the game paid for itself at least twice over, just be thankful for that

 

[havass]

I liked Mirror's Edge. It was just..short. And no, EA. Not every game needs a multiplayer to be successful. That's the way to hell.

 

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

How exactly is Dead Space an unsuccessful game? Didn't it sell like 5 million across all systems?

Oh wait, this is EA. They have high standards it seems.

 

[Bobzer77]

the game lacked any kind of multiplayer.

GET OVER YOUR STUPID OBSESSION WITH MULTIPLAYER!!!

We don't need it in every single game!

Better to have no multiplayer if it's going to detract from the singleplayer or is just going to be tacked on.

 

[Vivi22]

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...

More often than not when a developer releases a game that isn't quite ready it's because the publisher told them to get it out the door and won't pony up the time or money to complete it properly, not because the developers don't have some amount of professional pride.

 

[cerebus23]

I liked Mirror's Edge. It was just..short. And no, EA. Not every game needs a multiplayer to be successful. That's the way to hell.

yea this it was a rent game period. i mean what it take to beat it? 6 hours or so? other than that it was fun the difficulty was not to out there. make it 10 or 12 hours worth of play and replay, add some stuff like AC, batman AA that makes you go back to find stuff you missed or just as you unlock new skills and stuff and can reach new places etc.

but just taking on MP well wth are you going to do? the if we had a real sandbox to play in and try stuff like skate 2 or something that would be fun in mp. but beyond that ME had leader boards and stuff for runs, adding two or three people for mp for that would not be that great. what else give us guns so we can shoot other people in the face? that would not be what the game is about.

would love to see a truly sandbox game maked out parkour like skate 2 with a storyline and missions and muliplayer and places to free roam with people online that would be fun if that is even doable, one thing to make a sakte game but when you can clib buildings and stuff it takes alot more planning and creativity, than adding some rails and ramps to grind and jump on.

 

[EmzOLV]

More often than not when a developer releases a game that isn't quite ready it's because the publisher told them to get it out the door and won't pony up the time or money to complete it properly, not because the developers don't have some amount of professional pride.

Ta for the explanation I'm not completely up on my knowledge of this as it is ^^
I still loved it though. I don't see why everyone completely dismissed it!

 

[Frotality]

i was absolutely baffled as to why EA was actually admitting rushing a game; but then i saw it was just because they thought it needed multiplayer.

nothing to see here, folks, EA isnt breaking any mold, just thinking a free-running game should have online...footraces, i guess.

 

[Retardinator]

the game lacked any kind of multiplayer.

GET OVER YOUR STUPID OBSESSION WITH MULTIPLAYER!!!

We don't need it in every single game!

Better to have no multiplayer if it's going to detract from the singleplayer or is just going to be tacked on.

Agreed. As soon as I saw that I nearly facepalmed. Mirror's Edge does not need a multiplayer mode.

And I'm not really buying the whole "learned from mistakes" story until they shell out Mirror's Edge 2 and it turns out much better. I liked the original for its setting and gameplay, but disliked pretty much everything else.
I'm awaiting the sequel...