Now David Jaffe is Talking About Skyrim's Lag

[The Wooster]

Now David Jaffe is Talking About Skyrim's Lag

Everyone and their mum is weighing in on Skyrim's lag issues. Now David Jaffe, the notoriously foulmouthed developer behind Twisted Metal is offering his, rather measured, opinion.

"Do we [as game developers] have a duty to ship a game that's bug-free within reason? 100 per cent yes," said the Twisted Metal developer, when asked about Skyrim's numerous [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114588-Bethesda-New-Vegas-Dev-Is-Wrong-About-Skyrims-PS3-Lag] bugs [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114453-Skyrim-Patch-Makes-Dragons-Fly-Backwards] in an interview with Eurogamer.

"The problem is that definition of 'within reason' is a moving target depending on who you ask," he continued. "The first games I worked on were one-shot deals on SNES cartridges. When you were done you were done. And so yeah, I certainly come up from a school that doesn't want to ship buggy games."

He's got a point there. Ever since it became possible to patch console titles, it's become increasingly common for console developers to push out buggy, unfinished games; safe in the knowledge that they can be patched post-release.

"But there are always bugs in games," he continued. "You'd mention the Skyrim bug, which I've not encountered yet. If you're talking about that kind of thing where the game gets really laggy to the point where it's unplayable, yeah, I would say that if we found a bug in our game that had that kind of an issue we would certainly do our best to make sure we didn't ship with it."

He ended with a pleasant, possibly even warm-hearted note of solidarity. "Every game is a battle for the developers, and I don't know the war stories of Skyrim so I'm in no position to judge good or bad about why they did what they did," he said. "I know they've made one of the best games of the year, if not the best."

Skyrim remains popular, even in the face of several potentially game-breaking bugs. Our own Susan Arendt discusses bugs, and why we tolerate them in some games and not others, here. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/9269-A-Bug-By-Any-Other-Name]

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-07-jaffe-hopes-to-avoid-twisted-metal-online-pass]



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[josemlopes]

I know that games can be patched with the magic that is the internet, but didnt one developer team once said that patching a game post-release was VERY expensive and not worth it, I dont remember if it was Epic when Gears 3 was delayed, Gears 3 is a really solid game so it probably was.

 

[Irridium]

Normally, I'm fine with small, ultimately harmless bugs.

But bugs that completely break the game? Yeah, not much sympathy. They're basically selling a broken product. And no, that is not alright. At all.

 

[DustyDrB]

Wait...
*hits ctrl+F, types "fuck"*
No way!

On topic: I played it on the 360 and only encountered 2 or 3 rather minor bugs. It does seem like Bethesda doesn't jive well with the PS3 for whatever reason though.

 

[Something Amyss]

There's always bugs in games. It doesn't change the fact that we're seeing bigger bugs in major releases becoming standard.

 

[Vlywncint]

My only statement is that if a game advertises that it has X number of hours of gameplay, it should be able to run for X hours of gameplay.

 

[Vlywncint]

Double post. x_x

 

[Mrsoupcup]

I was expecting to puke liquid anger after reading this... Call me shocked, a reasonable response from Jaffe... I never thought I would live to see it.

Well all that remains on my list is as follows:

1. Half Life 3

2. First Man on Moon Mars

3. And the Second Coming of Odin

 

[saphirekosmos]

I can say that, having some experience with game development myself, I can forgive many bugs in Skyrim. The thought of bug testing a game that huge scares me. Even with the simple games I have worked on bug testing can be a long, painful process. I have only hit 1 major bug with Hjerim and that was it. wouldn't keep me from playing the game, just kept me from getting the best house in the game. -__-

 

[Blind Sight]

"Do we [as game developers] have a duty to ship a game that's bug-fucking-free within reason? Fuck yes," said the Twisted Metal developer, when asked about Skyrim's in an interview with Eurogamer.

"The problem is that definition of 'within reason' is a moving target depending on who you ask," he continued. "The first games I worked on were one-shot deals on SNES cartridges. When you were done you were fucking done. And so yeah, I certainly come up from a school that doesn't want to ship buggy as shit games."

"But there are always bugs in games," he continued. "You'd mention that fucking Skyrim bug, which I've not encountered yet. If you're talking about that kind of thing where the game gets really laggy to the point where it's goddamn unplayable, yeah, I would say that if we found a bug in our game that had that kind of an issue we would certainly do our best to make sure we didn't ship with it."

There, I just David Jaffed David Jaffe's statement.

 

[The Wooster]

"Do we [as game developers] have a duty to ship a game that's bug-fucking-free within reason? Fuck yes," said the Twisted Metal developer, when asked about Skyrim's in an interview with Eurogamer.

"The problem is that definition of 'within reason' is a moving target depending on who you ask," he continued. "The first games I worked on were one-shot deals on SNES cartridges. When you were done you were fucking done. And so yeah, I certainly come up from a school that doesn't want to ship buggy as shit games."

"But there are always bugs in games," he continued. "You'd mention that fucking Skyrim bug, which I've not encountered yet. If you're talking about that kind of thing where the game gets really laggy to the point where it's goddamn unplayable, yeah, I would say that if we found a bug in our game that had that kind of an issue we would certainly do our best to make sure we didn't ship with it."

There, I just David Jaffed David Jaffe's statement.

You know, I was really looking forward to doing a piece on a David Jaffe interview because it's the only time I'd realistically be allowed to drop F bombs in a news post. I would get the only David Jaffe interview in the universe with only one instance of the word fuck.

 

[octafish]

Just a quick question as I haven't played Skyrim and I don't own a PS3, Is this actually LAG or is it a just a frame rate drop. They aren't the same thing and it is bugging me. Lag is a delay between control input and action, try playing an online shooter using a 28k modem to see lag. The game might be running at 120 FPS but your actions are delayed from what you see on the screen. A frame rate drop is just that, a frame rate drop.

 

[mjc0961]

"I know they've made one of the best games of the year, if not the best."

I have to disagree with him there. If it's this bad, this full of bugs, with one that's been in the past 4 games they made, I don't consider that a good game. I consider it a bad game.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Just a quick question as I haven't played Skyrim and I don't own a PS3, Is this actually LAG or is it a just a frame rate drop. They aren't the same thing and it is bugging me. Lag is a delay between control input and action, try playing an online shooter using a 28k modem to see lag. The game might be running at 120 FPS but your actions are delayed from what you see on the screen. A frame rate drop is just that, a frame rate drop.

A frame rate drop. A video showing it is at the bottom of the article:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-07-bethesda-refutes-skyrim-ps3-lag-claims-by-fallout-nv-dev

 

[isometry]

"I know they've made one of the best games of the year, if not the best."

I have to disagree with him there. If it's this bad, this full of bugs, with one that's been in the past 4 games they made, I don't consider that a good game. I consider it a bad game.

Thing is, a lot of people aren't experiencing any bugs, so we're having a great time with the game. Millions of people bought the game and a few 1000 are complaining, that's about 0.1%, not really a big deal.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

"I know they've made one of the best games of the year, if not the best."

I have to disagree with him there. If it's this bad, this full of bugs, with one that's been in the past 4 games they made, I don't consider that a good game. I consider it a bad game.

Thing is, a lot of people aren't experiencing any bugs, so we're having a great time with the game. Millions of people bought the game and a few 1000 are complaining, that's about 0.1%, not really a big deal.

Try around 36%. And that is just the lag.
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1213194p1.html
It isn't just a handful of users.

 

[Strixvaliano]

I always find it refreshing when a developer speaks his mind and treats another developer with respect. It's a nice vacation away from all the shit flinging most of these idiots do now.

Skyrim sure is buggy but it is also absolutely amazing. I'm playing on PC and have ran into the occasional CTD and some minor bugs (npcs falling out of the sky and through the ground, objects/npcs shaking violently, a horse walking up a mountain on its front legs with its rear legs in the air.)

You can't go into a game as massive as Skyrim and expect it to be bug free or even remotely close. It is a shame they released it in that state for PS3 though and I'd like them to admit that Creation Engine is nothing but a modified Gamebryo engine.