Tempering Your Expectations

[Soviet Heavy]

The forums have been rather hostile lately, as I can attest to, just coming off my suspension over an angry outburst. A lot of the arguments are stemming from the pre-release info regarding the likes of Diablo 3 or Mass Effect 3.

With the Diablo 3 beta underway, I came across a thread here where the OP talked about how his expectations were not met. A couple of the responses pretty much said that you should not judge the final product by the beta, or demo, or whatever. And I have to disagree with this.

A demo is supposed to give you an idea of what to expect in the final game. Offer up an appealing appetizer to entice your audience. This is so that the consumer can make the decision about whether or not they feel that the final product will be right for them, and it can affect their decision making. Saying that a person is being too critical of a demo is kind of missing the point. I will bring forward a comparison of two demos to back up my point.

The first demo is for Republic Commando, which can be found here. [http://download.cnet.com/Star-Wars-Republic-Commando-demo/3000-2097_4-10360856.html]

The demo is about 15-20 minutes long, and covers about 80% of the first Kashyyyk Level. For all of you who remember the game, this was probably one of the best paced missions, and it is easy to see why it would be chosen for a demo. Lush environments, varied gameplay, and a steady pace help give a good impression of what the game is offering. You go from a stealth infiltration, sniping perimeter guards, to a frantic ambush, to an assault on a heavily entrenched Trandoshan camp, all in a few minutes. The demo also cleverly cuts out just before the final segment, leaving it on a cliffhanger, and potentially influencing people to buy the full game to see its conclusion.

The second demo is for Dragon Age 2, which can be found here. [http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/demo/]

This one focuses on establishing the story a little bit, but I feel that from a demo perspective, it is rather poor. The first thing is the environments. The Blightlands are not very fun to look at, and the pacing is not very good either. There is a very high emphasis on the combat. However, while in the Republic Commando demo, combat is the primary gameplay, in Dragon Age 2, it is only one of several facets of the game. Sadly, this demo does not offer much in the way of other options to explore. You cannot customize your character, or pick locks, or equip loot. The way the friendship/rivalry meter works is not shown either. In short, this demo does not properly temper a person's expectations of what they are getting in the final product, as only a portion of the main mechanics are explored.

In the RepCom demo, everything you do in the whole game is condensed into a short, exhilarating burst that teaches you all the mechanics you will need for the full game. The Dragon Age 2 demo limits the teaching to combat alone, while the dialogue options don't show you what consequences happen if you choose certain choices. The reason I chose both of these demos is that the demo is almost exactly the same as the variant shown in the full game

So how does this apply to expectations? Well, if a demo or beta fails to engage the player and make them want to play further, then it has failed in its job. If a player is disappointed, and expresses their doubts about the full product, they have every right to do so, and are fully justified for making a decision about the full game based on their experience.

Blind hatred doesn't do anything, but making decisions based on your own assumptions and experiences is entirely valid, and often lend your arguments more merit if somebody chooses to dispute them.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I agree. I especially hate this when I am invited into a game beta and what they give me isn't even close to the "experience" of the game. This leads to me having a poor reaction to what I have and people pointing out "Well its just a beta". Well...they should have put together something that showcases everything they want me to experience, because what I got, made me not want to play their game. This also applies to demos of course.
Don't give me something and have me say it sucks only to turn around and say "Well the real game isn't like that" Arghhh, then why did I just play thiiiiis!?

 

[Skoldpadda]

A demo is supposed to give you an idea of what to expect in the final game. Offer up an appealing appetizer to entice your audience. This is so that the consumer can make the decision about whether or not they feel that the final product will be right for them, and it can affect their decision making. Saying that a person is being too critical of a demo is kind of missing the point. I will bring forward a comparison of two demos to back up my point.

I appreciate your post. It really is stating the bleeding obvious but a lot of people on here seem to be oblivious to this fact. First impressions are everything. You know, BEFORE you give the likes of EA and Activision your hard earned money?

I like the patient tone with which you state this.

 

[CulixCupric]

This is one of the infinite reasons to be a cynic, you'll never be disappointed ever again! :3
maybe they'll pull their heads out from beneath them, but probably not.

 

[Irridium]

Another great demo was the Crysis 1 demo. That thing was over an hour long, set up the story, showed off the gameplay, offered plenty of situations where you can play with the nanosuit, and was a pretty good benchmark to see if you can handle the full game since Crysis was the graphics god back in the day.

And I agree with you. It baffles me when people tell me to not judge something based on the demo. If I can't do that, then what's the point of the damn demo?

 

[siahsargus]

Demos are like movie trailers for video games. Sadly most video games opt for more cinematic trailers instead of the more gaming-orietned demos. A crappy demo is like a crappy movie trailer: Usually it will negatively affect your choice, especially when dropping 60+ dollars.

 

[CulixCupric]

This is one of the infinite reasons to be a cynic, you'll never be disappointed ever again! :3
maybe they'll pull their heads out from beneath them, but probably not.

Yes but I kind of miss the feeling of illogical childish excitement, dont you?

not really, however I miss fear, which was replaced with apathy, because it make amnesia a lot more fun, unfortunately, I don't get scared by anything due to being too blasted logical all the time.

OT: well, it's still only beta, maybe they'll turn it into a gem of a game before the release, I just doubt it. The best thing to do is find as many bugs and give them as much info about what needs fixing, that way they can release it sooner, and you can pitch a few ideas to help fix stuff. I hope blizzard takes their fans' criticism to heart.

 

[Racecarlock]

I watch gameplay videos, user reviews, trailers, zero punctuation, maybe angry joe as well, and many other things. This way I know what to expect without getting overhyped. It's also why I'm excited for Bioshock Infinite, since you travel by freaking rollercoaster. Awesome.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Another thing I'll add is that what really makes the Diablo 3 Beta disappointing is that Blizzard has proven excellent at making trial versions of their games. The Starcraft 2 Beta lasted for months, offered every unit, and a full multiplayer experience.

Since the main focus of the game was on competitive multiplayer, they gave the tools to the players and analyzed what new strategies they could come up with. This was a brilliant move, I think, because with that feedback, Blizzard then knew what to incorporate into the main game, tweaking units to either make some tactics more valid, or balance out more overpowered strategies.

And their Free2Play WOW scheme is also great. Unlimited play up to level twenty allows them to access the customization elements, loot systems, and exploration mechanics without leaving anything out. The fact that it is a free sample of the actual full game gives is more credence as well, because what you are playing is what everybody went through in the main version of the product.

 

[DustyDrB]

Amalur's demo convinced me to buy the game. It allowed for 45 minutes of a linear dungeon, then 45 minutes of free-roaming "do whatever".

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Amalur's demo convinced me to buy the game. It allowed for 45 minutes of a linear dungeon, then 45 minutes of free-roaming "do whatever".

Interesting fact I went back to the demo again later on to take some screenies and it let me skip the 'tutorial cave' which I thought was a pretty cool feature.

I tend to keep away from demo's because then I'm overcome with an urge to play that game like burning.

It's very annoying.

 

[DustyDrB]

Amalur's demo convinced me to buy the game. It allowed for 45 minutes of a linear dungeon, then 45 minutes of free-roaming "do whatever".

Interesting fact I went back to the demo again later on to take some screenies and it let me skip the 'tutorial cave' which I thought was a pretty cool feature.

I tend to keep away from demo's because then I'm overcome with an urge to play that game like burning.

It's very annoying.

Oh, that is thoughtful and unexpected of them.
I only play demos for games I'm unsure of. I won't be playing Mass Effect 3's demo. And, further than that, I'll be avoiding these forums once it comes out.