What was the first game whose development you followed?

[Animakuro]

I think that with gamers, most of us as (At least all those I've met) start out very passively with the hobby. We buy the games that we think look good based on the cover in the store or maybe based on friends recommendations.
At some point; we actually started becoming interesting and "hype" of new games during development, normally sequels to games we've liked?
So my question is what was the first game whose development you followed and took an active interest in? (researching it via the web, video game magazines ETC)
Did you let excitement take over you and jump on the hype train?
How did you feel about the game when it finally came out? Did it meet all your expectations?

As for me, i can't really say i started following a single game at once due to becoming actively interested in gaming when I started hearing about the PS3 and following the consoles development before its launch, so I following a multitude of games for that console.
However, the game I was most eagerly anticipating and following was Final Fantasy XIII, having loved both VII and X before it. Whilst I consider FFXIII a disappointment compared to what I'd expected from the series, i still find that it is a fairly enjoyable game.

 

[Ambient_Malice]

Perfect Dark. It exceeded my expectations. It remains the best FPS game ever made. I followed it closely during development. The delay was unexpected and disappointed me. It remains the only game I have ever preordered.

 

[Saulkar]

Doom 3. Back when Blockbusters was still a thing and had a plastic stand on one of the checkout desks full of free magazines I picked one up and the moment I saw the two fat zombies shuffling through a futuristic doorway I was hooked. Up until the game's release I would look through just about every gaming magazine that I could find to absorb some extra bits of information about it. Unfortunately I did not have a PC at the time that could have remotely run it (Pentium II 450MHZ, 32MB 3D Card, 64GB RAM, Windows 98) and had to wait for the XBOX version to come out.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I've never cared much to "follow" a game's development. There's not so much following as there is speculating. I know when a game takes forever to come out - Duke Nukem, Half-Life, Last Guardian - but I don't keep up with the alleged news reporting.

 

[Something Amyss]

Does stuff in Nintendo Power count? If so, I don't remember, but it was almost certainly an NES title.

Burnout 3 may have been the first game I actively followed in terms of development, though.

 

[Cycloptomese]

Super Mario Bros. 3

I checked out everything I could find on it in Nintendo Power. I even followed that Fred Savage movie The Wizard and saw it in the theater because it was going to have footage of SMB3 in it. Also, at that tender age I ended up loving the movie for the exact reasons that it was universally hated.

... and SMB3 was awesome!

 

[Casual Shinji]

Maybe Tomb Raider 3, I can't say exactly. I only really got into gaming during the PS1 era, and only after being exposed to Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Resident Evil 2. So most games that came after that, I guess.

 

[happyninja42]

Probably Homeworld 2. That's the earliest title I can actually recall following the production of to some degree. I've never really done it that much, but that game had my interest for a long time.

 

[Lufia Erim]

To be honest. I don't really "follow" developpement. I will hear about a game. Think " hey i want this" and proceed to not follow anything other than the release date.

That being said i did follow Killer instict on XBONE, even though i have absolutely no intention of bringing that monstrosity into my home, i really wanted it to be a good game and i am really glad the way it turned out. Hell i even look up match videos ( especially by Maximilian ) and watch tournaments for the game. I will just never get to play it. Whih is a shame too because i have wanted a new KI since forever.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Pretty late actually, it was Spore if I recall correctly. And boy that was a long one to follow, it inspired me to follow other game releases and really get excited about the medium as such.

Imagine how I felt when it came out.

 

[I can't enter my old name]

Half Life 2, that E3 footage HNNNGG

I was disappointment to realized the most memorable parts were cut out. For example, that cool looking blue hydra wasn't even in the game. Also, the fight with striders using the gravity gun didn't seem to be a part of the game either.

 

[Evonisia]

I think I followed as much info as I could get in the lead up to Halo 3: ODST. Incidentally it was the game that taught me not to really follow games in their development. Not because it'll ruin the experience (ODST is my second favourite Halo game), but rather because after the game is out I'll quickly forget most of the information, and ultimately following games just feels like hyping myself up when there's not a lot of reason to be.

Of course I'll read articles on whether some game has turned out to be in development hell or whatever, but I don't really actively seek out info on games a lot beyond trailers and the quite public methods.

Imagine how I felt when it came out.

Like your profile picture?

 

[Cowabungaa]

Imagine how I felt when it came out.

Like your profile picture?

Oh no man, I was too defeated to even feel such rage. I wanted to love it so bad but I just couldn't. I just walked away.

 

[Pyrian]

Deus Ex: Invisible War. Boy, was that kind of disappointing. Some of the early videos and screenshots were so much better than the final product that it's just sad.

 

[Hero of Lime]

This is a pretty interesting question if I may say so.

As for my answer, it would probably be The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Once its first huge trailer came out E3 2004, I had to follow it all the way to launch. It had a pretty long development, and it got delayed once or twice. I wound up loving it when it finally came out in 2006 with the Wii and Gamecube.

Of course, I remember following other games before that, usually thanks to Nintendo Power, but Twilight Princess's really got me interested in all the details the development had to offer.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Man, that's a tough one. It was before I had internet, I can tell you that much. Back then the best we got was the occasional blurb and grainy screenshot in printed enthusiast outlets like Nintendo Power, along with a truly godawful promo tape once in a blue moon (more on that later).

The first game I can remember being in development that I knew about was Star Fox 64, and even then it was because Nintendo was pushing the Rumble Pack so much. The first title that truly got me sucked into the hype machine (and subsequently burned by) was Donkey Kong 64. The buildup by Nintendo Power was huge, including one infamous VHS preview included as a bonus:

Spoiler: WARNING: Contains maximum levels of late 90's cringe. Watch at your own peril.

The worst part? I ate it all up. What can I say, I was a dumb preteen back then.

I realize DK64 is a sacred cow to most people my age, but I wasn't all that impressed with it. I remember my biggest complaint was how it felt more like a Banjo-Kazooie reskin than a Donkey Kong title, all the way down to using the same type of midi soundfont for the score (which turned out to be rather on the mark; Rare utilized a fair amount of cut Banjo-Kazooie assets in the game, including music tracks and an entire level). Also, the degree of OCD item collecting was downright ridiculous. Why the hell does there have to be five different bananas, each of which can only be picked up by a certain Kong? They're bananas.