Who is your favourite developer in business right now?
- Thread starter Saladfork
- Start date
I can appreciate feeling like it's a "cop-out" to pick them. On this forum, it's likely to be a common choice. (though probably out-numbered by people swooning over Obisidian, Bioware, or Bethesda)Signa said:
However, not being a fan of their latest games doesn't really negate their status as a developer. I still view Bungie as a developer but I haven't been a fan of any of their titles except for Halo:CE and ODST.
I don't know. I always hear people complain that they don't make games anymore. Yet, they're producing more titles a year now than they ever have. So...those points never made sense to me. That's why I often ask these people to explain as I genuinely would like to understand where they're "coming from", so-to-speak.
It's the same set of circumstances that see me asking people why they think Bioware is now a bad developer; simply because of the bad ending(s) to Mass Effect 3.
Regardless, I can back the "cop-out" idea. To some it probably seems like the easy answer.
Hey, Nintendo. What took you so long?Mr.Mattress said:
Anyways, my favorite developer would have to be Team Gar-
What's that? Garry's Mod broke again? Well, screw those guys. Bunch of incompetent...
Since everyone here has said Valve already... jmtb02.
His name is synonymous with time-wasting, addictive as hell flash games. Challenging, charismatic and always rewarding, these well-made buckets of fun never cease to entertain.
Well, I'm probably the wrong one to ask about those feelings anyway. Generally speaking, I don't complain about their release cycle. I get the feeling that those that do are just wanting HL3 or episode 3 or something, and instead we get 2 Left 4 Deads, 2 Portals, constant updates to TF2, and a fan remake of their first game in HD quality all before the next iteration is even announced. If I cared at all what they were doing on a day-to-day basis, and finding it had nothing to do with Half-Life, I'd be pissed too.Vigormortis said:
So, back to the original question at hand, who is my favorite developer right now? Not Valve, because I don't like the games they are developing right now. They are still number 1 in all things considered, and part of that is developing Steam, so maybe they still count for the question? I just assumed "games developer" was implied. Otherwise I could say Microsoft's Office Suite team is my favorite developer.
None of that is to say that if they don't make games that I like, I dislike them, or that they deserve to be disliked (I.E. liking Bungie for Halo:CE is fine, but if you didn't like Reach, I don't think it's a valid answer for this thread), just that I can't justify them as a valid answer at this very second. Borderlands 2 is way awesome!
this is hard to explain without sounding like a rabid fan....Signa said:
but I dont think Portal 2 "having flaws" is a compelling argument against Valve in an overall sense
all games "have flaws" the follow up to a game that was considered perfect was never going to plase anyone (I think its damn near perfect follow up tot he first portal IMO..I could go into why but thats hardly the point)
that said I'm not a Valve fan....they only have 2/3 games I love and my relationship with steam is...interesting..to say the least
I should expand on that.Vault101 said:
Portal 2's flaws hardly tarnish it, because after beating it, I instantly turned around for a second playthrough. That was even before playing the co-op multiplayer. Portal 2 was an excellent adventure to enjoy. My problem with it is that the puzzles weren't puzzling enough, and there is virtually no replay value beyond enjoying the hilarious dialogue. I don't regret playing it, I don't regret buying it new at full price. I just can't look upon it and say this was something to remember Valve by. I think L4D was a more memorable experience, because every time I played it (for the first 50 or so times
) it felt like playing a zombie movie where the audience and player has no idea what's going to happen, and any character could die at any given time. I had never really wanted to play a zombie survival movie[footnote] like, say, watching Dawn of the Dead and saying to myself, "I think this could make an awesome video game"[/footnote], but L4D convinced me that I was wrong in never thinking that way. Was L4D flawed? Hell yeah it was, even more so than Portal 2. It just was a lot more unique and memorable at the time it was made.
Oh, no no no. I think you misunderstood. I wasn't questioning why you didn't pick them as your favorite now-a-days. Which ever is your favorite is completely subjective. I wouldn't berate you for your choice. I'm not that much of an ass.Signa said:
I was just saying that, even if one is not a fan of their current games, it doesn't mean Valve isn't still a developer. They still design, fund, and program (internally) one or more games every year. Thus, meaning they are still a game development company.
I think part of the confusion for some is the fact that Valve develops and often publishes their own titles. At least, on the PC. I think this gives some people the impression they are only a publisher. A concept that, while partly valid, is still rubbish.
'Course, this isn't even touching on the idea some people have that Valve hasn't developed a game internally since Half-Life. They point to almost every other project as an IP they "purchased" from someone else. A concept that's even more rubbish than the previous. But whatevs...
Anyway, like I said. I wasn't questioning your pick. If that's how it seemed, please accept my apologies.
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As a side note, I think my current-current pick for "favorite developer" has to go to Runic. I am absolutely enamored with Torchlight 2. I foresee many an hour being piddled away dungeon-crawling for loot.
Takes me back to the first time I played Diablo 2...
Paradox Interactive (and Paradox Development Studios) - great publisher with a heart for small developers, and themselves developer of pretty much the games I would make if I were a developer. Crusader Kings 2 was just awesome.
The best part about them, though, is their community management. They use no DRM in their games, but you need a legit key to get into the best parts of their forums, namely the modding subforums. That alone is well worth it - it's a great community and Paradox keeps everyone well up to date about their newest plans and developments. They reliably work with the community (to the point where they actually allowed community members to license their old primary engine and build their own games which then would be published by Paradox) on every project and truly listen to criticism.
The best part about them, though, is their community management. They use no DRM in their games, but you need a legit key to get into the best parts of their forums, namely the modding subforums. That alone is well worth it - it's a great community and Paradox keeps everyone well up to date about their newest plans and developments. They reliably work with the community (to the point where they actually allowed community members to license their old primary engine and build their own games which then would be published by Paradox) on every project and truly listen to criticism.