|
August 2003
A
CHAT WITH THE CRITICS
 Victor
Godinez
Staff Writer/Game Reviewer
The Dallas Morning News
What's the biggest improvement you've seen in game
development over the past year?
I don't know. It's always hard to track a
game industry trend in just a year, since the
development cycles are so long and developers are really
trying just to keep up with the trends from two years
ago. But I guess the biggest improvement I've seen, at
least on the console side, has been the way developers
are starting to take advantage of online connectivity to
provide gamers with new content for their games. For
example, the "Kola Cell" level download for the Xbox
version of Splinter Cell was a great idea. For
all the hype online gaming gets, I think downloadable
content may end up being just as popular for gamers who
prefer single-player games, but don't want to wait two
years for a sequel to their favorite title. Hopefully
the upcoming introduction of the PS2 hard drive
(assuming it doesn't get delayed again) will spur even
more developers and publishers to provide updates for
their games.
What still needs to be improved?
Well, it's always easier to complain about what's being
done wrong than praise what's being done right, but I
guess my biggest beef would be with the unpredictable
release schedules of many games. Developers, both on the
PC and consoles, need to do a better job of providing
firm shipping dates for their products. I think too many
games are delayed for too long, and often the longer a
game is delayed, the worse it as after release. Plus, it
makes the game industry look unprofessional. Movie
producers and directors know how to write, film, market
and release a $150 million movie on time, and games
shouldn't be any different.
What was the best "sleeper" game of the past year and
what made it stand out?
Panzer Dragoon Orta for the Xbox was a lot more
impressive than I thought it would be. The graphics were
stunning, maybe the best ever seen on a console. I think
the plot and characters were too weird to attract much
of a mainstream following, and the gameplay was pretty
simple, but, man, I didn't know a console could produce
visuals like that. Now, for best game of the year, I'd
probably have to give the nod to Zelda for the
GameCube, or Knights of the Old Republic for
Xbox, but Panzer Dragoon Orta would be my
nomination for sleeper of the year.
Who, in your opinion, are consistently the best game
developers and what makes them so?
Electronic Arts and id Software are clearly the best
developers on a consistent basis. EA just manages to
crank out hit after hit, whether it be Madden
Football, The Sims or Lord of the Rings.
They've got the best franchises, the best developers and
the biggest budgets (which may be the most important
factor). id, on the other hand, has been great for years
because no one there has tried to make the company step
outside of its core competency. They make great
first-person shooters, and nothing else. Their
technology sets the standard for the rest of the
industry, and each game they release is widely seen as
the next evolution in the genre.
If you could give game developers 3 tips that might
help their games receive more critical-acclaim, what
would they be?
1)Don't make a game you want to play. Make a game that a
paying customer will want to play. Gamers are your
stockholders.
2)Don't say you'll ship your game "when it's done."
Before you develop a game, set out exactly what your
game is going to do and how it's going to do it. Figure
out how much time you'll need to implement all the
features you want. Then come up with a release date.
Make sure your game ships when you say it will.
3)The only acceptable reason to delay your game is if it
is riddled with bugs and glitches. That's even worse
than a delay, because customers don't want to feel like
their paying for the privilege of being a beta tester.
Of course, if your game is full of bugs, then you
probably didn't do a good job of planning your game in
the first place. Always leave yourself time to test and
fix your game before it ships.
Next >>>
|
A Chat with the Critics Link
Index:
Richard
Aihoshi
Editor In Chief
IGN Vault Network
Wagner
James Au
Writer/Designer
Embedded Journalist
Jim "Ripclaw"
Broach
CEO
Gamer's Pulse Magazine
Eric
Butcher
Editor
punchbutton
Steven
"Westlake" Carter
Reviewer
Game
Over Online Magazine Computer Games Magazine
Victor
Godinez
Staff Writer/Game Reviewer
The Dallas Morning News
Tricia "Kazi
Wren" Harris
Freelance
Dave
"Fargo" Kosak
Director of Publishing and Community
GameSpy Industries
Phil
LaRose
PC Game Guy
St. Paul Pioneer Press/
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Chuck
Osborn
Senior Editor, Features
PC Gamer
|
