Editorial BioWare: PC gaming is fine, you just need to adapt

[DarkUnderlord]

Tags: BioWare

<a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=206103">Computer and Video Games talk to BioWare about PC gaming</a>:
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<blockquote>According to Muzyka the PC gaming landscape is changing as audiences and technology evolve, and it's the job of developers to adapt to these new market conditions.
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"MMOs are one way that's occurring... And there are more people playing flash-based games and casual games, even core games that are played in a casual way, so maybe [they have] a more core experience and you only play them for short bursts or for half an hour or something.
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[...]
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"We can still make deep rich experiences but we have to make them easy to access, you have make the control system really easy to use, and you have to make people feel like they're playing an experience that they can play how they want to play it, whether that is long sessions or short sessions."</blockquote>
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For pondering: If a "deep, rich experience" is easy to access, is it still a "deep, rich experience"?
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Spotted @ <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com">GameBanshee</a>

 

[MetalCraze]

and you have to make people feel like they're playing an experience that they can play how they want to play it

But what if I want to play it a hard way? Uh oh.

But changing "people" to "retards" suddenly makes sense.

 

[Cassidy]

When was the "easy to learn, hard to master" concept lost the the ages?

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

When will the "Made with the lowest common denominator in mind!" sticker start appearing on packaging?

This attitude is not terribly new now is it? We have been reading the same guff time and again. I have nothing against an intuitive interface, as long as it does not subtract from the games depth, which we know it has been over time. The industry is in a mad rush to grab everyone it can, and lets face it, the original RPG/game audiences, who needed a certain amount of Intelligence just to get their games running in the first place, were a small demographic to begin with. Finding a fellow gamer back in the 80's was something you didn't have every day back then. Reading the various magazines was usually the nearest you came, though I was actually lucky that a boarder we had was interested in CRPG's and introduced me to them.

As for the rest, they have come on board with, in no particular order; Easy to use systems, improved graphics and sounds, games with shallower learning curves that are more and more forgiving to players.

I don't think anyone really has a problem that such games are made to suck new gamers in. I certainly do have a problem that this travesty is being promoted by virtually every developer, excepting a few individuals and East Euro companies in the industry. Very, very boring.

 

[Claw]

For pondering: If a "deep, rich experience" is easy to access, is it still a "deep, rich experience"?

Of course. People should try jumping off skyscrapers more often.

 

[hiver]

Again these retards speak of more easier accessibility and control scheme and end up making easier game with very little or in fact no challenge to whatever it presents to player.


And someone gives millions to these morons to spend?

 

[Ogg]

And bad interface moreover.

 

[hiver]

Thats the funniest part.

 

[Angthoron]

I wonder when they'll realise that the PC has this awesome set of FCC-compliant human interface devices called mouse and keyboard that had perfect controllability for years until the port teams decided to invent the wheel?

Or when they realise that a well-made, addicting game will suck in those flash-game clicking, ReflexiveArcade-buying, bug-eyed casual gamers just fine?

It's really funny, I thought that less than a decade ago BioWare knew both these facts quite well. If they hadn't, imagine what the BG series would be like!

 

[udm]

More like "Our moneymaking schemes are fine, you just need to adapt"

 

[Xi]

For pondering: If a "deep, rich experience" is easy to access, is it still a "deep, rich experience"?

I think that the deeper and richer an experience is, the less accessible it becomes, but accessibility is merely a factor of time and effort. Making a video game that requires neither time nor effort is impossible. Reducing the amount of time and effort it takes to achieve accessibility is akin to removing the depth of game-play. The result being a shallower experience.

 

[DraQ]

Not all things influencing accessibility influence depth, though. Good interface an intuitive mechanics spring to mind.

 

[Cassidy]

If they really want to reach casuals, BioWare should develop low budget cell phone games. Same with every other developer.

 

[Volourn]

I believe NWN was on cell phones. Of course, it was a completely different game. L0L

And, oh, 'causual' aren't ruining anything. But, the so called 'hardcore' are with their constant crying about mainstream games despite the fact that the hardcore are always amongst the first people to buy those games.

If you hate mainstream 'dumbed down' games then don't fuckin' buy them fo fuck sakes.

That's one of the reasons why the 'hardcore' crowd aren't marketed to because companies like Bethesda and Bioware are basically guaranteed your toolish money anyways no matter how much the 'hardcore' bashes them.

R00fles!

 

[Angthoron]

If you hate mainstream 'dumbed down' games then don't fuckin' buy them fo fuck sakes.

That. And dissuade others from buying them. Not through random flaming and moaning though, nobody follows that even if you're absolutely right.

 

[janjetina]

I don't know why the people in the gaming business try to reinvent the wheel. Multiple difficulty settings represent tried and true solution, that should please everybody. Bioware had it done right in Baldur's Gate 2, with five difficulty settings.

It's interesting to note, that BG 2 was the Bioware game with the best designed user interface, both in terms of accessibility and in terms of utility. After BG 2 they managed to make the user interface in each subsequent game worse than in its predecessor, Ass Effect having the worst UI in Bioware games.

Unfortunately, the experience shows that the marketing gimmick of "appeasing the casual gamer" doesn't mean improving the accessibility of the UI, or providing an alternative easy setting, but removing all actions that require higher brain activity, and replacing them with one dumbfuckery or another, like replacing normal dialogue system that requires reading with the horrible dialogue wheel.

 

[doctor_kaz]

I thought NWN had a great UI in terms of its usefulness, although it was sorta ugly. It started going downhill really really badly with Kotor. That was also their first Xbox game. What a coincidence.

 

[Durwyn]

"We can still make deep rich experiences but we have to make them easy to access, you have make the control system really easy to use..."

Please, die

 

[doctor_kaz]

Well in principle, he's right. Developers can have complex and/or games that will be accessible to newcomers if they have good controls, interface, and tutorial. I thought that Deus Ex was great at this. Good interface and controls (highly underappreciated IMHO), great tutorial.

 

[aries202]

Myzyka is talking about easy access to the controls of the game, not the easy acces to the content in the game. Having played the demo for Daggerfall (which I really liked) the user interface (the controls) made the game unplayable for me. The same goes with a very interesting game, I found, Wizards and Warriors. The inventory interface is the one from the BG series, very nice; the movement interface is very poorly designed, I find.
And the combat interface is, too. I've almost given up on this game, but will give it another go - at another time.

I played The Witcher for 4-5 hours one day, and then realized that I simply don't have the time to do these long gaming periods anymore. If I want to play The Witcher for 4-5 hours at a time, I should be able to; if I want to play Mass Effect by just shooting the bad guys, I should be able to do so.

This is just a general example; personally, I wouldn't play Mass Effect that way, but other people might want to do so.

 

[DraQ]

Having played the demo for Daggerfall (which I really liked) the user interface (the controls) made the game unplayable for me.

That's odd given that, apart from magic and archery interface, the interface in Daggerfall can be made identical to any modern FPP game.

 

[Andhaira]

I understand what Muzyka means. I too have, over time due to increased responsibilities (and plainly getting older) find less time to spend on stuff like gaming. But still, there SHOULD be at least one or two top tier companies making massive, deep and complex rpg's. ALso, one thing Bioware really need to understand themselves is that the frequent loading in their games (area's usually) are a pain in the ass and mar the experiance. They really need to look at seamless and open games (like dunjun siege) and take some hints.

Anyhow, while the article is nice it doesn't seem to bode well for dragon age does it?

 

[doctor_kaz]

This is just a general example; personally, I wouldn't play Mass Effect that way, but other people might want to do so.

If you want to play games for shorter periods of time, then games should either have a quick save system or they should have generousl savepoints ala Call of Duty 4 or Halo.

 

[Dire Roach]

Nintendo is one step ahead of Bioware in the race to achieve ultimate mediocrity with their revolutionary new concept of "would you like to play this game or just watch it as a movie?".

 

[aries202]

Having played the demo for Daggerfall (which I really liked) the user interface (the controls) made the game unplayable for me.

That's odd given that, apart from magic and archery interface, the interface in Daggerfall can be made identical to any modern FPP game.

Yes, probably. I only played the demo, though. And I simply just couldn't figure out how to buy weapons and magic potions in stores. And I did try three or four times - before I finally gave up. Each time for an 1½-2 hours or more. Not fun. The game looked interesting, though...