Reactions: Developers say things I like to hear
I didn't think pictures of Dude Huge without a Lancer in hand existed...
That caption was going to be a witty D&D reference given what I’m about to tell you, but really, Clifford Bleszinski looking professional for once is the real news here. But anyways, earlier this week the Epic Design Director told British magazine Develop that, “I had a conversation with Harvey Smith–one of the lead designers on [the action RPG] Deus Ex–and said to him the future of shooters is RPGs. He said he completely agreed.” Bleszinski then went on to praise hybrid shooter BioShock and offered a few words of excitement for Gearbox’s upcoming Borderlands. “Randy Pitchford at Gearbox is an absolutely brilliant designer and business man, and I think Borderlands is not getting as much hype as it should because it really looks like a more accessible, shootery version of Fallout.” If future Gears of War titles move in a direction closer to Deus Ex and BioShock and Borderlands, I’m completely fine with that. I have a soft spot for shooter-RPGs and wish there were more. Speaking of which, it’d be nice to hear something about Deus Ex 3.
Young Clifford also had a few words on the subject of Microsoft’s Project Natal. “Y’know, we’ll take a look at Natal–no promises–but it’s likely that the classic control interface is what Epic will be working on in the foreseeable future,” he said. “But I think there’s ways that you could merge the two interfaces and supplement a classic game with Natal controls to make something compelling.” It’s nice to hear that Epic isn’t jumping ship to a gimmicky control interface that I’m still very skeptical about.
Tecmo Koei CEO Kenji Matsubara echoed those statements when he said “We understand that, for casual gamers playing dance games or some sort of fishing game, this controller-free system can be popular. But for hardcore gamers who like action games, we have to research and develop games that satisfy our core gamers…we specialize in making action games, so we have to explore whether we can achieve real-time response from a controller-free system.” Or at least that’s what he claims to be the reason behind his company’s lack of interest. I think it has more to do with how the real world breast physics that Natal would be mapping to its players don’t live up to the ridiculous standards of Dead or Alive breast physics.
And lastly, Kotaku is reporting that Valve is looking into cross-play between Left 4 Dead and its controversial sequel, which is due out this November. “That’s something that we’re trying to work out the details of right now,” Doug Lombardi said. “So nothing specific to say today, but we understand that it’s a very valid thing to be working on and looking at.” Not sure exactly how that would work, especially with Valve claiming that the improvements in Left 4 Dead 2‘s AI Director are too great to have been DLC for the first game. Hopefully it works out though, just so Left 4 Dead 2 can have more than a measly four maps.
Author: Cody
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uh huh… Left 4 Dead has 20 maps. Maps =/= Campaigns.
Especially given their random nature and subsequent giganormous replay value. I’ve always found that complaint to be lacking.
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Are you trying to say that each safe point in a campaign represents a whole new map? I can shoot through those sections in like 5 minutes on normal. So there’s a whooping hour and 40 minutes of different maps. Yay!
Not to mention, one of the most important things in map variety is the aesthetic feel. All of L4D’s “maps” look and feel the same. You could even say the campaigns look and feel the same. And the AI Director is way over-rated. I wouldn’t say a tank showing up 2 minutes earlier than your last playthrough constitutes a new map.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the game’s great, but if all that map variety satisfies you then you’re a pretty easy sell.
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lol. Couple things: First – playing on normal? Don’t even try to pull that BS wool over my eyes just to skew your “facts” about the total gameplay time. Any self respecting gamer not going for achievements wouldn’t even consider that difficulty. Second – I’m no easy sell. The suggestion that I am actually pisses me off. In fact, I think it’s been well established that you’re the one with the impossibly HIGH standards Mr. Anti-DLC, Anti-paying for music, Anti-things that cost money in general, etc etc etc.
And overrated? Not a chance in hell. I’d rather play through a true co-operative randomized experience in L4D on Expert (where skill prevails) than something like Halo 3 or other more ‘traditional’ co-op games (memorization). Would I love more campaigns? Sure, that means 5 more maps. I’d always love more of a good thing. But that same old overblown and inaccurate criticism about the quantity of campaigns in L4D gets more irritating every time I read it.
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“Not to mention, one of the most important things in map variety is the aesthetic feel. All of L4D’s ‘maps’ look and feel the same. You could even say the campaigns look and feel the same.”
^^^ I still can’t decide. Is this a joke? You’re killing zombies with friends. I never once thought that the campaigns felt (and even more farfetched, LOOKED) the same. But let’s say you think they do: Why should the game strive to be anything more than just a game? That’s the beauty of it – the simplicity. It’s a throwback to when games were games and they didn’t have to meet all of these impossible expectations – they just have to be fun. Or is fun not enough for you?
Not every game needs to be a BioShock.
I feel like this reply is slightly more abrasive than usual. Your sarcasm caught me on the tail end of a bad session in Halo 3, so don’t take anything too personally.
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