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Industry “Dazzled by the Bling” says Conduit Developer
Eric Nofsinger, High Voltage’s chief creative officer, believes that the games industry is taking a “short-sighted” view on game design.
“I think that we, as an industry, have become dazzled by the bling,” he says. “We've all got stars in our eyes for Hollywood, with twenty, thirty, forty million dollar budgets over night and hundred-person teams working for years on titles without ever running a P&L to see if anything could support that.”
Nofsinger – who is currently working on the upcoming Wii FPS The Conduit – adds that this nature of heavy investment has strong ramifications: “What we’re seeing right now with the number of layoffs and the numbers of studios closing [is] the repercussion of that very short-sighted view where all we wanted to eat was candy. Everybody rushed towards the candy house and now we’re getting eaten by the witch.”
Nofsinger expressed his concerns to Edge during a recent interview regarding the dilemma Nintendo could face in releasing a successor to the Wii. In regards to Nintendo’s home console, Nofsinger said: “I think a lot of publishers say that they are embracing the Wii right now because there’s a big old dollar sign hanging in the air, so now they’re going to rush towards that.”
He suggested, however, that there are still a number of developers who want to deliver compelling experiences for the Wii: “They’re the ones that are saying, ‘what’s interesting and innovative and how can we push this?’ There’re still a whole lot of companies that seem to just want to crap something out for the Wii and put all their emphasis on the other two less popular systems. As long as the 360 and PS3 are seen as the lead SKU, it’s problematic.”
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The industry, more so in the west, imo, is definitely obsessed with making gaming like Hollywood. It's been that way for awhile and probably won't go away.
No one is interested in making innovative games. That's too hard. It's easier to make lots of flash and spend loads of money pretending you're some sort of celeb.
It's no surprise the most Japanese company has gone the other way and just happens to be reaping the rewards from it.
To add to what Kenology said. I think having to be compared to Nintendo's games could also be intimidating for many developers. They've had a safe haven in Playstation heydays but now that Nintendo's back they must wondering how to top Nintendo's software. They may have had hiccups but when Nintendo delivers they bring the mother load.
This is the same arguement that has been going on since the Wii was released. Just simply changing how a person interacts with their console doesn't mean suddenly a new part of the brain will be open and, magically, new ideas will flow out from a wellspring. I like all three of the "main" platforms and none of them are a hinderance to innovation. The only hinderance to innovation is the fact this whole big glorious industry is a business. Things need to sell. People want to stay employed, so they create things that will defninitely sell.
That said, to say we've seen no innovation is not true. The thing we already take for granted is our ability to network with each other and play these games online with each other and then post videos and blog about them, so the experience goes far beyond our interaction with the television screen. This innovation is the world we live in...games completely surround us (if we so choose) day and day out. Now it's turning against us since we live and die by the things. Now we claim to see no innovation when we're living it.
People like the gameplay mechanics we've been developing and integrating into our human race for the last 40 years or so. New graphics allow us to see where are and allow us to compare where we are to where we were. That's not to say I don't appreciate good new ideas, but old ideas executed well are often a great way to do things. Seems like that's what High Voltage is doing with The Conduit. Old concept (FPS), put a new coat of paint on it with Wii controls. Hey, if plays well and controls solidly, why knock them? Although they are kind of asking for it by putting themselves out there like this.
The phrase is 'short-sighted,' not 'short-sided.'
actually there's alot to disagree with, trashing other companies for focusing on graphics is pure hypocrisy when all the hype surrounding The Conduit is how nice the graphics are for a Wii game, every developer loves to say "creative" & "innovative", but I doubt anyone thinks of games from High Voltage when they hear those buzz words, and if High Voltage's games are so good then they should be happy that they have the Wii's huge userbase all to themselves instead of blasting other companies for supporting the PS3 & 360
I don't think he's trashing them for focusing on graphics so much as the industry's turn to be more Hollywood-esque, like having so much emphasis on huge multi-million budget titles etc.
When that is the situation publisher's will want something that's easier to justify giving that money to, i.e. big name titles[read sequels], or licensed titles and so on.
See Haze for this, much of FRD's resources would have gone into this and the fact that it then fails puts the company in a terrible position, and harder to get deals to make other games for publishers, despite the other great work they've already done for the industry.
This leads to new unproven ideas being harder to get off the ground and if it does eventually get out seeing not so stellar sales as the market is saturated with well known brand names, case in point being LBP (i'm not saying the sales were bad) compared to other games that are just the yearly iteration of a franchise. I think in today's industry it would be a lot harder to justify Mario 64's change to 3D (assuming of course we were all still running around in the 2nd dimension but you get where I'm going).
That's a good point. I Wiki'd High Voltage Software and here's a list of games they developed.
I have played most of the games on the list, so I could be wrong, but none of the titles listed really support a tradition of "creativity" and "innovation".
I would've much rather read about the features in the Conduit they feel are innovative, than pointing fingers at everyone else and slamming them for something their company has been/is guilty of.
I think the biggest innovative feature is the emphasis on completely customizable controls and HUD. Very few FPS games allow you to customize the controls. If they do, it is a set button map provided by the developer. No FPS game allows you to customize the HUD (if there are, I have never seen it)
He is attacking these other companies for getting so caught up on the "latest and greatest" and forgetting about what we found fun two years ago.
The Conduit as I have looked at it looks better than Halo 2. If the game looks better and plays better than Metroid Prime 1, I will be flipping for joy.
Unreal Championship (for Xbox) and Unreal Tournament 3 have fully customizable controls. Every single function can be mapped to each controller button. And there's a reason, the UT series is an extremely fast, competitive game, with gameplay details that are different then any other FPS. I'm sure there are other shooters with fully customizable controls, and it's not a bullet point for any of those games. Sure, full customization of controls for every game would be a nice to have, although not really necessary in most cases, but to call this feature "innovative"? That's a stretch.
As for a fully customizable heads up display, at this point it very much remains to be seen how this turns out. I wouldn't be surprised if there's one configuration 90% or more of the players use. I'm not sure of the extent that it will be configurable, but for me, I would much rather have a static, well designed UI that had a lot of thought put into it, and have the resources that would be needed to create and test a user configurable HUD put into some other area of the game. On paper right now, I cannot see this as being an "innovation" that truly improves the quality of the experience, and with High Voltages' track record to date, I really can't give any benefit of the doubt. Of course that's not to say that it couldn't be successful in creating new paradigms and actually being a useful innovation.
Anyways, I still feel the comments made by the HVS rep are hypocritical (considering their track record) and they almost appear to be linked to some sort of PR tactic. I think I might have to read the full published interview, to see if there is something missing. Because as it stands, these comments very much indict all AAA shooters, and all coming from someone working for a dev studio that doesn't have a single highly regarded game under their belt.
"If the game looks better and plays better than Metroid Prime 1, I will be flipping for joy."
Zach,
Those seem kinda like high hopes to me. That would be a marvel if the game looked better and especially played better than MP1. I think (other than the inability to straffe...ergh!) MP1 had some of the best FP controls especially with the platforming bits. If the conduit can match those tight controls, that be a huge accomplishment. I'm a bit biased when it comes to some GCN games since I used to be as fanboyish to the gamecube as I am my xbox. MP1 is in my top ten list.
The Conduit looks a lot better than Metroid Prime 1 from a TECHNICAL standpoint. But Retro's artists are in a league of their own, and that's where MP1 trounces The Conduit.
Of course, Metroid Prime 3 trounces Metroid Prime 1 & 2.
I totally agree. Metroid Prime has sucked up all my free time. I am almost completely done. 80% or so. Other than finding all the bits and pieces, I only have Metroid Prime to deal with.
That whole series is the best series ever developed if I say so myself.
It is high hopes to ask for it to be better. I have not played MP3, but I hear that the improvements the Wii Remote made to the game play were top notch. So hopefully the Conduit can pull off much the same.
This sounds like a bit of a preemptive PR strike. They're a developer of a Wii exclusive FPS, which has been called the best looking Wii game by many journalists that have seen it, no surprise they're already addressing the inevitable comparison to other shooters. I don't like how the statements paint the whole genre as being cookie cutter and only concerned about the graphics.
Eye candy and pushing the most advanced graphics/graphic innovations has been a hallmark of the FPS genre, right from its inception. Innovation is most definitely welcome, but IMO it's a bit of a cop out to imply innovation cannot be achieved while having a great visual component.
Maybe the Conduit will have innovating gameplay mechanics, but thus far all I've read about it is that it's the best looking Wii game. Somewhat ironic that it just might sell well based on the fact it looks better than any other Wii game.
I've said this before, and it applies here, there's more to technologically advanced hardware/consoles than better graphics, more CPU power and RAM opens the doors to innovation in: AI, Physics of the world, larger scope, more fluid and controlled by the player animation, and other elements that have not been explored in greater depth due to technological limitations.
It should be no surprise that most of the greatest minds in game development gravitate to the most technologically advanced consoles, as each console generation brings them closer to fully realizing their game ideas.
So where are our innovations in AI and Physics? I haven't seen them on a PS3 or 360. You say more processing power leads to better AI. Last Ichecked, 99% of games are still using fuzzy state AI logic and A* path finding. Where is the innovation in that field. Oh that's right we need to wait for the dedicated AI PU in order to start focusing on that tissue. The same for physics. We can't innovate on that until we have a dedicated PPU.
Personally, I think one of the worst things that happened to the games industry was the introduction of the dedicate GPU. Not saying it is a bad thing in and of itself, but it has lead the industry to focus primarily on that.
If the games industry wants to innovate, they need to get back to innovation in gameplay. That is the aspect of gaming that truly matters. All the rest is meaningless if the gameplay sucks.
I still enjoy games from the atari 2600, the NES, Sega Genesis, SNES. Most of them are gutter trash when compared on graphics alone with current games. But most of them can kick the trash out of todays offerings when compared on a gameplay level.
Story is another way that we can improve and innovate. That doesn't take a lot of processing power. I am not just talking about plot etc, I am talking about ways to present and control story as well as writing. Story does not have to be relegated to cut scenes and mission synopsis. You can tell story in the game. It doesn't have to be told through words either. It can be told through the world itself.
I would like to ask you to get a copy of the Dark Crystal. Watch that. Pay attention to the world the characters inhabit. Then watch the making of documentary and find out just how Jim Henson was inspired to make that movie. It will open your eys to true story telling.
Off the top of my head as far as improvements to physics go, with Oblivion/Fallout 3 individual items have actual physical properties and "act" more like they would in the real world, where as in Morrowwind objects were flat and had no interactivity. Yes that is a very simple thing, but details like this help flesh out a game world and make it more believable, thus more immersive.
As for AI, I haven't notice any huge leaps in AI yet (though I think Fear 2's NPC AI is going to be a half decent advancement in FPS AI). Though I do notice there are far less instances of absolutely "stupid" AI as there was previous generation. You have to understand, to use the established academic techniques to create a "thinking"/"planning" AI, requires a vast amount of CPU resources. Fuzzy logic FA (Finite-State Automatons) are simple, yes, but there are some very interesting behaviors that can be created with them, the more complex the world, the more complex the FA has to be. Complexity has overhead, and there's no question where the greater potential will be for advancement, in the hardware with greater resources and computational power. But there are other games that have used more complex AI techniques, www.gameai.com has a list of some older games which have used academic AI techniques (neural networks, genetic algorithms, logic based) and explain how they were applied.
Gameplay and story are ways to innovate that don't require more advanced technology, but the thing is the consoles with the beefy hardware can do this too, there's nothing that inherently takes away these elements out of the equation on the 360/PS3. In fact, better hardware can potentially be used in ways that make different methods of storytelling possible and allow for different game mechanics that make for more interesting gameplay.
Film is a medium which was driven by technological advancement as well, and in it's history you have many examples of different advancements being used where they're a gratuitous display of the technology, to films that really make use of the technology to further the movie in an intelligent way.
In the same way, the higher end consoles offer more tools to create games (and everything that comprises a game) that are as close as possible to their creators ideas.
Theres very little there to disagree with with. The Wii is more of a canvas then a suffisticated piece of hardware. Developers are able to come up with ideas that the other two consoles could never compete with. So why aren't they.
The lack of creative games on the Wii is truly appauling. Developers now just want to give gamers the nicest graphics possible in order to justify the price tag that thier games carry with them.
How is it that an industry such as ours has become saturated with remarkably unimaginative titles?
I think that's too broad a stroke and unfair to many developers who offer creative and well-designed games on all platforms. How is the Wii inherently better as a "canvas" than PC, PS3 or 360? This flies entirely in the face of logic. While nicer graphics are an obvious advantage of better hardware, you completely ignore the advances made to A/I, open worlds/emergent gameplay, improved NPC behavior and simulations/modeling the more powerful systems offer developers.
If anything, the Wii's motion control can be viewed more as a hindrance than a benefit to developers creativity and the glaring online weaknesses severely curtail developers possibilities (not to mention PS3 also has motion control if you feel motion control defines creativity). Many smaller developers/publishers also have the lower cost option of taking advantage of XLBA/PSN/WiiWare/PC if they don't want to make a high investment risk.
[grognard66]
I hardly think that gimmick controler can be called a motion controler. What Im trying to say is that creativity, flair and inginuity shouldn't be looked at as risky. In an industry as diverse as the games industry developers should, instead of looking at numbers and marketing possibilities, be looking at new and fresh game ideas.
Whilst you are (to some extent) right that the Wii may hold developers back in term of what their overall vision may be, it's still a fact that the Wiimote can offer a totally different gaming experience then that of its competitors.
I'm not saying that it allows for more creative ideas; creativity is found in the idea itself and not in the realisation of said idea, I'm simply suggesting that perhaps the Wiimote is the best possible means of communicating new ideas.
The Wiimote (including peripherals such as the balance board) has allowed for players to actually feel more involved woth the game than any amount of NPC behaviour, or modelling or any of the above ever could. I mean being able to control a game with your arse is something that until the Wii I never imagined happening.
Actually thats pretty unfair of me to say that. On the other hand I do understand where your coming from. Whilst the phisicality that the Wii brings to game immersion is truly unique, as a gamer a good story and breathe taking graphics coupled with an amazing soundtrack have my vote any day.
Yeah Wii Sports makes for good fun but the minute I hear the menu music from Halo3, or see the delightful vulgarity that is Marcus Fenix and co in Gears 2, or even glimpse at the level of depth in LBP's online I'm sold.
I guess it simply boils down to the level of creativity that developers want to achieve in their work and therin lies the problem...they don't want to achieve any [on Wii]. They would rather throw mindless title after mindless title at the consumer and its just not fair.
[Can't wait for CoD;MW2. Anyone who can see this message I emplore tou to check out my blog and comment as I'm going to make them a regular thing on the site]
You make a great point Byron. I think a lot developers are afraid of the Wii because it would expose them. When they don't have the graphics crutch to lean on, compelling gameplay is what has to be crux of the experience. Glossing a turd over in a shiny coat of paint and finish can only go so far.