Stop All the Downloadin'!!!

Are Gaming Developers Getting Too Complacent Thanks to DLC?

As many gamers know, yesterday was the highly anticpated release of Fallout: New Vegas. The game has been met with mostly favorable reviews, however many gamers and review sites have complained across the board about a number of bugs and glitches within the game. Not to say I told you so, but...I told you so. The game was being developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the same people who released the bug heavy Alpha Protocol and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II. Let me be clear, this blog post isn't about ripping Obsidian a new one again. The new Fallout is being praised for it's large and expanisve world, which will suck gamers in for more hours than a World of Warcraft addict. Instead, my problem comes with the unavoidable patches and updates this game will get to address several of these bugs and glitches.

Bethesda softworks (the developer of Fallout 3 and publisher of New Vegas) released a statement today saying they're aware of the problems with New Vegas and are working on a new patch for the game which will release sometime in the near future. Here's my problem with this statement. First, the fact that Bethesda is already making announcements about the game's inherent problems is a bit disheartening considering the game just hit store shelves yesterday. Sure we all should be grateful that the company is working on fixing the problem, but is the availability of Downloadable Content allowing game developers to get complacent with their work? I sure as hell hope not, but I'm starting to notice a trend.

If we do a Superman and reverse the world back 2 years, another highly anticipated game known as Gears of War 2 also met some internal problems that needed a few weeks of fixing. The single player campaign played flawless, however the multiplayer matchmaking system was, for lack of a better word, disastrous. Players would be met with unbelievable wait times in order to get a single match going. I personally waited a full 30 minutes to get a group together, and my game lasted 10 minutes at best. The time wasn't adding up correctly. Epic Games Lead designer Cliff Blezinski has gone on record stating Epic ultimately screwed up with Gears 2, and the company has since released six different online title updates that have streamlined the online experience. It took them about a month or two to iron out all the kinks in the game, but it just begs the question why didn't the game come out working like it should have right out of the starting gate? It's almost like a used car salesman selling you a car without the transmission, but promising you you can drive it even though he'll get it fully working in about a month. In the words of Johnny Cochran defense: DAT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE!!!

Son...Taking cover behind a wooden bench is not strategic thinking

Flash forward to today, and now a game like Fallout: New Vegas is shipping while it's clearly broken. I'm not too sure how a publisher decides to handle a game's release date, but videos of the bugs have been circulating the internet, proving that the publisher shipped the game knowing the bugs were there. Bugs are awful in a game. They immediately make players lose their sense of immersion, making it nearly unplayable at times. I came across a very amusing one that happens right at the beginning of the game. People are calling it "The exorcism of Doc Mitchell." It's really funny. Take a look.

 

Whatever the case may be I'm hoping most companies are learning from either their peers or their own mistakes. I know Epic won't make the same mistake twice thanks to the recent push back by Microsoft of Gears of War 3 from April 2011 to Holiday 2011. The folks at Epic have been blessed with more development time, which includes a public beta in the near future. As a gamer, I would much rather wait an extra month or two for a game to be polished, and is bug free. Publishers don't have to cram their games down everyone's throats so soon. If we want your game, we'll buy it regardless of when it comes out. Halo 2 ultimately proved that theory. The hype and anticipation surrounding that game was larger than Roseanne's waistline, and while the game was delayed for months, even years, it finally released the way it was supposed to be...complete...and people bought it.

It's OK to delay your game. Last year there were at least 6 (maybe more) high profile games that got pushed back because of either the need for more development time, or the fact they didn't want to compete with the 800-pound gorilla in the room known as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. From the looks of it, a game like Fallout: New Vegas could've used another month to tweak and still would've made its coveted holiday release cycle. I just hope that DLC doesn't become more of an excuse for developers to make their release dates because it only hurts the company and publisher's image in my eyes. Like I've stated before, I never really trusted Obsidian in their game design and it turns out I can rightfully give myself a pat on the shoulder.