RitingFool
05-09-2005, 12:25 PM
I have written a serious letter to Heuristic Park, Dreamcatcher (I need their mailing address – if anyone can find it please let me know!) and Typhoon stating my displeasure with DL, and the growing trend of releasing poor-quality games. Some may say it is a waste of time, but I don't care, I want to express my feelings directly to the game makers. Anyone wishing to "add their voice" to it, just post your name and city/state, and I'll add you to a list at the end of the letter. If you don't wish to directly post that info here, you can send it to me via e-mail at ritnfool@yahoo.com. I realize that you may not agree with my list of “likes” (or dislikes for that matter), but if you agree with the overall tone and message of the letter, and want to be heard, then I encourage you to say so, and add your name to the list. One letter won’t make a difference, but I’d be doing myself a disservice if I continued to stay quiet about my (and other gamers) feelings. I may write an alternate version and send it to all the major companies (if so I will include your name on those letters too). Maybe we can finally be heard, and maybe we can make a difference!
Thanks for your attention, and I look forward to adding your name. Here’s the letter:
Mr. D.W. Bradley
Heuristic Park
1900 Century Blvd., Suite 17
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
Dear Mr. Bradley:
I recently purchased your latest computer game, Dungeon Lords. The overall state of the game, and a disturbingly growing trend in the computer game business has prompted me to write this letter.
First, let me tell you what I like about the game, after playing for about ten hours. For me, personally, the graphics are generally very nice. Sewers are suitably dark and dank, outdoor areas are colorful and appropriately dressed to the environment (swamp, grassy plain, etc.). There is enough variety with regard to vegetation to make things interesting to look at. The combat engine is adequate and suits the needs of the game. The introduction music is good. The character skill system is good also, with enough freedom to make whatever character you prefer, without real restrictions or adherence to what is thought of as typical classes for a role-playing game. There is also a fairly good variety of equipment available, and the magic system seems well implemented.
Those are the good things about the game. The bad, unfortunately, far outweighs the good. I will not go into to many detailed specifics, as you are probably aware of most of the problems. It is the nature and the cause of the problems that has ultimately prompted me to write this letter.
Character customization options and the automap are totally missing. The “Junk” function doesn’t work (duplicate items are automatically discarded). The quest log is a bare minimum function. Requirements for guild entry and class upgrades are stated by non-player characters, but do not function as intended, and any character can join any guild and become any class, regardless of whether they qualify or not. For many, several potions do not work as intended. Many people have reported that there is no in-game music (the map and music issues are “proved” by the fact that only one map and one music file seem to exist).
Those are the most grievous of the complaints, by myself and others. They do not take into account other bugs, glitches or poor design decisions. But they address a question that I have, and am hoping you can answer: Was this really the game you intended to create? Missing features, buildings with no furniture, towns with no people, a “world” with little other than vegetation and a few chests scattered about?
If the answer to the above is “yes”, then immediately I must ask…why? Why would you possibly think this world would be interesting to explore and adventure in? I really would like to know.
If the answer is “no”, then, again, I must ask…”Why was it released in its current state?” I suspect I know the answer, and if I am correct, then that is the heart of my frustration. My answer is, “Because we ran out of time and/or money, and the publisher made us release it.”
I realize that game companies are in business to make money. That’s a given. But the growing trend I mentioned earlier is a “release now, patch later” attitude that is turning the consumer into a beta tester. Many gamers, myself included, wait months and months for games, and purchase them the first week of release, anxious to play. You can’t really fault us for that – we expect games to be ready to play, and to work properly. But the Internet has created a forum for the release of information to the entire world simultaneously and instantaneously. So who cares if we have to wait two weeks, a month, two months, for a patch – when it comes, everyone has access to it right away!
This attitude is entirely unacceptable to me. I would rather wait three years for a nearly flawless game (there will always be some bugs), than a year or year-and-a-half for a total bugfest. But I realize that “money runs the world” in many respects. Publishers want the game out now, they need the revenue now. But how can you pride yourself on your work if it is incomplete, unfinished and broken? Games should not be like George Lucas movies, where you can go back and retouch things the way you wanted/intended. Do things right, release the game the way you intended it to be from the very beginning…or don’t release it at all.
I realize that one person’s voice may not count for anything. One person refusing to buy inferior-quality games will not make a difference. A thousand people won’t make a difference. But if ten thousand, twenty thousand, fifty thousand people suddenly stopped buying these bad games, the game companies might start to get the message. Will this happen? Most likely not. In fact, it won’t happen, not ever.
But pretend it did. If Dungeon Lords manages to sell 100,000 copies, pretend half of them never did. Pretend a poll came out that said 100,000 people were going to buy the game, but after hearing about all the initial problems with it, half of them changed their minds. Would you get the message? Would you care?
Here’s hoping so. Gamers want good quality games to play, not something that’s “okay now, but when it’s patched it’ll be great”. Take your time…we’ll wait.
I apologize for the length of this letter, but I wanted to express my feelings completely, in the hopes that you would listen. I am not the only person who feels this way. Below is a list of names, of other gamers who are upset and frustrated with the current trend of the game companies. “Release now, patch later” is unacceptable to us, and we don’t mind telling you about it, with our words…and with our dollars.
Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Michael LeBlanc
cc: Dreamcatcher
Typhoon Games
Thanks for your attention, and I look forward to adding your name. Here’s the letter:
Mr. D.W. Bradley
Heuristic Park
1900 Century Blvd., Suite 17
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
Dear Mr. Bradley:
I recently purchased your latest computer game, Dungeon Lords. The overall state of the game, and a disturbingly growing trend in the computer game business has prompted me to write this letter.
First, let me tell you what I like about the game, after playing for about ten hours. For me, personally, the graphics are generally very nice. Sewers are suitably dark and dank, outdoor areas are colorful and appropriately dressed to the environment (swamp, grassy plain, etc.). There is enough variety with regard to vegetation to make things interesting to look at. The combat engine is adequate and suits the needs of the game. The introduction music is good. The character skill system is good also, with enough freedom to make whatever character you prefer, without real restrictions or adherence to what is thought of as typical classes for a role-playing game. There is also a fairly good variety of equipment available, and the magic system seems well implemented.
Those are the good things about the game. The bad, unfortunately, far outweighs the good. I will not go into to many detailed specifics, as you are probably aware of most of the problems. It is the nature and the cause of the problems that has ultimately prompted me to write this letter.
Character customization options and the automap are totally missing. The “Junk” function doesn’t work (duplicate items are automatically discarded). The quest log is a bare minimum function. Requirements for guild entry and class upgrades are stated by non-player characters, but do not function as intended, and any character can join any guild and become any class, regardless of whether they qualify or not. For many, several potions do not work as intended. Many people have reported that there is no in-game music (the map and music issues are “proved” by the fact that only one map and one music file seem to exist).
Those are the most grievous of the complaints, by myself and others. They do not take into account other bugs, glitches or poor design decisions. But they address a question that I have, and am hoping you can answer: Was this really the game you intended to create? Missing features, buildings with no furniture, towns with no people, a “world” with little other than vegetation and a few chests scattered about?
If the answer to the above is “yes”, then immediately I must ask…why? Why would you possibly think this world would be interesting to explore and adventure in? I really would like to know.
If the answer is “no”, then, again, I must ask…”Why was it released in its current state?” I suspect I know the answer, and if I am correct, then that is the heart of my frustration. My answer is, “Because we ran out of time and/or money, and the publisher made us release it.”
I realize that game companies are in business to make money. That’s a given. But the growing trend I mentioned earlier is a “release now, patch later” attitude that is turning the consumer into a beta tester. Many gamers, myself included, wait months and months for games, and purchase them the first week of release, anxious to play. You can’t really fault us for that – we expect games to be ready to play, and to work properly. But the Internet has created a forum for the release of information to the entire world simultaneously and instantaneously. So who cares if we have to wait two weeks, a month, two months, for a patch – when it comes, everyone has access to it right away!
This attitude is entirely unacceptable to me. I would rather wait three years for a nearly flawless game (there will always be some bugs), than a year or year-and-a-half for a total bugfest. But I realize that “money runs the world” in many respects. Publishers want the game out now, they need the revenue now. But how can you pride yourself on your work if it is incomplete, unfinished and broken? Games should not be like George Lucas movies, where you can go back and retouch things the way you wanted/intended. Do things right, release the game the way you intended it to be from the very beginning…or don’t release it at all.
I realize that one person’s voice may not count for anything. One person refusing to buy inferior-quality games will not make a difference. A thousand people won’t make a difference. But if ten thousand, twenty thousand, fifty thousand people suddenly stopped buying these bad games, the game companies might start to get the message. Will this happen? Most likely not. In fact, it won’t happen, not ever.
But pretend it did. If Dungeon Lords manages to sell 100,000 copies, pretend half of them never did. Pretend a poll came out that said 100,000 people were going to buy the game, but after hearing about all the initial problems with it, half of them changed their minds. Would you get the message? Would you care?
Here’s hoping so. Gamers want good quality games to play, not something that’s “okay now, but when it’s patched it’ll be great”. Take your time…we’ll wait.
I apologize for the length of this letter, but I wanted to express my feelings completely, in the hopes that you would listen. I am not the only person who feels this way. Below is a list of names, of other gamers who are upset and frustrated with the current trend of the game companies. “Release now, patch later” is unacceptable to us, and we don’t mind telling you about it, with our words…and with our dollars.
Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Michael LeBlanc
cc: Dreamcatcher
Typhoon Games