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The only risk of showing games before they’re finished is to developer egos, the lead designer of upcoming dungeon crawler Diablo III has said.
Blizzard’s Jay Wilson told VideoGamer.com that it is better for developers to learn from feedback and make their games better than “clutch things close to their chest”.
Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack, the developer behind the troubled 360 exclusive Too Human, has been vociferous in his belief that games shouldn’t be shown to press before they’re finished. In a recent interview with VideoGamer.com, Dyack described video game reviews as a “left over habit from ages ago that we still just perpetuate and continue to do because no-one thinks we should change”.
However, Blizzard, developer of the massively successful fantasy series Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo, has always been keen to reveal games often years before release.
When asked if there was any risk associated with this policy, Wilson said: “This is going to sound snarky, but there’s only a risk to your ego. That’s it. If it’s good then people will recognise that it’s good; if it’s not good then you need to learn from that and make it better. Sometimes people clutch things close to their chest and they don’t want to show off something that misrepresents them and I understand that – but the thing is, gamers only remember the last thing you showed them. So if you show them something and they say, “Oh my God, that’s horrible!” then you say “Well, geez… let’s go back and make it better.” At least now you know why. At least now you have some information.”
Wilson said he understood why some game developers don’t want to be told their game doesn’t work, but ultimately feels that the feedback gained from press and gamers is essential to making great games.
“I think it’s hard for people, when they get attached to an idea,” he said. “And we do this all the time. I get really attached to an idea, I really want it to work – so I don’t want other people to tell me it’s not working. The key is to use that feedback and not fight it, because someday the whole world is going to have it. It’s going to be there someday. Do you want to make sure you give them what they want, what you know will be a great game, or do you want to take the risk that your opinion is the right opinion? It’s a tough call, but for the most part I’d say “No, don’t take the risk.”.
“It’s not design’s job to come up with all the great ideas and figure out which is the absolute best. It’s design’s job to make sure that the best ideas get into the game. That’s the major difference. I think a lot of people get into game design as a job because they think, “Man, I can sit around all day and come up with ideas.” And it’s like, “No, you can sit around all day and have your ideas torn down.” And that’s a lot more painful, but that’s the job.”
Be sure to check out the full revealing interview with Diablo III lead designer Jay Wilson.
