Thief dev: Forget ‘cool’ PS4 specs – if it’s boring, we’ve failed

Thief dev: Forget ‘cool’ PS4 specs – if it’s boring, we’ve failed
David Scammell Updated on by

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Eidos Montreal producer Stephane Roy has called for developers working on next-gen consoles to be “smart” and ensure they use the additional power offered by PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s next Xbox to “support the gameplay” and “not just be impressive for the technical aspect”.

“It would be stupid to think, ‘Alright, [next-gen is] more powerful, so let’s do stuff bigger and bigger,'” Roy told VideoGamer.com.

“We will have to be careful because it would be easy [for us to say], ‘it’s more powerful, let’s have more food on the plate’,” he says. “It would be dangerous for the cost of the product. Let’s say you go into a restaurant and now you have more money. There is a maximum of what your stomach can receive, I guess. So it’s the same thing… We have to be smart.”

Roy believes that the “technical freedom” offered by next-gen consoles will finally allow designers and artists “to really do what they have in mind”.

“That said, I think now with this technical freedom – it’s not unlimited but we have much more freedom – I think now, the designers and artists will be able to really do what they have in mind,” the Thief producer continued.

“Too often there is a technical restriction and it’s not exactly the gameplay experience we want to give you. I’m pretty sure the artists and designers are really going to find a way to [fill] the memory, but we should be able now to create a game that what exactly we have in mind should be in front of you.

“So [the amount of RAM] is really, really cool, but let’s be smart and let’s make sure that we’re going to use this next-gen to support the gameplay, the fun factor, and the experience we want to give you, and not just be impressive for the technical aspect. If it’s not fun – even if it looks great, even if the physics are realistic – if it’s boring, then we’ve failed.”

Eidos Montreal is one of the handful of studios to have announced a game for next-gen consoles.

The studio is currently developing Thief, due for release on PC, PS4 and “other next generation consoles”, and rumoured to be working on another unannounced title.

Roy’s comments were published in a report by VideoGamer.com yesterday exploring the possibilities – and the risks – associated with the amount of RAM included in PS4.

Source: The Risk Behind The RAM: Is next-gen’s biggest strength its greatest weakness?