Richard - LIKE A BOSS!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Bohica, Apr 4, 2014.

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  1. Bohica

    Bohica Avatar

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    I have never seen this.....

    Source: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/mmorpg/shroud-of-the-avatar-creator-game-designers-suck/


    [​IMG]

    Shroud of the Avatar Creator, Richard Garriott, Discusses the State of Games

    Waves of gossip were sent though the RPG community yesterday whenPC Gamer published an interview withRichard Garriott, Ultima and Shroud of the Avatar creator. In a candid discussion, he expressed his displeasure with the current state of game development. “Most games designers really just suck” is the statement causing the most buzz, but he does go on to list designers who meet his standards and has pinpointed what he believes is the problem.
    Garriott recently made news when his new game, Shroud of the Avatar, was successfully funded on Kickstarter. Over the past 40 years, he as gained gaming street cred by creating D&D campaigns, making a computer RPG using a Teletype, and eventually developing the Ultima series. His games are beloved among the community, as evidenced by how quick Shroud got funded.
    [​IMG]I’ve met virtually no one in our industry who I think is close to as good a game designer as I am. – Richard Garriott.​

    “Other than a few exceptions, like Chris Roberts, I’ve met virtually no one in our industry who I think is close to as good a game designer as I am. I’m not saying that because I think I’m so brilliant. What I’m saying is, I think most game designers really just suck, and I think there’s a reason why.”

    Roberts, the creator of Wing Commander, isn’t the only exception to the “designers suck” rule. Garriott also listsWill Wright (SimCity) and Peter Molyneux (Fable) as guys who might be his equal.

    According to Garriott, one big reason games aren’t as good as they could be is because most game designers lack the skills to be good ones. “It’s really hard to go to school to be a good designer”
    “If you like games, you eventually get to the point where you’d like to make one. But if you had this magic art talent as a youth, you can refine your skills and show a portfolio and say, ‘I’m a good artist, go hire me.’ If you’re nerdy enough to hack into a computer, programming on your own, you can go to school and learn proper structure, make code samples and go ‘Look, I’m a good programmer, hire me.’
    But if you’re not a good artist and not a good programmer, but you still like games, you become a designer, if you follow me. You get into Q&A and often design.”

    You can watch his Kickstarter video for Shroud of the Avatar and hear him describe how games have had “amazing advancements in audiovisual presentations” but digital story telling hasn’t advance as surely. All a player has to do is “follow the arrows on the map until they reach their goals. “ Maybe he has a point there, but there are probably a few younger designers worth his attention.
    Garriott has set the bar pretty high for himself with his smack-talk about other, younger designers. He has a loyal following that expects greatness. In Shroud of the Avatar, let’s hope he produces it.
     
  2. Umbrae

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  3. Bohica

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  4. redfish

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    Not necessarily out of context, just interpreted to mean something he didn't mean. People have stopped trying to give other the benefit of the doubt and discern what they actually mean by what they're saying. Its easier to be a drama queen.
     
  5. Floors

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    Gonna haunt him forever this quote. What are you gonna do.

    The article is obviously designed to get as many views as possible tho.

    Must have been total gold to whoever got that quote and realized how they could use it lol
     
  6. Canterbury

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    I think Richard knows the value of a good headline and/or quote as much as anyone else who's dealt with the media as long as he has :)
     
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  7. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

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    This quote will get a lot of press, people will check it out, see what he is going, pledge for SotA to see his next big success and have fun. That is my prediction.
     
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  8. Elspath

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    Well hes right mostly because many of the now are in it just for money.

    Game disgn was set up as a growing industry and people were hustling to get in to it for that reason. Now we have a industry were there are 90% worthless developers and shitty production company that want to use a toss away any good developer like garbage to be bought and sold.

    Video Games used to be a art form and there are so few development groups that think that way still.

    But if you notice those few are the ones making the best of the best games.
     
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  9. Beregard

    Beregard Avatar

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    This is patently false. The market has simply expanded, and thus there are more developers to meet that market's demand. As the market expands, the quality margin does as well, perhaps more on what would traditionally be considered the "low end," but what is really the "accessible end."
     
  10. Isaiah

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    He of all people should know that sometimes the game designers are hindered by corporations. However he's right most of them suck. Too many games are the same old mindless stuff.
     
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  11. Elspath

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    Its very true

    so much worthless junk is made for one point, money.
     
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  12. redfish

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    I think for a while, a lot of serious developers got pushed out of the game. When EA decided Ultima had to appeal to a modern market and interfered a bit with U9. Publishers decided certain things wouldn't sell. Also, in that case, it wasn't only a matter of 'accessible' vs. 'serious', it was a matter of vision-driven projects vs. boardroom-driven projects.

    I think quality games have started to rebound a bit as the market has matured.
     
  13. Beregard

    Beregard Avatar

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    Let me riddle you this:

    If a game is worthless, then, by definition, it is not profitable.
    If a game is profitable, it has worth, and it's reasonable to infer that it has appeal.
    To a growing market, i.e. "casual gamers" (for lack of a better term) appeal = fun.

    That doesn't mean that it's the kind of fun you'd enjoy... but it is fun for some, even many, who are new to gaming. I'd say that's a good thing. Casual games are gateway games to a more well-funded game industry.

    I'd also posit that no game is made without an angle on profitability.
     
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  14. Isaiah

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    that's fuzzy math because when there are no good games out there to play the gamers are forced to either be very selective of the games they play or not play any at all (like I did for years), or fall in line and just make due with what you got to pass the time.

    Truth is even bad games have value if there are no other games to play. Somebody can mindlessly play a bad game and use their imagination to make it better and hopefully not get bored.

    Problem is many people are just use to the stress of grinding and grinding and grinding in games. I'd rather play a pay to win game and buy all my stuff instead of grinding one bit!
     
  15. Elspath

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    The answer is a consumer base that will accept any bit of crap tossed in are cage by the all might developers. We consume anything even the worthless and happily pay for it. We like to blame people like EA, Micrsoft and other bad company for shoving it down are gullets happily taking are money.

    But it is us who are to blame. We who accept it without a word, Demand the same games released over and over, the movie tie in games that had a 5 month development cycle, and the same game re released every year but with less and less features, just to be re added as DLC for 10 - 15 dollars a pop tell it is to repeat again and again and again.

    So theres the answer to your riddle. Americans are easy to take advantage of because we lack the brains to say "NO"
     
  16. Elspath

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    Im defiantly the other way. I would rather grind and earn my gear and visuals and horses then play a game where swipping a card is more important then doing a quest or being a "good" player.

    Plus im a Knight Commander (Founder Knight) I dont want to have to pay anything ever again. I think i payed enough.

    I personally would like to see a subscription based model over a store model

    ~Nods~
     
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  17. Beregard

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    Name me a single year... say, within the past twenty years... where there were not multiple great games. :)

    Now, if you're only fond of MMOs... i.e. a very specific class of game... and within that class a specific "open world, full PK loot" type... then, yeah, you can probably name many years without a good game in that genre.

    But if we're talking games in general... well, my bet is that you can't name a year! :) However, the original article seemed to be a commentary on the industry in general.
     
  18. redfish

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    I'd rather play Windows Solitaire than choose either of those options.
     
  19. Beregard

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    Sorry, I can't resist...

    [​IMG]


    To be serious - believe it or not, but the shenanigans you mentioned are of value to some. This doesn't stop great games from being made. In fact, if you can get a non-gamer in the door with Generic Hero Movie Game XII, then there's a chance they may look into the next great Ultima game, simply because now they are aware of the market. The market grows.
     
  20. Elspath

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    No thats the perfect example of my point. We are the Roman Horde wishing for blood in the streets. They are just giving us what we want. I think you proved my point very well!

    I love that pic ~swoons~
     
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