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Denver, 8:32 PM
Fri Dec 11
53 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/20/09
(Not coincidentally, that was also the touted trio for Chrono Trigger.)
Anyway, I think more and more gamers are becoming aware of who worked on a game. Is it to the point that an "all-star cast" can be promoted and recognized? Not quite. But I think we will eventually get there.
I, for one, would buy - or at least have a serious interest in - a game by a crew consisting of Shuyo Murata, Norihiko Hibino, and Yoji Shinkawa (all from ZOE2).
P.S. - Little King's Story was acknowledged for its wide array of game talent from all over the Japan game industry.
08/20/09
like I intend to see James Cameron's Avatar
but if it was just some dude's Avatar very few actors would make me go OMG must see (Bruce Campbell and Simon Pegg perhaps)
08/20/09
It's the same thing in film - the people who have the most visible presence get the most credit. Directors, producers, and actors are, generally speaking, the people who sell films. Their influence is the most visible to the public at large, and so they get the most credit whether they deserve it or not.
Same for gaming - it's why we have the Carmack's, Kojima's, Miyamoto's, and Molyneux's of the industry. They aren't the only ones involved in development (well, maybe Carmack in the old days) but they take a directing role and control the direction of the project.
It's also easier, from a marketing perspective, to sell a team than individuals. While the turnover rate for gaming is low compared to other tech fields, people do move around. And it's easier for a publisher to sell a game on the name "Infinity Ward" or "Tri-Ace" or "Team ICO" regardless of whether the original members of the team are still there are not. Come to think of it, this is probably the primary reason we don't see games, or films either, marketed this way. It's far easier to hold onto the name of a group while individual members fluctuate than to hold onto one individual.
While there's nothing wrong with recognizing the individuals who make up development teams, your average gamer doesn't care enough to make the effort to understand the positions. Any specific knowledge of them then becomes rather irrelevant, as they're just being told "this person is good" with no understanding of why. Combine that with publishers desire to use name dropping to sell games, and I don't really see individual programmers, artists, or sound engineers getting acknowledgment outside of the credits anytime soon.
08/20/09
08/20/09
Not that I'm defending it, just pointing out that considering how late in the development cycle games are announced these days (comparatively) something like that probably won't happen again.
08/20/09
I'm refering to the ad that said ...."John Romero will make you his bitch."
The fact that the game was mediocre made the bitch be Romero. I personally saw it as karma for his unbridled arrogance.
08/20/09
08/20/09
That said, I think the main difference between video games and film studios is that film studios can often produce all kinds of films while it's not uncommon for a lot of developers in the video game industry to stick to a particular genre.
Hell, look at Bungie. They're most famous for their first person shooters. Blizzard? RTS and RPG. Bioware? RPG. Square Enix? RPG. Treasure? When was the last time they DIDN'T make an action game?
Thus, someone who is a fan of a game will pay a lot of attention to the developer, who will, in all likelihood, continue to make similar games. Meanwhile, employees who are hired generally for a particular project may very well drift from company to company. They make take their particular style of game development with them, but the company itself will make products almost exactly like it.
08/20/09
Also, I'd prefer to forget Peter Molyneux.
08/20/09
08/20/09
Sega also branches into many different genres. Sonic, NiGHTS, Shenmue, Virtua Fighter, Skies of Arcadia, Condemned, Mad World, etc.
The point is that MOST developers stick by this because it's what they know and programming for one kind of game is nothing like programming for another.
Er, Stephen, what did this guy say that was wrong?
08/20/09
No, I'm pretty sure I created Commander Shepard.
08/20/09
Not a huge fan of metal but his name alone get's my panties wet.
....And.I.Don't.Wear.Under.Pants.
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
People rarely go past the director of a film (possibly the script writer or producer). Ensembles that get people into movies are generally the actors.
I'm not sure even film geeks would see a movie because it had costumes by the people that did the costumes in 'Lord of the Rings,' or had sound editing from the guy who edited the sound in 'Transformers 2,' or had the animal wrangler who worked on 'Babe, Pig in the City.' Not that these roles aren't important, but people generally don't care.
08/20/09
However, if you talk only from a game consumer point of view, I don`t think that most of the crowd will give attention to those you mentioned earlier.
Some big names will always catch some attention like Will Wright, Miyamoto, Molyneux, Sid Meier or Warren Spector. But these are pionners in the game industry.
08/20/09
It's rare that people realize it's a team effort really.
08/20/09
There might not be much point in buying a game just because a "famous" artist/programmer worked on it though, as there is usually not that much room for creative freedom, but it should at least be some assurance of the quality
08/20/09
In longer narrative media, people get involved with the characters and the story and that's actually the intention of the game creators - to get people hooked on the premise and the characters so they can continue to tell their stories. Despite certain technical bits being done better by key people.
In the 80s and 90s the dev teams for games were smaller you could read most of their names as you finished the game and remember most of them. But when you have a movie length credit and multiple people working on the different elements of the same bit of code they'll be overlooked.
For instance Nelson Shin of the original transformers and gi joe fame (also the simpsons of course) was one of the people who worked on the look/design of the lightsaber in the first star wars movie. But unless you're into films or into any of these three franchises you won't be aware of that fact.
08/20/09
Also, I'd love to see a credit summary on the back of game cases, a la movies. Devs don't get enough recognition.
08/17/09
08/17/09
08/17/09
08/17/09
Oh wait. Dyanmix had already gotten to that first ...
08/17/09
"Gabe Newell went down to New Orleans"
Get on it, creative people!
08/17/09
08/17/09
And by the way, who the fuck are you?
08/17/09
@Sabbatai: Wait, so fat jokes are fine, but heart attack jokes aren't? Heart attacks go hand in hand with morbidly obese people like him. My buddy is 27, just had a heart attack because he's a tub. Gabe newell is just lucky he isn't 6 feet under yet.
08/17/09
He was in a bind 'cos Half-Life was way behind, and he was willin' to make a deal.
He came across this young man playing poker and playin' it hot.
And Gabe sat right next to him and said: "Boy let me tell you what. I bet you didn't know it, but I'm poker player too. And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you. You play pretty mean poker, boy, but give ol' Gabe his due : I'll bet the name Gearbox against your soul, 'cos I think I'm better than you."
The boy replied: "My name's Randy and it might be a sin, But I'll take your bet, your gonna regret, 'cos I'm the best that's ever been."
08/17/09
You are mean.
08/17/09