During this past week, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo was hosted in Los Angeles. Obviously, our budget does not allow for attending such event at this time. And since E3 is closed to the public, I don’t think we have the credentials to enter anyway.
I can imagine the guy at the door trying to verify us… “Cat-Life? What? A mod? GargArena… your kidding right? Gaming and fan-fiction? Art? Sorry pal, industry professionals only. Come back when you become an IGN property or make a full game and are invited or something.”
E3 this year was, however, supposedly more public friendly in that news outlets were allowed inside. Gee… thanks boys and girls of the ESA.
Honestly, I must say… how much better could it be. Since E3 has been relegated to closed door meetings for a couple of years now, the idea of a big “trade show” still seems… slot-eyed. I think the reason E3 has been suffering is obvious. It has always been essentially a luxury for developers. It WAS a spectacle of a venue for developers to present their newest creations.
And even with the return of some pomp and splendor, E3 is still basically just another closed trade show. This is why so many developers choose to attend the big comic and sci-fi conventions… they can announce their new projects to the public and, may I add, a market more likely to actually play their products. Even better… fan-boys with blogs en masse.
That said, some news did come out of E3 this year… better then last year anyway… in my opinion… as an outsider. 😉 With titles such as “Uno” and “Battletanks” announced, who could doubt the wisdom of the ESA.
I’m sorry… I’m just feeling a bit facetious. I’m afraid I simply don’t understand the wisdom of creating an expo or “exposition” in which exhibitors announce their newest developments to their competitors.
Without the press and presentation factor, there is no show. Now that some of this has returned… why not find a day or two for the general public. It might be fun… you never know.
No matter. For those of us that simply can’t attend for whatever reason, we still have the option of digging through the convoluted E3 official site for news… or we can trudge through the myriad of news and gaming sites for their coverage.
And trudge I have.
With all of the above nonsense stated for the record, scratched as it may be, here’s a little post I like to call…
Big News From E3…
Assuming the Gaming News Sites Are Telling the Truth
I have focused on the big press conferences more then the individual game releases because I simply don’t care about titles such as “Inferno Pool” or “Castle of Magic”. And of course, some of the news and presentations focused on games like The Sims 3 which actually released on the first day of E3… rendering it a moot presentation in my book.
Beyond that, too many titles were dropped with little explanation and some simply don’t interest me… for instance “Metal Gear Arcade”, “Assassin’s Creed 2”, and “Mass Effect 2”.
Since I have little in the way of my own news on this subject and I only noticed certain tidbits I found interesting… and I don’t feel like re-creating the event in full text form… I’ll just touch on some of the highlights I found interesting. For more, just check e3insider.com.
Motion Sensing… motion recording… motion anything. Everybody had a motion controller this year.
Perhaps the most impressive in my opinion was the XBox 360’s new Project Natal. The device effectively scans your body and tracks your movements rather then giving you a hand held controller. Whatever you do, the machine attempts to replicate it in-game using full body motion mapping.
Natal also includes voice recognition and facial recognition the latter of which is intended to allow you to auto log-in to your profiles. Oh… and you should be able to use a scan function to use re-skins of props in certain games.
Just imagine what a good FPS game would be… note that I said “GOOD FPS”… if the game isn’t designed correctly… this would suck and be really gimmicky.
Naturally, the real-world demo was a little laggy and the controller still has some bugs to work out. Also, the 360 is probably not the most ideal use for this controller and I suspect that newer versions of it will appear with the next XBox design or something similar.
The PlayStation 3 motion controller is more traditional in that it is a hand-held device. It includes a glowing ball on top that allows the eye receiver to track the controller’s movements. This was a prototype controller in a simple tech demo, but it did seem to have a much more smooth motion reception.
Nintendo didn’t really have much in the motion sensor category given that the Wii basically is a motion controller. But they did offer some interesting game titles. And the MotionPlus, an attachment for the Wii Remote that should improve its motion detection in 3D.
There is also the Wii Vitality Sensor, which attaches to the Wii Remote and serves as a vital signs monitor which could be used with the many Wii Sports/Fit games and could also be used by some games to control intensity based on player stress.
New Super Mario Bros is coming to the Wii and Mario Galaxy is getting a sequel with Yoshi. Also, the have more Wii Fit type games, Rabbids Go Home, Final Fantasy CC: the Crystal Bearers, and The Beatles: Rock Band.
For Sony, there were considerably more interesting titles. A new class of PSP is on the way, the “PSP Go!” It costs roughly double the PSP 3000 and… I don’t really know what else it has other then being 50% and 40% lighter then the older model. It is expected to release on the 1st of October.
Two PSP titles of note are Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker which is set 10 years after Metal Gear Solid 3 and is supposed to fill in the gaps.
There are some interesting titles for the PS3 including God of War III, Final Fantasy XIV, and Tekken 6 which will include two-person Online Co-op Game play.
For the XBox 360, trailers for two new Halo titles were presented… Halo: Reach, and Halo 3: ODST. Metal Gear Solid 4 is not being ported to the XBox. Instead, an entirely new title is being added… Metal Gear Solid: Rising.
Final Fantasy XIII IS coming to the 360 as well as Left 4 Dead 2 [more on that one later]. Also, several online features are being worked into the mix… Last.fm, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, and the like.
Two major titles I am interested in include Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2… partly because I expect a PC version of each… or else… I’ll hurt someone.
The big news for Modern Warfare 2 was a game play demonstration… it featured ice-climbing, snow storms that obscured visibility, and snow mobiles.
As for Left 4 Dead 2… well… a bit of a controversy has started on that one, so I’ll cover it in much more detail below.
Left 4 Dead 2… or…
How I Found Out Gamers Like DLC and Cheap Prices
Yeah, Left 4 Dead 2 is scheduled for a November 17th release. 364 days after the original Left 4 Dead. And according to Valve, it will cost the price of a full sequel because they consider it a full sequel.
Wait… don’t loose your temper just yet. Let’s talk about this for a few moments and why Valve made a mistake in their communications with the fans… and why some fans are really unhappy.
Before I start, please bare in mind that I’ve had a long day and have spent the past several hours gathering last minute information for this post. I’m tired and my writing may start to reflect that fact.
This all began with E3. Fans were hoping for word regarding Half-Life 2: Episode 3 or Portal 2. To their surprise, neither were really mentioned. Not even a “were working on them very hard”. Instead, a teaser and demo appeared. Left 4 Dead 2.
Both Trailer and demo look much like the original Left 4 Dead, only during the day time. Apparently, the campaign called “The Parish” takes place during the late afternoon/Early Evening.
However, features for the game include a more powerful version of the AI Director [2.0] and portions of some maps that can be changed depending on how well the players are doing. There are also supposed to be twenty new weapons, five full campaigns, all three current game-play modes for each campaign, plus another secret game mode that won’t be revealed until the game ships.
Also, there are three new special infected beginning with the completed Charger zombie. And apparently, a modified version of the witch exists during the daylight portions of the campaign. The five campaigns are supposed to be tied together this time as well, all taking place in the New Orleans area.
Changes to game play are promised as well… such as the removal of building defense climax battles. Now instead of stand and defend, players are expected to complete tasks such as moving to a tower with a sounding alarm atop it and shutting the alarm down, or passing through a car impound with each car containing a car alarm.
Some improvements in graphics are present and some new zombies are also around such as the haz-mat zombies which can not be set on fire. And now we have incendiary ammo and melee weapons including fire ax, frying pan, and chainsaw. And the some of the zombies seem to have a more detailed damage model… meaning you can shoot a zombie in the gut, blow a hole all the way through, and still have it attacking you. I’ve noticed some minor limb wounds and jaws/tops of heads coming off too. That’s in addition to the usual decapitation and dismemberment.
So gamers should be happy right? That’s what the developers thought. But it didn’t work out that way. As with most anything a successful company such as Valve Software can do, there are dissenters. But this is of particular interest as I can understand some of what makes these people unhappy and some of Valve’s thought process as well.
This thread on Steam forums details some of the issues the dissenting gamers have a problem with and inspired a boycott Steam group. Not all of the original points are valid, but some of them really hit the nail on the head.
So what? Why is it such a big deal? Here are the negative issues as I see them.
Several interviews have surfaced that quote Valve staff as saying they intend to maintain Left 4 Day in a manner similar to Team Fortress 2, with regular updates and new content including new campaigns, new weapons, and new monsters. This sudden release, less then a year after the first game is being declared a full sequel so Valve can charge “full price” but mainly just adds the same items Valve promised to give in TF2 style updates.
I would say that this is the number one grievance players have with L4D2. Content they had been told would be free is now going to cost them money.
And… really… that’s about it. There are always other issues. Some people would rather have the original characters. Some dislike the idea of the Source engine’s age. The usual complaints. But they are being rallied to one cause by the fact that gamers feel Valve has “promised” free content and then reneged and decided instead upon not only a “pay-to-play” DLC or Add-on pack, but a full priced game… even though the changes are small enough to have been a series of updates.
This money issue is being perceived as a cash cow effort on the part of Valve and a dishonest one at that. This issue has united all complaints about the game under one banner and the boycott group is, as of this posting, almost 9,000 strong. They have even collected several interviews into one rather damning video which depicts Valve representatives promising TF2 style update content for Left 4 Dead 1 including the campaigns, monsters, and weapons that are now being bundled into L4D2.
In a series of aftermath interviews and press releases and media drops, Valve has attempted to damage control this “zombie infection”… and failed because they have nothing particularly new to say.
A big part of Valve’s problem has always been communication. And their issues continue full force in this E3 announcement debacle. Even worse, many gamers have had the same communication issues resulting in needless flame wars. I can’t help but believe that no one has asked the right questions yet.
Lets begin with the employee issue. Most interviews involve the lead developer, Valve’s Chet Faliszek. And he has not handled some of his interviews very well. Many of his statements [given the lack of tone and emphasis of print media] have come across as condescending or uncaring.
This Q&A report from ShackNews has been one of the more informative discussions I’ve found. And it helps illustrate part of the problem here. Faliszek, asked when the development of L4D2 started, said “Pretty much after Left 4 Dead launched.”
The idea that development started as soon as the first game launched would mean that Valve representatives had lied about updates in order to sell the first game. Players were expecting updates and Valve promised them, but the developers were “secretly” working on the sequel already.
The truth is that Faliszek has said more about that subject in several interviews but has failed to really get his point across, as has Doug Lombardi. Development of a full sequel did not begin as soon as Left 4 Dead launched. Once the team finished the first game, per Faliszek’s slightly difficult to follow description, they sat down and began planning DLC type content.
Ideas were tossed around and good ideas were written on the trusty White Board of Massive Planning [© & ™ 2009 – The Wildcat]. The result was more content than could really be fit into DLC’s, enough content for a completely separate episode. In fact, enough new content to surpass the original game by a fair amount.
I hate to bring up the dreaded “E” word, but it may help for some gamers to think of this in terms of episodes. The original game was Left 4 Dead: Episode 1. This next title would be Episode 2. And it is important to note that many of these interviews include a commitment on valve’s part to continue to support of the original game for some time yet.
But I must admit, I do agree with many of the fans. This “full sequel” is a bit simple to cost the same as a full game. The new game is something similar to having all of the Team Fortress 2 updates assembled into one package and sold to us rather then offered as individual updates.
And given previous promises, that is disappointing. It makes Valve appear greedy. With so many modern youth and young adults quick to jump on the anti-big business [which loosely translates into “any successful business”] mentality, Valve comes off as a villain.
It doesn’t help that some of the improvements, changes, and design differences in L4D2 have been described with a certain perceived patronization.
As an example from the ShackNews interview, Faliszek said, “One of the other things is.. we’ve all played [Left 4 Dead] now, we all play it now, we see things like [players] stacking in the corner and stuff, and we want to avoid it” and “the stacking in the corner.. that sucks” and “It sucks that there are people that don’t play it that way, and they get yelled at”. He was referring to the common strategy of a group camping in a closet during the climactic “crescendo moments” in which the players attempt to defend some location against a horde.
- I’m Sorry… I just had make this one… – The Wildcat
There isn’t anything inherently wrong in any of the Valve team’s statements. They simply haven’t worded their answers as clearly as they should. Similarly, many times Faliszek and Lombardi both have answered questions by listing the same “features” of L4D2.
This makes their answers seem more like a dodge. To read them, they sound a bit more like politicians avoiding hot-button issues or personal scandals during a debate. And we all know that no creature is a bigger lier or more of a thief then a politician… especially one that must dodge questions.
In the end, I’m still torn about this matter. I want to see the good in Valve. Yet, I must admit that the b-roll video and the IGN gameplay videos both make this look more like an add-on for Left 4 Dead rather then a new game. I can’t help but believe that a little cash farmer may have popped up at Valve looking for milk… even though Doug Lombardi has flatly denied this.
The key issue here is that Valve [and Lombardi has admitted this] does not understand the negative reaction some fans are having. After all, this was E3 and Left 4 Dead is a great, albeit relatively small game. Players should be happy, but some are angry instead.
Why? Because, we payed a “full-game price” for the original title expecting TF2-style updates to make it worth more then an “episode”.
Now, gamers are not seeing new content as quickly as originally expected and Valve is talking about a full-priced sequel that certainly looks like it could have been broken into anywhere from three to five updates/DLC. Basically, gamers are starting to feel cheated and Valve has been too confused to offer real answers.
Truthfully, even the idea of traveling through a real world city like New Orleans has already been planned by mod teams. So… Valve is taking a mod idea and selling it to us with a few updates to the game code. Or so some people believe.
To be honest, I think Left 4 Dead 2 could be a great game. I like the idea of these new style “crescendo moments”… as it offers a little variety to the game. Left 4 Dead was, after all, a bit formulaic.
And I like the idea of grabbing a chainsaw and fighting alongside the Heavy’s black cousin “Uncle Phil”… or the scout… or a guy from Vice City… or even the token girl. It still seems like this could be a lot of fun.
I think it would help ease player concerns if they see more options added in… like the ability to play as characters other then the default cast of four… like say… one of the original characters… or even a character that is completely unrevealed until the release. And what about some kind of discount for owners of the original game or something?
Valve representatives also need to be careful as to how they answer any further questions. People hear what they are saying about weapons and monsters and campaigns and AI Director 2.0 and all of that. The problem is they still feel cheated. When they ask why they should pay full price for much of the stuff they feel they were promised in free updates to the original game, answering with a list of the same new features won’t win them over.
Answering that Left 4 Dead will also be updated with some new stuff would help but gamers really need to see an update to believe it. Answering that Left 4 Dead 2 will eventually include even more stuff like improved graphic effects and still more updates could help too.
But ultimately, the damage is already done. Further, many “kids” will want to keep this anti-Valve mentality going just for the hell of it anyway.
Lombardi has asked for players to trust Valve to provide some updates for Left 4 Dead and to make Left 4 Dead 2 a full game. So before you make any big decisions about Valve and jump on the boycott bandwagon, why not wait and see what happens.
We still have around five months before this game’s scheduled release. Much can happen in that time frame. Personally, I think I will write up some questions for Doug Lombardi [because Lombardi is the VP of marketing which makes this sort of discussion more HIS domain anyway, plus as I said earlier, Chet Faliszek tends to translate poorly in print]. I want to know more then “why do you think so many players are mad?” and “Do you think [insert factor] would help win over the unhappy fans?”
I want to know more about the game itself and what truly makes it stand out as its own separate game before I pass any judgment. Also, gamers need to learn a little self-control. Declaring that someone with a different opinion is stupid, an idiot, or any other negative attack will not persuade them to join your point of view. Please… Don’t feed the trolls.
EDIT:
One last detail, here’s a Rock Paper Shotgun audio interview with Chet Faliszek from the podcast “The RPS Electronic Wireless Show“. It make many points more clear if only because it has audio.
