Fig455 on 22/3/2006 at 10:41
for those of you who're interested in reading more into this Romero vs. id story:(
http://www.gamespot.com/features/btg-daikatana/)
And I was happy w/DooM 3. It never claimed to be anything more than what it is....and it did it very well. a solid 8/10.
Huckeye on 22/3/2006 at 19:36
I went down this path before when stores were touting DX2 as their best seller. EBGames, and several others were all list DX2 as their best seller or at least top 5 for several months in a row and I didn't believe them. So I started searching and I found 1 web site that reported general game sales. So I started with the PC side and never, ever found it since it only listed the top 20 by month. I checked every month DX2 had been out including the 2 before it was released just in case. I then decided to check the Xbox release since I was certain it had to be there (not nearly as many games released at the time). It never graced that top 20 site either. I cant remember the site I used, but it seemed rather legit (at least not some fans personal ranking). I think the defacto standard is the NPD group which charges thousands of dollars to access any ONE of their reports. I think game companies have an awful lot to hide in those numbers. It would be too easy to just make them public and have companies stand up next to scrutiny. Nope, instead we get 'best sellers' that nobody owns.
I've talked to quite a few moms who go to stores like EBGames and shop for their kids. They always ask what's the best game out now. So no surprise when they take home Golfing sims and beet farm racing games to their teenagers.
Frikkinjerk on 22/3/2006 at 19:56
Quote Posted by Huckeye
I think the defacto standard is the NPD group which charges thousands of dollars to access any ONE of their reports. I think game companies have an awful lot to hide in those numbers. It would be too easy to just make them public and have companies stand up next to scrutiny. Nope, instead we get 'best sellers' that nobody owns.
Certainly true of Dungeon Lords. That steaming pile was trashed everywhere as being an buggy, unfinished game, but that didn't stop them from releasing a special collectors edition a year later and touting it as a best-seller.
T-Smith on 22/3/2006 at 22:15
Quote Posted by Fig455
And I was happy w/DooM 3. It never claimed to be anything more than what it is....and it did it very well. a solid 8/10.
QFT. Going in I knew DOOM 3 would be a dark, spooky, bloody fragfest, and in that respect I thought it did very well. The predictable enemy teleportation and monster closets got old pretty quickly, but I still had a great time with the game, enough so that I bought the expansion.
Domarius on 23/3/2006 at 04:19
Quote Posted by Frikkinjerk
Oh, and to underscore how crappy Doom3 is (graphics aside) - did you notice they lifted the whole PDA thing from System Shock 2 to give the illusion it had the latter game's depth? Instead of doing anything inventive though, like SS2 did, they kept the tired formula of teleporting in enemies all around you and kept you basked in darkness for the easy "boo!!!" factor. For scary that's like shooting fish in a barrel.
Yeah but Doom 3 is nothing more than a graphics demo for an awesome game engine. That thing is very flexible and very well put together. The game itself barely touches what is possible with it.
They make all their money from other companies buying their cool game engines, it's always been that way, ever since Wolfenstien 3D.
Domarius on 23/3/2006 at 05:38
Man, that was depressing, reading the article which tried to put an upward spin on the whole ordeal, while knowing that Ion Storm did unceremoniously close down in the end.
I think there's 2 important lessons;
1. Don't let your heart make desicions where money is concerned. He shoulda just stayed at ID, worked hard with the winning formular, been rich, steady job...
2. Don't underestimate the importance of Project Management, it's big, there are whole courses on it. Ion Storm is a sad example of how nessecary it is to have processes in place. They literally had none, from what I could tell of that article.
Raven on 23/3/2006 at 13:49
damn it FIG - I had things to do this morning... but I feel that it was important to read that article, lots of important lessons there!
It is strange to read the story with the fact that back in those days I was just so absorbed in thief 1 and 2 to actually give a damn... till LGS shut :devil:
Domarius on 24/3/2006 at 05:37
Same! I had uni work to do - but yeah when I realised I'd already spent like an hour reading or something, that I may as well finish - this is my industry after all.
Soul Shaker on 25/3/2006 at 02:36
Now we all know that the world will end when iD closes...well, maybe EA...
Why do all the best game companies get rooted up the arse by the 8-foot pole of some other monopoly? See, Black Isle-bought out. LGS-closed. 3D0-Oooo, bought out! IS-well...not sure...
Domarius on 25/3/2006 at 03:10
Meh, if you read the article you'd know what was really going on. IS died because John Romero was an idiot. LGS died because they did the noble thing and made a non-mainstream game that was fun like no other. ID won't die because its one of the big players, they are a well-run company with good coders that make great graphics engines (for other companies to make good games with). And they made stock standard FPSs with them to keep the masses happy.
