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When looking at video games that have high community expectations, what players are hoping to find is clear validation of what they want the game to be. This happens all the time, because as an entertainment product we expect our expectations to be met, so much so that if they aren’t met we feel disappointed.
Once the game is released, the analyzes come, and these expectations are met or not, depending on the person. This is when the diversity of opinions and tastes emerges, it is this moment when, by testing the game, we want to give our opinion and contribute something of value. Unfortunately, Most of these opinions are based on complaints and complaints about things they don’t like in a game., beyond adding value to the product. That said, companies can get carried away by criticism, developing to satisfy needs and not to create a good product.
Video games can’t be what we want them to be.
Paradoxically, and as if it were a bad joke, video games cannot be developed according to the demands of players. There are several reasons why this happens, and there are several important nuances that need to be considered, because although it may seem crazy, as consumers we know what we want, but not what is the best for us.
As gamers, we are usually too picky when it comes to “analyzing” the video games we love. It’s not clear how we consumers criticize things, because our way of analyzing games is more emotional than analytical
The developer’s vision as something unbreakable
There are different aspects of these user needs, but, as we’ve already mentioned, most are born from ideals that don’t match what the developers thought. The developer’s vision must be unwavering, because if it is negatively influenced by making sales or exploiting trends, the game will have no more essence, resulting in a forgettable product.
Several modes have existed, and as certain game modes, graphics sections, categories, etc. become popular, games developed to capitalize on the appeal of this fad tend to fail. Although this is not something that has been quantified, it is something that can be guessed from the number of video games that become failures because they have no identity. For example, during the battle royale hype, a few had to shut down their servers shortly after launch. This is what happened to Ubisoft and EA with different games because they didn’t know how to take advantage of the trend, just like Apex Legends.
Pay attention to the community or believe in your product?
But developers’ vision can’t just be broken by chasing fads to capture the attention of an untargeted audience. It also happens that a game’s target audience itself, i.e. the community, asks for idealized things they would like to see in games. This situation is difficult, because sometimes It’s easy to meet the community, but the creative value can sufferresulting in continuity and no added value.
Valve finds itself in this situation with Half Life 3, because although it is a game desired by the community, launching it could be a very serious mistake, since the creative vision may be that this game does not exist , but following the wishes of the players can release a game that does not meet expectations. Even though they knew it would be a bestseller, Valve made the decision not to release the game (at least until now).
An opposite case happened to 343 Industries with Halo Infinite. Since Bungie ceased being the developer and following the release of Halo 4, criticism has continued as the community was unhappy with the direction the franchise was heading. Over several years and after several games, 343 decided to listen to the community and make a radical change from the style of play they were following with Halo. In this way, thanks to people’s feedback, they managed to develop Halo Infinite, a game appreciated for its respect for classic games and for being what the community had always wanted. In this case, the vision of the study was aligned with the needs of the community, but it carried every possible risk, because doing something that aligned with what the community wants must go very well, otherwise the criticism will be worse .
Video games should be what they want to be and how we value them
Considering that the majority of video games that succeed in the industry in an unprecedented way have “creativity” as a differential factor, we know that being creative and innovative is an aspirational value for all developers. There are also success stories that correspond to what we talked about earlier in this text, since these are games that take advantage of fashions and trends to sell. Big franchises are developed this way, so we need to focus on smaller titles.
This is why games like Hollow Knight or Undertale have triumphed in a massive industry with brutal competition. Creative proposals that base their value on the development of a different and non-mainstream idea These are the ones that tend to work best in people’s ideas. The intangible assets that these video games represent are differential, because they generate an ideology of quality, creativity and added value, since they are not the classic Battle Royale shooter or game as a service. These are games that risk losing a massive audience, but anchor themselves in the minds of a target audience and what’s more important, be relevant to a community instead of losing traction trying to reach the whole world.
For this reason and finally, when we evaluate, we take into account many factors, including context and intentionality of the developers. This may seem unfair to the product, but it is not, as my experience with Capcom’s Exoprimal was affected as I understand that this great idea was overshadowed by the search for a studio to take advantage of a method monetization. But I also understand that the games distributed by Devolver Digital are purer in their essence, so I appreciate what they want to tell me. The way gamers rate games is generally unfair, as there may be a great video game with fun gameplay, but it will be overshadowed by the studio’s decisions.
That being said, and according to the above, it is the studies that must not be influenced by the practices they have seen work, because this destroys what the game wants to be. Exoprimal wants to be a dynamic, chaotic and original game, but due to poor market research and poor decision-making, the studio preferred to seek a mass audience., instead of satisfying players who enjoy simpler experiences. In the end, it’s all about how the developers want their game to be, but not how it should be to delight a mass audience.
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