burton
18-09-09, 06:39 PM
Instead of going with the normal "it will be great if they do it" will go with "nah". I'll try to shed some light on this issue from two points: from my perspective as a experienced SWAT4 player and from the perspective of a game developer. Consider this a warning, long rant ahead. If you don't like reading a lot of text, stop now.
First are the things that can be changed in a new game release and things that cannot be changed. When I think about SWAT4, I think it hasn't that much issues. It has bugs, yes, but so does every other game. It is unfortunate that the changes in the development team and publisher of SWAT4, basically Irrational Games bought by Take Two, resulted in every party just raising their arms and saying "it's not my problem". So the game has bugs.
I would argue however that the problems of SWAT4 are not in the game but the people. People suck. Why do they suck? Because simulators are hard. Because SWAT4 tries to simulate small team of operators on a mission in close-quarters environment. Only a small number of people can handle that. The more real-life concepts you introduce in a game, the more people you alienate. Most people want to have quick fun for 5 minutes and then get on with their lives. I won't blame them.
If we now think this from a game developer perspective. So you want to create a simulator game and not some generic shooter? Alright, fine, let's do it but there is this one thing called profit. Although probably every game developer would like to go crazy and show how innovative game they could develop, they don't. Why? Because companies need profit (= large number of sales) in order to pay these developers their paychecks. And were not talking about some three or five people here, Crytek (the developers of Crysis) have 550 people on their payroll (according to Wikipedia). That's a lot of people.
Simulators are a dying breed especially in the first person shooter genre. SWAT4 will probably be the last game of the series that has even some base on reality. If they do make SWAT5 I'm pretty sure it's going to be different. It's going to be more driven by profits and not by realism. Like I said, majority of people don't care.
How is SWAT5 is going to be different? If we look at one of my (ex-)favorite game series, Rainbow Six, we can clearly see how game developers change their product in order to gain more profit. How developers basically throw every aspect of realism away so that more people could play the game. It's business.
Talking about Rainbow Six makes my blood boil. The series has been diverted so far from the original three games that it is a disgrace to even refer the new games as being Rainbow Six games. I get so emotional on this matter because I started my CQB simulator history in 1998 with the original Rainbow Six. So if you want to know how different SWAT5 will probably be then you should probably look at the differences between Rainbow Six: Raven Shield and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.
I always found it funny when I met older gamers than me. These oldies always complained about new games. How old games had better stories, better characters, better game play. And now when I look at what I've written I've become one of them. I've become that old grumpy gamer who complains how new games suck and how games were better when I was younger.
When I look at the generation of gamers that come after me I wonder if they will continue playing and enjoying simulator games. What I found funny that someone might even think Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 being good game because it's 'new' and at the same time ignore rest of the series as being too 'old'. What is these gamer's benchmark on realism?
I hope they don't make SWAT5. SWAT4 is a good game to end the series and put the brand to rest.
First are the things that can be changed in a new game release and things that cannot be changed. When I think about SWAT4, I think it hasn't that much issues. It has bugs, yes, but so does every other game. It is unfortunate that the changes in the development team and publisher of SWAT4, basically Irrational Games bought by Take Two, resulted in every party just raising their arms and saying "it's not my problem". So the game has bugs.
I would argue however that the problems of SWAT4 are not in the game but the people. People suck. Why do they suck? Because simulators are hard. Because SWAT4 tries to simulate small team of operators on a mission in close-quarters environment. Only a small number of people can handle that. The more real-life concepts you introduce in a game, the more people you alienate. Most people want to have quick fun for 5 minutes and then get on with their lives. I won't blame them.
If we now think this from a game developer perspective. So you want to create a simulator game and not some generic shooter? Alright, fine, let's do it but there is this one thing called profit. Although probably every game developer would like to go crazy and show how innovative game they could develop, they don't. Why? Because companies need profit (= large number of sales) in order to pay these developers their paychecks. And were not talking about some three or five people here, Crytek (the developers of Crysis) have 550 people on their payroll (according to Wikipedia). That's a lot of people.
Simulators are a dying breed especially in the first person shooter genre. SWAT4 will probably be the last game of the series that has even some base on reality. If they do make SWAT5 I'm pretty sure it's going to be different. It's going to be more driven by profits and not by realism. Like I said, majority of people don't care.
How is SWAT5 is going to be different? If we look at one of my (ex-)favorite game series, Rainbow Six, we can clearly see how game developers change their product in order to gain more profit. How developers basically throw every aspect of realism away so that more people could play the game. It's business.
Talking about Rainbow Six makes my blood boil. The series has been diverted so far from the original three games that it is a disgrace to even refer the new games as being Rainbow Six games. I get so emotional on this matter because I started my CQB simulator history in 1998 with the original Rainbow Six. So if you want to know how different SWAT5 will probably be then you should probably look at the differences between Rainbow Six: Raven Shield and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.
I always found it funny when I met older gamers than me. These oldies always complained about new games. How old games had better stories, better characters, better game play. And now when I look at what I've written I've become one of them. I've become that old grumpy gamer who complains how new games suck and how games were better when I was younger.
When I look at the generation of gamers that come after me I wonder if they will continue playing and enjoying simulator games. What I found funny that someone might even think Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 being good game because it's 'new' and at the same time ignore rest of the series as being too 'old'. What is these gamer's benchmark on realism?
I hope they don't make SWAT5. SWAT4 is a good game to end the series and put the brand to rest.