Kurgan on 30/6/2013 at 08:37
This is about a week old, but I just got around to listening to it after checking my feeds (it's from the Eidos "Thief General Discussion" RSS).
Honestly, I had a hard time actually listening to most of it. A minute or two in they're asked about forum/fan feedback, and the outright lie they tell (after an initial attempt to dodge the question) just had my jaw on the floor, and me red faced and distracted for the rest. Basically, according to them, they read all the forums and pay close attention to all the posts, and feedback is overwhelmingly positive. Yeah, I'm serious.
Listen for yourselves...
(
http://soundcloud.com/johnfrench/e3-2013-thief-community) Clicky (You can stream it, or download the MP3, about 39 MB)
I feel ill.
Y'know, I never realized how much Thief meant to me until these delusional moneygrubbers came along and started butchering it, then went on to brag about how much of a favor they were doing us.
If I thought there was time left to see it happen, and that it would make an actual difference, I'd make a petition to have the game renamed, so at least there'd still be some distant chance of Thief truly being brought back, and not simply "revised" into something unrecognizable that uses the same name.
sterlino on 30/6/2013 at 22:34
LIARS !
oh well...
everything was just scheduled...
:rolleyes:
demagogue on 30/6/2013 at 23:01
If they cherry pick responses, have focus testing (which I imagine they have, or why make some of these decisions?), and count only certain posts from certain forums and disqualify others, then they don't even have to be lying. But we don't have to feel like the responses they're talking about are speaking for us either.
Shinrazero on 1/7/2013 at 00:29
I wonder how many people in their focus groups, especially the play testers actually have played Thief. From the various articles I've read, it appears the feedback back EM is taking is more console oriented.
Vae on 1/7/2013 at 02:31
Quote Posted by demagogue
If they cherry pick responses, have focus testing (which I imagine they have, or why make some of these decisions?), and count only certain posts from certain forums and disqualify others, then they don't even have to be lying. But we don't have to feel like the responses they're talking about are speaking for us either.
Filtering what is said and not said, by
purposefully deceptive omission, presents the THIEF community and the world at large with a concocted and insulting falsehood.
Goldmoon Dawn on 1/7/2013 at 03:00
Unbelievable. What a monumental letdown.
demagogue, are you ok with this?!?!
Queue on 1/7/2013 at 03:07
Here's a novel idea for the entertainment industry: QUIT MAKING THINGS BASED ON GODDAMN FOCUS GROUPS!! Asking for focus group input is the equivalent of asking a retarded man-child if he'd like a penny to munch on--they're either just happy to be there and will agree to anything, or are overly critical in the wrong way because they have been empowered by the notion of someone actually paying attention to them.
Chade on 1/7/2013 at 03:24
I think getting angry at focus groups is putting the cart before the horse. I don't agree that there is anything wrong with going out and getting data. I would focus instead on the way the results are interpreted.
Goldmoon Dawn posted a link to an interview with the new Might and Magic team earlier. What I found interesting about the link was the way they focus tested grid-based and free-form movement. They found that players found it easier to accept various "old-school-isms" when using grid-based movement, because the grid-based movement gave players less expectations that things would work in a modern way. As a result, they chose to use grid-based movement.
The MM team could have taken those results and chosen to go with free-form movement and more modern gameplay conventions. They chose to adopt a more instantly recognizable old-school approach instead. Focus testing didn't drive the direction of the game, it just gave them an extra piece of raw data to clarify how they should achieve their desired direction.
At the end of the day, gathering more data is never a bad thing. What matters is how that data is interpreted and incorporated into the design.
Goldmoon Dawn on 1/7/2013 at 03:29
Chade, I forget... Have you played any of the Might and Magics previously, or was that someone else... maybe icemann.
Chade on 1/7/2013 at 03:39
6 and 7. 6 was one of my formative gaming experiences.
