BioWare On Tracking Player Feedback 41
simoniker writes "BioWare's QA director Phillip DeRosa has written a piece called 'Tracking Player Feedback To Improve Game Design' over at Gamasutra, which deals with how game developers can use statistics, even before a game is released, to improve gameplay. DeRosa "...explains how the Mass Effect creator has set up and executed code-based monitoring of key metrics to test, analyze, and refine its projects through playtesting." Is this approach sensible, or could it be more like movie producers 'pandering' to test audiences?"
Re:BioWare Nothing But A Shell Of Their Former Sel (Score:2, Informative)
KotOR was awarded game of the year by a ton of publications, and is generally agreed to be one of the best XBox games ever.
Jade Empire was received well and agreed to be one of the best RPG's of the year.
Neverwinter Nights was also a franchise that was well received and supported by an active community.
Re:No, because games are made FOR players. (Score:2, Informative)
Ah, of course. Playtesting is meant to make the game as bad as possible so it won't sell. Now it all makes sense.
Console RPGs have been more or less the same for over two decades. Western RPGs tend to be stat-based games where the character's abilities are emphasized far more than the player's own skill. WoW's combat (which is real-time) requires more "interactivity" and skill than something like Baldur's Gate.
You're effectively trying to impose one genre's standards on another. You may as well demand that racing games should have more RTS elements and a better combat system.
Re:BioWare Nothing But A Shell Of Their Former Sel (Score:2, Informative)
Too bad it will take at least another year until its done.