Keep a tight rein on fan input

[polomi]

I know that developers that listen to the comunities are very praised nowadays. However, it's not always a good thing.

For instance, one of my favorite games, Shattered Horizon, suffered immensely because of this. The developers listened to a subset of the fans that wanted it to have more weapons, despite the idea being in conflict with the artistic vision that the devs had of the game. What a mistake. It dramatically and immediately harmed the game. From a well loved unique game, the number of players sharply decreased and the game died.

I'm sure that Playtonic has a unique artistic vision for the game. And that is the game that I want to play. I want to play something from the minds of the people who brought us Banjo-Kazooie. I want the real deal, the 100% genuine Playtonic product.

I believe that any compromise to this is a step in the wrong direction.

I trust Playtonic to do the game I want without having to tell them what to do and how to do it. Because it is the game they want for themselves, and if what they made in the past is anything to go by, that's also the game I would want for myself.

Community input for stuff around the game is great, what kind of kickstarter rewards do people want, and so on.

But going as far as to include community content in the game is a step in the wrong direction in my opinion. One example is voice acting, which is debated in some other thread currently.

I trust Playtonic to come up with good content, be it voice acting or something else. Do I trust the community? Hell no, I wouldn't even trust myself, I'm not qualified as a game designer or voice actor at all.

I want an experience that isn't stained by fan service. Please don't let fans influence the content of the game just for the sake of pleasing the fans. If it is more than just fan service, then I wouldn't mind. For instance, in the unlikely event that some fan would have a voice that perfectly matches what Playtonic had in mind for a character, I wouldn't care that it comes from a fan, because it would be respecting the artistic vision of the game in the first place and the voice would have been selected on that criterion alone, whether the voice is coming from a fan or not.

In short, I want Playtonic to safekeep their artistic integrity. So what's your opinion on this? Do you prefer an unstained experience, the true Playtonic game, or would you prefer it to be community driven?

[hjort]

I'd like to co-sign this.

[Hellmouse82]

I agree, I just want them to make the best game that they want to make, I'll be there to support them as i have been sorely lacking a huge 3D platforming experience in my life. I don't really have any specific input i want for the game itself but i'd love a nice Art Of book for my Shelf and maybe a piece of original art for my wall.

[Taylor]

I agree with this. Listen to the fans and make smart decisions -- but don't be a slave to the fans. Give the fans what they want, but remember that you can't please everybody.

I also think direct fan input, like lending our voices etc., should be very limited. In other words, I don't think it'll make the game as good as it can be, but if I got the opportunity, I'm going to take it.

As a side note, I'm the type of guy that has thousands of ideas... and I know that not every one is good! So Playtonic should really take what I say with a pinch of salt, heh.

[Epic Elliot]

i doubt they will go overbored with fan ideas after all they said they wana make games that they wana play & know that we wana play so im sure they know what there doing where more like moral support

[AJC0MICS]

@polomi: I agree. However, if they released an Alpha build and most of the fans disliked a certain gameplay element or something like that, the developers should listen to the fans.
If Nuts&Bolts had a playable Alpha version back then, most of the fans would've been against the whole vehicle idea while the game was still in development, so the developers could have changed the core mechanics of the game. (I don't want to compare Ukulele to N&B!)

But I think the devs already know which kind of game we all want.

[TheAnvil]

I agree with everything in the OP.

I don't want fan input in the game for the sole purpose that they paid xxx £s.

[polomi]

[dotEXE]

[GildasMagnus]

As long as Playtonic can say No, I think fan input is fantastic. They've said they'll not promise one thing and do another, and they've said they'll try and include everything we want - but as long as they can say "Well we disagree, because of Evidence A and Opinion B" then I'll be happy.

[supergardie]

Yeah, I mean, they made Banjo Kazooie and we didn't, so I'd say they have a better idea of what they should do than we do. There's nothing wrong with looking through what everybody wants and seeing if there are any ideas of which they hadn't thought that they actually really like, though. They're awesome at what they do but they certainly aren't the only people with good ideas.

But no Kickstarter rewards where people get to demand things just because they have more money than others. More money does not equal better or even good ideas.

[Taylor]

[polomi]

[CrazyChaos]

I agree so much. I appreciate their concern with the opinions of their fans, but I would not be a fan if I did not like what they do already. There may be some areas where listening is good, but for now I think they should get the game out the way that they want to and then maybe listen more after the release. The potential problems at risk do not bother me much at all to be honest. The game already seems like it would be great based on what we know they will do combined with what they have stated that they will not do.

[Shoegayzer]

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[supergardie]

[Taylor]

[supergardie]

[Taylor]

[Tamashii7]

Great post. I agree, the reason why Rare's games were good to begin with was because they made games they liked, games they wanted to play. And it just so happened that what they liked, millions of other people liked as well. I think it's fine if fans want to throw ideas at Playtonic Games, and if Playtonic likes anything in particular they can use it, but at the end of the day it should be up to the developers what goes into their game. I didn't wait 15 years for a spiritual successor to Banjo Tooie just for a bunch of random people online to decide how it will turn out.