-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Completely Transparent Game Development - Will It Ever Happen? Should It Ever Happen?
- Thread starter Eternalgamer
- Start date
Oh also dont forget that developers have plenty of proof that theres a big disconnect in what fans SAY and what fans DO
I'm a member of TIGSource, which is an indie game dev community, and they have a Dev Logs board which people post updates on their progress. The thing is you just see the updates, send they're usually days apart, because otherwise it's just a slog of people trying to get things done or implementing
Good Kickstarter games i.e. Bloodstained and Original Sin with Larian are pretty cool. It looks like Baldur's Gate 3 will be a similar "open" development style so I'm looking forward to updates.
Should ALL games be this open? Maybe? I can't think of a reason why not?
Should ALL games be this open? Maybe? I can't think of a reason why not?
Struggling with problems is a big part of the time spent in game development. Failing, trying out different looks, rewriting, removing stuff, moving content about.
I've worked on a game where graphics assets from the game was removed for RAM. It's visible in an early trailer but no one online spotted it.
Being raked over the coals by 'fans' for doing something one way or another would be insufferable.
I've worked on a game where graphics assets from the game was removed for RAM. It's visible in an early trailer but no one online spotted it.
Being raked over the coals by 'fans' for doing something one way or another would be insufferable.
Broken Age did exactly this! Detailing its development in a documentary series as it was in development, with a new episode launching every few months.
It was great for people interested in game development, and caused a lot of headaches for the team with how some people reacted to news as it was being shared. (Interesting part about that, though, is the next episode sees how the team reacted to the public's reaction!) amazing documentary in terms of open game development.
It was great for people interested in game development, and caused a lot of headaches for the team with how some people reacted to news as it was being shared. (Interesting part about that, though, is the next episode sees how the team reacted to the public's reaction!) amazing documentary in terms of open game development.
I think the Broken Age fiasco proved that if you completely open up game development you're only asking for armchair project managers to shit on every aspect of your project.
Exactly. A movie pretty much has to be set in stone before it really begins production. A game is completely different as things aren't often locked down until it's a year or two from release, which is when games are typically announced.
I mean, imagine Splatoon. The initial proof of concept had no squids and would of had people scratching their heads. Then we'd hear it might become a Mario game and be even more confused.
I could see it working for series that have pretty regular development, like Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Battlefield, and a few others. But for the cast majority of games it just wouldn't work and it's an awful idea.
Plus it can really deflate excitement for a game. For movies we may get a cast list and general synopsis when it enters production. Maybe a few unintentional set photos, but we don't really get trailers or promotional material until a year or so before release, just like games. Mount and Blade Bannerlord is a game that has been in development forever and they try to do regular and open updates, but at this point my excitement has dropped down substantially, even though I am sure the end product will be good.
Now that is something I'd love to hear in a 'Making of' featurette!
Thinking more about this, one title I think did this well was Stardew Valley.
ConcernedApe launched the website to give fans updates pretty early on, and I followed it consistently for the few years it was up until launch. I think that was one of the exceptions -- somewhat "niche" (at the time) game with a relatively tight community, where one person exerted all the creative control and had a strong vision that his player base was basically already on board with.
ConcernedApe launched the website to give fans updates pretty early on, and I followed it consistently for the few years it was up until launch. I think that was one of the exceptions -- somewhat "niche" (at the time) game with a relatively tight community, where one person exerted all the creative control and had a strong vision that his player base was basically already on board with.
I'd love to see more of it but I 100% understand why it's not really done. It sucks that more people wouldn't use it as an opportunity to learn more about how a game is made, but that's the world we're in, I guess.
I really do like to watch Brendon Chung livestream (some of?) his development sessions.
I really do like to watch Brendon Chung livestream (some of?) his development sessions.
I think it would be a great process, but most gamers aren't ready/conducive/care about the benefits, so usually they're going to drag it down.
It takes a ton of work to write up documentation on what you are doing. Ti the degree where thete are serious discussions about how and when to comment your source code. Doing this will both take away from time that could be spent actually working on the product, and double peoples workload. Not to mention that some things cant be dumbed down for laymen to understand, and when laymen dont understand things, they start using dumb words like "scam" and "downgrade."
No every one enjoys being watched. And the discussion around game development is toxic enough that we don't really need more fuel.
I just want to chime in and say I love when games include behind-the-scenes featurettes. I think I remember....was in Uncharted that did it? It's really cool, and reminds me of the good old days of DVD bonus menus.
I don't need to see a daily blog though, unless it's a Smash Bros. Dojo.
I don't need to see a daily blog though, unless it's a Smash Bros. Dojo.
I have a feeling that any such "open development" would turn into people throwing out buzzwords to second guess developers. "Why isnt this using ECS" is something that has become almost a meme in indie development circles.
Star Citizen already does that Eternalgamer
--------------
I used to wholeheartedly believe in open development (as i find the subject super interesting) But then gamers completely changed my mind about that.
Don't forget about Cyberpunk, Slay. Even though they (CDPR) shouted at the top of their lungs about the gameplay demo being still in development. Which was the reason they showed it behind closed doors.
And when they did release it. After all the whiny bitching from gamers. They (gamers) still fucking screemed bloody murder, even though during the released footage the narrator kept saying this is still WIP.
--------------
I used to wholeheartedly believe in open development (as i find the subject super interesting) But then gamers completely changed my mind about that.
Don't forget about Cyberpunk, Slay. Even though they (CDPR) shouted at the top of their lungs about the gameplay demo being still in development. Which was the reason they showed it behind closed doors.
And when they did release it. After all the whiny bitching from gamers. They (gamers) still fucking screemed bloody murder, even though during the released footage the narrator kept saying this is still WIP.
A lot of indie devs basically already do this. See TIGSource devlogs or developer Twitch streams or Screenshot Saturday and other places
I love dev blogs so I won't really be against it.
I think it's a little impractical for big teams to do it. Like 100+ devs.
More documentaries are always welcome.
But, in the end, each dev should do whatever they feel better with.
Edit; and yeah, a lot of indie devs do it.
I think it's a little impractical for big teams to do it. Like 100+ devs.
More documentaries are always welcome.
But, in the end, each dev should do whatever they feel better with.
Edit; and yeah, a lot of indie devs do it.
I'd love more behind the scenes stuff but it doesn't necessarily have to be "live".
I'd also love more transparency. Like in the other spoiler announce thread someone said "what, are they meant to announce last of us 3 right after 2???"
As if that spoils anything. By that token every tv show should pretend they are canceled after a season and deny they are even filming (even while set pics leak) and then only admit it when a trailer comes out for the new season?
Get outta here. We know what movie studios are doing sometimes 5 years in advance. Gaming is different but knowing things a little bit in advance isn't a bad thing, leaks don't kill business (I don't necessarily think it should be completely open but a leaks a leak- who cares) and people complaining that they read about the new souls game from a leak vs reading it on a blog two days later aren't losing anything, as much as their bullshit spoiler culture war mindset makes them think they have.
I'd also love more transparency. Like in the other spoiler announce thread someone said "what, are they meant to announce last of us 3 right after 2???"
As if that spoils anything. By that token every tv show should pretend they are canceled after a season and deny they are even filming (even while set pics leak) and then only admit it when a trailer comes out for the new season?
Get outta here. We know what movie studios are doing sometimes 5 years in advance. Gaming is different but knowing things a little bit in advance isn't a bad thing, leaks don't kill business (I don't necessarily think it should be completely open but a leaks a leak- who cares) and people complaining that they read about the new souls game from a leak vs reading it on a blog two days later aren't losing anything, as much as their bullshit spoiler culture war mindset makes them think they have.
You can only do it if expectations are low or nonexistent.
Think about how much shit Shenmue 3 has gotten for being just a little transparent. Most games look rough for most of their development, being fully transparent without it backfiring requires a level of patience that observers just don't have.
So, if no one is watching, it could work out.
Think about how much shit Shenmue 3 has gotten for being just a little transparent. Most games look rough for most of their development, being fully transparent without it backfiring requires a level of patience that observers just don't have.
So, if no one is watching, it could work out.
People keep bringing up "movie studios" but they're just as protective of leaks. You see it every time a movie trailer leaks before the official unveiling, and you get DMCA requests to try and scrub it from the internet. Get a better example.
Indeed. So I doubt we will ever see that kind of transparency in game development. Imagine the harassment devs would have to deal with
People would still want more. If devs showed everything, people would then complain that they should be allowed to vote on what is goin into the game.
Read my post. Video game news isn't a spoiler. A trailer leak is worse than what most get in games and movies and is rightfully copyrighted down.
I'm talking about "a game is at e3!! Spoilers omg!"
It's a fine example.
It really isn't, because there are tons and tons of movies which get cancelled without ever getting revealed every year. YOU just don't know about them.
Nope. You have people who run in gleefully calling everything shit the minute they see something short of perfection. Imagine working on a game for years while you have those people constantly berating your work.
Yet those videos get WAYYYYY more views than GDC talks....what you're talking about is relatable and self inserty. Game development is not that.
Nope. The second someone sees something that isn't in the final game, that's a wrap, that's only one of another 100 problems.
Behind the scenes at the dev and publishers discretion is the best you could reasonably hope for.
Behind the scenes at the dev and publishers discretion is the best you could reasonably hope for.
Remember that time the Hellblade devs talked about the vertical slice and how they threw it out to work on the main game and we had to go through like a year of peeps saying in nearly EVERY Hellblade game that the game was in trouble cause they interpreted that as the devs "restarting development."
Yeah, unfortunately.
Gamers a repellent creatures.
I do.
