In light of the ongoing criticism of Dawntrail and your recent responses in interviews, let's explore:
1. An unhealthy obsession with graphic quality
This is just one slide in a presentation written by you, Mr. Yoshida, about the lessons learned after 1.0 and the launch of 2.0. And it’s not just this one slide. There are a few others that seem to reflect forgotten lessons: "Fun comes first; if it isn’t fun, you’re doing it wrong" or "Never back down; always aim to amaze."
How about "Learn to listen and adapt. A complaint is worth twice as much as a compliment. The silent always leave first. If players are complaining, it means they still care."
I work in a certain design profession where we were strongly taught in college to "take criticism for what it’s worth." We receive criticism from the deepest pits of the seven hells to the pinnacle of the heavens.
For example, "You dumb [redacted]! This is the worst color placement in history!"
What worth does this kind of dripping toxic statement have?
Simple: it highlights the effect of color placement.
Continue reading...
1. An unhealthy obsession with graphic quality
2. A surprising lack of MMORPG knowledge among development team membersDawntrail is planned as the first major graphic update. However, have you been overly focused on very specific graphics, such as the grass and every polygon on Lalafell faces? It took the first benchmark and players flooding the forums to point out that there is more to the game than just grass and Lalafell. As a result, for the first time, there was a "patch" for a benchmark.
3. The mindset that the solution to every problem could be patched in a future updateDoes this also extend to the writing team? Is your current writing team lacking the knowledge and experience needed to create a compelling story within the current MSQ structure/formula? It seems so, especially if you thought that main story quests should have been side quests.
Did you approve the Dawntrail story under the pretense that any "weaknesses" in the story would be addressed later following player feedback?
This is just one slide in a presentation written by you, Mr. Yoshida, about the lessons learned after 1.0 and the launch of 2.0. And it’s not just this one slide. There are a few others that seem to reflect forgotten lessons: "Fun comes first; if it isn’t fun, you’re doing it wrong" or "Never back down; always aim to amaze."
How about "Learn to listen and adapt. A complaint is worth twice as much as a compliment. The silent always leave first. If players are complaining, it means they still care."
I work in a certain design profession where we were strongly taught in college to "take criticism for what it’s worth." We receive criticism from the deepest pits of the seven hells to the pinnacle of the heavens.
For example, "You dumb [redacted]! This is the worst color placement in history!"
What worth does this kind of dripping toxic statement have?
Simple: it highlights the effect of color placement.
Continue reading...