Recently Released FUSE (Insomniac Games, creators of Spyro/Ratchet & Clank) debuts at No. 37 in UK
76 replies, posted
I just watched an old episode of this show called Icons that used to run on G4 or something. They basically interviewed the main guys at Insomniac, talking about Spyro and R&C. It really sucks that they seem to have gone downhill a bit.
[QUOTE=Juniez;40907153]yeah but one's somewhat unique aesthetically and the other one's trying to compete in an oversaturated market filled to the brim with [I]super real sci fi[/I][/QUOTE]
they both seem too similar to have made a big enough difference if they decided to stick with the old style
[QUOTE=bunnyspy1;40906955]did you guys know that 12 year olds are behind the change
the more you know
more specifically, this paragraph
I understand IGN isn't the best source, but it's all I could find related to it.[/QUOTE]
Hideki Kamiya had a similar problem with focus groups with Viewtiful Joe
"I think the whole focus-group thing is not the way to make a game, because you start to bring in other people's opinions and lose some of the originality. For Viewtiful Joe, we brought in some kids to a focus test and asked them, "What do you think of the characters?" And all the kids said, "Oh, his head's too big," or "Silvia's annoying, I just want to kill her." They were just trashing the game, so I just got pissed off and said I'm not changing anything."
It's too bad insomniac doesn't have someone with the same passion running things.
[QUOTE=LittleDogX;40905790]Am I the only one that's just as tired of "colorful cartoon-ish comedy shooters" as others are the "dark and edgy" shooters? With the way people demand it, eventually there will be tons of games that all seem colorful and joking. At that point, will we say "Oh boy, another colorful joking game"?
People also always make the argument that story is more important than graphics, yet when a game goes with a graphics style that fits it's theme, they get mad because it's another "dark and edgy" game. It would be hard to take a game with a 'serious plot" seriously if you feel like you're running around in a cartoon world. Even then, it may just turn into a game with "dark and edgy" cartoon-ish graphics. Though this doesn't mean it would definitely be a bad game, it may just be harder to pull off. Doing a "dark and edgy" theme with a serious plot may also just come off as a joke, and people might not actually take it seriously, even if you wanted them too.
It also applies on the flip side too. If there was lighthearted comedy game with "dark and edgy" graphics, the art wouldn't match the feeling of the game at all. The characters would be making comical, lighthearted jokes as there's blood smeared across their faces, while standing on a pile of corpses (at that point, I think the characters may be insane though so it may end up being a dark game anyways). This game may also just end up being taken as a joke, but not in the manner originally intended.
If people were to attempt these odd combinations of art style to theme, sure it's possible to make a game with them, but there would still be people complaining anyways. "Why does such a grim game so colorful? This is wrong, it doesn't match the feeling at all!", and on the other side, "This game is deceivingly wonderful. Hidden under all of its color is a theme that will tear your heart out".
In the end someone is going to complain because it's either "too similar" or "too different" or whatever other reason they come up with. I don't really care about graphics that much in a game. What I look for is decent story/plot/themes. If a developer wants to go with standard art palette for their game, go ahead, as long as you have a decent story, I don't care. If they want to go with a colorful palette, as long as the story is good, I'll still think the game is good. I may also be thinking "wow, this game is deceivingly bright", or something along those lines. I'll be honest, I probably wouldn't bother with a joking game, no matter what the graphics, because I'm already tired of the "comedy FPS" games anyways.[/QUOTE]
What does some hypothetical situation in which the plot doesn't match the theme have to do anything? Did they throw out a bunch of voice acting and art assets because they had super grimdark plot they just to use or something?
remove all characterization for A+ gameplay experience
[editline]5th June 2013[/editline]
[url]http://www.insomniacgames.com/games/fuse/#/news/detail/teds-soapbox-fuse-past-and-future[/url]
interesting read from CEO ted price
[QUOTE=Vedicardi;40908012]remove all characterization for A+ gameplay experience
[editline]5th June 2013[/editline]
[url]http://www.insomniacgames.com/games/fuse/#/news/detail/teds-soapbox-fuse-past-and-future[/url]
interesting read from CEO ted price[/QUOTE]
Just because a weapon and it's effects looked out of place does not justify re-doing the entire art style when people liked it to begin with, they could have easily tweaked the effects until the suited the original art style.
[QUOTE=bunnyspy1;40906955]did you guys know that 12 year olds are behind the change
the more you know
source: [url]http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/28/always-independent-the-story-of-insomniac-games[/url]
more specifically, this paragraph
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/9Zckzdn.jpg[/IMG]
I understand IGN isn't the best source, but it's all I could find related to it.[/QUOTE]
Ironically; the modern grit realism games are all the heat with the 12-year old's. They want games to appear mature.
What where Insomniac thinking when they signed a deal with the devil?
That they could make a seemingly interesting looking game and receive marketing targeted at their original target audience?
Instead they are told to add more dark grit and receive no marketing. Then EA wonders why the games sales tanked so badly and then they blame the devs and shut the studio down.
That's disappointing. Overstrike had a lot of personality before they changed it.
I didn't even knew Overstrike became Fuse, I never heard of Fuse, I thought they were two separate games when I entered this thread, I'm sad now.
Overstrike was the shit.
Whether or not Overstrike would have been a better game on that front than Fuse is irelevelant for the argument I'm about to make.
Let's assume that both games are on the same level of quality. Let's even assume that they have the same gameplay, with one major difference. Overstrike presents itself in the camp, cartoony, bright and stylised manner, while Fuse goes for its generic gritty serious look.
Now, on this level, Overstrike is immediately more recognizable. Its style sets it out, and people looking for a game that stands out are helped. People who want the less serious atmosphere are brought in, as well as the people like the stylization. This is purely as a [I]presentation.[/I] Overstrike had people hyped.
Now, we look at Fuse. What does it [I]look[/I] like? It looks... Generic. It looks pretty boring. Its box art looks utterly generic. It feels like a bargain bin title. It might play the same, but its atmosphere is lacking due to the boring presentation. It doesn't [I]stand out.[/I]
Even if Overstrike wasn't that great, it would have been remembered as a goofy, cartoony game that at least stood out in a wave of brown shooters. Fuse bombed as didn't even stick its head out of the water, drowning itself the moment it changed its direction. There's nothing memorable, and it's going to be remembered as all-around black spot on their reputation.
We can only hope they take the hint from the bad sales numbers and never do this again.
Seriously, what went wrong during the development. Overstrike had so much potential. The characters seemed really interesting.
[editline]5th June 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=Reds;40909814]Whether or not Overstrike would have been a better game on that front than Fuse is irelevelant for the argument I'm about to make.
Let's assume that both games are on the same level of quality. Let's even assume that they have the same gameplay, with one major difference. Overstrike presents itself in the camp, cartoony, bright and stylised manner, while Fuse goes for its generic gritty serious look.
Now, on this level, Overstrike is immediately more recognizable. Its style sets it out, and people looking for a game that stands out are helped. People who want the less serious atmosphere are brought in, as well as the people like the stylization. This is purely as a [I]presentation.[/I] Overstrike had people hyped.
Now, we look at Fuse. What does it [I]look[/I] like? It looks... Generic. It looks pretty boring. Its box art looks utterly generic. It feels like a bargain bin title. It might play the same, but its atmosphere is lacking due to the boring presentation. It doesn't [I]stand out.[/I]
Even if Overstrike wasn't that great, it would have been remembered as a goofy, cartoony game that at least stood out in a wave of brown shooters. Fuse bombed as didn't even stick its head out of the water, drowning itself the moment it changed its direction. There's nothing memorable, and it's going to be remembered as all-around black spot on their reputation.[/QUOTE]
My thoughts exactly. While they may have ultimately played the same. Overstrike at least looked a lot nicer and had a much more interesting presentation.
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