Kind of? I'd say it's a four-player class-based cover shooter co-op game, with a big progression system, four unique classes that really do need to work together, alongside an over-the-top story, villains and some great characters.
It's its own thing, with its own feel. And it's a heck of a co-op game.
In case some have forgotten, the entire reason Insomniac made R2 that way it was (like with the two weapons instead of the weapon wheel) was because of "focus groups". IMO, Insomniac should just not use them.
1000% not true
Movies have them too. It's how the theatrical cut of Blade Runner got trashed, especially the ending.Wow focus groups and people still call games art.
kinda off topic(maybe not since most people think about the CG blur made),but can you tell us how do you/other developers work with Blur Studio? do you give them a video or film storyboard of your game and they replicate it on CG or just give them some art and screens or some ideas and they work on that?
I've no interest in the games on discussion here, but good to see Stevenson taking the time to respond.
And if you know me, you know there's a ton of college football on right now (and on top of that, I'm battling food poisoning), which makes this even the more impressive ;-)
Movies have them too. It's how the theatrical cut of Blade Runner got trashed, especially the ending.
JS, #1 CM. Get well, and thanks for being a sport.
I know, I follow you on twitter.
Monster Knight -> Girl with a Stick -> Ratchet & Clank
Resistance as futuristic space opera -> Resistance as WWI era shooter -> Resistance set in 1950s.
Welcome to the real world of game IP development. Even Outernauts went through insane iteration from its early version
I've answered this before with "bus stop bums". Even though I really hope it's not true, that some initial screening is done on candidates, I don't see a way to churn through new blood regularly without scraping at the absolute bottom of the barrel at some point.Who are these people we call "focus groups" exactly? They are like an anonymous organization set out to ruin the industry.
I know, I follow you on twitter.
I'm so sorry.
I have a calendar reminder set to "refollow" Stevenson on Twitter, not coincidently set to early January / the end of the college football season.
How about actually talking directly to your fans? You know since that is what some people actually get paid for as community mangers etc. Why not just gauge fans reactions of forums or ask them on twitter or facebook what they think? Hell I mean look at this thread and all the negativity surrounding the art style change. Is it so hard to actually look for feedback without needing to resort to focus groups that don't actually know what they want?
Playtesting is not the same as focus testing.
They listened to 12 year olds
12 YEAR OLDS
12!
Is there a chance you could return to the Overstrike art style in the future JStevenson?
So basically a company does something you don`t like=fuck focus groups
A company does something you like=listens to the fans
From reading the threads here neogaf would defiantly be the worst focus group you could poll
This is hardly surprising news. We might decry the change but for "Joe Gamer" it's definitely more appealing.
This is hardly surprising news. We might decry the change but for "Joe Gamer" it's definitely more appealing.
Man, fuck this. RIP Insomniac, murdered by focus groups.
Why did they use 12 yr old kids to test a game that it's intended for a mature audience? Anyway I just checked the Overstrike trailer and it looked way better than Fuse, anyway I hope that this game doesn't end up like Syndicate.
Really? It's not like Insomniac was know for it's colorful games... I mean they did just finish Resistance.
At least that game was visually appealing.
Both can be true, and I suspect frequently ARE. The games end up seeming more appealing to these "dudebros", but they also don't really care to buy multiple games like about all of us would, so they ignore the game anyway until maybe it's a $10 used title to check out on a slow weekend or something, and I imagine they'd just buy food and drink instead.Says who? How many shooters with this sort of art style are met with anything but disappointing sales?
Ted has already gone over that. It's discussed in the previous thread. But I think saying focus groups led to the change between Overstrike and Fuse would be inaccurate.
Game has evolved a ton during its development, as all of our new IPs do.
Man, fuck this. RIP Insomniac, murdered by fuck us groups.
Probably been discussed, but would Sony have had Insomniac pay such attention to focus groups, or would they have allowed them complete freedom to create the product they wanted to create?
If the answer is the second, Insomniac dun goofed
This might seem to be a completely random jump, but I actually wonder if part of the problem too was how expensive those consoles deubted at, and the fact they failed to get lower fast. By the time they reached "average parent would buy it for their average kid" there simply weren't many of those games there outside of licensed drivel, and the more mature or "mature" games were more deeply settled in, with most people already going to the Wii for the kid friendly alternative.
Also makes me wonder if the Wii U refreshing things might help make that style more relevant again. It helps that Nintendo GETS IT, when it comes to kid friendly games they're basically Pixar with Sony being Dreamworks (well, as of the PS1/PS2 anyway, though it still kinda shows), and Microsoft being... I dunno, live action Disney? That seems like the kind of stuff young kids and some teenagers may like, while almost all adults would find it utterly repulsive.
Actually, if I'm remembering my timing right as well as the context of this portion of the interview, Brian is referring to the style PRIOR to the E3 Overstike trailer, that style was never shown.
To some degree it was apparently what worked better with the gameplay and overall style they decided to go with, but I wouldn't be surprised if focus groups did basically say "go deeper", and they looked at HOW to best do that.Have we got to the bottom of what caused the change from E3 Overstrike to Fuse? If it wasn't focus groups..