egosoft.com

I saw this today and nearly blew a gasket. They want games made simple to make them more user friendly as they say that computer games are too difficult .

"Games are still too difficult for a mass audience,"

The blunt message was delivered by Laura Fryer, director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group

Only for the people who dont try hard enough. Games are as hard as the gamers make them.

Quetz

just that particular sentence sounds weird, but otherwise i agree with her

gameplay over gfx
difficult but never frustrating

Seem to remember another game (think it was Iwar2) that was made easier for the American market.

If it wasnt Iwar2 then it was a different game but cant remember which one.

chess isn't easy, does that make it a bad game?

It's my belief that it's more the control interface of some games that make them difficult rather than the game its self. Give the X-Box a decent control system and some of the games will instantly become more playable.

Some how i get the feeling that "X2" and "easy" wont go in the same sentence....ok apart from "X2 is not easy"

Quetz

The X games are the only games that have ever consumed hundreds of hours of my life.. because of their difficulty makes them challenging and fun. There is no real end, I have to be;

An entrepreneur

A fighter

A planner

A strategist

A maker of alliances

A dam good thinker

And all that and more was great fun, as I expect the scripting and thousands of Real AI’s in XOU will make it even more difficult and challenging and FUN.

and XOU will remove whats left of my social life, stop me watching any tv, I'll be willingly 'Wired' to it.

I don’t like any of the ‘mass audience’ games, as I’ve tried them and tend to finish them in a weekend.

If XOU or any future X games went that way, they wouldn’t hold me or many I know for long.

This person was a spokesperson for the XBox Advanced Technology Group, which would be Microsoft, right? Now, if they seriously think that over-simplified bags of washing like Freelancer and Dungeon Siege are STILL too difficult, they must assume that nobody over the age of 7 ever buys a game...

Reading the content of the link I'm confused as to what her point is.
But, there again not being an 'executive' of that 'corporation' I suppose I'm well out of that corporations brainwashing spiel.

Fun?...now how come none of us thought about 'that' content in a game?
In one breath she says games are too 'difficult', in another breath she says that games ought to broaden or use our mental abilities....eh!?

I can't help but think that maybe there's a hint of 'you will play what we want you to play' here ....Ah well, but maybe I'm not reading this statement correctly.

I was hoping to see a rep. from Egosoft at this convention, perhaps after seeing some 'material' from X2 her statement might have been different

Oldman

pjknibbs wrote:This person was a spokesperson for the XBox Advanced Technology Group, which would be Microsoft, right? Now, if they seriously think that over-simplified bags of washing like Freelancer and Dungeon Siege are STILL too difficult, they must assume that nobody over the age of 7 ever buys a game...

You got it...Paul

Oldman

Take anything out of context and you can change the meaning completely!

Observe:

"When people talk about 'it's only a game', they're cheapening the value of games. It trivialises the time people spend playing a game and time is the most precious thing people have."

The blunt message was delivered by Laura Fryer, director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, to a meeting of game developers in London.

She told her audience that games had the potential to change people's lives, offering them the chance to experience a wide range of emotions in a safe environment.

Although games are growing in popularity, they are still lagging behind TV, films and music. Ms Fryer laid the blame for this on the people making the games. "Games are still too difficult for a mass audience," and urged game makers to come up with titles that would appeal to a hardcore 15-year-old gamer as well as someone older who just wants to have fun. "People don't focus on gameplay. Instead they make a beautiful game that is no fun." she told the Game Developers Conference, held at London's Earls Court last week.

As a self-confessed avid gamer herself, Ms Fryer sees real value in video games, arguing they have a key role to play in people's lives. "People need drama in their lives. Games fulfil emotional and mental needs that cannot be fulfilled any other way," she explained.

The Xbox executive said video games offered people a chance to flex their mental muscles, as many titles involved planning, strategy and decision-making. "When you make choices, it reveals something about yourself. People reveal who they really are when they can try things in a safe environment."

The Game Developers Conference was held last week as part of London Games Week, which brought together a range of industry and consumer events around the capital.

- Corporate Girl.

Or corporate twirl

shame she didn't mention which games she 'avidly' plays eh ? of course that would be pinning one's self to a dartboard

wonder how much she earns for talking twaddle.

I think the point is, there's a difference between "difficult", "Challenging" and "pointlessly frustrating".

Having a bunch of hard jumps to make is challenging. Having a big boss monster that's tough to bring down is difficult. Having said big boss battle occur after said hard jumps without being able to save/etc. inbetween is pointlessly frustrating.

Likewise, (and I can't think of any great solid examples atm) adding unrealistic difficulty for the sake of difficulty isn't... fun. Don't take advantage of the game engine by hiding something behind the sprite drawing of the tree, that would be totally obvious to the character(s) actually standing next to the tree. Don't take advantage of funky camera angles to make it hard to target your adversary in a gunfight. Etc.

In a very real way, I have to agree with a lot of what she said. You shouldn't neccesarilly "dumb down" the game... but you should definitely streamline the annoying aspects... IMO Dungeon Seige, for instance, did a *LOT* of things right.... about the only thing it really failed in, IMO, is having an actual game... and lackluster character development (by which I mean stats/skills, not plot development) The engine/controls itself I thought were fantastic. Some of the other ideas, (partly consume potions, packmule, etc.) also were a definite step in the direction of making a game more "fun".

Please tell me Ms. Game Expert Moron, What is the point of a Game if it is not challenging??!?

lol i think this peson is a total idiot who has no idea what she is talking about.

Ok. there is a quote in what she said that i mentioned in the other part of the message board (the non x games related part). I said do graphics matter more than gameplay?

her quote was "People don't focus on gameplay. Instead they make a beautiful game that is no fun."

This seems to prove my point that alot of people are quite happy to play a game no matter what the gameplay is like aslong as it looks good.

She's talking crap if she thinks most games are too hard for people. The only way to make things more how she'd like, is to add more difficulty levels and encourage younger gamers to play on the lower levels. If you make a game for 15 year olds then most people over the age of 20 will find it dull, boring and too easy. Games i found fun and hard a few years ago i now find easy or just plain boring.

What she seems to asking for is a game that everyone will on the planet is capable of enjoying and will match your level of gameplay automatically, which is nigh on impossible to do.

As to how much she gets paid to talk twaddle, my own responce can only be, too much.

Neil

--------universe 1-------

mum: "i think i'll buy pacman for our son/daughter.."
dad: "naa dont bother, it will be too hard for him..."

-----universe 2------

mum: "i think i'll buy pacman for our son/daughter.."
dad: "take 2.."

y'see with microsoft its all to do with money, the more people who buy the game (kids...), the more ££$$££$$ they get!

not like they have enough already....

pjknibbs wrote:This person was a spokesperson for the XBox Advanced Technology Group, which would be Microsoft, right? Now, if they seriously think that over-simplified bags of washing like Freelancer and Dungeon Siege are STILL too difficult, they must assume that nobody over the age of 7 ever buys a game...

On the nail as usual Paul

The only one's who an afford XBox games are a lot older than 7 years, which is a bit patonising to say they can't play 'difficult games', a bit of a own goal for their market.

terrabyte wrote:The only one's who can afford XBox games are a lot older than 7 years, which is a bit patonising to say they can't play 'difficult games', a bit of a own goal for their market.

"If the market reads the statement.

;p

silentWitness wrote:Take anything out of context and you can change the meaning completely!

Observe:

"When people talk about 'it's only a game', they're cheapening the value of games. It trivialises the time people spend playing a game and time is the most precious thing people have."

Yep, broadly speaking, I agree

The blunt message was delivered by Laura Fryer, director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, to a meeting of game developers in London.

I'm starting to get suspicious...

She told her audience that games had the potential to change people's lives, offering them the chance to experience a wide range of emotions in a safe environment.

True...so very true.

Although games are growing in popularity, they are still lagging behind TV, films and music. Ms Fryer laid the blame for this on the people making the games...

Hang on a minute.... that's not very nice!...and I don't agree!
There are other factors involved in this....

"Games are still too difficult for a mass audience," and urged game makers to come up with titles that would appeal to a hardcore 15-year-old gamer as well as someone older..

Oh yeah?....how MUCH older?

... who just wants to have fun. "People don't focus on gameplay. Instead they make a beautiful game that is no fun." she told the Game Developers Conference, held at London's Earls Court last week.

Which people?

[qoute]
As a self-confessed avid gamer herself, Ms Fryer sees real value in video games,...

Yes, I bet

...arguing they have a key role to play in people's lives. "People need drama in their lives. Games fulfil emotional and mental needs that cannot be fulfilled any other way," she explained.

Arguable point

The Xbox executive said video games offered people a chance to flex their mental muscles, as many titles involved planning, strategy and decision-making. "When you make choices, it reveals something about yourself. People reveal who they really are when they can try things in a safe environment."

That's twice the Xbox has been mentioned...I thought this talk was about games?

The Game Developers Conference was held last week as part of London Games Week, which brought together a range of industry and consumer events around the capital.
Oldman

Oldman wrote:That's twice the Xbox has been mentioned...I thought this talk was about games?

Xbox = games ? thats a sum that does not add up

egosoft.com

Please don't make XOU simple

Please don't make XOU simple