Steam: A game developer’s dream

(tokamak) #1

Developer diaries are awesome
http://gaming.icrontic.com/article/steam-a-game-developers-dream/

Being in the Unstoppable Gorg’s beta is just pure joy. The game gets updated ever two days according to really close interaction between the developers and the testers. There’s even signed posters for the best feedback each week.

Granted, the game is not a first person shooter and there’s far more emphasis on the mechanics than on the technical aspect, but keep in mind that they used the same process for their Shattered Horizon as well, one of the heaviest and complex shooters today.

(SockDog) #2

I also just saw a video with Chet going over CS:GO where he specifically stated they are doing a beta early enough to take on board and effect changes brought up by player feedback. He went as far as saying that all their internal playtesting is dwarfed in a matter of minutes/hours after a game is released.

They also seem to be leveraging this in L4D2 recently with the community giving feedback on the Cold Stream map and even the L4D1 beta maps seeing community suggestions being used.

(tokamak) #3

You don’t even need their verbal feedback, just having countless matches played over and over can yield you stuff like this (deaths across the map)

elwfa.jpg1024x1024

Then there’s weapon usage, weapon effectiveness, class effectiveness. Endless statistics, personal feedback is an icing on the cake.

(MrLego) #4

It may be a developers dream, but why do I need it and a internet connection to play a single player game (RAGE) on a PC?

(Dthy) #5

[QUOTE=MrLego;382062]It may be a developers dream, but why do I need it and a internet connection to play a single player game (RAGE) on a PC?[/QUOTE] Random shot in the dark, but maybe so they can get feedback about play styles?

(Slade05) #6

As far as I remember, you can play singleplayer without internet access, in offline mode.

(SockDog) #7

[QUOTE=tokamak;382043]You don’t even need their verbal feedback, just having countless matches played over and over can yield you stuff like this (deaths across the map)

Then there’s weapon usage, weapon effectiveness, class effectiveness. Endless statistics, personal feedback is an icing on the cake.[/QUOTE]

Well yes that too but playtesting internally vs externally can produce different results and they aren’t necessarily negative if you apply them properly. Have to say I’m kinda stunned given the business SD are in that they’ve haven’t invested money in tools like heat maps to aid them in balancing the game and maps, seems to be a critical aspect of their games and yet it seems to be very much a “by hand” type approach. Although IIRC weren’t they collecting a lot more stats with Brink?

You need an online connection to unencrypted the downloaded files and install the game, this happens when you first run the game. After that point you can go offline (on multiple machines if you want) and play as much as you like (the game’s own DRM permitting).

(etwolfmod) #8

It’s a developer’s dream because they lock down their games from you, and you only get to rent it.

(JackPipsam) #9

I think steam is still overrated myself.