God of War dev speaks out

By Ellie Gibson Published 26 September, 2005

About his new PSP game.

Sony's David Jaffe, game director and lead designer on excellent PS2 title God of War, has revealed that his forthcoming PSP game is going to be less about what he personally wants to see and more about reaching a larger audience.

"While I will ALWAYS strive to put passion and personal vision (along with team vision) in the games I work on, I am - at least at this point - at a place where reaching a big audience while sacrificing 5 per cent or so of what I want to see is worth it," Jaffe wrote.

"To that end, Scott and I agreed to change the setting of our PSP game from a location that we LOVE LOVE LOVE to a location that we simply LOVE LOVE.

"In doing so, I think we will get more people playing the game. At this point in my life, that would mean alot to me," he continued.

But that doesn't mean Jaffe isn't going to pour all his efforts into the game, he explained, adding: "I just think that I am learning what to focus on and what to let go of. There was SO MUCH in God of War that DID make God of War a better game... So much stuff that we all stressed over like mad... But many of these stress issues only made the game better in the sense of 1-2 per cent better versus 5-10 per cent better.

"And you get to a point where you have to ask yourself, is all the stress and strife and effort worth it for just 1 per cent more? To me, these days, the answer is no," wrote Jaffe.

Check out his blog to read more and find out what he thinks of SCEA's name change ("kinda cool"), the Nintendo Revolution ("great idea") and the gameplay in Half-Life 2 ("pretty dull").

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (62) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • OnlyMe #1 6 years ago

    I loved God of War to death, but I thought HL2 was dull. I don't feel silly, so... yeah, it's a matter of taste.

    Looking forward to what this PSP game is going to be. And let's hope it'll do the same with he PSP as it did with the PS2. Raise the bar on what you think the console can do.

  • kangarootoo #2 6 years ago

    Wow, that was an odd interview. He seems to be saying in essence "my next game won't be as good as God of War, because I haven't put as much effort into it".

    Its actually refreshing to read something so open and honest, thought I'm sure his marketing people are loading guns as they read that.

    p.s. What has HL2 got to do with this? Please lets not start comparing the two. The Halo diversion on the Fable thread just got silly and boring (yes, I know I contributed to it as well, so I'm just as bad).
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/05 @ 13:49

  • nick_f Verified Senior Producer, Microsoft #3 6 years ago

    He's only an hour into Half Life 2, it does pick up after all the driving shit.

    Based on his blog, I'd hate to read his design docs.


    "GOW: Level 1 Boss GDD

    The HYDA comes out of the water and it's FUCKING COOL! It bites you and shit... jam its head with a spike and lasso the shit out of its eyes to kill it!!!"

  • Freek #4 6 years ago

    Sony Worldwide Studios? Not gonna be so worldwide if they'll still release they're games 4 months late here. And you know they will.

  • w00t #5 6 years ago

    Fear the RANDOM capitalisation of WORDS for an attempt AT emphasis which makes his writing LOOK like it's from the diary of a 14-year old GIRL who is vastly excited by how BIG and impressive capital letters are.

    :)

  • Tomo #6 6 years ago

    The more I read from this guy, the more of an idiot he sounds to me. This CAPITAL bs, and the actual 1-2 percent this blah blah. What nonsense.

  • Eighthours #7 6 years ago

    Honest? Maybe.

    Principled? Not anymore.

    Respect? Lessened.

  • kangarootoo #8 6 years ago

    Not sure how I feel about blogs.

    The blog of someone living in central Iraq is an interesting insight into a world and life experience very different from my own.

    The blog of someone who went to shops to buy celery, but found they had none and so got celeriac instead, is just bandwidth hogging chaff.

    p.s. Spot on w00t :)

  • Mirkan #9 6 years ago

    I suppose blogs are there for you to read or ignore though. The fact that, if you want, you CAN get insight into someone's thoughts or someone's life is pretty neat.

  • #10 6 years ago

    "to be less about what he personally wants to see and more about reaching a larger audience."

    So he's selling out for more money/sales at the expence of the respect so many gamers had for the effort he strived for to make GoW what it is. GoW inspiration turns into generic whatever games designer

    He should go see EA. They'll have a career all ready and waiting for him.

  • kangarootoo #11 6 years ago

    " I suppose blogs are there for you to read or ignore though"

    This is true. I guess in this case I was expecting more, and felt like he'd tricked me :)

  • kangarootoo #12 6 years ago

    @Djini

    Last time I checked the markets, respect wasn't that strong against the dollar. Thats trite I know, but maybe he just wants a rest after busting a gut making GoW.

    He's not our slave you know, and after GoW I'd say he can do what he likes without losing my respect.

    EDIT: "Selling out" is a term invented and used by those not in a position to do so.
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/05 @ 14:52

  • Genji #13 6 years ago

    He called HL2 dull? FINALLY. SOMEBODY AGREES WITH ME. And he's a professional, too!

  • kangarootoo #14 6 years ago

    "And he's a professional, too!"

    He's a professional developer. That doesn't make his opinion as a gamer any more valid.

  • w00t #15 6 years ago

    Thanks kanga!

    You're posting a lot today... not busy?

  • Genji #16 6 years ago

    It does to me! He's designed great games, so you'd think he knows more about what makes good/bad game design than the average person. Makes a nice change from all the calls of "BEST GAME EVER" from the fawning press, at least.

    It feels good to have found someone in the know who shares my opinions. HL2 is a game without a soul, and a perfect example of all that is wrong with PC gaming today.

    TAKE THAT!

    Just an opinion, of course. :)
    Peace.
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/05 @ 15:38

  • w00t #17 6 years ago

    And... party?

  • Genji #18 6 years ago

    /passes peace pipe to w00t

  • w00t #19 6 years ago

    /inhales

    /exhales

    /falls over gigling about monkeys

  • sephy #20 6 years ago

    This guy sounds like a random internet idiot, not like a games developer :)

  • kangarootoo #21 6 years ago

    "so you'd think he knows more about what makes good/bad game design than the average person"

    But that isn't what you said. You were talking about his personal experience of a game. I would suggest that if I find a game entertaining OR boring, no one on earth can tell me I'm wrong, whatever they might do for a living. As a developer he might be able to suggest improvementd to the gaming experience.

    But to suggest he is somehow qualified to tell someone who enjoyed playing HL2 that they in fact didn't, or that they were wrong to enjoy it, is frankly nonsene.

    TAKE THAT etc ;)

    p.s. As for HL2 not having a soul. For me personally it generated all sorts of emotions at various points. Again, everyone has an opinion and no one is wrong when it comes to feelings (unless there is something wrong with my nervous system, and my brain was trying to tell me I was in fact bored)
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/05 @ 15:55

  • Teeth #22 6 years ago

    Jaffe NEEDS to be EVISCERATED in my OPINION; the guy is a LOUD-mouthed TWAT.

  • zErOb_cOOl #23 6 years ago

    "He's a professional developer. That doesn't make his opinion as a gamer any more valid."

    I disagree. Everybody has their own tastes, yes. But if developers/gaming professionals opinion was utter rubbish/stupid, the review section of this site wouldn't be here, or the review section on any other sites/magazines.

    Its like wine tasting. Fine, if you like a wine then you like a wine, and you drink it. Its your taste. But that doesn't mean wine connoisseurs talk crap, and don't know what they are talking about....apart from on Food & Drink of course.

    "Hmmmmm, lovely. It smells like a summer's evening. I'm getting a hint of bonfires, hmmm. Very woody taste...just like a hobbits foot. Hmmm monkey jizz, and giblets. A very sweet aroma, just like my wife's perfume etc....."
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/05 @ 16:14

  • absolutezero #24 6 years ago

    Part of me thinks all that stress bollocks is just made up. They obviously did'nt care that much because they left in Hades. Quite possibly the most point-less and length-padding piece of frustration I've ever seen.

    Really it ruined the end of God of War for me, pillars my ass.
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/05 @ 16:20

  • kangarootoo #25 6 years ago

    @zErOb_cOOl

    I know what you saying, but if a wine expert tells me the wine I was enjoying is actually shite, am I going to stop enjoying it? Is it suddenly going to taste worse?

    I never said he was crap, or didn't know what he was talking about, I simply said that his personal opinion of his his own personal enjoyment (or lack thereof) of a game doesn't affect my own enjoyment, regardless of his job title.

  • Freek #26 6 years ago

    The fact that he is a proffesional would hold some weight he if he expressed his opnion in that matter. But that diden't happen, he made himself sound like a random IGN forum poster and had some arguments that made little sense. So the "he's a games designer" defense doesn't work in this case. He's just a guy with a personal dislike of the game but nowhere does it come near the quality of the reviews you see here or on other sites/mags.
    Edited by 2 at 26/09/05 @ 16:32

  • Teeth #27 6 years ago

    Exactly, Freek - he isn't acting professionally, which leaves me with no respect for him.

  • skillian #28 6 years ago

    Aww, the guy's just pissed that he made such a good game and it didn't do as well as it should have.

    The Ico devs said something similar in an interview on this site not long ago.

    It's all very well trying to reach a higher level when making games, but we shouldn't moan when the poor guys decide they want to actually make some money.

  • Teeth #29 6 years ago

    Yes but his reaction shouldn't be to throw his toys out of the pram and start yelling at Half-Life 2!

  • Scientist #30 6 years ago

    "He's designed great games"

    Looking at his blog, I would hardly say that the Twisted Metal series constitutes great game design.

  • el_pollo_diablo #31 6 years ago

    GOD OF WAR

    Game of the year. No question.

  • Nikanoru #32 6 years ago

    God of War was a great little beat-the-bloody-shit-out-of-em romp, but damn, it was way way way way way way overrated. I was expecting something inhumanly awesome after reading all the reviews that praised it as the second fucking coming, and the mass hysteria surrounding it. And what did I get? Some repetetive nineties arcade beat-em-up on lots of steroids. With pretty graphics (although, some of the character models, especially NPC's, looked like fucking shit) and added frustrating bits.

    Great game but, the hype sure killed that one for me. Not game of the year by far.

    I wish they'd do reader reviews again, I've got some things to say about that one.

  • Kiigan #33 6 years ago

    This guy sounds like a random internet idiot, not like a games developer :)

    Erm, it is possible to be both :)

    Plenty of stupid people out there, with dumb half-assed opinions, who also happen to work in the games industry.

    I enjoyed God of War (or at least, I did until I hit the Hades level) but this guy always sounds like a bit of an idiot in interviews. Still, journos like him I guess, because he talks such bollocks.

  • OnlyMe #34 6 years ago

    Nikanoru: and if you read any reviews before you bought the game (not just looking at the scores), you would've known that the game was not hailed for it's originality, but rather for perfecting already tried elements, thus making the game exceptionally polished and fun to play. Which, imo is what gaming is all about. Fun.

    I'm trying to remember the Hades level, because I can't remember disliking ANY part of the game, and I actually don't usually like these kinds of games. Not to mention how rarely I actually complete ANY games.

  • el_pollo_diablo #35 6 years ago

    OnlyMe, I could not agree more with you. The game was a big, fun spectacle.

    I take the point about the hades level - it was far less original than the rest of it, but it's a small negative in an otherwise brilliant game.

    Like you said, Fun. Game of the year.

  • Teeth #36 6 years ago

    So what? The guy is still drawing half-arsed conclusions about a game he's only played an hour of. And using his fame as a soap box to decry it, which is even worse.

    = twat in my opinion.

  • Teeth #37 6 years ago

    Well, I am overreacting, so I apologise for that. What I mean is, he's in a position where many people will listen to what he's saying. So he has a responsibility to write properly. Put the blame on the press for posting news about it if you like but my feelings were the same when this was posted to the forum. It's partly the capitalised words but largely the hostile nature of the post that makes it seem as though he's arrogantly slagging the game without due cause, when he knows he's in a position where his comments will be read by thousands of people. In my opinion that is irresponsible.

  • Teeth #38 6 years ago

    Nah that's fair enough Ahab. I'm not an HL2 fanboy either, although I did enjoy most of the game.

    The way I see it is like this. I read what he's saying and he's complaining about the fact that HL2 is linear. His comments about the original Half-life don't make sense to me (In my view HL was just as scripted and linear as HL2 is). His game (God of War) is also very linear, with any non-linearity being simple hub areas or just large areas to get lost in. So I see a man YELLING about a game being linear when he hasn't done much to shout about on that score himself. It's hypocritical.

    And I don't subscribe to the theory that he can say what the hell he likes and "twats" like me should simply shut up, bow down and lick his feet. As you say, he can write what he wants - so can I and I choose to say that he is a hypocrite. You choose to disagree and call me a twat, that's fine :)

  • Nikanoru #39 6 years ago

    Nikanoru: and if you read any reviews before you bought the game (not just looking at the scores), you would've known that the game was not hailed for it's originality, but rather for perfecting already tried elements, thus making the game exceptionally polished and fun to play. Which, imo is what gaming is all about. Fun.

    Oh I have read the reviews, which makes it all the more baffling.

    Not anywhere did I mention the word originality. I compared it to a nineties beat-em-up because it has the same sort of tedium to it. Which simply detracts from the fun, however much there is to be had in the game.

    I could mention whole lot more points of shoddyness and things that worsen the overall experience, but I'll save it. Bottom line is that I'm not saying it's no good, just that I expect a whole lot better from something that has been praised as the ultimate gaming experience.

  • Teeth #40 6 years ago

    @ Ahab

    What are these comments thread for?

    I'm sorry to draw out this silly argument but really, if you're going to say that people shouldn't be disagreeing with someone because they haven't participated in anything that's been a critical success, then that makes any comment in this thread redundant. At least I was commenting on the article and not simply saying that someone else's comment was not worth the bytes it was written on.

    Furthermore, you don't know what I do. For the record I do make games and do influence game designs, although you'll still come back and call me worthless and a nobody because I haven't been lucky enough to work on a gigantic critical or commercial success.

    If the designers on the next Fifa game wrote on their blog about how shit they thought the last TOCA game was, would it be OK for people to disagree with that?

    I'm not trying to be a mover or a shaker, and I'm not trying to make a difference in this man's life, but I'm writing what I feel about him and I think it's reasonable, and if other people come round to that way of thinking through what I wrote then that's a good thing. Also it gives other people who read the site regularly an insight into me as a person which is kind of why anyone posts on web sites anyway, it's a social thing.
    Edited by 1 at 27/09/05 @ 01:33

  • Teeth #41 6 years ago

    OK, those were exaggerated posts. Guilty as charged, of exactly that which I was criticising in the first place. I, too, am a hypocrite. However, I still think he was being a bit of a twat posting what he did to his blog :) One twat criticising another, eh. Maybe I am in his league after all :p

  • Genji #42 6 years ago

    So, are we all agreeing to disagree? That seems like a nice proposition.

    I didn't enjoy HL2 in the slightest - it made me quite angry, in fact. But I have different tastes, different things that I want out of a game, and I can respect the love that most people have for HL2, even if I can't understand it myself.

    I love a good argument, as long as it doesn't devolve into namecalling. You don't learn anything from that.

  • OnlyMe #43 6 years ago

    Nickanoru: Fair enough. I just know that many of us did have the "ultimate gaming experience" when playing the game, and it's a shame you didn't feel the same way. To just about 99% of the people, the game isn't overrated, and therefore, it's wrong of you to say it is. You may have been disappointed with the game, and that's okay, but that's because you have a slightly different taste than just about everyone else. Just like me and Genji, we really didn't like HL2 at all. But so many others think the same, so I don't think the game is overrated. If I were to recommend a story-heavy FPS to an FPS nut, it would certainly be one of the first games I'd mention.

  • Bezzy #44 6 years ago

    This has not lessened my opinion of him. It has merely reinforced it.

    "Its like wine tasting. Fine, if you like a wine then you like a wine, and you drink it. Its your taste. But that doesn't mean wine connoisseurs talk crap, and don't know what they are talking about"

    Holy shit! Someone compared Jaffe to a Connoisseur? Hahaha! (Valid point, but seriously, this is David "I love wonderwoman's breasts" Jaffe we're talking about here)
    Edited by 2 at 27/09/05 @ 09:05

  • Teeth #45 6 years ago

    Ahab,

    I see what you mean, I think; what you're saying is don't argue ad hominem. That's fine - of course one should argue the point and not the person. You say that if someone is critical of something then they have an opinion on how it ought to be done better, which is always true, unless they are trolling. So we agree there, that's pretty straightforward. I think we also agree that what Jaffe says carries weight, because of what he's done although we may disagree on how that weight comes about.

    I'm still not sure about this "in his league" business, though. If it shows that one is professional through how one talks, surely this makes your argument about disregarding how someone talks redundant? Also, if you expect a professional to talk in a professional fashion, how can that apply here, given that Jaffe's posting style is distinctly unprofessional, and that you don't seem to think he needs to post in a professional way? My whole point rests on this misunderstanding: I think that given that he is a professional, he should behave in that way even on his blog, especially because he blogs about game design, and even more so because of his currently elevated position. That I disagree with what he's posting about just clouds the argument and I shouldn't have focused on it. He has professional insight that people will listen to; he should use it wisely.
    Edited by 1 at 27/09/05 @ 09:09

  • kangarootoo #46 6 years ago

    @Ahab

    Sorry to jump on your case, especially as this discussion has chilled out somewhat since its earlier heated level, but...

    "and his opinion is worth more than yours"
    "you can have your own opinion, it's just not as important as his"

    Utter utter utter crap! As I tried to explain earlier, when you are bheing a gamer (rather than a developer) no one's opinion is more important that yours, and your opinion is no more important than anyone elses.

    If an experienced developer, a 10 yr old kid, or a sack of beans tells you that they found a game boring you simply CANNOT tell them they are wrong. Being bored, thrilled, scared, saddened are all instictive reactions to what is put before us.

    I say again, a developer can make educated suggestions on how to improve the game experience for a player that found it lacking, but any developer who turns around to a player and says "you are wrong, it isn't boring, your opinion doesn't count" is failing in their task.

    Sorry to get on your case, but I think it is important to differentiate between something tangible like development experience and something wholey subjective like boredom. In essence what I am saying is that this guy's personal experience of the game is just that, a personal experience. Its no more right or wrong than anyone elses just because he works on games.
    Edited by 1 at 27/09/05 @ 11:54

  • kangarootoo #47 6 years ago

    @Ahab

    "You might say that all opinions have the same importance, but this is just semantics (actually eroding the meaning of the word "important".)"

    It was you that used the word "important" in reference to his opinion, and I would suggest that it was your use was inappropriate (though I agree we are skirting dangerously close to a semantic argument that could outlive both of us).

    In what way does he "affect what happens"? You are really going to have to expand on that for me to be able to respond (or back down :) ).

    I understand that he develops games himself, and so his opinions affect the games he works on (I develop games for a living BTW, so does Teeth, just to put our opinions in context. Though I would argue that doesn't make our opinions any more "important" than those of any other gamer). But I'm not sure that him commenting on HL2 in his illiterate blog is really going to push the games industry in any particular direction. But then I may be misunderstanding your use of the term mentioned above.

  • kangarootoo #48 6 years ago

    @Ahab

    I think we are going down the route of disagreeing about two different things here. I'll try and summarise my point concisely.

    If a developer says they find a game boring, that does not mean that another gamer who found the game entertaining is "wrong". If the developer can make constructive comment about certain design aspects of the game, how the "fun" could be increased and so on, then they may well contribute to the future improvement of games (other developer reads comments, thinks "ah, those suggestions might help us make our game more fun to" etc).

    However, if a developer simply says "I found the game a bit dull", but does not provide any wisdom on how said dullness can be removed, I would suggest their comment is no more valuable than that made by any gamer you can choose saying "I found that game dull".

    I don't accept that such an unspecific comment will somehow push the industry away from developing further games like HL2, because GoW creator finds them "dull".

    I admit to not reading the whole blog, because ironically I found it dull, so he may have offered great insight and wisdom on how HLF2 could be made less dull. Based on Teeth's response, I expect not.

    :)

  • Teeth #49 6 years ago

    He said it was linear and boring, and the cut scenes were too scripted.

  • Teeth #50 6 years ago

    And he said he "really fucking wants to like it", which is clearly not the case :p

    @Ahab:

    "if you have actually done something, you are allowed to talk crap"

    Right, well I assume you've done something then. Because what you said there is pure crap ;) Nobody should talk crap, unless they want to be remembered for talking crap. Maybe that's what Jaffe wants, I don't know. He seems to talk a lot of it. And quite why people who have, let us say, 'achieved' are given more right to talk crap than say you or I mystifies me. Surely if anything were the case it would be the opposite, whereby a professional person behaves as a successful achiever ought, and talks sense instead of crap.

    "R.I.P. David Jaffe - he talked a lot of crap"

  • kangarootoo #51 6 years ago

    "and the cut scenes were too scripted"

    He actually said that?! That is the one of the dumbest things I've ever heard (though not quite as dumb as the letter in a PC games mag I read some while back, that suggested it would be cool if the player could control the cutscenes in a game).

    Perhaps he meant something else, and it just came out as madness...

  • Teeth #52 6 years ago

    He didn't say they were too scripted, that's my bad. What he said was they don't tell the story well. Here you go:

    "the in game scripted events- for the most part- feel uninspired and poorly paced....they actually feel alot like the shitty scripted events that were put in games that came out AFTER Half Life 1 but were never as good as HALF LIFE 1"

    "lots of riffs on the whole 'turn the corner and see an NPC getting killed by a monster' bit"

    God, now you've made me go back and read it.

    "Jesus, did I actually just experience a level where I had to time walking past the bursts of steam coming out of a pipe? Is this a VALVE FPS or a second rate platform game on the SNES?"

    Yes you fucking did, and yes it is, because every single - that is every single Half-life game and expansion has had bits where you go past steam coming out of pipes. Valve, steam - maybe he doesn't get it, I don't know.

    He clearly hasn't played Blue shift or Opposing Force, and reading this blog post makes me wonder if he even played Half-life.

  • Genji #53 6 years ago

    Let's not get angry about it, eh?

    I think his opinions might be slightly exaggerated due to the fact that the vast majority of publishings gave overwhelmingly positive reviews of the game. Some even calling it the "best game ever". My opinions might be a little excessive, too.

    But surely you can understand the feeling that you get when you play a game that EVERYONE says is the best thing ever. When you do find so many things that you dislike - as I did with HL2 - you begin to think that something is wrong with you. "Am I missing something? Where is this game that everyone loves but me? What the hell is wrong with me?"

    You try to like the game, but eventually you fail. You get frustrated with the fact that reviews gloss over the game's faults, and that daring to criticise the game in a forum will get you flamed more often than not.

    HL2 isn't a bad game. There. I said it. But I can't pretend to like it. I think it's just an average shooter with some pretty graphics and a physics engine. Sorry about that. For the record, I think a game like FarCry outperforms HL2 in just about every area that I care about. I LOVED FarCry.
    Edited by 1 at 28/09/05 @ 06:00

  • Teeth #54 6 years ago

    But it's weird, it's like criticising a Metroid game for featuring Metroids. "What the fuck, did I just have to TURN INTO A BALL to shake off a JELLYFISH??? What the hell is this crap! Call this a METROID game???!??"

    His criticisms of HL2 amount to "This game uses the same tricks they used in the cut scenes in the first game, some of the same level design ideas, and the same linearity they had in the first game, and yet this is somehow not what I was expecting".

  • OnlyMe #55 6 years ago

    Well, I don't think the Valve and Steam names are because they put steam in their titles. That's like expecting games from LucasArts to feature guys called Lucas who love art.

  • Teeth #56 6 years ago

    Of course. I just found it strange that he was surprised by it seeing as it's a signature bit of level design from Valve. Suggests to me that he doesn't know what he's talking about :)

  • kangarootoo #57 6 years ago

    Some people here are suggesting that his opinion is more important because of his credentials. I think perhaps Teeth and myself are suggesting that it is exactly these credentials that demand that he write his thoughts on HL2 in a more insightful manner.

    If he had walked in off the street and made the comments he made, we wouold have just said "fair enough, each to their own". But in his case, we expect more and he failed to provide it. The creator of GoW spoke, and it sounded like the words of someone who doesn't know about game development.

    People in positions of power or responsibility have a duty (I use "duty" loosely, of cvourse he doesn't owe me anything) to sound informed on the subjects of their expertise. If they don't, then they will get harsher critisism than someone who cannot make the same claims of expertise.

    Remember the backlash against George Lucas, who when making a keynote speech at a games convention, came out with suggestions that any of my games playing friends could have made. If you are one of my friends, fine. If you are George Lucas (or Jaffe), not good enough.

  • Genji #58 6 years ago

    Well, I haven't played enough Valve games to be able to tell whether the inclusion of a steam vent is a knowing wink from the developers, or just a... steam vent. I sure as hell didn't see the reference.

    Maybe this guy was hoping that Valve would want to evolve the FPS genre beyond the use of obviously scripted cutscenes. You know... try and change things to a significant degree. Sequels don't have to be exactly like the originals. Maybe he was hoping it would be more like Deus Ex, with multiple paths to take, less linearity etc.

  • Teeth #59 6 years ago

    Well, quite. Though if that was indeed what he was thinking, perhaps he should have written it down :)

  • Genji #60 6 years ago

    Well, it's a personal blog. Maybe he didn't think people would pick their way through it, trying to analyze every thing that he does or doesn't say.

    Eh, I'm through speculating.

  • Teeth #61 6 years ago

    Blogs are there for people to read, remember.

  • Genji #62 6 years ago

    But not to be taken as gospel. He's no professional writer, that's for sure, and he probably doesn't explain his feelings as well as he could. But he's writing for himself, basically, writing about a game that he thinks is overrated. I'm sure he doesn't care whether other people take him seriously or not.

    OK. I'm going to shut up now. This is getting a little pointless.