About the time of Resident Evil 5's demo release, an issue arose. The game, whatever your opinion on the following is, was remarkably similar to Resident Evil 4. Not just in the sequel way, but in the “are you sure half of this isn't a reskin?” way. Reapers instead of Regenerators, N'desu instead of El Gigante (and apparently [url=http://www.destructoid.com/stop-spoilertime-hacked-re5-demo-reveals-enemy-list-115129.phtml ]it was even named “el gigante” in the game files[/url]), pretty much every basic enemy was the same except black, and we got tentacle zombie dogs instead of... tentacle zombie dogs. The mechanics didn't progress at all even after Dead Space showed us that survival-horror, scary atmosphere and an extreme sense of danger can easily be provided in a game with more actiony controls. Should it have just ripped off Dead Space? No, that's not what I'm suggesting. Just pointing out that it was a $60 price tag on a game with less difference from it's predecessor than some Homeworld 2 mods introduce.

We were also treated to this, on the topic of control complaints:

“If you don't like it, and certainly that is your prerogative, at least have the self-awareness to recognize it as the twisted, petulant sense of adolescent entitlement that it is.“



Jerry, despite coming off like a cockhole here, can have his opinion and it seems like it was the one held by most of Capcom's defenders. Is “Guffaw! How dare you ask for more from our ever-generous Nihonjin masters?! All is as it was meant to be!” really the best response here? There are times I really think that sentiment applies, but this is not one of those times. This was not a game being criticized for not being some other game like “Why isn't MGS4 exactly like Gears 2 but with Snake in it?”, it was a game clinging to mechanics from four years ago. No one (smart) was demanding they make it exactly like something else, just that they try to improve on their already great game. I could buy $60 worth of groceries, or save that little bit more toward a new car, but you want me to dump it into twelve to fourteen hours of this thing that doesn't really improve my life in any way. Is it inappropriate to ask things of the companies that rely on us pumping millions of dollars into them for things we don't actually need?

I say it is not. We may and, in fact, should tell these companies what we want. They should listen. Us: "Hey! NEW gameplay!" Them: "Alright, we'll give it our best shot!" Everyone: "Hugs time!"

Capcom is not the only culprit, but they seem to receive a big portion of the attention for it. No developer should be without criticism. And not professional criticism, no, but pure feedback from the gamers they expect to feed them money to stay alive. Ubisoft did it with Assassin's Creed by opening a forum right after the game's release, and now we have a sequel coming with more mission types and, presumably a less-Hitmanish system so there can be more than one right way to do things. I'm just going to stick with the Capcom/Resident Evil example so things don't get confusing.



Video games can be art, but most of them are not one man's creation that expresses some story or emotion that he wanted to share. Games generally lack the intrinsic value and freedom of other forms of art. A song costs nothing to write or sing, and can be personal and meaningful. Whether or not anyone ever hears it, someone can write it just for themselves. As much as I love Killzone 2, it is not someone's catharsis. Killzone, like most games, is for us to buy with our money. Killzone is a pizza, and though you might not like the mushrooms, you can switch on high precision mode to pick them off (Hey-oh!). You see, Guerrilla Games listened to their audience and, while I thought lots of people were being whiny because it wasn't a COD4 clone, they attempted to appease them by tweaking the controls without hampering the unique, weighty feel of their game. It was not from the Capcom pizzeria where they make what they feel like and say fuck you if you want extra cheese. Games are made for us to consume and should be made, in effect, to order. They obviously can't customize them for every individual, much like buying a pizza generally results in some disagreement over toppings, but a consensus can be reached that doesn't involve plain cheese or hostage situations, pizza-math not withstanding. (“You had your slices already and I will fucking. CUT. YOU.” Haven't we all been there?). I don't need or want to dictate every aspect of game development, but, especially with people whining about poor sales, you think they could have done better had they known what we wanted and given it to us.



If Capcom puts some real effort into Resident Evil 6, fans of the series won't be driven away just like they weren't driven way by Resident Evil 4's shift to a less archaic style. People that love Resident Evil will still love Resident Evil for the aesthetic and story and Capcom would look like champs for turning out something that's actually new for RE6 instead of just the rumored story reboot.

As though on cue, someone has handed me an example of not just doing it right and listening to your potential audience and customers, but being proactive about it. Fellow dtoider kitae has gone right ahead and asked us what we like in games. This is perhaps the best thing I can imagine. We are not just able to give a developer input, but we can do so before the new game hits the presses. We can share what we like without stifling creativity on the part of the devs. You know what? I don't like RPGs; just not a fan. I missed the Mass Effect boat and never got around to trying it later. You know what else? I now care about Mass Effect 2. I'm going to add it to my sidebar as soon as I post this blog. I want to see it. I don't expect ME2 to be fundamentally changed by the comments on her blog, but I now know someone, anyone at all, at Bioware is listening to us. That it's someone with the word "lead" in their title is even better. If they will actually ask for input on anything at all, I can't believe they would have been deaf to any criticisms of the prior game. I was having trouble coming up with a conclusion to say how it should be done, but I just had it written for me.



Bravo, Ms. Norman. Your attention has won mine. I think lots of developers could take a lesson from this: even casual interest in your audience can help, and it makes a great impression.