Comments on: Complicated WAR

By: The Common Sense Gamer » Big Surprise: Investors don’t want quality

The Common Sense Gamer » Big Surprise: Investors don’t want quality — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:10:18 +0000

[...] my mind, this kind of vindicates something Michael Zenke said a while ago when he mentioned: The only thing I’m still a little offput by is Jacobs’ statement [...]

By: Shut Up We’re Talking #30 « The Ancient Gaming Noob

Shut Up We’re Talking #30 « The Ancient Gaming Noob — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:02:35 +0000

[...] what is good, and what worries us, prompted by all sorts of posts including those from Karen, Michael Zenke, Heartless, n3rfed, JoBildo, and [...]

By: Da Newz - July 17 « Waaagh! A Warhammer Online Blog

Da Newz - July 17 « Waaagh! A Warhammer Online Blog — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:53:57 +0000

[...] 2, Massively pt 2, Cicadymn, Vid, Bloghammer, MMORPG blog, Tholal, Heartless Gamer pt 2, Keen pt 3, MMOG Nation, Warhammer Gamers, MMOverdose pt 2, Boathammer pt 2, Player vs. Developer, Book of Grudges pt 4, [...]

By: WAR Project Management « The Ancient Gaming Noob

WAR Project Management « The Ancient Gaming Noob — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:16:25 +0000

[...] the statement put forth that EA had nothing to do with this… well, I have to go with Michael Zenke and his “EA exec looking at his watch and tapping his foot in cartoon-like impatience.” [...]

By: Jeremy T

Jeremy T — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:32:02 +0000

It nails into the ground anyone who could have said they were trying to rush this out the door poorly made. They were so unhappy with some of their content that they cut it out with a knife rather than let it muddy the experience for players.

This is a fallacy. Even if one accepts the basic premise (that removing incomplete content yields a game that is not “rushed” or “poorly made” – quite an assumption!), you’re also assuming that this removal encompasses all (or even a majority of) incomplete content, which you cannot know.

It may well be that the game is swell and otherwise complete – but this action does not logically imply that. The only people who know either way at this point are bound by NDA.

By: Sok

Sok — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:30:34 +0000

I hope the lesson winds up being “if you don’t set expectations you can’t meet, then you won’t need to reset them.”

Given the options available I’d far rather have a game where all the components work well (with “fun” being one metric of “work well”), so in that regard I agree, this is the best approach. Next time you’re not sure something will function as desired, though, shaddap about it until you know it will — and even then play a bit cagey about it. “Underpromise, overdeliver” and whatnot.

By: Black Friday’s 12 Spots of Good News « Waaagh! A Warhammer Online Blog

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:09:56 +0000

[...] MMOG Nation put it, this weekend helps to “reset expectations” that were perhaps far too high in the first [...]