Welcome to the mad house, its EpicBattleCry! This week, we discuss the challenge devs face when trying to launch a new IP versus continuing an existing one. How do they deliver what players want and still deliver a fresh experience? Plus, Max Payne 3, Starhawk, and more!
Comment on the show? Battle Cry for consideration? Just got something epic to share? Hit us back in the comments!
Welcome to the mad house, its EpicBattleCry! This week we talk the challenges of launching a new IP… http://t.co/DnnYcHaW
@epicbattleaxe “Error establishing a database connection”
Been waiting for this one, thanks
nice, great way to kick off the weekend
I completly forgot about this and was just checkin my tweets and found this and i was like Done Bear! And oh yeah what a grate way to end the week with a epic podcast. But thanks for this dudes i realy apriciate it but now im of to bed so Good Night and im out! Laterz!
@VikingBrent On your game, bud! Hey, which is the BEST quality download? I use the standard def m4v. Is that the best for watching it on my 32″ HDTV (that’s what my pc is connected to). Thanks.
HAHA! Great show! EBC is always so fun to experience!
New IPs has to have an It-Factor, something that sparks your intrest. The timing as you mentioned in the show is really important. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning isn’t the best looking or has the coolest Ui or voiced main character,but it has a very addictive gameplay with a very free level up system and a lot of story content.
The gaming industry has to do worth while DLCs. Not having 4 DLCs on launch day of the game. Those “DLCs” should be in the game, sure pre-order special content should be called Pre-Order Content, POC for short and not DLC. Collector’s Editions that will get extra content should be called Collector’s Edition Content, or CEC. DLCs should be extra content that matters for the game in question, not a extra gun or horse armor or some such. Do a Lair of the Shadow Broker, or a Missing Link quality DLC, that has extended experience for a title that gives substance, instead of.. recolored armor or a something like that, or as Tony “Grizzled Voiced” Grice said, what you want is the Cheese and not the wrapper.
Trust is a very fickle thing in the world of gaming, a failure from a developer can hurt like hell for a company, like Bioware and Dragon Age 2, I was really concerned about Mass Effect 3 and SW:tOR. Bioware have been somewhat redeemed with SW:tOR now so hopefully ME3 will be awesome and Dragon Age 3 will have to be atleast as good as DA1 or Better.
Brent good to know that you are doing better and DK have you heared anything about The Witcher 3 yet?
Tony and Brent, sorry about this but it has to be done, done as in DONE BEAR!!
I have to agree with TB here for why we are not seeing any new IP’s just give it a watch its 18 min long and covers this topic rather well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipU6mp9nuFM
Great Show. I will definitely be buying Amalur. Loved the demo. Also can’t wait for Mass Effect 3. Its ok Max got delayed because it gives the summer a great game. Don’t care about Prototype comic. Trust is a really big factor. I think the Vita is getting good games but the question comes in would you rather play Mortal Kombat on the console, on the handheld, or both?
why do you guys not post on gt anymore?
Aside from bugs and camera issues, I thought the Kingdoms of Amalur demo was incredible. It mixes elements from Dragon Age, Fable, and The Elder Scrolls really well…and the story and voice acting seem pretty spot on.
I can’t wait for the game. Someone should tell Lorin to go play it.
I did!! And we will discuss it this week on TAF! Thx Douche!! (heehee…I just wanted to say that
)
Great show guys, my thoughts on launching a new IP are as follows:
It all comes down to innovation, communication, marketing and timing.
Innovation as in there needs to be something that makes it stand out from the crowd. This doesn’t need to be a huge new thing, but when trying to launch a FPS for instance, think of having a setting that hasn’t been done before. We have all seen WW2, post-apocalyptia and current-day military. Why not try to design a game that is set in the early 1900′s or maybe the 50′s? Other innovation could come from having a story driven FPS for instance, where unfortunately we don’t see enough of. A main protagonist people can relate to, and not some uber-ahnold-military-badass as your first pick, think Gordon Freeman before thinking Duke Nukem.
Communication: Be clear on what the game is about. This should be a no-brainer but when hiring people to go out and sell your game, make sure that they’re gamers themselves, believe in your product and answer questions in a clear way. Don’t be afraid to clear things up when there is confusion. Actively listen and act.
Marketing: Put your product in the right channel. We’ve all seen homepage-takeovers, expandable banner campaigns, facebook Like-us-and-we-will-show-you-unique-footage campaigns. And why they are an okay way to get your product in the minds of your audience, they are too overly used to leave a lasting impression. Research your target audience and think of a unique way to show your product to your audience by engaging them. A good example (IMO) was the shield design contest for Dark Souls. Design a shield based on three templates and your shield might end up in the game. While that wasn’t something completely unheard of, it was a different way to engage your audience and have them actively immerse themselves in the game.
Timing: You guys nailed it on the show. Be very wary of your launch date. Launch it in november and your title will most probably fail. Launch it in june or july and your chances of succes are much higher. Also think about when you want to alert people to your game. Don’t say “Coming in 2014″ in 2012 that’s far too much time to keep people interested. Also 2014 is too wide a launch date. Only get a launch date out into the world when you’re confident you can make that date, and add a month or two just to be sure.
General rule is and will always remain; you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Besides that, be realistic about your goals and listen to what people say about you and your game and feel free to react. When your audience knows that they’re being listed to, that’s a very powerful thing in the world of gaming.
What I like about new IPs, they do not have to hold up to a canon. My biggest fear for Resident Evil 6 is not, whether it will be a horror game or Call Of Duty. I fear that, while trying to integrate the already convoluted canon, the story might be a mess. Long running franchises are trapped, in my opinion. Another example would be Zelda. Who the fuck cares what happened in Windwaker, when playing Skyward Sword. It’s not like 25 years ago someone thought of a story stretching over a dozen games. Trying to retrofit things seldom works well.
I further think that prior to the release of new IPs, it is only natural to be cautious. I will always wait for the reviews and first impressions of friends, before I will decide whether or not to buy a new IP. I go to sneak previews of movies, but thats only 5 Euros that might be wasted, not 50 Euros, with a new game.
In regards to DLC, I do expect to get milked by EA on Mass Effect 3, based on the experiance with ME2. They had rooms on the space ship already reserved for DLC characters, when the game first shipped. Furthermore the whole Liara/Shadow Broker story line felt like missing from the original game. One of the main characters of the first game, for many the love interest within the storyline, and then you just go and visit her to get some info out of her? Would have been fine if it had ended up in ME3, but with the DLC, it was just a hidden price increas on the second game. Will buy ME3 anyway because I’m a sucker for that franchise.
great Skirmish, Axelords!
but related to your main topic this week: i totally agree with your statement that new IPs have way better chances in spring/summer… but on the other hand, i recall the final months of 2011… SOOO many established IPs bringing out their new franchise, literally taking away the butter from each others bread!
Even then, i have to think about that these IPs had to establish themselves as well once! The first “Call of Duty”, the first “Mass Effect (OK, slight Bioware Bonus here)… they all had to take a first step!
I think that putting “Batman Arkham City” into fall 2011 was NOT a good idea… it would have done well in June or August (or even delayed until March 2012), because getting into the same time window “Cod” and “Skyrym” killed the Attention that this title truly deserved!
There are so many gamers out there who feel just like the EBA crew: plenty of outstanding titles, but the current “Elder Scrolls” are absorbing all time needed to experience them!
Personally, i’ve no Problem with that: the titles of 2011 that i missed will come in a “Game of the year edition” and give me some financial benefits.. until then, I’m busy with the few titles i bought in fall 2011!
Greetings and have good Game Start into this great year!
I for one am very excited for the new Ip Kingdoms Of Amalur, i played the demo over on 360 and i instantly feel in love with the game. But i am a rather huge rpg, fan so there for this type of game appeals to me more.
Downloaded it on the PC through Origins and I have to agrree with you Helheim82, I too am a huge RPG fan and this appeals to me a lot. Missing Main character voice-over though, and a better GUI for the game, other than that though, Awesome!
you guys never disappoint…awesome ep.
Man, I couldn’t agree with that Battle Cry more. The main reason the industry is able to get away with all this bullshit is because so many gamers, for whatever reason, are just always ready the metaphorically bend over and take it again from publishers and devs alike. These are the same idiots who will call you “entitled” when you’re upset because the product you paid $60 for is buggy as all hell, or has had content ripped out of it to bleed you for more money later. Like Goldjit said, we’re their customers, not their testers.
So many people are fine with the online pass, for example. The publishers could strike some sort of agreement with Gamestop or other retailers to (like they did with Arkham City or Mortal Kombat last year) get Gamestop to buy those codes in bulk, so that the publisher sees revenue from used sales. However, there’s no need to do that, because moronic fanboys are fine with bleeding the consumer for more money, instead of the used retailers profiting from those sales. It’s sometimes infuriating.
/rant
Great show. I totally agree that Trust is going to be the hardest issue for the gaming industry since, as many have said, they have put themselves in the shit (trustwise) with recent economic strategys. For my part I only trust one game developer and that is Valve because they haven’t (uptil this point) pulled any of that bullshit that other developers have done. My way to approach the gaming/dlc-hell is just to wait until they release a GOTY-edition or equivalent that includes all the DLCs and so forth. A good example of late would be Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition. Even though I want to play that game I haven’t because of all the DLC-bullshit so I have just waited for the said Edition to arrive and I will probably pick that up.
Since I am a pc gamer foremost I usually picks up games at the Steam sales where you can get a game and it’s (to that point released) DLCs at heavily cut prices. One of those examples is Deus Ex Human Revolution which I bought with the Missing Link DLC for about 37 euros and that was when the game itself was sold over Steam under non-sales condition for 50 euros.
So to summarize, I rarely buy games on releasedates any more but waits until the inevitable GOTY/Complete-edition arrives. My 2 cents.
For the New IP discussion, I think Brent touched on a key point at the start of the conversation, although it was never really elaborated on. The anachronistic idea that every game has to be $60, regardless of how unfounded the IP is, needs to go away. New IP’s would be wise to sell at a lower price point, say $40. This would give them the advantage they need to break in to the market. Publishers are so afraid to take the potential money hit up front in order to foster better sales later.
Although, I think it’s interesting that despite this rigidity, it seems as though the quality new IP’s have actually been able to break through, and the crappy ones have faded in to obscurity. Sequels to triple-A games might still get more attention, but there have been several new IP’s in the past few years that have broken in to the popular consciousness pretty damn successfully. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that Uncharted was a new IP. Now it’s monolithic.
＠DK, I just finished Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP and was looking for a new iOS game so I have just downloaded Run Roo Run. I have to say that this one WONT be a DK kiss of death. Just played through the first 4 stages, and while it starts off overly simply, it does get harder as new mechanics are added. Looking forward to showing my 3 year old this one. Think he will love it as well. Plus it’s Australian themed
Thanks for the recommend.
WOW! I got the member battle cry! Thank you so much! I was walking around in my town center when I suddenly heard my username being said and I just stopped and smiled like a goofy bum for the next 10 minutes and shamelessly replayed the whole this after! XD Admitedly I was waiting for Daniel to break out into his SWEET ASS GOG ACTION bit but suddenly remembered that it no longer happens…
Anyway, Thanks again! I will continue to give more thoughtful posts as well as spread the word about SOPA, PIPA and whatever else makes our collective bloods boil! (Also, if you ever do see another Goldjit around anyway, it’s me… I’m everywhere… HA!)
Great skirmish!! I was waiting for that final “done bear” and DK didn’t dissapoint me xD
Make a DLC vote? Come on! Be serious! First of all, you would need to be able to start working on your DLC only after the vote ends. So… how long before? You would be talking about DLC and voting on it even before the main game arrives. Second… do you know the internet? Do you see the hassle and fanboy stupidity it exists here? Fans wouldn’t be voting, the internet obsessed would, it’s quite different. And then… ok, let’s ear “the people”… wait for it… IT’S COD!!!! Oh my god what a surprise! Come on. Developers are the guys who know how to make games, who have the ideas, who are the creators. Fan voting? That’s like the marketing checklist, with their focus groups. Let the people who create… create! Fans like it or not, fans vote with their wallet, but at least they vote on a product they can read about, see and play. They don’t vote on vague concepts about DLC…