Graphics don't matter; Honesty does

picture source: CD Projekt Red

Now that I got the chance to play Witcher 3 on my cousins Playstation, I think it's time to talk about the whole controversy surrounding this game and the implications created by the whole thing.

Nowadays it's pretty common for Games to be presented as vertical slices first. This means that a specific part of the game is shown to the public. A part that is specially designed to be as exciting and jaw dropping as possible. Often this specific slice isn't even in the finale game, but that doesn't matter. It's only created to build up Hype and get Pre-Orders. This, however, also leads to some pretty unreal expectations, which can never be fulfilled. Watch Dogs suffered from this fate. It looked good when it released, but nowhere near the level of the 2012 presentation. Also it failed to deliver on the hacking aspect that was heavily advertised. And for that no one but the developers and publishers are to blame. If you build unrealistic expectations, then don't blame the customer for calling you out on your bullshit if you fail to deliver.

But now back to the Witcher 3. It is a great looking game, no matter what some may say. It's a lot of fun. But it's also far from what was promised.

Here is a good comparison by Digital Foundry:

Now like I said, the game still looks stunning. One of the Best that is currently available on gaming platforms, and any rational person would agree. But fans often don't act rational. And I don't blame them in this case.

As a publisher you can't just continuously lie and then expect your customers to forgive you. And no matter why this happened, I'd blame the developer. Either the showed something that never existed to sell the game, or they overestimated the power of the hardware they're working on. That in itself is nothing bad of course, but the handling of this is. Coming out and telling your customers the truth is always favorable. Or at least it should be. It would stop the Shitstorm before it could develop.

Sadly this won't happen for a while. In todays AAA market graphic is pretty much the only thing to stick out. To be honest it's generally the case. Flashy graphics or an unusual artstyle are a sure way to garner a first interest in the game. Gameplay, as important as it is, comes second, because it can't be presented very well without actual hands on time.

And so the industry is in a pinch. They maneuvered themselves into a position, where they can't create the attention they need with simple demos or trailers. They need this vertical slices to create the Hype needed to sustain their business. But by doing this they slowly erode the thrust of the customer in this industry.

After all it was the industry that made graphics and resolution matter. And now it comes back to bite them in the tail.

In the end graphics don't matter, but honesty does. Nobody likes to be ripped of and by creating this unachievable image in our minds, the developers not necessarily do that, but they make us feel like it's the case. Honestly the Witcher is worth 60 bucks. It looks great and plays great. But all the trailers and ''demos'' showed a product, which, in that form, didn't exist. And we only found this out on release day. Of course the customer would feel ripped of, no matter how good the game still was. It's like ordering a hamburger and in the end you get served a slightly smaller burger than advertised. It may still taste great. It may even still allay your hunger. But you'll feel cheated no matter what. And rightfully so.

In the End companies should stop just showing us visions of what they want to do, or vertical slices, but instead show what they actually can do. Maybe stop announcing games 2-3 years before their release. Just be honest with your customers and I'm sure they will repay you.

Instead of creating a flash Hype with vertical slices and CGI Trailers, that can never be sustained, do the opposite. Create a slowly building hype, where people know exactly what to expect. Show them actual gameplay from the actual game. Over the course of its development time the game will (hopefully) grow better. The graphics will evolve and so will the expectations of the customer. But they will never outgrow, what actually exists. And if you have to cut back on some things, then be honest about it. This way you won't create a rift between you and your community.

If this continuous we may reach a time, where no one will Pre-Order something any more and buy games on Day One, because they can't be sure that the game advertised is the product they'll actually receive. And with industry being so reliant on Pre-Orders and firs week sales... What then?

And as always

thanks for reading