News Room Contributor Posts: 8037 Joined: 12 Nov 2002 | Will Wright Says Spore Is Over-Hyped
With the release of Spore looming, designer Will Wright says the tremendous amount of hype surrounding the game has him concerned that people's expectations will be way out of line with reality.
Wright talked with Game Informer about the pressure of developing and releasing a high-profile game like Spore, which was tagged as a can't-miss, flagship franchise long before a release date was even confirmed. "I think it's just too much hype," he said. "About a year ago, we were realizing how much hype we were getting and we decided we should start to say that it's going to suck just to de-hype it."
"There is a certain amount of pressure. When people don't know much about something, they tend to fill in the blanks the way you want them to be filled in. That's true of almost anything," he continued. "Then, when the actual thing comes out some people will be disappointed that it's not 'hardcore enough' or it's not 'easy enough' or that we didn't do this or that. We've got to the point any additional hype isn't serving us well. It's a concern."
He also addressed questions about whether or not Spore is a commentary on the debate surrounding the theory of evolution. "For most people, a million years is about the same as a billion years, but they are vastly different," he said. "Most people can't begin to comprehend those time scales. So, you look at something as complex as a human being and you wonder, 'How could this have possibly evolved?' But when you take into account how many generations it's been happening, it's pretty remarkable."
"If you look at the game, you're actually in the role of an intelligent designer - or not-so-intelligent, depending on the player," he continued, laughing. "I've seen people on the internet debating whether Spore was promoting intelligent design or evolution. Just getting people to have that discussion is worthwhile, but I personally fall very much on the evolution side of things."
Spore is set to be released on September 5 in Europe and September 7 in North America for Windows and OS X-based PCs. Game Informer's full interview with Will Wright can be read here.
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Gone Gonzo Posts: 1476 Joined: 6 Feb 2008 | A high profile game being made by a high profile developer getting over-hyped? This is certianly a new development in the gaming community |
BANNED Posts: 5167 Joined: 26 Feb 2008 | Wow, I am not surprised. Ever since I heard about the Penis creatures EVERYONE was creating, I gave up on it... |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1603 Joined: 28 Aug 2008 | Does this not seem ironic that Will Wright is bemoaning over hyper and unrealistic expectations? |
Time Lord Posts: 9962 Joined: 13 Feb 2008 | Next thing we know Peter Molyneux will be doing it...
And would Will Wright ever have believed how big the Sims franchise could get? |
Pulitzer Laureate Posts: 780 Joined: 7 Jun 2008 | Wow, a leading game developer warning people that their game may not deliver to expectations. I'm shocked. Usually they tell us their game is a leading visionary light that's fun for the whole family and includes big freaking guns. I love W.W.
Still, it's a little late to say that at the end of August. He might've told us during any one of the eight years they've been building this game. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1476 Joined: 6 Feb 2008 | HobbesMkii:
Wow, a leading game developer warning people that their game may not deliver to expectations. I'm shocked. Usually they tell us their game is a leading visionary light that's fun for the whole family and includes big freaking guns. I love W.W.
Still, it's a little late to say that at the end of August. He might've told us during any one of the eight years they've been building this game.
He could have yelled it daily from a soapbox n gamers would still be expecting the 2nd coming of gaming-jesus simply because its a Will Wright game. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 4296 Joined: 20 Dec 2007 | HobbesMkii:
Wow, a leading game developer warning people that their game may not deliver to expectations. I'm shocked. Usually they tell us their game is a leading visionary light that's fun for the whole family and includes big freaking guns. I love W.W.
Still, it's a little late to say that at the end of August. He might've told us during any one of the eight years they've been building this game.
Actually I think he's saying that (with the "fill in the blanks" remark) people make their own expectations, if you say "you can create creatures in spore" people think "HOLY SHIT I'M GOING TO MAKE GOATSE CTHULU'S THAT EAT BABIES THROUGH THEIR ASS!" - obviously, the game isn't that intricate.
Still, over hype your game, gets you bajillions of dollars on day 1-7. Reviews and all that stuff don't matter. |
Beat Writer Posts: 206 Joined: 10 Jun 2008 | I can just see the looks on the devs faces when W.W. walks into the meeting room and comes up with:
"Ok guys, we have to tell everyone our game sucks so that when they get it they wont hate us when it doesn't live up to their expectations." |
Will Wright Says Spore Is Over-Hyped
With the release of Spore looming, designer Will Wright says the tremendous amount of hype surrounding the game has him concerned that people's expectations will be way out of line with reality.
Wright talked with Game Informer about the pressure of developing and releasing a high-profile game like Spore, which was tagged as a can't-miss, flagship franchise long before a release date was even confirmed. "I think it's just too much hype," he said. "About a year ago, we were realizing how much hype we were getting and we decided we should start to say that it's going to suck just to de-hype it."
"There is a certain amount of pressure. When people don't know much about something, they tend to fill in the blanks the way you want them to be filled in. That's true of almost anything," he continued. "Then, when the actual thing comes out some people will be disappointed that it's not 'hardcore enough' or it's not 'easy enough' or that we didn't do this or that. We've got to the point any additional hype isn't serving us well. It's a concern."
He also addressed questions about whether or not Spore is a commentary on the debate surrounding the theory of evolution. "For most people, a million years is about the same as a billion years, but they are vastly different," he said. "Most people can't begin to comprehend those time scales. So, you look at something as complex as a human being and you wonder, 'How could this have possibly evolved?' But when you take into account how many generations it's been happening, it's pretty remarkable."
"If you look at the game, you're actually in the role of an intelligent designer - or not-so-intelligent, depending on the player," he continued, laughing. "I've seen people on the internet debating whether Spore was promoting intelligent design or evolution. Just getting people to have that discussion is worthwhile, but I personally fall very much on the evolution side of things."
Spore is set to be released on September 5 in Europe and September 7 in North America for Windows and OS X-based PCs. Game Informer's full interview with Will Wright can be read here.
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