After many breaks, I think the game is finally in the worst possible state. Every time a major publisher pissed me off, I worked on this game. Every time an indie developer pissed me off, I worked on this game. Every time I watched some of the Jim Sterling's videos and got pissed off, I worked on this game. Basically I was working on it only when I was pissed. And I don't think there's anything I can add to make it less entertaining. It's been saturated with the rotten stench of a Frankenstein made from lowest quality human waste.
There are no redeeming values here, this is the culmination of all my frustration with the current industry status quo. I despise what 95% of the developers/publishers do at this point. Be it the Deus Ex pre-order scandal, the cut up games with DLC (Destiny...you bastards), Konami's bullshit, the massive pre-release season passes, the uninspired sequels (AC anyone?), the boring new IP (The Order 1886 and the likes), DLC platforms like Evolve and The Division with no real content, the unoptimised console ports, the insane prices of games that don't deserve the tag (Battlefront was my main point of anger), customisation options that are really just re-skins (and sometimes just recolors) of the same asset, the crap on Steam Greenlight that barely qualifies for games, Digital Homicide speaking for every developer with their favourite ""WE" support the indie dev scene" (how dare you?) and lots, lots more.
And now, as I stare into this abomination of a game, I have a doubt. It would be extremely hypocritical of me to release this game before I have released anything acceptable to my "yeah, it's not bad" standards. Not to mention that it was made with Unreal Engine 4. THE BEST engine out there, that's free, and here I made THE WORST possible game my despaired mind could conjure. It would be a shame to thank Epic for their work by releasing such a stinker onto the net.
So I am torn. Initially I wanted to release this onto Greenlight for 100$ in order to make the picture complete, but I have a feeling some crazy schmuck would actually buy it, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. So it will be for free, unlike some publishers, I can't ask for a ridiculous price on a game that's an actual punishment to play. In fact, it shouldn't be played, it should merely exist. I've essentially made the denominator for garbage. I've set the standard for crap. Any one of the things present in this game is a sin against the gaming community, you can imagine what the whole thing looks like.
What's worse, for now we don't have the community to ask the question to. Not to mention that I don't really know if Greenlight/Steam is a place for this crap. It's already filled with sewage, one more turd in the pool is just going to make it stink more. On the other hand, my frustration keeps pushing me. I can't focus on my "actual game" project while this dilemma is eating at my brain cells.
What to do, what to do. If I release it, will gamers just see it as the next piece of shit that hit Greenlight, or as a symbol of the worst the gaming industry has to offer? Will the next bad game be attributed the status of an Atrocity (that's why I called it that by the way) or will it just be waved away like all the others? I want to use this game to SHAME the greed out of corporate. I want it to be a mirror for the greedy company, I want it to reflect the disappointment and agony of franchise fans when a game is rushed or outright unfair to the source material.
Playing games used to be fun, now it feels like working. Mind games, nickel and diming, release tricks, hooks, timers, it's become a frickin' minefield. I don't even know why I'm writing this here. I guess I need to read my motivation in black and white to come to an answer.
Edit: I just read that SquareEnix will cut up Final Fantasy 7 into episodes and spread out the content.
Edit2: I just saw the release date discrepancy of Dark Souls 3.
Edit3: Hitman...Square....Fuck this.
I'm releasing the Kraken.
There are no redeeming values here, this is the culmination of all my frustration with the current industry status quo. I despise what 95% of the developers/publishers do at this point. Be it the Deus Ex pre-order scandal, the cut up games with DLC (Destiny...you bastards), Konami's bullshit, the massive pre-release season passes, the uninspired sequels (AC anyone?), the boring new IP (The Order 1886 and the likes), DLC platforms like Evolve and The Division with no real content, the unoptimised console ports, the insane prices of games that don't deserve the tag (Battlefront was my main point of anger), customisation options that are really just re-skins (and sometimes just recolors) of the same asset, the crap on Steam Greenlight that barely qualifies for games, Digital Homicide speaking for every developer with their favourite ""WE" support the indie dev scene" (how dare you?) and lots, lots more.
And now, as I stare into this abomination of a game, I have a doubt. It would be extremely hypocritical of me to release this game before I have released anything acceptable to my "yeah, it's not bad" standards. Not to mention that it was made with Unreal Engine 4. THE BEST engine out there, that's free, and here I made THE WORST possible game my despaired mind could conjure. It would be a shame to thank Epic for their work by releasing such a stinker onto the net.
So I am torn. Initially I wanted to release this onto Greenlight for 100$ in order to make the picture complete, but I have a feeling some crazy schmuck would actually buy it, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. So it will be for free, unlike some publishers, I can't ask for a ridiculous price on a game that's an actual punishment to play. In fact, it shouldn't be played, it should merely exist. I've essentially made the denominator for garbage. I've set the standard for crap. Any one of the things present in this game is a sin against the gaming community, you can imagine what the whole thing looks like.
What's worse, for now we don't have the community to ask the question to. Not to mention that I don't really know if Greenlight/Steam is a place for this crap. It's already filled with sewage, one more turd in the pool is just going to make it stink more. On the other hand, my frustration keeps pushing me. I can't focus on my "actual game" project while this dilemma is eating at my brain cells.
What to do, what to do. If I release it, will gamers just see it as the next piece of shit that hit Greenlight, or as a symbol of the worst the gaming industry has to offer? Will the next bad game be attributed the status of an Atrocity (that's why I called it that by the way) or will it just be waved away like all the others? I want to use this game to SHAME the greed out of corporate. I want it to be a mirror for the greedy company, I want it to reflect the disappointment and agony of franchise fans when a game is rushed or outright unfair to the source material.
Playing games used to be fun, now it feels like working. Mind games, nickel and diming, release tricks, hooks, timers, it's become a frickin' minefield. I don't even know why I'm writing this here. I guess I need to read my motivation in black and white to come to an answer.
Edit: I just read that SquareEnix will cut up Final Fantasy 7 into episodes and spread out the content.
Edit2: I just saw the release date discrepancy of Dark Souls 3.
Edit3: Hitman...Square....Fuck this.
I'm releasing the Kraken.