One of many huge complaints I noticed on the Guild Wars 2 subreddit proper earlier than Secrets and techniques of the Obscure launched was the grump that ArenaNet was one way or the other scraping the underside of the barrel by reusing and reskinning current recreation graphics and property for the brand new zones. I used to be genuinely stunned by that grievance; it appears sensible to me, in addition to conducive to constant world-building. However upon reflection, I suppose I can see the priority; it’s not a lot about what’s there as about what’s not there – and what meaning for the sport.
Let’s speak about reskinned and repurposed property in MMOs on this week’s Massively Overthinking – doesn’t have to only be about GW2. Does it hassle you? Are there intelligent methods to do it? Does it make you are concerned for the sport? Or is that this all only a bunch of nothing?
Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): I’ll be sincere: I’m hardly ever a visuals man. You possibly can reskin a stage 1 armor set and alter the colour whereas including a brief on-use super-jump have an effect on and I’ll be in love. It’s all about content material for me. Heck, once I began enjoying Orna, a lot of the property are/had been free-use ones different video games additionally used, so it’s not a giant deal to me if the crew reskins, recolors, or reuses previous property, so long as they end in one thing that feels contemporary.
Andy McAdams: I’m with a lot of the others: I typically don’t care about reused property. I say “typically” as a result of if these heinous grapes from FFXIV began displaying up in a bunch of different locations unironically, I might be irritated. But when the blue bushy beast is now the inexperienced bushy beast, and the inexperienced bushy beast is functionally totally different (extra life, totally different expertise, and so forth.), then hell yeah, that’s working smarter, not tougher. That’s to not say I don’t like net-new property. However I’m not mad about reused property as an alternative of net-new property. I’m not mad if not every thing is bespoke as a result of there’s a lot a developer can do with tweaking current property that make it totally different sufficient. I feel calling builders lazy for reusing property simply demonstrates how little people perceive about what it really takes so as to add in net-new and the precise price of all of that that entails.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, weblog): I do perceive that individuals have a look at reskinned/reused property because the studio being out of cash or time to develop contemporary new stuff. I might submit that if we received nothing however that for a 12 months, I’d be frightened in regards to the studio’s price range and energy. The narrative and world groups can do a helluva lot with slightly, however gamers want contemporary new eyecandy too.
However truthfully, SOTO looks like an excellent mixture of each new and previous to me, so I’m not tremendous frightened. In reality, I actually just like the mish-mash of current environments imported as isles within the new zone. I imply, I appreciated all these locations the primary time, and I like seeing them come again in new methods. I’m not mad about it in any respect, and it makes good sense with the storyline. Like, that is simply not the proper factor to be complaining about with SOTO in any respect.
It’s significantly humorous to me as a result of I keep in mind ArenaNet on the heart of “reskin” controversies in Guild Wars 1 too; fairly a little bit of armor and environmental stuff within the authentic Eye of the North enlargement was roundly criticized for being a rehash of the remainder of the sport. (I used to be instructed later that the choice for that was extra about technical limitations than price range or time, although whether or not that’s true, I don’t know.) In my opinion, I didn’t thoughts the rehash of the zones again then both; what I minded was the reskinned armor and weapons, because the beauty bits of the sport had been my jam. So long as GW2 doesn’t go down that path, I feel it’ll be superb.
Carlo Lacsina (@UltraMudkipEX, YouTube, Twitch): Completely reuse property, particularly this far down GW2’s life cycle. Our long-in-the-tooth video games may and may use previous stuff that was simply used a few times. Bonus factors if they’ll present a lore pleasant cause to take action!
I lately performed via Closing Fantasy 7: Disaster Core Reunion, and it reused a ton of property always. It reused maps for his or her 100+ missions that made for a majority of the second to second bite-sized gameplay/grinding this fame needed to supply. Why can’t studios do this for MMOs? Closing Fantasy XIV has a ton of property that had been used solely as soon as for an instanced space throughout the principle story quest (that dreamscape-lookin’ place from the Shadowbringer period being a standout).
Right here’s a suggestion: reuse instanced areas for repeatable content material. Assume how Diablo III makes use of setpieces to make nephalem rifts. A little bit remixing goes a good distance.
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes, weblog): I’m completely unbothered by reskinned or reused property in MMORPG growth. Or any recreation growth, for that matter. It’s about as silly a hang-up as people who get mad at in-game puddles not being accurately reflective, and those that have lives which can be upended by reskins have to commerce their existence with me so I can know such consolation.
Colin Henry (@ChaosConstant): I rolled my eyes so onerous at this. Skywatch is a enjoyable zone that clearly had lots of work put into it. I don’t perceive why so many players appear to suppose the one method a recreation could be enjoyable is that if each inch of it’s bespoke, hand-crafted from scratch for that specific launch, then thrown away and by no means used once more. That simply doesn’t make sense. Lots of the Kryptis enemies reuse animation rigs from older mobs, but when they didn’t, preventing them wouldn’t be any roughly enjoyable. If the enlargement had been 100% reused property, I may perceive caring that ANet had fired its total crew of artists or one thing, however that merely shouldn’t be the case; general, it is a actually lovely enlargement with a mode that’s simply as distinctive as every of the three earlier ones.
I share considerations that this enlargement cycle is being rushed and underfunded, particularly provided that we’re being charged almost the identical for half the content material, however the truth that one of many two zones reuses some property shouldn’t be proof constructive that the sport is falling aside. It makes good sense given the story the devs are telling, and when you really get in there and fly round, I feel you will see the zone effectively designed and attention-grabbing to navigate. Reused property or no, I see no proof that ANet is “scraping the underside of the barrel” creatively. And even when it had been finished as a price financial savings measure, I might a lot reasonably get extra content material with fewer authentic property than have the enlargement be even shorter than it already is.
There are many legitimate causes to criticize video games and their growth practices, however reusing property the place it makes good sense shouldn’t be one in all them.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, weblog): I completely don’t thoughts so long as — and right here’s my situation — that the reused property are dealt with creatively and never lazily. Reducing and pasting rooms or zones received us the boring procedurally generated missions of Anarchy On-line or the unique panorama of Closing Fantasy XIV. That’s simply filler finished with minimal effort. However when you put some effort behind reusing these property, I say go for it. It’s economical and may end up in extra content material being delivered at a sooner tempo. In reality, I want extra MMOs would reuse and repurpose areas that they have already got within the recreation as an alternative of treating them like one-shot disposable Ok-cups.
Sam Kash (@thesamkash): I’ve not been following the GW2 Reddit or a lot lately, however I can respect the apprehension. It at all times sucks when you’re wanting ahead to seeing new creatures and areas nevertheless it seems to be a lame dye job. It took the devs over at ANet years to keep in mind that offhand focus skins could be actually something as an alternative of only a semicircle with a hand-hold via it.
I haven’t personally skilled this enlargement to substantiate how a lot is the equal of a dye job vs. how a lot is attention-grabbing, however from every thing I’ve heard, the reuse of zones and skins right here is an attention-grabbing retelling of earlier work. I imply, that sounds reasonably cool actually. As long as it is sensible from a narrative sense, I feel I’m good with it. Now, if we see one other rehash with little or no new visuals, then we are able to throw a stink.
Tyler Edwards (weblog): Not solely am I typically unbothered by asset reuse, I generally want video games did it extra typically. Reusing acquainted creatures and environments helps to create the sense of a cohesive world. I do suppose it’s theoretically attainable for recycling property to go too far, however I can consider few examples of that truly taking place, and 99% of the time once I see folks in an uproar over it, they’re making mountains out of molehills at finest.
I’m at present rolling my eyes on the griping some are doing over New World’s enlargement zone being a revamp of an older territory (that wasn’t getting used for a lot of something). It’s been rebuilt from the bottom up, and it’s filled with new artwork property, new quests, and new mob varieties. It’s a brand new zone in each method that might presumably matter, however as a result of it occupies the identical a part of the map as an previous zone, individuals are saying we’re not getting any new territory with this enlargement. It’s foolish.
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