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Why I / YOU / WE will NOT be buying Sim Golf...
First, let me give you my assumptions:
1. Sid IS a genius and has earned the right to make any damn game he pleases. If the next project is "Cement Setter Sally," God bless him. He has given me more for my money than any designer of anything ever.
2. Sim Golf will be a great game...for its genre.
Those are my assumptions, so please understand where I'm coming from as I explain why I simply will NOT buy Sim Golf:
A few years ago, this might have had some vague appeal. But this kind of stuff has been done TO DEATH...by people who actually spent their careers doing it and NOT by people who got inspired reading a golf magazine last October. And let's face it, plopping down a tree is just not that compelling no matter how well you do it. If I want mesmerizing action placing cute artifacts and watching minute things go around in circles, I'll get a fish tank.
In fact, a fish tank simulator is something I likely WOULD buy. Sid, please consider making "Sid Meier's Sim Fish Tank." Or just drop the 'Fish' part and go with "Sid Meier's Sim Tank." Now we're talking!
This, of course, begs the question: So why has Firaxis absolutely ingnored this important aspect of gaming ...the community... before? Firaxis was unable even to properly moderate its own forums (which were open of all about a month?). And to this point, the manner in which Civ3 has been presented as a second class citizen and Firaxis as a reclusive, self-absorbed company doesn't bode well either. If you plan on using the same people to do the moderating, interacting, and hyping, better plan on sending them to a few seminars on how to deal with the public.
Better yet, just pay Maxis to handle it.
The million dollar "this begs the question...": Any chance BOTH games will suffer? It reminds me a bit of Sid's 'Covert Action Rule,' which says it's better to have one good game than two great games. Of course, he meant it's a mistake to have essentially two great games WITHIN the same game, causing the game as a whole to lose focus.
But what about two completely different games at the same time, Sid? Almost every demise scenario I've read about a bankrupt gaming company started with:
A: Flush with excited from our success, we decided to hire 5 times the staff and consult Steven Spielberg on the Hollywood budget cinematics
OR
B: We felt comfortable doing more than one project at once.
Firaxis has already done a bit of 'A' in terms of the number of staff they've added since Gettysburg (awesome game, by the way). And as for 'B', that approach NECESSARILY dilutes your focus as a company and creates room for all kinds of potentially ruinous things like in-house grudges over who gets to work on what project or, even worse, who gets pulled mid-stream from one game to work on stuff for the other. A kind of infinite digression of wasted time and energy.
A should I toss in a Dino reference here for good measure? Why in all that's Good and Holy would you be chasing Dinos and Golf Balls when Civ3 is back where it belongs...in YOUR hands at YOUR company. My God, Sid. CIV3!!! You can ALWAYS go back to plopping down trees and lush gardens. Any compelling reason to jepordize your Flagship Game?
I just don't get it. Are you just THAT bored with Civ? I guess so if exchanging Sim Golf wallpaper seems thrilling by comparison.
Yes, and "endless" ain't always a good thing. Consider, for example, Hell.
[This message has been edited by yin26 (edited May 10, 2001).]
1. Sid IS a genius and has earned the right to make any damn game he pleases. If the next project is "Cement Setter Sally," God bless him. He has given me more for my money than any designer of anything ever.
2. Sim Golf will be a great game...for its genre.
Those are my assumptions, so please understand where I'm coming from as I explain why I simply will NOT buy Sim Golf:
quote: ...plop down a tee, lay down a little bit of fairway, position the green, scatter around a few bunkers, and turn my little golfers loose. There's something mesmerizing about just watching my golfers whack that little white ball and seeing it sail through the air. |
A few years ago, this might have had some vague appeal. But this kind of stuff has been done TO DEATH...by people who actually spent their careers doing it and NOT by people who got inspired reading a golf magazine last October. And let's face it, plopping down a tree is just not that compelling no matter how well you do it. If I want mesmerizing action placing cute artifacts and watching minute things go around in circles, I'll get a fish tank.
In fact, a fish tank simulator is something I likely WOULD buy. Sid, please consider making "Sid Meier's Sim Fish Tank." Or just drop the 'Fish' part and go with "Sid Meier's Sim Tank." Now we're talking!
| quote: We are particularly fascinated by the way 'The Sims' has fostered a very active online community of people who enjoy sharing Sims skins, story books, props, wallpaper, etc. To me this represents in a way the future of online gaming. While some games are suited for competitive RTS style multi-play, I think a lot more people respond to the idea of joining a community of like-interested gamers to share ideas, experiences, and game pieces that they have created or collected. This is something that we are planning to expand upon in SimGolf. |
This, of course, begs the question: So why has Firaxis absolutely ingnored this important aspect of gaming ...the community... before? Firaxis was unable even to properly moderate its own forums (which were open of all about a month?). And to this point, the manner in which Civ3 has been presented as a second class citizen and Firaxis as a reclusive, self-absorbed company doesn't bode well either. If you plan on using the same people to do the moderating, interacting, and hyping, better plan on sending them to a few seminars on how to deal with the public.
Better yet, just pay Maxis to handle it.
| quote: Well I'm a busy guy these days! It's really great to be working on a brand-new game like SimGolf, and a classic like Civilization at the same time. |
The million dollar "this begs the question...": Any chance BOTH games will suffer? It reminds me a bit of Sid's 'Covert Action Rule,' which says it's better to have one good game than two great games. Of course, he meant it's a mistake to have essentially two great games WITHIN the same game, causing the game as a whole to lose focus.
But what about two completely different games at the same time, Sid? Almost every demise scenario I've read about a bankrupt gaming company started with:
A: Flush with excited from our success, we decided to hire 5 times the staff and consult Steven Spielberg on the Hollywood budget cinematics
OR
B: We felt comfortable doing more than one project at once.
Firaxis has already done a bit of 'A' in terms of the number of staff they've added since Gettysburg (awesome game, by the way). And as for 'B', that approach NECESSARILY dilutes your focus as a company and creates room for all kinds of potentially ruinous things like in-house grudges over who gets to work on what project or, even worse, who gets pulled mid-stream from one game to work on stuff for the other. A kind of infinite digression of wasted time and energy.
A should I toss in a Dino reference here for good measure? Why in all that's Good and Holy would you be chasing Dinos and Golf Balls when Civ3 is back where it belongs...in YOUR hands at YOUR company. My God, Sid. CIV3!!! You can ALWAYS go back to plopping down trees and lush gardens. Any compelling reason to jepordize your Flagship Game?
I just don't get it. Are you just THAT bored with Civ? I guess so if exchanging Sim Golf wallpaper seems thrilling by comparison.
| quote: Will you pamper your players with lovely gardens, comfy benches, and a luxury hotel or will you torment them with monstrous sand traps, tacky vacation homes, and spine-chilling golf shots - the possibilities are endless. |
Yes, and "endless" ain't always a good thing. Consider, for example, Hell.
[This message has been edited by yin26 (edited May 10, 2001).]
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