Yeah, many of us are frustrated with inconsistent, broken, or poorly made game updates.
Yeah, many of us are frustrated with inconsistent, broken, or poorly made game updates.
In my opinion, since the arrival of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the level of "useful or practical refinement" has noticeably dropped. It seems there’s almost no effort left to test games thoroughly for bugs or glitches. I still see myself as a console player from time to time, but not in an era where the Wii, PS3, and even the 360 were born. Back then, despite some games being buggy or unfinished, they weren’t as problematic as they are now. Using a Wii felt like operating a PC—its interface was too complex for consoles. With the Wii, it seemed to ask if I wanted to play, often with frustration. For the 360 and PS3, I suspect the same issue exists, especially with newer models like the PS4, XBOne, and possibly the Wii U. That’s why I’ve switched to building my own setup, missing out on exclusive titles. If consoles force me to pick games before loading them, I prefer PCs instead. Over the years, I’ve seen games like Skyrim, Fallout 3, and New Vegas struggle with bugs, though they still offered enjoyment. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series really highlighted the problems, especially with Watch_Dog. The fire kept rising thanks to Ubisoft’s mistakes, which pushed others like The Worse Mod into the spotlight. Games such as CoD: Ghost, Battlefield 3/4, Batman Arkham Knight, Just Cause 3, and even Witcher 3 weren’t immune—whether before or after Watch_Dog. This trend fuels what I call a "platform war," which feels disrespectful to consumers and hurts them more than it helps. Some gamers cling to consoles out of nostalgia or comfort, but at the end of the day, players just want to relax and play. Still, the prevalence of bugs and glitches has become a real concern, making me weary of the situation.
It seems the only ones who fine-tune their games to flawless perfection right from launch are the Nintendo developers, a situation that's genuinely disappointing. Even smaller studios aren't completely free of issues. The only title I've encountered without any bugs at release was Ori and the Blind Forest.
I encountered an issue with ori and the Blind Forest. Not every program is flawless, and bugs can vary in how obvious they are.
Well, the thing is, there's the "Well, they're gonna patch it anyways. Just wait" kind of mentality thats just going around that its kinda common. I've even heard of people defending games and just saying "Wait for the patch/drivers, the game's gonna be awesome" and what not. Welp, if you can, why not? Oh well. Year in and out, games have lately been lacking polish. It can be a great game, but if its buggy, glitchy, and/or lacks (alot of) polish, I personally feel that I've been robbed 1-100% (depending on how bad the optimisation is) of how much I paid for it. Well, yeah. But oh well, just talking about games in general. Some (or alot of) indie devs are primadonnas as well. Strangely enough, I kinda wanna buy a Wii U or wait for their new console. I've honestly never come across a buggy Nintendo game. Edited January 8, 2016 by WynLore
Yeah, but what changed when developers rushed the process? Sure, Apogee shows how delays can backfire, but if they use that as an excuse to push teams to work with minimal time, it’s unfair. Personally, I’m fine with bugs like the one that made a dragon chase me in Skyrim—it was frustrating—but I’d hate seeing the game run so poorly it feels like a nightmare at 144fps.
If it's a pre-release title, that makes sense. But if it's a paid game priced around sixty dollars—like Fallout 4—and still has bugs and issues, that’s the issue. What stands out is I’m leading a new project and we use an IRC channel to chat with developers, but we also talk to other founders. One of them is really annoying, especially because he constantly criticizes Star Citizen, calling Chris Roberts a "fukboi" and saying it’ll become vaporware. Meanwhile, we both invested in an unfinished game that’s far behind where Star Citizen stands. He’s someone I personally don’t like.