Probally most of the users here won't really go into details as it is our own judgement call, and having others comment on why you feel that way is best left to ourselves. Its been a really hard time trusting in many companies as of the last 5-6 yrs.
Most of us here prob, do not get too hyped up anymore. We want more then a barren wasteland of a game, filled with lots of adventures.
If you take MS for a second and put out there this new game Sea of Thieves? well i won't purchase another alpha game that was suppose to be released with 0 content like that again. So that is a good reason to explain why i judge Microsoft studios for making us pay 90 cdn for nothing.
I have seen more alphas better then that, just the graphics - water is great.
There are a few factors that I judge a company on..
1. Do they respond honestly to players concerns, or do they ignore them.
2. How have they done in the past with their gaming record?
3. What reputation has this company already earned?
4. Does the gaming company have progess to show, and how often concerning early access.
5. If I have played games with this company before how happy, or unhappy have I been after buying their games?
I didn't respond at first because there is so much involved in answering this question. At the risk of oversimplifying, in the current game landscape, the thing that makes me judge a company quickly and most often is how I perceive their level of "cash grab".
Of course all games need to make money but, there seems to be an imaginary line that many companies cross as they strive to turn a profit. When that line is crossed (in my opinion) is when I personally stop giving them money.
I believe the VR team feels like I do in that there is a understanding that they will make more money over the long run by treating the playerbase fairly and keeping players playing long term than they will if they use any cash shop or pay to win format. That might make money quickly but it turns players away in the long term and shortens the longevity of the game because people will only put up with it for so long.
Of course there are other factors that could be reasons why players judge companies but that one seems like the primary one these days.
Also:
The community manager, being the "face" of the company that might interact with the community most often, can be a major factor in how players judge a game company as a whole. I do think Kils does a pretty good job. Never deleting threads is one thing he does right that other forum moderators often fail at. These question threads that keep us busy while we wait are another positive interaction. He seems honest and seems like he really cares while community managers in other games often seem like they are just doing the bare minimum and try to sweep any negative feedback under the rug. I appreciate the way the forums are handled and it sheds a positive light on VR as a whole.
I judge a game company based on the game and how well it was executed. If a game is buggy and full of horrible programming that breaks a game wide open im not going to be as impressed by the company. I have found that i am more impressed with a game when the Dev's are involved even after release of the game. Like adding special content for special events or tweaking content that promotes certain styles of gameplay. That being said, i mainly play console (nintendo-mario/zelda/metroid & Final Fantasy) games just because i enjoy those genre's. And i play EQ1 because of nostalgia even though it was a crappy game with so many problems. Pantheon will be my new game because of how much it reminds me of EQ1 and judging from what ive seen with far fewer bugs and issues with an active Dev team that will stick around for the long haul.
It really comes down to how active the Dev team is once a game is released and do the Dev's create a game they actually want to play? I always was more impressed with an oldschool DnD game when the DM was excited about his storyline.
Lots of factors:
So far Pantheon and VR are running an 11 out of 10 which is good cause I'm already in for what I'd spend in a year on any AAA MMORPG and I have yet to create a character.
Kilsin said:What draws you to a particular game or company, do you judge them by their products/service or is there some other deciding factor you use before jumping on board? #PRF #MMORPG #MMO #communitymatters
For me it is an evolving relationship. Often times I look and see what their history is with LGBTQ inclusivity-representation matters, not all of us are cis-gendered, white, or come from a westernized culture. Inclusiveness is important and how to execute on it tells me a lot about the 'effort' the company puts into making 'me' and other people like me feel at home in their worlds or with the use of their product. Some may also be surprised that 'the community' makes it on my list. I feel the way a company treats their customers has a way of nurturing their customers or facilitates a positive atmosphere so when one customer interacts with a non-customer or other customer a positive relationship ensues.
I love to talk about Pantheon, and I love to pass that positive energy on when I can.
-Todd
I dont know if i would necessarily look for a particular game company as i tend to play longer lasting MMOs, but in terms of a game. I look for a clear focus on what you want the game to be. And also a unique feature that maybe i have not seen before that interests me.
In SWTOR is was "mercenaries" in pvp. Being able to kill members of my own faction was amazing.
In Rift it was the whole RIFT system, i thought it was extremely unique and rather enjoyed it while i played.
So as long as there is something unique and interesting.. im down!
One of the biggest ways I judge any creative product (games, movies, books, etc.) is by authenticity of execution. I think it’s pretty easy to tell by looking at the finished product whether the people that made it were really putting their hearts into it or just “going through the motions.” I’ve been continually impressed with the Pantheon team’s creative ethics, and I think that, more than anything, is what will make Pantheon a truly great game.
Kilsin said: What draws you to a particular game or company, do you judge them by their products/service or is there some other deciding factor you use before jumping on board? #PRF #MMORPG #MMO #communitymatters
This is a layered question. 1) What draws... 2) Do you judge them by...
1) I am drawn to a game when I can actually get a sense of how the game is played and the interface of the game from the Trailer. To be honest I really really dislike cutscene based game trailers. Yes I know that cutscenes can be cool and there is a lot of awesome animation that goes into making them look spectacular. But if I am seeing a trailer for a game and all they show me is a movie with fancy cut scene graphics but almost no actual in game footage of what it looks like when I'm playing the game, I will actually be turned off by the game. Cut scenes should be reserved for in the game itself. When you show me a trailer I want to actually see the game in action.
I am drawn to a company when they are very active in their own community/forums. Many companies now days will create a website that just hosts their media campaign and then a token forum where their players can talk to each other, but there is little to no actual communication from the people who work for the company other than to spam me with advertisement for their game. Companies that take the time to actually interact with their customers is a huge draw for me. Especially when it's not just the token Rep who's actually hired to read and respond on the forums. Yes it's important to have dedicated community reps, but I think that all the people involved in a game should be encouraged to post on the forums. I'm sure most devs will read the forums, but very few actually respond or post.
2) I judge a game based on how much time I want to spend playing the game. If I find myself drawn back to play even when I'm off doing other things I know that it's a great game. If I on the other hand feel like I'd like to go do other things but am just compelled to play because I need to craft the next item when it comes off cooldown, or fight the boss when it is scheduled to spawn. Well you see where I'm going with this. It's great for games to have lots of things to do, but if I'm only coming back to play so I can meet the deadlines and not because I'm feeling excited to play it makes me doubt why I'm spending my coin.
I judge a company based on how attentive they are to the needs of the game and community. When game glitches/bugs get ignored because they are spending their money and time on the next big spectacular gimick to draw in more players... well this upsets me. When they fail to balance things, or make needed changes to the game in a timely manner I really start to question if I'd ever buy a game from that company in the future.
I also want to go back to the activity of the company in their forums. One thing that really bothers me is when a company will not answer a common question just because they don't have a clear answer. Many times when you go to the forums and see dozens and dozens of posts about something and only crickets from the company this really makes me judge a company harshly. I know that sometimes there is no clear answer to some questions or maybe that answer is secret that will be revealed later. A GOOD company in my opinion will take the little bit of time to actually explain this to their players rather than just stay silent. Sometimes all it takes is "We hear your question, and at this time we can't go into the details but we are working on an answer". I'm sure that companies think that players should be smart enough to deduce that "If we don't answer it means there is no answer" but in reality silence just says "You don't care about us and are ignoring us!"
For an example of a Company (not VR) that I really am impressed with and fits all the above stuff I mentioned: https://www.hirezstudios.com/
These guys do a great job communicating and they really invest in improving their games over time. Perhaps not all people out there will be interested in the games they make since they don't do MMOs, but I'm not trying to sell you on their games, just pointing out that they really do the things that make me impressed with their company. They are very involved with their player base and each time they patch a game, they take the time to make an hour long video (they actually stream it live) explaining all the changes and why these changes were made. Yes they have patch notes, but how amazing is it to actually hear those dev's explain each change and what led them to make that change, and even what they hope the change will do to the gameplay.
Kilsin I am not suggesting that VR needs to be exactly like Hirez Studios, since I do think that VR is doing a great job so far. I just point them out as a company that does the things I really like and I hope to see in other companies too.
Hope that helps answer your question Kilsin :-)
1) Deliver a good game
2) Don't try to water it down like many MMOs by giving everyone everything they whine for. That way is a quick way to make a forgettable game that no one will care for in a year.
Stick to EQ / Dark Souls paradigm - it can't be super easy and super accessible, if you water it down to baby level, only babies will play it.
3) Police it - if there are hacks, they have to be fixed asap. If there are gold sellers, they have to be banned, their credit cards have to be banned, their IPs have to be banned, their next-of-kin has to be banned, their dogs and cats have to be banned.
4) Support it - there have to be GMs, and it has to be personalized (a fixed GM or GMs per server, not a random guy every time, from a large pool of unknowns)
5) Make expansions - people who want to put many hours into your game, also want to know that the game has a future. Otherwise, why would they put their time and effort into playing it?
Well, for me, let's look at the things that were iconic in the gaming space:
TinyMUD was made by classmates -
Castle Wolfenstein was created by MUSE
Doom was made by Id
Thief was made by LGS
the list goes on and on......
What do these companies have in common?
They are small bare-bones groups built with the intent of making a game. Making the game is the purpose of their existence as a company.
The MMORPG space has become "corporate America"-ized and now it's all about making profit for investors, backers and stockholders of public companies.
The companies I believe in are the ones whose goal is to make a game and the profits come as a reward for doing a good job but that is secondary. The companies I abhor are the ones whose sole purpose is to generate profit and then figure out some game to make to do that, where the game is simply the tool to make money, money isn't the tool to make the game. What came out of that was cookie-cutter engine-based shallow games that are absolute garbage with no staying power.
With costs skyrocketing it is very easy to slip into that "funded" world because you want more money to develop more. So it's easy to ratrionalize "you need the money or you can't make the game at all" but that's a very slippery slope.
The companies I admire and trust are the ones doing everything they can to buck this trend.
What draws me to a game is my own personal experience. I've been playing since Intellivision/Atari2600/Commodore64 days so I've had some time to figure out what I like and don't like lol. So if I see a new IP I should be able to tell if it's something that I may enjoy. And if I think I might enjoy it then I will most likely buy it and check it out at the least.
For game companies it's more about consistency, passion, and talent. A company such as Blizzard has this in spades whereas a company such as Ubisoft has some good hands and some bad. Even though WoW is not my cup of tea I still respect it. As theme parks go nothing can touch it. Other than this I've enjoyed every game Blizzard has put out and if they release another IP I wouldn't even have to get any info on it to know I would most likely enjoy it thoroughly.
MMOs on the other hand are a whole different monster. As much as I love Blizzard if they came out with a new MMO I'd be skeptical.