Why is so much development effort wasted?

#0 - Oct. 30, 2007, 5:53 p.m.

Why is so much development time being wasted?

For one thing, IMO, Blizzard spends too many resources trying to please the miniscule high-end raiding population. The percentage of subscribers who will actually see Illidan, for example, is pathetically small. The majority of us "casual pukes" who do not intend to raid were pleased that Blizzard has devoted some effort to revamp the pre-TBC content in the upcoming 2.3 patch. Admit it or not, the pre-TBC content will remain the heart and soul of this game. I'd like to see this trend continue.

One of the biggest gripes about TBC is that there was no smooth transition to it with regard to instances and gear. How is it that greens dropping in early Outland levels were of better quality than even the very best epic gear in Azeroth? I enjoyed those drops at the time, to be sure, but then I realized how it gimped everything that had come before it. It's probably too late to do anything about it now, but I wish that the devlopers had considered this scenario a little better beforehand.

I would also like to see Blizzard devote development resources into figuring out how to make the crafting professions worthwhile. As it stands now, only tailoring offers decent enough rewards to make it worth leveling up to 375.

Finally, Blizzard really needs to come up with a way to help alleviate the tank and healer shortage. Allow dual-speccing, perhaps, or don't charge gold to respec. Make the rewards worthwhile for those classes. Allow blacksmiths to repair armor for group membrs. In short, do something.

The point here is that there are plenty of important things for Blizzard to be concerend about other than new raid instances. Geez, enough already!

Nethaera

#4 - Oct. 30, 2007, 6:05 p.m.

Q u o t e:

Why is so much development time being wasted?

For one thing, IMO, Blizzard spends too many resources trying to please the miniscule high-end raiding population. The percentage of subscribers who will actually see Illidan, for example, is pathetically small. The majority of us "casual pukes" who do not intend to raid were pleased that Blizzard has devoted some effort to revamp the pre-TBC content in the upcoming 2.3 patch. Admit it or not, the pre-TBC content will remain the heart and soul of this game. I'd like to see this trend continue.

One of the biggest gripes about TBC is that there was no smooth transition to it with regard to instances and gear. How is it that greens dropping in early Outland levels were of better quality than even the very best epic gear in Azeroth? I enjoyed those drops at the time, to be sure, but then I realized how it gimped everything that had come before it. It's probably too late to do anything about it now, but I wish that the devlopers had considered this scenario a little better beforehand.

I would also like to see Blizzard devote development resources into figuring out how to make the crafting professions worthwhile. As it stands now, only tailoring offers decent enough rewards to make it worth leveling up to 375.

Finally, Blizzard really needs to come up with a way to help alleviate the tank and healer shortage. Allow dual-speccing, perhaps, or don't charge gold to respec. Make the rewards worthwhile for those classes. Allow blacksmiths to repair armor for group membrs. In short, do something.

The point here is that there are plenty of important things for Blizzard to be concerend about other than new raid instances. Geez, enough already!

I think you're under the false impression that there is only one thing at a time being worked on when in fact we have many projects going on at the same time by different people on the team. You are focusing on the higher end raids without thinking about all the development time that has gone into things such as daily quests, the new quests being added to Dustwallow Marsh, the new hub in Dustwallow Marsh, the changes to items in the pre-sixty dungeons, the adjustment to levels in those same dungeons and more. You're focusing on a small portion of the game content because you see it as "end-game", and while it may well be considered as such, there are many other things being developed and worked on beyond that.

Nethaera

#18 - Oct. 30, 2007, 6:17 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Let me re-phrase that.

The developers come from a gameplay background that promotes a large investment of time spent to complete content. This has been carried over to warcraft and is not going away anytime soon.

The majority of the player base will not see end game content, and just like Naxx, will go unplayed.

I always find it fascinating to see what people believe the developer backgrounds are. :) It's pretty simple though, we are all gamers. We play and have played many many many games. We are always playing games and learning from them. To say there is only one source of influence to what the Development team does is a bit short-sighted.

As for Naxx, you'll get your shot in the Wrath of the Lich King again. ;) We are aware of the concerns players have and are working toward still making sure things are challenging and yet, accessible to as many people as possible.

Nethaera

#34 - Oct. 30, 2007, 6:49 p.m.

Q u o t e:
With all of 6 quests in it? At least the FP's useful for Ony runs if those ever happen again.

How about approximately 50+ quests counting Horde only, Alliance only and Horde and Alliance both quests available?

There are definitely more than 6 new quests.

Nethaera

#92 - Oct. 30, 2007, 7:47 p.m.

One person's perception of "wasted" is not the same as the next person's. I understand what people are saying, but this has been an ongoing discussion since the very beginning of World of Warcraft and even before it. As I've said, we are continuing to work on making as much content accessible to as many people as possible and making sure there are appropriate rewards to go with it.

Nethaera

#191 - Oct. 30, 2007, 9:41 p.m.

Q u o t e:

Fact check:

You're not a game developer Neth. You work for Blizzard. You get user feedback and pass it on to devs, and interact with the devs. But you do not impliment content (unlike Slouken), program, do quest design, model, texture, world and dungeon design. Your tools are internet explorer and microsoft office, not Maya, Photoshop and a software development package. Thats the difference between a Blizzard Employee and a Blizzard Game Developer

You are public relations. So be careful using the 'we' in pronoun in reference to game development. Legit ones (like myself), who worked hard and long to get into the field, can be a touchy when paid forum moderators who do not spend hours and hours toiling infront of photoshop, making that perfect texture, or a programming suite, hunting that extremely nuanced bug, start acting like they are more than the eyes and ears of the company, and start pretending they have creative control over content.

Be honest about what you are. "Game Developer" isn't one of those things.

In no possible way have I said that I was a Designer (or Developer). I have made that clear many times over, however, given that you say you are a part of the industry, you should also understand that I do have the ability to convey messages on their behalf. I do my best to convey the differences between my own thoughts and the things that are based on information that comes from the company and the Development team.

You should also know that as a part of the community team, my job entails more than moderating forums. Respect is given to all members of our teams no matter what department they are in. Each department and every role is important. I'm sure that you of all people should understand this given your experience in the field. It is a network of support.

Aside from that, I too have worked very hard to get where I am and continue to do so. If for some reason you feel you have further feedback on my job performance, please feel free to email to wowcmfeedback@blizzard.com . Thanks!

Drysc

#226 - Oct. 30, 2007, 10:35 p.m.

Q u o t e:

I've worked in the industry since 1998. I highly doubt it. As to purpose, its never too much trouble to set facts straight.

Cooking a meal doesn't mean you're in the food industry, and firing up UnrealEd for the first time during summer break after your freshman year in high school doesn't mean you're in the game industry.