Interview Frustrations

So this is just a general complaint and I will avoid getting really picky about this, but even though in general I am lately having a problem with developers and their "Secrets" this game is the only one truly making me boil.

I know many will give me this reason or that, but the truth is they avoid so many subjects and some of them are just simple or yes or no questions yet it goes into some long talk that is vague that loops into nothing where no answer was given.

I have a real problem with this method because honestly the fact game companies are basically being allowed to just skirt questions and issues and concerns is a reason that some games release sub par in my book. They get to talk big, think big, act big, and then the product is not as big as said.

Anyways the reason I bring this up is cause I do really look forward to this game and I have expectations for what it is and what it wants to be not exactly what I dreamed about it being, but the community IE you guys and the concepts are good enough to pull me in.

My frustration and disappointment comes in the fact that they give interviews that amount to really useless pointless information and I as a fan feel rather disheartened when reading to only find myself wasting time. I know again many may feel different and in several interviews there has been maybe 3 questions that were worth something and got a good answer. The truth is though we can't even get them to clearly say sometimes that just no furniture is not going to be in any way able to be used...

I know this is a bit rant like and maybe no one even cares, but I feel as if I want to hear from others hear if they are frustrated and maybe if we make a clear voice we can help change it. My personal opinion is be like rockstar or cd projeckt red only talk when you have something interesting and valid to say something that furthers both interest as well as your goals. All this talking with little no development and just the same old same old is not helping and I feel a lot of it is actually discouraging some people because it just feels so monotonous and we are not even in the game.

I know this is harsh and critical, but we have to be even of the things we love if we hope to make them better. I have more complaints and or concerns, but here's to hoping I hear back from some of you and what you think about this stuff.

Few things you need to remember: most everything in the game at this point is subject to change. Being almost a year out still, many major systems are still being finalized and tweaked. That's one reason it's tough to give a straight answer for an interview; the answer isn't set in stone so saying something is one way when that could change down the line isn't very smart.

Another thing is this is still closed beta. Many of the things that are in game aren't perfect yet and require a lot of work. For example, in one of the last interviews (the open q and a with Paul sage I think), they mention how even something pretty crucial as how many character slots will be available or how many people can be in a party for a large scale PVE encounter aren't actually decided yet.

Long story short, this game isn't finished yet. They may have an idea where the things that aren't done are going, but a lot of the big questions just can't be answered here. But they keep getting asked, so to keep hype and interest at an optimal level the community and PR people hafta say something.

Yes and from watching earlier interviews and recent ones you see where they start giving feed back on some things ( very little by little) as they can. I agree with what Ferroc said especially about wanting to keep hype and interest.

Remember also that the ZOS devs are not obligated to tell us fans anything. As Ferroc said, the game is still in development and like Darren said, it is still in closed Beta. Closed Beta means that they are still letting small groups of fans play certain portions/points of the game and are getting feedback from them. So of course, TESO is still very much a W.I.P. You can't expect explanations set in stone on something that is constantly changing. It is to all our fan advantage to let the Beta testing go on and not be so demanding and impatient.

I think that some games just pre-release some trailers and then start selling their game (correct me if I'm wrong.) Movies release trailers before they come out; but usually you get the "how this was made" & "commentary or interviews with director/actors) when you buy the DVD of the movie.

Bethesda and ZeniMax have always had a very loyal, participatory fanbase and they are a company that is unbelievably rersponsive to their fans. I will repeat something I've said before - that I've seen modders for one single-player game create a very popular idea in their mod; and the next game that Beth puts out includes that mod concept that was so well received and downloaded by players of the previous game. That is a responsive gaming company being aware of and listening to their fanbase.

Like GNR say .... all we need is a little "Patience."

I feel the same way about a lot of the interviews MaxxRocker. There never seems to be much new information in them and they seem to be extremely good at dancing around questions. Hopefully we can get some questions answered today during the live gameplay stream because as much as I'm looking forward to this game, the lack of any sort of answers is very aggravating. I understand the game is incomplete, but it wouldn't hurt them to give out at least a little info in each interview.

They do have to be careful though. Since its still in development anything is subject to change, and if they give for sure answers and they end up having to change it, it would cause a bigger uproar than what they are doing now. I think as soon as they have done comprehensive testing in closed beta and make sure systems in the game work with each other well start getting some real juicy info

I agree my point was though if there is not actually something to talk about do not talk there are quite a few companies who do this such as Rockstar, Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, and Cd Projeckt Red and every indie developer ever.

I am not saying that things are not subject to change I am not saying they are obligated I am saying that it is counter productive to go over the same material 50 times with 50 different titles for 50 different interviews with little to no progress. The best strategy is what the companies above do and even what Bethesda did with skyrim which is to wait until there is something really certain and good to talk about it talk about it and leave it at that not all these vague circling answers.

See though @ferroc to keep hype is a bad phrase that is a very bade phrase it is implying they have to keep up a facade to garner interest. This is the problem is it would be so much better to be quiet and work diligently on the game and talk only when its relevant with actual news and they can answer actual questions straight on. Again this I understand is an incomplete game, but then they need to stay quiet and work not be doing so many interviews, because if anything it kills interest when you sit here hearing the same thing over and over again and every time they do talk about something new it is again a circling answer with no clear resolution.

I am not saying I want all their plans I am not saying I want everything they are thinking on the table, but I want them to take an example from other companies and speak when relevant and useful not just incessantly about the same thing over and over again. Again this is not my impatience take another two years if the game is good I can wait. What I can not stand is people wasting time giving pointless interviews work on the damn game make it better make it worth my time and talk to me about it when you can tell me why it is. That is my personal taste and I think a lot of people talk about the fantastic ES community and all these things, but we gotta understand there are still people not being critical or looking enough at what they are doing.

Partially because they have such a loyal fanbase and community not unlike star wars it brings up the idea they can screw a lot of us over rather easily because they have gained a lot of trust and loyalty making it easier to back stab and so on. I am not implying anything, but just saying being close, loyal, but not critical can get you screwed over rather easily especially by big companies its just a fact.

They are responsive to fans yes, but they are not the most receptive of any company to fans there are a few others I would put above them though some of those would be indie developers the point is that yes they do care, but only as much as the dollar signs tell them too. It was a test the whole modding thing and it proved useful for them and it proved to be a tool that has given their games and communities infinite life as well as garnered them a lot of loyalty, but we still have to be critical and wary lest we will find ourselves out some money.

Again this is not a patience issue this whole thing is a honesty and honor issue. IF THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO TELL US DO NOT TALK. I don't mind silence I don't mind waiting, but I do mind being jerked around by a bunch of company faces.

Part of it is the same questions get asked. And I think no information is worse than the same info over and over again, cause that's what we would have otherwise. We wouldn't know as much as we do now if they weren't just mentioning little things that aren't completely finished yet.

They choose the questions they answer so that is not really a fair assumption to say its the same things getting asked cause that may be true, but they choose to pick those and I am sure there are more interesting ones in the bunch. Several times in fact they have just posted two questions from the same person so yea they pick them. No information to me is better than repetition and wasting time on interviews and all that could be spent on figuring out other things or working on more iffy aspects of the game. Then later on coming out and going hey so here is what we got.

I get where you are coming from, but it is my personal preference to wait in anticipation and receive relevant information when it is ready or be fed info about development or something like that rather than hear the same thing over and over. It just feels like they are trying to stay in the lime light and all that and it sucks cause even I catch myself really excited each interview like, but what if there is something...and no there is nothing new other than maybe a few tiny things, and again those could be released in a bigger clump to make more affect.

EQ Next just had its reveal and though some aspects sound a little off still the way they stayed quiet for I believe the last 4 years of development to now come out with a lot of information some video to back up info and so on was just the right way to do it. Keep quiet till you have real developments rather than trying to soak up all the lime light you can is how I feel about this.

So has this game....they revealed it in 2012 and it had already been in development for like 4-5 years......

(August 2nd 2013, 10:00 PM)Ferroc Wrote: So has this game....they revealed it in 2012 and it had already been in development for like 4-5 years......

Yes and remember the game was scheduled to be released this year. Whatever the reason for the push back in release date they started releasing videos and interviews hoping they would have a finished product by lets say Christmas right.
Now that the game is pushed back and they already created all this hype and stared all these interviews you want them to just stop now, I think most fans might react negatively to that, might even start to question weather the game will be good or not.
They are already in the public eye, they already showed what I believe is alot and now we would just have to ride it out until they are comfortable to show us more man. Maybe you should suggest some things that should be asked, everyone wants information not all have the right questions to get it.

I agree with the OP and feel the same way. I don't even mind the repetitive info, just stop with the double talk already. Answer the question asked or say you can't answer it. Don't go off on some tangent about something no one asked about just to avoid the question. If you don't know say it, or even better, explain some of the ideas you are considering about the subject (yeah right.) But the whole talking out of both sides of your mouth bit is not building my confidence with this game.

As a side note, I actually enjoyed the demo and will buy and give this game a chance. I liked what I saw but would rather the devs just stop talking. They aren't helping in my mind and everytime I watch them dance around questions in interviews, my hype for this game takes a hit. If you're not confident in your product then fix it and if you don't have any definitive info on a subject, say it. Leave the double talk to politicians.

I don't think they mean to. Isn't exactly easy to say "we aren't talking about that now," I mean its kind of a solid wall for the interviewer. They can't really bounce off of it to something else....

I think you have to put it in a logical sense:
This game is created for...wait for it.........MONEY!
Obviously there is a marketing protocol to information they give out. They must slowly trickle information out to lure the fishes (consumers...us) in, then Throw a big slice of bait out, like gameplay, big news (console release) and reel us in before we know that It wont meet our expectations, as any product never really does.

For the game industry, it is really important for them to not mislead us with high hopes of certain aspects of the game, that is why they always clearly state "this is pre-alpha, this is beta..etc" when a game makes bold statements and then withdraws, the gaming community seem to backlash the sales. Look at war Z, that even had to recall and rename the game to get away from the tarnished reputation for not fulfilling all they had promised.
The media are also so great at destroying a game, as well as promoting a game, so they give this bit of info to that media, a little to another..etc, so that we, as consumers read so many different journalists and reviewers opinions (most of who are not even hardcore gamers, or gamers at all) to wipe away the mud of their bullshit to find the gem of info that game from a dev. It's marketing.

I think the two gaming franchises that stick out, when it comes to succeeding at great marketing are GTA and MGS:

GTA was supposed to be released in may and they had not even shown any info other than a few screenshots, got held back, since then they have kept a steady stream of screenshots, info, trailers and now even gameplay. They feed us our daily meal...lol and now you can guarantee it will be one of the best sellers of this year.

MGS, well need I say anything! Hideo Kojima is just a practical joker and complete troll, who always satisfies the fans but gives very little away...legend, and the sales our always big.

As for TESO these ZOS devs are taking on a great feat, not just creating a ES game that they have to emulate Bethesdas level, they are also trying to create a WOW killer. My hat goes of to them, I am sure the game will be amazing. And I think they are doing a good job with info and marketing.

@Stinkyremy. teso wont be a wow killer. blizzard is the wow killer its up to them when they press the red stop button. yes wow will lose subs to teso but if teso does not have the 3 things that wow excels on teso will be abandoned so dam fast.

the 3 things that wow has done well on is..

combat fluidity.
many many ui options including decent guild systems and community chat systems.
quality of product and level playing field of every gamer.

if you cant produce that ZoS or better that best to throw the development out the window before your game gets bashed.