30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[JezMM]

 

Valve, creators of Half-Life, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, Portal, etc and of course, the Steam platform.

 

Now granted, some of this hasn't applied so much as of late.  It feels like they've really battened down the hatches and gone into total secrecy on future projects which has been fatiguing, when all people want is a "yes these projects are being worked on but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll come out as the products you're expecting because that's just how game design goes".

 

What's cool about Valve though is that... once the products are out anyway, they really do get what gamers want.  They give free reign over a bunch of their developer tools, making it easy for newbie developers to try out modding and game design.  I adore that they put commentary in all their games as its given me a ton of insight into their design ethic, and game design generally.  And of course, all their games have been top quality and, as Gaben himself says in those commentaries, worth the wait.  Steam is full of features to cater to all sorts of gamer too.

 

 

I admit their hush hush of late has been bothersome.  For example their once quite active role in responding to feedback on the L4D2 forums completely dwindled now that the questions are "why is there no more content" or even just "why aren't there any more updates for these game breaking bugs".  Is it THAT bad PR to admit that you feel a game's life cycle has come to an end and from this point on you'll only be patching game-breaking stuff?  We just kinda wanna know.

 

 

With regards to PR and openness though, Nintendo would definitely be my 2nd place after Valve - very close second.  Naturally they make awesome games too, and I've been a Nintendoid since I was a kid.  Yeah it kinda makes you cringe when they go too far with embracing all the memes, but you gotta love em they're trying so hard to connect with us and they succeed way more often than not.

[Spin Attaxx]

My favourite developer... that's a tough one. HAL is one that comes to mind 'cause they make Kirby and Super Smash Bros. (I know they at least made the first one, dunno about the others). Then there's Valve, since they've brought us Team Fortress 2, Garry's Mod and Source Film Maker (and with it funny vids by talented people), Portal (still dunno how they managed to do the portal mechanic) and Steam (a platform people can make games on without having to suck a publisher's cock? Hell yeah). Finally, Mojang for making Minecraft, and say what you will about how lacklustre and superfluous their more recent updates have been, but I like having a bigger variety of biomes/blocks to build from.

[Debug Ring]

I'll have to say Valve for this one.

Valve are great. They've made some cracking games, and I've enjoyed all those I've played. Team Fortress 2 is a blast to play whenever with it's zany style and fun classes. Left 4 Dead games are great too and I love playing 2, and the inclusion of mods makes the experience even better. Portal and Portal 2 are clever, hilarious games, and really shine out as some of the greatest games I've played. Let's not forget Half Life, which is also another fantastic series.

Really, Valve are a great company with a smashing line up of games.

[Kuzu]

Day 26: Favorite Console Generation

 

 

 

 

Yea, I have to give it to Generation 6 as well. Its the generation I became a full on gamer, rather than someone who just happened to play them. It also has games that defined my little childhood, even thought I went most of the generation without a goddamn Playstation 2, which I'm still bitter about. But all in all, it was an amazing generation that still is close to my heart.

[Carbo]

Day 27: Favorite Developer

First there was Capcom Production Studio 9.

In accordance to the production that surrounded the titles they would go on to develop, the team became renamed "Team Viewtiful" during the development of Viewtiful Joe.

After tensions rose between Mikami and Capcom due to the decision not to keep Resident Evil 4 exclusive and the disaster outcome of Capcom Five, as well as the will to turn the company into a semi-autonomous development team, the studio became Clover Studio.

And after two critically acclaimed games that went on to become financial disasters, Clover closed it's doors. But funny thing happened there, as before anyone knew it, the key talents raised their heads out of the rubble, and went on to become something new. Something different.

Platinum Games is the tale of a phoenix rising.

The amassed amount of games and talent that Platinum managed to provide during their inception and after being licensed to Sega is something short of a miracle. Within 2009 and 2010, Platinum released four games - all to critical acclaim, commonly cited as some of the best games to be found on the individual systems they are on. Vanquish from the co-operative mind of Shinji Mikami, a reinvention of the Third Person Shooter, and Bayonetta, perhaps their most lauded title and one of the finest beat 'em ups of all time, are two of those.

Platinum is a developer that knows it's audience and does it's absolute best in order to reward them for loving the games the do, even during the Clover days. They fill their games to the brim with content, they focus on game play first and polish it to a mirror sheen, they add replay incentives, create marvelous worlds, add cheesy dialogue and make games for people who love to play games. This is especially true in Kamiya's games, which are the biggest they come out with; 20 hour long epics with ramping intensity, perfect difficulty curves, plethora of variety and so much supplemental material to support them. They aren't just my favorite developer because of the fantastic output they've had for the last five years either, but also because of the past that lies within it's talents as Clover. Viewtiful Joe, Okami, mother fucking God Hand, these are all games I love that the same people in this studio have put out.

Despite the sheer amount of talent involved with this company their games unfortunately don't tend to take off as well as one might expect. The company can still live on by being independent and finding publishers, which was part of the point in establishing the company independently so they could avoid a Clover situation, but things went a little haywire for them during the post-Vanquish days when Sega was suffering a financial crisis and had to allegedly cancel Bayonetta 2's production, as well as hold off Anarchy Reigns for a $30 budget release that was dead on arrival.

But fortune favors the bold, and Platinum came back in full force when it was announced that they were signed on to save Metal Gear Rising from the depths of cancellation. And save it they did. Still their best performing game, it brought an entire new twist to the Metal Gear series while also providing a brand new approach to the hack n slash genre. It proved that Platinum still sets the standards and can still approach things differently while having their seal of approval.

And then the ultimate acknowledgment of their amazing talent came by when Nintendo had Platinum signed for two exclusive games for them in order to appeal to a hardcore crowd, came out with the absolutely fucking fantastic The Wonderful 101, Kamiya's project he had been working on for 3 years, something I'd be hard pressed to call their best game yet, and now the upcoming Bayonetta 2. It goes without saying that the announcement rocked the gaming community.

Platinum Games lives up to their name sake. Like the metal it is based on, it never loses it's luster.

[KrazyBean]

Day 27: Favourite Developer

 

 

I have to say Nintendo. C'mon, they made Mario, Zelda and Pokemon (technically, no, but they do have a lot of influence in the frachise obviously), three franchises which have always delivered stellar titles to me and millions of others.

 

They may make some stupid decisions at times and take long to "get with the times", but when it comes to making great games, they always deliver the goods.

[Indigo Rush]

Day 27: Favorite Developer

 

 

I'mma go with Nintendo EAD.

 

This is the group that made some of the most stellar entries in the big "N's" lineup. Broken up into smaller groups, they've produced some big heavy hitters, and are still continuing to do so to this very day. 

 

Take a look here and see what they've put together over the years.

 

Mario Galaxy, most of the newer Zelda games, the "Wii" series, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, it's all them.

 

So hats off to those guys! And I hope they continue to do well and make creative gaming experiences. 

[Jin.]

Day 27

 

Arc made some of my favorite games like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear, but unlike a lot of different developers, they're not afraid to try something new and rarely make huge fuck-ups, although Atlus cuts a close second place.

 

 

Day 25: Least Favourite Character

 

 

Jin Kisaragi from BlazBlue

 

Where do I even begin? Okay first off, He's a collossal douchebag to Noel for petty reasons, and has a real "I'll do what I Want attitude", He doesn't care about the opinions of others, and is stubborn to take an obvious solution. Still obsessed with Ragna and only agreed to work together because Ragna promised him a fight. He also constantly talks down to others. His uniform is really stupid too. He doesn't even wear any pants and the lycra suit beneath his clothes offer very little protection.

 

1v1 me i'll fite u irl

 

psst it's not a lycra suit it's a skinsuit designed against yukianesa's cold

he's a douchebag to noel because he hates his sister and she's a moron

his uniform is from the NOL, which includes Hazama/Tsubaki/Noel/Makoto

what's wrong with doing what you want

[MamboCat]

Day 27 - Favourite Developer

 

I think I have two favourites... eh, possibly three if we're not counting Sonic Team/Sega....

 

The first is one I think many of us will go for: Valve

 

 

First off they win for having one of the most unusual logos (and not to mention slightly creepy!) ever...second of all, they make fantastic games! The Half Life series? Portal? Team Fortress anyone?! And they are the company that gave us Steam, which yeah I think is pretty great.

 

They also seem like a really awesome company to work for; having seen their employee orientation guide it would seem they treat their staff really well. They just seem to have their heads screwed on the right way...

 

 

They're also a little nuts!

 

The news that they are expanding their territory soon is rather exciting, too.

 

Edit - oops, forgot to put my second choice in!! XD

 

The other developer I have muchos respectos for is Rockstar.

 

 

These guys obviously put a lot of care and attention into their games; the amount of detail that goes into their world building is incredible. The first time I played GTA3 years ago, I was astounded by how much was going on! The radio stations, the various stores, different types of car that all handle differently, the islands themselves... and with each game there's just more and more!

 

Also they made Red Dead Redemption; possible one of the best games of all time, IMO. :B

 

 

Noteable mention: Probably Crystal Dynamics, since they are the guys who produced the Legacy of Kain games from Soul Reaver onwards, and they produced the second series of Tomb Raider games.

[Senator NinjaShark]

Day Numbero 27: Generations: Ninja's "Stop giving EA Money Serp and Swift" Favourite Developer Ever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've talked about them during the last 30 Day thing, but....I just have to again because there are no other trio I can trust more than these three.

 

the thing they all have one thing in common is they put everything into the Creation of their games, and make sure they are the best of their respective genre.

 

all their games have a great amount of Polish, Replay Value, Longlivety, and often great design choices put into them, from Mario to Bayonetta to Half Life, they all made some of the best games ever in my Opinion. Whenever I hear news a new game of any of those three is about to come out, I only have to say "where is my wallet"

 

 

...unless we're talking Other M or Yoshis New Island, fuck that noise.

 

 

 

but besides that, I love all three of them, if Gaming were to completeley crash and burn the next day, I think I would still play their games and know I am set for Life.

 

 

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: Atlus, because Persona 4 is pretty nice from what I played. I like it.

[Adamis]

Day 27 : Favorite developers

 

Mmmh I think I'll take Game Freaks solely because of their Pokémon games that I've enjoyed over the years.

 

Nintendo's branch that develops the Zelda games.

 

And well, Valve, but most people mentioned them already

[Solkia]

Favorite Development Studio

 

Nintendo fucking pisses me off to no end, but they're also the game dev team I hold most dear.

 

Metroid, F-Zero, Star Fox, Custom Robo, Paper Mario, I love their franchises and always look forward to the next entry in their titles.

 

Unfortunately all those franchises I mentioned are either dead or in a really shitty position. I want to see Nintendo revive these IPs I hold so dear. I want them to be the king again.

[Gabz Girl]

Day 27! Favourite developer!

 

 

Oh ND, you never fail to amaze me. I love these guys because throughout the years, their games have stayed consistently good and are highly entertaining and fun to play. The first ND game I ever played was Crash Bandicoot 2 and I instantly fell in love with its cartoony zaniness and fun platforming gameplay. The Jak series was also great and the first game is still one of my all time favourite PS2 titles. Jak 2 and 3 were very good too but my nostalgia says Jak and Daxter was the best in that trilogy!

 

Anyways, I never played the Uncharted trilogy since I only just got a PS3 last year but I did play the Last of Us and OH. OH! This is amazingly good! It's not the Citizen Kane of games no, but it was still an amazing experience and just goes to show how much ND has evolved as a developer.

After hearing the news that they were making yet another Uncharted game I was slightly letdown because I wanted them to create something fresh and new, or maybe a successor to the Last of Us. But despite this and their lack of funny cartoony games nowadays, I still love ND and I hope they make more great games in the future. 

 

Honourable mention; Nintendo of course! It may have its flaws but these guys are the best Japanese developers atm (looking at YOU Capcom!). These guys have created some of my favourite games and videogame franchises ever like Mario and Zelda and these games are almost always consistently great.

[#AR]

Day 27: These guys make games and they are cool

 

I guess I can say without a doubt that if there's one developer who's never disappointed me:

 

REN'S FAVORITE DEVELOPER: HARMONIX

 

Probably could've seen this one coming after my long gasm about Rock Band earlier on, but yeah, if you couldn't tell by that and the I looooooooooooove Harmonix.

I don't have to explain Rock Band any more than I already have But yeah, what else have these guys done that I love? Well for one, their first games, Frequency and Amplitude, are both unique and awesome, and I'm so happy Amplitude is getting a reboot. Next, you have the original Guitar Hero games (more specifically, 1, 2, and Encore: Rocks the 80s). The beginning of a musical empire right there. Both of those games were solid. After Rock Band, we have what is arguably one of the few times the Kinect actually works: Dance Central. It's a ton of fun, and a great way to work up a sweat. I'm also looking forward to Fantasia: Music Evolved (although the addition of the Kinect-less Xbox One bundle miiiiiiight kinda hurt it a little), but I'm still thinking about getting one to play it (and Sunset Overdrive, but I'm not here to talk about that). I'm still also awaiting the release of Chroma, the musical FPS game that they're working on. Looks so hype.

The games usually are filled with a very imaginative, music-based world full of zaniness, and as a result, look stylish as hell. They're pretty good with that.

And finally, the staff. The staff members are all pretty cool. A lot of them are actually musically involved outside of these games, and have been a part of many bands (which end up in the games' soundtracks). Most importantly, they are grounded in the community. They interact with fans (with a big sense of humor too), take suggestions from them, and even involve the fans in the games. The biggest example was Rock Band Network, where budding artists can actually get their songs available as DLC, and make (some) money off of it. Now that's pretty cool.

Despite that Harmonix is now an indie-based developer after the break-off with Viacom, I hope they continue to keep on rockin' for years to come.

[Radiant Hero Ike]

Day 27: A developer which I like in a way that is good.

 

 

Yeah. Mario, SSB, Zelda, Sonic Metroid, F-Zero I guess, Pokémon, Kirby, Kid Icarus, I like 'em all. I would've said Sega, but Sonic and Shenmue are pretty much the only games I play from them (and Shenmue doesn't exist anymore so). Oh, and Beyond Oasis.

[RustyRick]

Day 27: Most favorite development team?





Rare!

Many people might cling to Nintendo EAD or some say Naughty Dog or Valve, but Rare (back in the 90's to early 2003 known as Rareware)  is my own choice because of the great hits they produced when they were working as 2nd party for Nintendo. Sure there were some notably good games back when they were known as 'ULTIMATE PLAY THE GAME' and before their Magnum Opusthat put them on the map, Donkey Kong Country, they published Marble Madness and Battletoads to name a few.

They are nowadays mostly remembered for cranking out the Banjo Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day games on the N64, and they kind of have a bad rep now ever since they were bought out by Microsoft, but oh well, I'll always remember the fond times...
 

[FourCartridge]

Day 27: Favorite Developer

 

 

Bizarre Creations

 

Bizarre Creations has to be one of the most depressing devs out there. They had their first big start with the gaming public back with Metropolis Street Racer on the DC. It was a mix between arcade and simulation, with players driving like mad to get points. Despite rave reviews, most people ignored the game, due to DC exclusivity. MIcrosoft was kind enough to pick them up, and Project Gotham Racing, it's spiritual successor, came through. Refining MSR's concepts to the bleeding edge, all of them also getting praise from the press, as laughable as they are nowadays.

 

And if that wasn't enough, they topped themselves again with Blur, a frenzied gamed that pitted 20 cars, all plucked from Real Life, and gave them the wildest power-up imaginable in a racing game for one single objective; a mad dash to the finish. It was the best thing ever.

 

Activision shut them down however, with their big money obsession, and all in the meantime the Sheffield studio was going to work on something that would leave it's mark on the racing scene quite possibly forever:

 

 

...That was actually going to be in a game. I showed it to another forum, and here's a response I got:

 

 

I don't think I've ever heard of or seen any racing game like that which uses more than just roads, more than just jumps (think San Francisco Rush and the Burnout games after Takedown but before Paradise). That gif shows that everything racing games have been doing post-Burnout 3 are just outdated demonstrations of two dimensional thinking. Jesus, it's straight out of the movie Ultraviolet except it's not as ridiculous, which is weird to say considering that you're racing in a car on a fucking building.

 

It was canned, and I'm mad as hell because of it. I would kill to follow in their footsteps, but every time I try, I just bump into some wall. =(

 

Bizarre were masters of their craft.

Edited May 27, 2014 by FourCartridge

[Willsy]

Day 27: Favourite Developer

Rocksteady and TT Games

I chose these two as they are really the only developers I can trust to make a fun experience. Any others I have to be really cautious about, especially Sonic Team. Rocksteady are renowned for the Arkham games, they are really solid and fun experiences with a very well built world around it. TT games do a great job on the LEGO games, they always turn out to be at least a solid and satisfying experience even if they are based in a franchise or ip that I'm not terribly big on.

In a world where developers are always bribing their way to good review scores (EA tend Activision and their respective teams reek of this) or just can't keep a consistent quality, these are the only two that I can really trust at the moment

[Kuzu]

Day 27: Favorite Developer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So many developers, so little time. But I give it to the big man themselves:

 

 

 

 

 

Valve only recently became one of my favorites, but goddamn, they're the reason my PC library has gotten a massive overhaul. Steam is such a godsend(if at times, frustrating) system and is accessible for everyone to use. Because its PC, you never have to worry about Multiplayer or the like. They also house some interesting games within their development such as L4D, Portal, and TF2. So yea, Valve is awesome.

 

 

I would have chose Arc or Atlus if I had played more of their games, but alas.

[jords]

I guess Sega and Nintendo.

I love a lot of sonic games and a lot of Mario games.

There is Sonic adventure 2 and Sonic heroes, then the recent ones sonic unleashed and sonic generations.

The classics like sonic 2 and sonic 3. I like the original Sonic 1 but you know its sequel's has done way better.

[TheOcelot]

Favourite Developer

 

 

Wow this is a tough question! There are so many games that I love from many different developers such as:

 

Insomniac: Spyro The Dragon, Ratchet & Clank

Rocksteady: Batman Arkham games

Konami/Kojima Productions: The Metal Gear Solid games

Ubisoft: Rayman and Assassin's Creed.

Quantic Dreams: Beyond two Souls

SEGA: Sonic games.

 

As for my favourite I'm going to pick:

 

 

          NaughtyDog

 

 

 

NaughtyDog is small team of talented individuals that over the years have built up a reputation of releasing excellent games which have sold countless millions of copies.

 

The games they have developed for 5th, 6th and 7th Generation consoles have ALL received critical acclaim. The Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted and The Last Of Us franchises have been given high praise for their gameplay mechanics, imaginative level deign, likeable characters, engaging story, soundtracks, replay value, and pushing the hardware to it's limits and beyond. TLOU is often spoken of as one of the few games which looked and felt like a PS4 game running on PS3 hardware.

 

NaughtyDog IMO were one of the develops which raised the bar when they burst onto the scene with the Crash Bandicoot series. I believe their contribution improved the quality of games across the board from other developers. They always seem to deliver and I see no reason why their success won't continue. The world is theirs to conquer!

 

 

 

I'm a massive fan of their games and I can't wait to see what they've got in store for PS4. We know we're getting a new Uncharted game, a PS4 version of TLOU, and hopefully a branch new franchise for 8th gen. 

 

Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks  

[Chaos Warp]

Day 27: Favourite Developer 

 

 

 

 

Platinum Games/Their various forms before Platinum Games was made 

 

Really, I didn't feel comfortable picking anything else because no other developer I know has as amazing of a track record as them. Before they became Platinum Games, they made Viewtiful Joe, and then they made Okami and something else I can't remember as Clover Studios. And then when they became Platinum? Bam, Bayonetta, a utterly fantastic beat-em-up/hack-n-slash and IMO still the pinnacle of it's genre. Bam, Vanquish, a very interesting, fast-paced, fun and amazing and on the TPS genre. Bam, Metal Gear Rising, an amazing hack-n-slash that's a new and unique take on the Metal Gear franchise. Bam. Wonderful 101, another wonderful game that can be argued as their best. And with Bayonetta 2 coming out this year, I don't see their quality train stopping anytime soon. Even their worst game: Anarchy Reigns, is still a good game. When your worst game is still a good one, you know you're a good developer. They're pretty much the only developer who I can count on to make utterly fantastic games all the time, and it's a crying shame that the games they make are often considered "niche" and don't sell well. So I hope their games gain more attention in the future. All hail the kings of action, baby: Platinum Games earned that title several times over throughout the years, and they don't show signs of slowing down. 

[Kiah]

Put yourself in the shoes of five year old Dissy. This little dude:

Awww, what a cutie.

Indeed!  Just so you know, when you was 5 years old, I was 17...man, you kids make me feel old!  Anyway...

 

Day 27: Favorite Developer:

 

 

YES, I went there. I know Sonic Team isn't currently isn't held in high regards nowadays mainly due to the quality issues with recent Sonic games but what they did in the past is what I fondly remember about Sonic Team including creating video game gems such as:

 

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic 1)

 

 

NiGHTS Into Dreams

 

And there is plenty more where that came from in regards to Sonic Team's fine accomplishments, especially with the Classics. Good times...

 

Although things haven't been great as of late with Sonic Team's productions (which I personally don't think they are that bad, although they are definitely guilty of half-doing things with their games where they get things right such as level and art design, music and characterization [for the most part], but then they get things such as story and gameplay wrong. As regards to the latter, although they may not implement aspects of gameplay correctly or successfully, I can at least commend Sonic Team for actually trying to do something new or different, if nothing else), amid me being cautious, I do believe that they are capable of creating a stellar video game like they did in times past, assuming that they take their time, apply themselves making their dedication and effort clearly seen, and not take any unnecessary risks. I really hope that I am proven right by the time the next Sonic game produced by Sonic Team is released...

[Strickerx5]

Day 27: Favorite (it's like God decided one day to make a team of bad asses who make video games) Developer

 

"We make games that we want to play."

 

Oh man, a couple of years back if you would of asked what my dream job was it would have been working here. Not only have they developed some of my favorite games in existence but they are also extremely close to the community. What other developer went out of their way to hold a special day to purely playing games with fans and giving out cool stuff? Also, their action on feedback is phenomenal. I've never seen such a quick update to fix bugs than when Reach was first released. They really bring the full package with all of their games and have rarely disappointed me in any fashion of the word. The only reason I'm now hesitant to want to try and get a job there is that I'm still figuring out what I really want to do in life (I'm going to college for computer programing and love it but... you never know, especially in today's world). They are a team of awesome and truly dedicated people that I just can't give enough praise to. I'm really looking forward to Destiny (though, I still need to decide which console to get it for XD).

[azoo]

Day 27: Favorite Developers

 

There are two.

 

 

 

First off, HAL Laboratory.

 

They're behind the Kirby and Super Smash Bros series, and they are the designers behind EarthBound / MOTHER 2. I really don't know how someone could read that off and not tell me that they're made of pure gold. Seriously tho, you can tell from that eerie wistfulness in the atmosphere of a game that HAL was behind it. They have their own stylistic signature that's just.. I don't know? Potent? Is that the word? Their stuff oozes charm and most of their games are polished to near perfection. 

 

 

Second of my favorite developers come one I hate to hate and love to love. You know the ones.

 

 

*sound of waves* "Sonek Teemu~ " *echoy ring sound*

 

Sonic Team.

 

Man, screw these guys. They're super flip-floppy in game quality and at times can't develop a title out of a paper bag, but whenever they get a good game down they make it a GREAT one. They're definitely not to be trusted, but to deny loving them feels all too wrong. These guys are behind the best Sonic games, NiGHTS into Dreams, Ristar, Burning Rangers, Billy Hatcher, Phantasy Star Online, Chu Chu Rocket and Samba de Amigo; which all definitely show their stripes, but then they can also turn around on a dime and make the bad Sonic games as well as things like Journey of Dreams and other failed experiments.

 

They're a mixed bag overall, but their team of godly artists, musicians and designers really bring it home when the game is good. At their best, they're my favorite developer.