pz3 Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 (edited) Most of you probly dont know this or didnt hear about it but it was some time ago. I went in for a job interview beta testing EA Sports video games. During a phone interview I was asked the typical questions... I specifically stated I play PC games only and religiously. I went into their offices for a large group interview. We did the typical personality tests and some game related tests. The game related tests never once asked about how to operate a PC but did ask both PS2 and Xbox questions. The last test we did... was on an old build of Nascar 2004 I think all on PS2s! I put down one bug.... Its not on the PC .... when they collected the bug report papers they picked me up first and showed me the door. Okay now I noticed plenty of bugs but It ###### me off there was only PS2s to test on. So I got smart about it and didnt get the job. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To the point now. When half of the people in there looked stoned or drunk... All testing PS2 games and then EA Sports employees look like they were picked out of a bad gangster or nerds movie. Is this why our games are sucking now? These PS2 game testers im guessing are also the PC games testers and I know a ###### load of my friends who play only console dont know the first thing about computers when it comes to anything. How can any company properly test a PC game out when they have retarded, stoned, half gangster console players testing?????? Somthing tells me UBI Soft is doing this too and a lot of other developers/publishers. Its a crying shame. Edited August 20, 2006 by Prozac360 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa6 Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 noone wants to see the truth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sup Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 These PS2 game testers im guessing are also the PC games testers anything. I would assume if you were both applying for testing at EA and being only shown console games and asked about consoles the job wasn't involving PC testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pz3 Posted August 20, 2006 Author Share Posted August 20, 2006 (edited) The job was for beta testings. PC Xbox and PS2. They never had one question about PCs other then that the rest of the questions were really really basic. The beta test finding bugs was easy as hell too.... most guys were struggling to find 5. There was a maximum of 10 and I found them all. I just didnt give a ###### about the company anymore at that point thoe. Edited August 20, 2006 by Prozac360 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sup Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 They never had one question about PCs other then that the rest of the questions were really really basic. I would hope. I always got the impression that the level of testing you're talking about is expected to be 99% unskilled in game development of any sort. Those of the testers that actually know what they're doing should be, in theory, fairly quickly promoted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRP 56 Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 How can any company properly test a PC game out when they have retarded, stoned, half gangster console players testing?????? Did this same bunch test GRAW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WytchDokta Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 How can any company properly test a PC game out when they have retarded, stoned, half gangster console players testing?????? Squad_E was there too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobaka Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 How can any company properly test a PC game out when they have retarded, stoned, half gangster console players testing?????? Squad_E was there too? I'm semi-reasonably sure he isn't a half gangster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WytchDokta Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 How can any company properly test a PC game out when they have retarded, stoned, half gangster console players testing?????? Squad_E was there too? I'm semi-reasonably sure he isn't a half gangster. Well he's the first two for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waika Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 (edited) I think what's 'sucking' in PC gaming is a three fold cause and effect: Publisher emphasis on render candy, emphasis on console products, and emphasis on games as 'product' i.e. sales volume/churn through shallow self-obsolescing design... All three of these have related dire consequences for PC games: aesthetically pretty but cavil, shallow, poorly executed, expensive, massively marketed and essentially junky 'products'. Games nearly a decade old make an interesting comparison; I know it's a worn out example but Rogue Spear is a poster child of a game; sure it's horribly rough around the edges by todays production standards, but the sophistication, attention to detail, sheer volume and depth of play features has never been matched in the following generation of tactical realism games, or by any game for that matter... Some of Rogue Spear's features may seem trivial, but in the context of the game you see a level of attention to the actual gaming experience, features, options, and exploration in game design that's unsurpassed in the kind of freedom and depth it offers, and that was utterly fantastic for its time: · a planning interface as feature rich as the game itself · high resolution weapon handling features · sophisticated and realistic missions · non-linear game design · impressive AI (for its day) · stunning player detail (breathing, footprints, etc.) · multiple player perspectives · sophisticated squad control · rich player movement control, over posture, weapon handling · more game modes then many current games have maps · state-of-the-art realism for its time There's heaps more, but the point is that while some of these features have been refined and included in games that have followed, many were not, and there's literally no game since Rogue Spear that has included any thing like the sheer number of features, play-modes in volume or level of play detail, and nothing that has conspicously surpassed it... What contemporary game do you know of that has stunned you with the sheer volume, scope and depth of its play features and game design? How many articles have you read about game AI that go on in as much depth as the latest render candy fad? It worries me when I read Developer announcements like BI's latest; they can't find a world wide Publisher for Armed Assault! Incredible! Moreover they've renewed attention to aesthetic features (on a game that already meets or exceeds the standard for the genre). One has to wonder... Did BI's experiences with the Suits at the latest trade show give them the feeling their game was aesthetically inadequate to attract a reasonable offer from large Publisher? It certainly wouldn't surprise me... Did the longevity, modability, and sustainability of their game turn large Publishers off? I bet it did... In the end I hope BI sets a trend and establishes the Film and Music equivalent in 'Indy' games... I hope they find Publishers that are small that respect BI's artistic license and that BI keeps full end-to-end creative control over their title, and lastly, if their game is good I hope all of you buy it and support the last true and independent Developer, some would say only Developer committed to the Tactical Realism genre... Edited August 22, 2006 by Waika Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calius Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Why would you want up and coming youth playing games to - think? If they did then they would ask questions. Linear glossy turd is whats its all about, games imitate life and look how polished and linear thats become in many forms of media / film / music etc etc. You may get a few diamonds in the ruff (GR1) and a scattering of others but thats about it. In the end I hope BI sets a trend and establishes the Film and Music equivalent in 'Indy' games... I hope they find Publishers that are small that respect BI's artistic license and that BI keeps full end-to-end creative control over their title, and lastly, if their game is good I hope all of you buy it and support the last true and independent Developer, some would say only Developer committed to the Tactical Realism genre... I agree although - Independant = free thinkers .. thats whats NOT wanted, thats why you have mergers & buy outs and lumping things under tighter control theres more to it than simply just a game, its how to mould the next generation and milk the profits. Things havent got "dumber & dumber" by chance thats for sure. (I can already here Prozac sighing after reading this LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FA sear Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Games nearly a decade old make an interesting comparison; I know it's a worn out example but Rogue Spear is a poster child of a game; sure it's horribly rough around the edges by todays production standards, but the sophistication, attention to detail, sheer volume and depth of play features has never been matched in the following generation of tactical realism games, or by any game for that matter... Some of Rogue Spear's features may seem trivial, but in the context of the game you see a level of attention to the actual gaming experience, features, options, and exploration in game design that's unsurpassed in the kind of freedom and depth it offers, and that was utterly fantastic for its time: · a planning interface as feature rich as the game itself · high resolution weapon handling features · sophisticated and realistic missions · non-linear game design · impressive AI (for its day) · stunning player detail (breathing, footprints, etc.) · multiple player perspectives · sophisticated squad control · rich player movement control, over posture, weapon handling · more game modes then many current games have maps · state-of-the-art realism for its time There's heaps more, but the point is that while some of these features have been refined and included in games that have followed, many were not, and there's literally no game since Rogue Spear that has included any thing like the sheer number of features, play-modes in volume or level of play detail, and nothing that has conspicously surpassed it... What contemporary game do you know of that has stunned you with the sheer volume, scope and depth of its play features and game design? How many articles have you read about game AI that go on in as much depth as the latest render candy fad? It worries me when I read Developer announcements like BI's latest; they can't find a world wide Publisher for Armed Assault! Incredible! Moreover they've renewed attention to aesthetic features (on a game that already meets or exceeds the standard for the genre). One has to wonder... Did BI's experiences with the Suits at the latest trade show give them the feeling their game was aesthetically inadequate to attract a reasonable offer from large Publisher? It certainly wouldn't surprise me... Did the longevity, modability, and sustainability of their game turn large Publishers off? I bet it did... In the end I hope BI sets a trend and establishes the Film and Music equivalent in 'Indy' games... I hope they find Publishers that are small that respect BI's artistic license and that BI keeps full end-to-end creative control over their title, and lastly, if their game is good I hope all of you buy it and support the last true and independent Developer, some would say only Developer committed to the Tactical Realism genre... Good post. Raven Shield and Rogue Spear were good games and so was GR, but right now Operation Flashpoint is THE only game I run, and Armed Assult is the ONLY game I am looking forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waika Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) I agree; I like Ghost Recon, Raven Shield and even SOAF... But, even though all three are much more handsomely rendered games then Rogue Spear -- a substantial number of features that were popular and well received in Rogue Spear were left out of these follow-on games like: third person perspective, a planning interface (Ghost Recon, SOAF, Lockdown), crouch running, and mod tools (promised for Raven Shield) -- just to mention a few 'biggies' sorely missed by many. Moreover while Ghost Recon took the lead for the genre, it didn't really break any new ground in game design and offer some of the really new and state-of-the-art features that mod Developers were working on at the time like: ironsights, projectile code, LSD code, or weapon vection based projectile trajectory... Raven Shield, nice game though it is, did brag and promise "state-of-the-art" everything, from mod support and tools, to game features and sophistication -- yet it's really little more then a cut-down CQC exclusive version of Rogue Spear on a new and less (for the time) capable engine then the RSE engine might reasonably be assumed to have been at the time... So, when it's all said and done, Raven Shild and Ghost Recon really didn't cut any new cloth, and didn't even offer any precedent setting state-of-the-art features for the genre. Clancy games didn't even offer ironsights until Lockdown because in the official words of Ubisoft they "aren't fun" -- and we didn't get ironsights in a realistic Clancy game true to the genre till GRAW... For a Publisher that once held the keys to the tactical realism genre/kingdom, and had an audience on the edge of it's seat for nearly a decade that would buy on mere mention of Clancy's name being drooped -- they sure have taken a mighty and disappointing fall... Edited August 24, 2006 by Waika Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sup Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Raven Shield, nice game though it is, did brag and promise "state-of-the-art" everything, from mod support and tools, to game features and sophistication -- yet it's really little more then a cut-down CQC exclusive version of Rogue Spear on a new and less (for the time) capable engine then the RSE engine might reasonably be assumed to have been at the time... Have to cut in here. That engine was Unreal2, and near perfect. It was merely what Ubisoft did with it that made it 'less capable' to the consumer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wille Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Raven Shield, nice game though it is, did brag and promise "state-of-the-art" everything, from mod support and tools, to game features and sophistication -- yet it's really little more then a cut-down CQC exclusive version of Rogue Spear on a new and less (for the time) capable engine then the RSE engine might reasonably be assumed to have been at the time... Have to cut in here. That engine was Unreal2, and near perfect. It was merely what Ubisoft did with it that made it 'less capable' to the consumer. I wouldnt call the unreal 2 engine near perfect but I would quite instantly agree with you that it was and is alot more capabable than the RSE engine, for a myriad of reasons:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pz3 Posted August 25, 2006 Author Share Posted August 25, 2006 Unreal2 isnt perfect. UBI used the cheapest version of unreal they could get their hands on. Thats the main reason it always had a... sort of buggy odd feel to it. Was good thoe I liked rvs when I wasnt bugging out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sairus Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 · impressive AI (for its day) Sometimes when I play RvS I think that Rogue Spear has better AI. And why games suck? Because today the game makers seem to care only about fancy graphics and it's not the gameplay anymore and well... that sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wille Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 and to go back to the original question, Game tester is probably one of the worst professions you can have most of the time(if you dont count the obvious ones such as coal-miner, fluffer girl, etc etc) hehe its extremely tedious work testing the same thing over and over again for days on end, I remember our poor testers on an older game I worked on where one guy had to use the roll button exclusivly and roll upp against everything in the entire game, playing it thru over and over and over again, just making commando rolls, now that isnt fun, so game testing doesnt really for the most of the time attract the sharpest and most ambitous tools in the shed so to speak(this is ofcourse not an attack on game testers , there are many that do a very good job and really like what they are doing ofcourse, im just saying that if you are a part of a lets say 50 man testing team, just rolling around all day and drinking soda, in the end you are gonna say "awe ###### it, ship it". thats completley understandable, there is only so much rolling one guy can do without going mental:) but ofcourse its bad for games..sadly its the only way to test things properly.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeystick Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 A lot of games suck today becouse it's harder to please the gamers. People gets used to great graphics, physics, ragdoll, great sound, great AI etc. If GRIN released GRAW 6 years ago it would probably be the best game in the world. If [GR] was released 16 years ago people would be frightened and amazed by the incredible technology. If SAAB build the JAS Gripen during WWII, Sweden could probably win the war! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wille Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 A lot of games suck today becouse it's harder to please the gamers. People gets used to great graphics, physics, ragdoll, great sound, great AI etc. If GRIN released GRAW 6 years ago it would probably be the best game in the world. If [GR] was released 16 years ago people would be frightened and amazed by the incredible technology. If SAAB build the JAS Gripen during WWII, Sweden could probably win the war! thats also a very true argument ofcourse its the same with music really, no band or artist can ever again be as popular as for examples the beatles were, for one simple reason, when the beatles came out there wasnt that much too choose from, now you have 400million diffrent music subgenres and groups etc etc and people are much more divided lol I think I twisted my own a point there a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FA sear Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 A lot of games suck today becouse it's harder to please the gamers. People gets used to great graphics, physics, ragdoll, great sound, great AI etc. If GRIN released GRAW 6 years ago it would probably be the best game in the world. If [GR] was released 16 years ago people would be frightened and amazed by the incredible technology. If SAAB build the JAS Gripen during WWII, Sweden could probably win the war! For me it was the exact opposite. I did not run Operation Flashpoint until this past year. I like it better than all of the eye candy junk that is out there. I even like it better than [GR], Raven Shield, and Rogue Spear on the PC. I have run the Frostbite and YOTM mods and OFP trumps those too. Ironically I only have OFP for the Xbox, and it is my favorite by far. Operation Flashpoint on Xbox = better than any PC game. Of course there is OFP for the PC, but I have not run it on the PC yet, as some well respected people in this forum have run it on both and say it is very true to the original PC version. Armed Assault is the only game I am really looking to buy next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pz3 Posted August 25, 2006 Author Share Posted August 25, 2006 Ill agree OFP was good. Armed assault is going to rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wille Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Ill agree OFP was good. Armed assault is going to rock I get the feeling that most people here on this forum arent "general gamers" per say, but play mostly military and sim games, am I completley wrong in thinking so? its merely a curios question, not an attack:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FA sear Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Ill agree OFP was good. Armed assault is going to rock I get the feeling that most people here on this forum arent "general gamers" per say, but play mostly military and sim games, am I completley wrong in thinking so? its merely a curios question, not an attack:) No problem with the question, and I don't think anyone would take it as an attack. I personally like the military and sim games because it offers me something that I have never experienced. I have raced my Vette, Mustang, CBR900RR, & FZR1000, so the racing games do not interest me, I have played tons of organized sports so the sprots games do not interest me, and I have done plenty of hunting and shooting, but I have never been in combat, so the tactical sims are what intererst me. Now I know these sims only give you a mere simulation and there is ABSOLUTELY nothing that can really give you the feel of real combat, but that is why I like the sims. It is curiosity. Of course you can say "why not join the military then?" Well, I almost did many years ago, but certain events and opportunities in my life led me away from that career path, and now, well, let us just say that I have reached an age that they would not be interested in me. Anyway, the other thing with me personally is that I am not a big gamer. I don't sit behind my PC or my Xbox and game everyday. I have other things that occupy my time, so I have only bought a few games in my time as a gamer. Literally every game I look at has me thinking I can have 200 more rounds of .308 surplus ammo I can buy with this money, so I am very reluctant to spend on gaming. I also don't want to be a spendthrift, so ultimately games take a back seat. I really want a game that is more true to life. This is why Operation Flashpoint leads the pack IMO. I didn't want to jump the gun and say it, but in reality I really believe that Prozac is right in saying that Armed Assault WILL rock. BIS just seems to offer a lot of what I like in a game. Even [GR] became "too familiar" once I explored the extent of each map. I still like it, but it is on such a small scale that IMO it is too predictable. I can run the whole campaign with one man, and that to me is just too easy. Operation Flashpoint would be too challenging to run with just one person. You often NEED your squad to get you through a mission, and it is not because the enemy have superhuman aim, speed, or strength, but it is because you are on a MORE (not perfectly level) level playing field with the AI. I also like to think more than rely on my gaming skills (which is why I really liked Shattered Union, though it did lack replay value). When I am feeling mentally lazy and don't want to think, that is when I pop in Halo. The only run and gun shooter that I actually like. Anyway, in general I perfer not to play run and gun games so Halo is literally the one exception. It is just simply one of those very easy and brainless games (even on the Legendary setting) that you can sit back and relax while playing. Everyone needs a break right? Anyway, I hope that explains my reasons as to why I feel a certain way about gaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pz3 Posted August 25, 2006 Author Share Posted August 25, 2006 I love sims. If its pretty realistic Ill play it. Sports games usually dont do much for me... If I wanted to play football id go down to a local park and play. Get some exercise while im at it. If the game trends continue with first person shooters and less sims come out im probly going to just go and start playing airsoft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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