Poll: Who takes longer to develop games, Blizzard or Valve?
- Thread starter Eric the Orange
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blizzard take a bit longer to make their games but the thing is they are epic. where as with valve has a couple of really good games and then the rest are just average.so yeah blizzard takes longer but they are consistently awesome.
Does it matter?
Mmmm... Maybe not, but Blizzard obviously takes this one. They are instantly forgiven however, for their pure perfectionist attitude you really can't get in many games these days.
Mmmm... Maybe not, but Blizzard obviously takes this one. They are instantly forgiven however, for their pure perfectionist attitude you really can't get in many games these days.
Uh, who honestly cares?
Both these guys take their sweet time before launching their games to make sure they get them right on day 1. I only wish MORE developers did this.
The better question would be - would you rather have a rushed, buggy game just so you can play it sooner, or wait an extra few months (or sometimes even years) for an AMAZING game that's flawless?
I think the choice is rather obvious.
Both these guys take their sweet time before launching their games to make sure they get them right on day 1. I only wish MORE developers did this.
The better question would be - would you rather have a rushed, buggy game just so you can play it sooner, or wait an extra few months (or sometimes even years) for an AMAZING game that's flawless?
I think the choice is rather obvious.
Blizzard.
Besides Half Life 2:3, Valve has been okay with their release dates.
Blizzard on the other hand stall just about everything in favor of their real money winner.
Besides Half Life 2:3, Valve has been okay with their release dates.
Blizzard on the other hand stall just about everything in favor of their real money winner.
I think you're misreading the OP's intention as he didn't even state whether this was a bad thing or not.Malacite said:
He's just curious about who's the less punctual of two beloved developers.
That said, I'm going with Blizzard. Blizzard-time for most games takes longer than most Valve games, excluding the WoW franchise.
But I like Valve better!
Just to let you know, if you're counting JUST the development, it's Valve. Blizzard, while taking forever on Diablo 3, are NOT doing so for development. They're doing so because of testing to make sure they work out all the bugs.
Now, I know what you're going to say. "But testing is a part of the development process!". I know it is. The difference is that the major testing happens not only as each level/area is being worked on, but over all after everything is completed. The part that happens between level development is QA, or Quality Assurance. That's fine as it doesn't impede the time of development. However, the main beta testing (which, in Blizzard's case, I'd assume they do most of within the company due to the size and money the company is/has) doesn't happen till AFTER the game is completed. Any found bugs are then corrected and the game re-issued for more testing. This is a very lengthy process.
Now, you might wonder how come they can spew out a mass load of sequels/add-ons to WoW, while taking forever on D3. D3 has been built from scratch. New system, new style. You say that it's taken 10 years to make it? No. They did have a version that used D2's engine and style but scrapped it in order to start fresh.
However, the WoW add-ons use all the same engine and graphical style and capabilities. The only difference is creating the story for the add-on, adding in the new character/NPC images and placing any changes to the surrounding world, etc. It's like comparing a casual game (say, Angry Birds) to a massive, full length game (eg, a Final Fantasy-style game).
In all fairness, both are great companies that have produced some of the greatest games of all time. I'd rather wait forever for a perfect, practically bug-free, game like D3 will be when they finally finish it all and release it than get a game only to have the next game in the series released a few months later.
Now, I know what you're going to say. "But testing is a part of the development process!". I know it is. The difference is that the major testing happens not only as each level/area is being worked on, but over all after everything is completed. The part that happens between level development is QA, or Quality Assurance. That's fine as it doesn't impede the time of development. However, the main beta testing (which, in Blizzard's case, I'd assume they do most of within the company due to the size and money the company is/has) doesn't happen till AFTER the game is completed. Any found bugs are then corrected and the game re-issued for more testing. This is a very lengthy process.
Now, you might wonder how come they can spew out a mass load of sequels/add-ons to WoW, while taking forever on D3. D3 has been built from scratch. New system, new style. You say that it's taken 10 years to make it? No. They did have a version that used D2's engine and style but scrapped it in order to start fresh.
However, the WoW add-ons use all the same engine and graphical style and capabilities. The only difference is creating the story for the add-on, adding in the new character/NPC images and placing any changes to the surrounding world, etc. It's like comparing a casual game (say, Angry Birds) to a massive, full length game (eg, a Final Fantasy-style game).
In all fairness, both are great companies that have produced some of the greatest games of all time. I'd rather wait forever for a perfect, practically bug-free, game like D3 will be when they finally finish it all and release it than get a game only to have the next game in the series released a few months later.
And Valve doesn't spend all that time on play testing, polish, ect.? Listen to the developer commentary for there games and you'll see how long they spend on getting things EXACTLY right.Byere said:
I'll say Blizzard, since at least while Valve is mucking about making Episode 3 they release other things on the side besides add-ons for their main cash cow.
don,t know much about Blizzard but Valve takes a long time to announce stuff (although it,s usually half-way done when they announce games)
I'll go with Blizzard. Valve may have taken a long time with Episode 3 but that MIGHT be something to do with the fact they haven't announced it as far as I can see... And even so it doesn't beat the 12 year gap between SC1 and 2, that's Duke Nukem Forever territory.
