HITMAN, the new episodic Hitman - GOTY Edition

[shihonage]

Hitman doesn't expect you to do shit, that's part of what makes it good and what I like about it. I usually do all the missions in some weird stupid way instead of using the prepared solutions and it feels great because it's me who's deciding what's happening, not the mission author.

You're preaching to the choire here, because it's the only way I (above) could enjoy the Hitman games, but in playing them this way we degrade them into just generic third-person shooters. The fact is, Hitman was designed with another gameplay style in mind, which is WHAT MAKES IT HITMAN.

And that particular, Hitman-specific (as opposed to generic TPS spray-and-pray) gameplay style, requires trial and error, which my initial point was based on.

 

[SwiftCrack]

Bald Luchadore is not a hitman game

 

[Roguey]

Didn't Blood Money address the "trial and error" factor by having everyone repeat their motions?

Granted, not all (I don't think those those people could get remarried for example), but most.

 

[SwiftCrack]

The target in A New Life (for example) repeats his motion, but some of the other characters on the map do not (or do it so slowly that I have never seen them do it).

So I guess it is a mix.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Yeah, I wish all the previous Hitmans had been released episodically.

Yeah, because those games were designed with that structure in mind. You fucking fuckwit.

lolol "structure"? You mean the structure of one mission taking place after another mission? This is the genius structure of Hitman 2016 you're referring to? You mean the same structure all the games have had since Prince of Persia? Are you damaged in the head you retarded cocksucker?
Or per chance are you talking about this amazing "we release patches for our game because it's broken and you get them cuz you're always online"? Like, you know, the game receiving patches? I think they're calling it "enhancing the fluid and live gaming experience" but they really mean they patch the game once in a while.

Explain to me, you fucking shithead, what fucking structure you're talking about? Surely you don't mean the achievements that are meant to increase the replayability since the team's ability to produce new content is next to zero on account of them being a bunch of lazy underfunded imbeciles?
What fucking structure, you brain-dead moron?
What fucking world are we in that such a fucking degenerate like you comes along to defend releasing single maps once per few months because the fucking morons responsible for the game are too lazy to release it in a complete state, like, you know, all the fucking games before?
This isn't a fucking piece of shit "press X to solve quest" Telltale game, it's Hitman. One of the best game series of all time. And they can't be bothered to make fucking maps for it. What the fuck.

LOL. Is this what basements do to one's sanity? I'm sure they're all totally incompetent and they didn't mean to release the game in stages so that you'd get the most out of each map. Surely it's because they're lazy, little basement lord. Surely.

 

[Infinitron]

You could try to ask PowerTorment why they did this, though I'm not sure he'll reply.

 

[ghostdog]

You could try to ask PowerTorment why they did this, though I'm not sure he'll reply.

Duh, it was because of money.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IO_Interactive

In 2013, their parent company Square Enix ran into financial difficulties, and they had large numbers of employees cut to save money.[23] In addition to this, it was confirmed that Io-Interactive would be working solely on Hitman and would no longer be developing any more additions to the Kane & Lynch, Mini Ninjas, or Freedom Fighters series.[24]

 

[StrongBelwas]

Square-Enix seems to be a bit on an content-dividing roll recently, what with the Final Fantasy VII Remake and the rumors that Mankind Divided was supposed to be a much larger game before they ordered it cut into a Mass Effect-style trilogy.

 

[Infinitron]

the rumors that Mankind Divided was supposed to be a much larger game before they ordered it cut into a Mass Effect-style trilogy.

I haven't heard these rumors. If you have a source, please post in the Mankind Divided thread: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/deus-ex-mankind-divided.90701/

 

[PowerTorment]

You could try to ask PowerTorment why they did this, though I'm not sure he'll reply.

I assume the question you refer to is: Why episodic?

The answer is pretty simple. With all previous Hitman games (and with most other games in general) you release the game with a big splash. People play it, have fun and then forget it. And that is not good business. To make money you need to keep people talking about the game and you do that by keeping them playing. This is what made Minecraft some popular. People kept playing and talking. So by releasing the game in episodes we spread out the talking and the press coverage. And so far it is working. Journalists are reviewing each episode individually - that is a lot of press coverage.

And no, episodic releases is not cheaper or easier - on the contrary - it adds a lot of complications due to various limitations on consoles. E.g. PS4 does not allow you to update DLCs after release. So we are definitely not lazy - we actually spent extra effort to spread out the release.

The elusive targets was added for the same reason. To keep people talking.

Oh, and since this is Codex, I now expect trolling and hate.. Bring it on!

 

[an Administrator]

now expect trolling and hate

Nice way to answer criticism, bro.

To make money

Ah. I'm slightly disappointed. Just to make people "keep talking" about your games?
I miss the old you, Io-interactive.

 

[Cadmus]

You could try to ask PowerTorment why they did this, though I'm not sure he'll reply.

I assume the question you refer to is: Why episodic?

The answer is pretty simple. With all previous Hitman games (and with most other games in general) you release the game with a big splash. People play it, have fun and then forget it. And that is not good business. To make money you need to keep people talking about the game and you do that by keeping them playing. This is what made Minecraft some popular. People kept playing and talking. So by releasing the game in episodes we spread out the talking and the press coverage. And so far it is working. Journalists are reviewing each episode individually - that is a lot of press coverage.

And no, episodic releases is not cheaper or easier - on the contrary - it adds a lot of complications due to various limitations on consoles. E.g. PS4 does not allow you to update DLCs after release. So we are definitely not lazy - we actually spent extra effort to spread out the release.

The elusive targets was added for the same reason. To keep people talking.

Oh, and since this is Codex, I now expect trolling and hate.. Bring it on!

I don't understand why should we care about your fucking business. You know what'd be even better business? Make the game subscription based and promise constant forever updates. Make the players create their profile they can infinitely level up, gain perks or buy perks with real money. You can do it real lazy, too, just add some retarded "expert player scoreboard" so the kids have a reason to pay. Release purchasable skins. Nobody's gonna say a bad word cuz "it's optional man, those devs want to give us options to make the game more fun if we can afford it".


Fuck you and fuck your business, fuck the key-prompts, fuck the fucked up intro you idiots made, fuck the release model where I can't play the game like a normal person but have to wait months for each new map. Fuck the menu, fuck the fucking challenges and achievements and fuck your whore mothers.

Everything's ruined. All the good series have been fucked in the asshole. Gonna go play MechWarrior Online instead of this shit.

Also fuck the checkpoints and fuck the game press.

 

[Vibalist]

I wonder how quickly we'll drive this one off the forums.

 

[PowerTorment]

Fuck you and fuck your business, fuck the key-prompts, fuck the fucked up intro you idiots made, fuck the release model where I can't play the game like a normal person but have to wait months for each new map. Fuck the menu, fuck the fucking challenges and achievements and fuck your whore mothers.

Everything's ruined. All the good series have been fucked in the asshole. Gonna go play MechWarrior Online instead of this shit.

Also fuck the checkpoints and fuck the game press.

Ahhh, this is what I wanted. You can always count on the codex. My ass is already itching.

I miss the old you, Io-interactive.

Yesss, the good old days where we lost of money so we had to lay off half the company. Yes that was times...

 

[Infinitron]

I wonder how quickly we'll drive this one off the forums.

PT's a Cleve thread regular, he's already seen it all.

 

[an Administrator]

Yesss, the good old days where we lost of money so we had to lay off half the company. Yes that was times...

I will wait for the sales records

 

[shihonage]

Codex defending episodic release model

 

[an Administrator]

You could try to ask PowerTorment why they did this, though I'm not sure he'll reply.

I assume the question you refer to is: Why episodic?

The answer is pretty simple. With all previous Hitman games (and with most other games in general) you release the game with a big splash. People play it, have fun and then forget it. And that is not good business. To make money you need to keep people talking about the game and you do that by keeping them playing. This is what made Minecraft some popular. People kept playing and talking. So by releasing the game in episodes we spread out the talking and the press coverage. And so far it is working. Journalists are reviewing each episode individually - that is a lot of press coverage.

And no, episodic releases is not cheaper or easier - on the contrary - it adds a lot of complications due to various limitations on consoles. E.g. PS4 does not allow you to update DLCs after release. So we are definitely not lazy - we actually spent extra effort to spread out the release.

The elusive targets was added for the same reason. To keep people talking.

Oh, and since this is Codex, I now expect trolling and hate.. Bring it on!

Why not release all main missions for all locations first, then gradually release their live content over time? This will also keep people talking and playing.

 

[an Administrator]

and then forget it.

What makes you think that we will only play it and *forget* about it? People who aren't fan won't play it much even if you release it episodic.

 

[SwiftCrack]

At least Kane & Lynch isn't the series being continued.

Still not bothered by the release model either, especially if things keep improving with every level.

 

[PowerTorment]

and then forget it.

What makes you think that we will only play it and *forget* about it? People who aren't fan won't play it much even if you release it episodic.

Evidence so far shows this is how people buy and play games. We actually studied this - this is not some random claim. Fans bought it already. The non-fans are more likely to buy it is friends talk about it and recommend it or if they hear about it in the press. This is the same reason that TV-series are released one episode at a time - to bring attention and to make people come back. That is good for business.

 

[ghostdog]

The answer is pretty simple. With all previous Hitman games (and with most other games in general) you release the game with a big splash. People play it, have fun and then forget it. And that is not good business. To make money you need to keep people talking about the game and you do that by keeping them playing. This is what made Minecraft some popular. People kept playing and talking. So by releasing the game in episodes we spread out the talking and the press coverage. And so far it is working. Journalists are reviewing each episode individually - that is a lot of press coverage.

You went episodic because sqeenix didn't believe that strongly in the Hitman franchise after absolution and they had financial problems in general so they weren't willing to provide funds for a full fledged game. So you went episodic in order to get some revenue back as soon as possible, so you can fund the rest of the development.

You went episodic because you didn't have the money to fund your game, not because episodic is the best way to make money and make people and press remember your game. Lol you're comparing Hitman to Minecraft. What's next, candy crush saga? Are the TES games episodic? Fallout? Witcher? Mass Effect? Dishonnored? Dark Souls? Are these games forgotten by their fans or are they financially unsuccessful? Absolution wasn't a very good game, it was one of the numerous financial failures for squeenix, they had money problems in general and you had to go episodic. Don't try to pretend episodic is somehow a superior model.

 

[PowerTorment]

You went episodic because sqeenix didn't believe that strongly in the Hitman franchise after absolution and they had financial problems in general so they weren't willing to provide funds for a full fledged game. So you went episodic in order to get some revenue back as soon as possible, so you can fund the rest of the development.

You went episodic because you didn't have the money to fund your game, not because episodic is the best way to make money and make people and press remember your game. Lol you're comparing Hitman to Minecraft. What's next, candy crush saga? Are the TES games episodic? Fallout? Witcher? Mass Effect? Dishonnored? Dark Souls? Are these games forgotten by their fans or are they financially unsuccessful? Absolution wasn't a very good game, it was one of the numerous financial failures for squeenix, they had money problems in general and you had to go episodic. Don't try to pretend episodic is somehow a superior model.

You really don't know shit about AAA game development do you? It takes 1-2 year to make a level so they are all pretty much done and 80% of the cost of the entire game was paid before the first level was out. You cannot compare it with, say Broken Age, which made two episodes to get money early. As I said the cost of doing the game episodic is *more* than doing a big release.

My comparison with Minecraft was not about the game as such, but about the fact that its longevity in play helped sell more copies. People kept talking about it. Attention is what is important.

And I can tell you, HITMAN is breaking new ground with this experiment with episodic games in the AAA single player space. If it is a success I guarantee you that more games will follow. Even Fallout or Witcher. The only way to stop it is to tell everybody to not buy the game.

 

[shihonage]

And I can tell you, HITMAN is breaking new ground

straight into the grave

with this experiment with episodic games in the AAA single player space. If it is a success I guarantee you that more games will follow. Even Fallout or Witcher. The only way to stop it is to tell everybody to not buy the game.

Yeah let's release free-roaming open-world games in episodic manner. THAT'LL WORK!

... well, it will work for Fallout, because it's just CoD now, but not for Witcher, which clings to the idea of non-linearity.

 

[Infinitron]

Paging Feargus Urquhart!