Not flaming Ca

[Kaidonni]

I for one hold the game developer CA responsible for delivering a quality product. In business people work all the time with deadlines and there is NO excuse for delivering an inferior product. I find it amazing that some users are happy with substandard products and grateful that they got what they got. I guess that is why used car salesmen are still successful.

I think you'll find that more often than not the people at the top, the suits, have very little comprehension of game development beyond the fact it can bring them money, and lots of it, too. One forum I visit, CG Society, has a thread dedicated to the idiocy some people come out with, and plenty of times, the bosses have turned out to be total morons. Seriously. Not giving relevant information, placing unrealistic deadlines, thinking it's all magic, that sort of thing. I suspect pretty much this has happened with the recent Total War games. The people on the shop floor do their darned best, but they can only do so much with some of the very much ridiculous restraints and pressures put on them. At the end of the day, if they can't get something done, they really haven't been allowed enough time, because that is what it takes - time. Unless a company is it's own publisher as well as developer, like Valve (with the Half Life games and Portal, to name but a limited number of games they've produced), then that company will face problems. And yes, you might think that the people running companies should have an idea about making games, but they don't - sometimes, the people assigned to running the shop floor don't always have what it takes, yet their word is gospel, you have to do what they say.

The state of the gaming industry will be determined by the attitude of the people at the top, the suits. If they want something, it's money, and they will get it, or your company could easily be finished, and the lives of your employees. It is sad, yes, but unless people vote with their feet by the tens of thousands, expecting only the best of titles like Total War, the people on the shop floor will remain slaves to the machine that is ignorance and greed combined.

CA have basically done the best they can under the circumstances, and in an economic downturn, they won't want to argue with any of their bosses because that can mean disaster. Their bosses probably won't understand anyway, and will wonder where the 'Make Campaign Map' button is and why no one has used it yet (disturbingly, that is a very realistic possibility with some people).