There is no doubt that Battlefield 3 is one of the most ridiculously hyped games set to release in 2011. Whether that hype is deserved or not is another issue, but David Jaffe (of God of War and Twisted Metal fame) has raised concerns that the media at large is responsible for over-hyping the game based solely on it’s amazing visuals.
Jaffe tweeted the following last night:
“Did I say the press and gamers should applaud and celebrate the amazing visuals (and the folks responsible for them) of the E3 build of BF3? Yes I did. But did I ALSO SAY that we as gamers- and the gaming press- need to be able to tell/appreciate (and report on) that amazing visuals do not equate to amazing gameplay? I did! And I also said that until BF3 shows more of its gameplay, that everyone saying BF3 was AMAZING and was GAME OF THE SHOW was both damaging and juvenile and- on the part of journalists who said such things- damaging.”
“My point was not negative- as you accuse me of being- but more passionate about the idea that IF the game medium really is capable of expressing amazing thoughts and ideas (or even just amazingly fresh entertainment) then we need to push those who make the games (including myself) to deliver on the gameplay front as well as the graphic front. To me, BF3 MAY be GAME OF THE YEAR (and I want to play the beta cause I’ve liked the other BF games and am eager to see what they’ve done to evolve the series) but UNTIL they show that they are an amazing game and MORE than just amazing graphics, that tank scene WAS BATTLEZONE HD.”
“And to NOT agree with that- if you are a gamer or journalist who said BF3 was an amazing GAME and should get GAME OF THE SHOW while at the same time you like to play the ‘games can be art/games are important’ card- well that just means you are either full of shit or not very bright. NOTE: SOME games can be art while other games can be pure fun entertainment, by the way. There CAN and they SHOULD be a mix (and some games- most games?-should strive to be both!!!)…but if people were hyping the gameplay of BF3 then they sure as hell didn’t explain why…and all I saw (from that tank sequence) was- at a mechanics level- BattleZone (aim and fire)…in fact, could you even move the tank’s position in the E3 tank demo from BF3 or were you just controlling a turret? If THAT’S the case, unless the turret mechanics have gotten super amazing, then it’s LESS of a play experience than BF3.”
He then did a follow up interview with VG247, where he basically said that while he is tremendously excited about Battlefield 3, his previous point was that we should be wary of building up too much hype based purely on visuals.
“My point was that based on that clip of gameplay alone, calling Battlefield 3 GAME OF THE SHOW and hyping it for anything other than the amazing visuals, was irresponsible and damaging to the medium because saying a game that looks amazing but doesn’t seem to have evolved beyond an arcade game from 1980 is the same as saying, ‘We don’t care about the play experience, we just care about visuals.’
“Do I think (and almost know for sure) that DICE is going to put out another amazing game in the series, regardless of how it looks? Of course they are. That was never my point. And I have no issues with mega hype that is based off amazing graphics and the trust that a great developer has so deservedly earned from its fans over the years.”
Battlefield is due out later this year, and will be released on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
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