WCDFTO: Possible Realism vs. Development Costs (Part II) - RaychelSnr's Blog

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WCDFTO: Possible Realism vs. Development Costs (Part II) Stuck

Posted on September 24, 2009 at 12:15 PM.

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Yesterday, we looked at how development costs and possible realism were related in terms of how the cost of developing a more realistic game increases, perhaps exponentially, as you go up the scale. Tomorrow we are tying all four graphs together and I'll get a lot more concrete with what I'm talking about, but we're going to stay in the land of theory for one more day.

In this graph there is quite a bit of information which I'm proposing in here, so bear with me as I break it down. First is our little red line, which as development resources (and thus costs) increase, the possible realism increases to a certain extent. At some point, which I'm proposing is around 70-75% of total possible realism, the addition of more developmental resources become less effective in making a game more realistic (law of diminishing returns in economics).

I point out that very aspect with my vertical line and the arrow in the graph. Basically, this graph shows that realism goes up until it hits a point somewhere, then development resources become more costly (from yesterday's graph) to make games more realistic.

Next, we have what I propose here as the cap for realism on consoles today, which is around 90% of total possible realism. I've gotten a couple of PMs asking what I mean by total possible realism, and it's a good question. 100% on my scale would be a perfect simulation of a broadcast of that sport on television. Since we are dealing with an electronic medium in the TV, we'll never be able to simulate a sport perfectly as if you were the one playing it.

Phew! Ok, we're done with the abstract theory, I promise! Tomorrow I'm going to quit throwing abstract ideas and numbers out and start getting more concrete to tie all this together and explain why it's important. In the meantime, how interested do you think developers are in making games as realistic as they possibly can be? Are there any specific games you see as making a bigger compromise in realism in order to remain accessible to the masses?

Comments

# 1 CreatineKasey @ Sep 24

I've always thought Madden compromises realism to appease a larger audience (non-hardcore fans, kids) especially in comparison to 2k. The difficult concepts and details were in 2k football games that I didn't see in EA's. I do think that changed at least some in 2009.

Baseball games often get complaints of excessive home runs and short counts from hardcore fans. These are also examples of compromising realism for the casual fan to enjoy the game more.

# 2 JkA3 @ Sep 24

I think it's tough to factor in the fun factor, with reality, with the overall goal of pleasing everyone. The fan base is so segmented; causual, hardcore, arcade, etc. EA is a big company, use to big sales. They're loyalty is to supporting their business and they are good at it. Loyal fans return every year, because the product is always good (I'm not saying it's the best).

I'm not making excuses for anyone, just saying that it's a fine line between realim, dollars and target market (fan base).

# 3 JkA3 @ Sep 24

By the way, this is a great blog series.

# 4 RaychelSnr @ Sep 24

Thanks all-en. You nailed it with how tough it is to balance the different interests, it's definitely not easy for those guys to balance making a game just hardcore enough to make hardcore fans and casual fans happy with a new feature.

# 5 TreyIM2 @ Sep 24

Great, well thought out blogs. I've already tried to point out some of what your saying on here and other websites and that's why I have more of an understanding when, say, a Madden 09 gets panned by many die-hards. However I've never completely spoken to the hardcore vs casual dilemma that companies face yet I do understand it, completely. Keep catering to the old "faithful" and get relatively no profit growth or try to bring in some noobs and mo' money, mo' money, mo' money...in the words of the immortal Damon Wayans...Ahem...