Big Bash Boom | Big Ant's New Game

[Chief]

Every workplace has its problems, but I just think there are fundamental flaws in the way Big Ant is managed, and operates.

They're doing enough for healthy profits in low-hanging fruit areas where there are gaps in the market, but each game ends up being somewhat "unfinished" in crucial aspects.

I don't know what the solution is, other than much-needed competition, of which there is none. Or to produce fewer games and turn them into gems - but that's probably not where the money-making lies.

I just read through this: https://www.vooks.net/vooks-chats-with-big-ants-ross-symons-about-party-cricket-big-bash-boom/

It's so strange - This could have been written at pretty much any time in the past 10 years. It's all the same findings, same problems to solve.

 

[JohnnyDGaming89]

I just read through this: https://www.vooks.net/vooks-chats-with-big-ants-ross-symons-about-party-cricket-big-bash-boom/

It's so strange - This could have been written at pretty much any time in the past 10 years. It's all the same findings, same problems to solve.

One of the biggest problems seems to be Ross's inability to take on criticisms about any of his games, there's 3-4 reviews on glassdoor.com.au from past employees, all problems seem to stem from him unfortunately. Seems they did hire a QA intern as well recently from what I've seen on Twitter, it must be a nightmare to be part of the QA team there, I feel for them, I really do.

On the game though once more, I've found even when boundaries are hit, if you run and cross with the other batsmen, the wrong batsmen ends up facing the next ball despite a boundary being hit.

 

[zimrahil]

I just read through this: https://www.vooks.net/vooks-chats-with-big-ants-ross-symons-about-party-cricket-big-bash-boom/

It's so strange - This could have been written at pretty much any time in the past 10 years. It's all the same findings, same problems to solve.

“The biggest thing we learnt about those games is how inaccessible they are for the general public,” Symons said. “That taught us that the more casual cricket fan, and perhaps the younger fan, and the family that goes to the cricket for the BBL – we left them behind.”

@Chief how true do you find the above (relating to DBC and Ashes). Wouldn’t proper explanations of the game and better tutorials have helped with this? Youngsters would have enjoyed 5 or 10 over games if they knew what to do especially with standard controls in Ashes ?
I guess though power ups and big heads etc is what youngsters want .....

 

[Chevo]

Youngsters would have enjoyed 5 or 10 over games if they knew what to do especially with standard controls in Ashes ?
I guess though power ups and big heads etc is what youngsters want .....

10 year old me was batting out 120 overs on cricket 2004, kids these days man..

 

[Dutch]

“The biggest thing we learnt about those games is how inaccessible they are for the general public,” Symons said. “That taught us that the more casual cricket fan, and perhaps the younger fan, and the family that goes to the cricket for the BBL – we left them behind.”

@Chief how true do you find the above (relating to DBC and Ashes). Wouldn’t proper explanations of the game and better tutorials have helped with this? Youngsters would have enjoyed 5 or 10 over games if they knew what to do especially with standard controls in Ashes ?
I guess though power ups and big heads etc is what youngsters want .....

What I do gather from the article is not so much BBB as a substitute for more in depth games, but a stepping stone to them.....whether that is the best way of doing it I don't know.
And we have to face the fact that in real life even T20 is still too long in some peoples vision.....

 

[Chief]

“The biggest thing we learnt about those games is how inaccessible they are for the general public,” Symons said. “That taught us that the more casual cricket fan, and perhaps the younger fan, and the family that goes to the cricket for the BBL – we left them behind.”

@Chief how true do you find the above (relating to DBC and Ashes). Wouldn’t proper explanations of the game and better tutorials have helped with this? Youngsters would have enjoyed 5 or 10 over games if they knew what to do especially with standard controls in Ashes ?
I guess though power ups and big heads etc is what youngsters want .....

Yes. Tutorials would have helped. But I'm not sure they would have solved it. We tried to split the audience inside the game by directing them to the content they would prefer, but people tended not to use it - If we presented them a simulation AND an arcade experience, people would pick the simulation (people *think* they're bigger fans/have more knowledge than they actually have) and struggled to get it.

I do think you have to have slightly different products, but that's obviously expensive and doubling your production efforts - especially if they need different art styles (which they kinda do for differentiation). But I think if you do it cleverly it can work. As I've said for yeeeaaarrss - there's a small hardcore that want a complex simulation - make that PC only (maybe a digital release for console), simplify it for the main, licensed marketed release. Maybe a spin-off (cheap) REALLY family focused game with power-ups and bobbins.

 

[zimrahil]

10 year old me was batting out 120 overs on cricket 2004, kids these days man..

I think it was Graeme Gooch world class cricket for me and yes I tried to play test matches

 

[zimrahil]

What I do gather from the article is not so much BBB as a substitute for more in depth games, but a stepping stone to them.....whether that is the best way of doing it I don't know.
And we have to face the fact that in real life even T20 is still too long in some peoples vision.....

Yes isn’t there a 10 over version being played now? Cricket being so fragmented as 4 different versions played at highest level now I do fear for the longer formats

Wouldn’t fancy developing a game that caters for all that, Chief is probably right maybe best to release hardcore game on pc and stripped down versions for console ?

 

[JohnnyDGaming89]

Yes isn’t there a 10 over version being played now?

I think they are trying this to gain entry into the Olympics more than anything else, IOC felt T20 was too long.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Yes isn’t there a 10 over version being played now? Cricket being so fragmented as 4 different versions played at highest level now I do fear for the longer formats

Wouldn’t fancy developing a game that caters for all that, Chief is probably right maybe best to release hardcore game on pc and stripped down versions for console ?

Make that 5 when The Hundred starts.

 

[zimrahil]

Make that 5 when The Hundred starts.

 

[T.J.Hooker]

The problem with the last two games (DBC17 and Ashes) are that there are issues like the bat pad smash

That's actually quite a good example of how things can go astray with the best of intentions.

There were problems then needed fixing with the bowling side of the game after DBC14. It was short on authentic, satisfying dismissals in single player, and generally it never felt (at least for me) like you were bowling at a real batsman.

I can't remember when bat pads became possible but the bowling testers were thrilled when they found it. Suddenly they had a new way of trying to attack players and generate this sort of dismissal.

The problem was the frequency with which it happened, but I don't remember anyone spotting that for a little while, by which time that change (whatever it was. I don't think it was the result of an intentional effort to enable bat pad catches) was built in, and I don't think anyone exactly understood the mechanism.

I'm not saying they shouldn't have fixed it, but I can understand how the process of spotting and fixing these sorts of effects can get tangled up in the first place.

Your score not going up when you run a single? That's pretty awful.

Yeah, that's just not really on.

 

[zimrahil]

I'm always defensive of QA, so will chip in on this - It may not be the "department" itself that is a problem - often QA will identify problems that are decided not to be fixed for whatever reason by people higher up the chain. I always hate seeing them blamed: I've worked on stuff where QA have fought tooth and nail to get something fixed, been turned down, and then had to read people blaming them unfairly. Avoid this.

Matt was on the QA team and to best of my knowledge he was aware of all the issues in the game, but not always down to him/QA team which issues got/could be fixed

 

[Dutch]

I'm always defensive of QA, so will chip in on this - It may not be the "department" itself that is a problem - often QA will identify problems that are decided not to be fixed for whatever reason by people higher up the chain. I always hate seeing them blamed: I've worked on stuff where QA have fought tooth and nail to get something fixed, been turned down, and then had to read people blaming them unfairly. Avoid this.

I think this sums things up very well......

 

[zayno]

when is game releasing in south africa on xbox store digitally ?