What is a fair expectation of game quality? (Voted best thread by Zim)

[Dutch]

I guess we need to be careful not to turn this into another bash at Ashes thread but if I see people posting that Ashes was a great game I am sorry but that needs to be balanced out a bit.

For a cricket game to be a good quality game all three aspects of the game need to be well worked out, interactive and innovative and of course adaptive in the challenges they set to various user groups.

 

[Chief]

I guess we need to be careful not to turn this into another bash at Ashes thread but if I see people posting that Ashes was a great game I am sorry but that needs to be balanced out a bit.

For a cricket game to be a good quality game all three aspects of the game need to be well worked out, interactive and innovative and of course adaptive in the challenges they set to various user groups.

I don't think anyone said it was a *great* game? For me it was a good starting point. It was probably a 7 for me, moving up to an 8 for IC10.

I disagree with your second part: I don't actually think it needs to be "innovative" to be "good quality". It could be completely innovative and terrible, or equally it could be not innovative in the slightest and yet great.

 

[cricket_online]

I don't think anyone said it was a *great* game? For me it was a good starting point. It was probably a 7 for me, moving up to an 8 for IC10.

I disagree with your second part: I don't actually think it needs to be "innovative" to be "good quality". It could be completely innovative and terrible, or equally it could be not innovative in the slightest and yet great.

Spot on. BLIC & AC09 combined would be a great starting point for nailing the core gameplay. Iron out some of the obvious flaws mentioned earlier, enhance AI specifically while building an innings and setting fields, and you are nearly there.

 

[Dutch]

I don't think anyone said it was a *great* game? For me it was a good starting point. It was probably a 7 for me, moving up to an 8 for IC10.

I disagree with your second part: I don't actually think it needs to be "innovative" to be "good quality". It could be completely innovative and terrible, or equally it could be not innovative in the slightest and yet great.

Innovation has at least the potential to bring about more quality although the age old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it stands true, but equally true is the saying if it is broke, fix it and don't just leave it broken.

 

[blockerdave]

I am assuming it was more due to Wii motion control gimmickry than the result of "BLIC05 meets AC09"

yeah it was my own fault really. I got very excited with the idea of playing cricket with a motion controller... and completely overlooked all the limitations of the Wii that meant I so rarely played it anyway.

 

[cricket_online]

yeah it was my own fault really. I got very excited with the idea of playing cricket with a motion controller... and completely overlooked all the limitations of the Wii that meant I so rarely played it anyway.

IMO motion control is not ideally suited to cricket. If it's a real simulation a la DBC14 you wouldn't want to stand in your living room for hours trying to bat out no. of overs in a Test to score a 100. If it's an arcade game hitting 6s using motion controller, the novelty wears off pretty quick.

When I play a video game, I want to sit on my couch and play the game and not jump around the living room or basement with a controller in hand. And if you are playing with your mates, sitting on the couch case gets even stronger.

 

[Chief]

yeah it was my own fault really. I got very excited with the idea of playing cricket with a motion controller... and completely overlooked all the limitations of the Wii that meant I so rarely played it anyway.

It was a toy (the game AND the console!).
I'm still proud of it though: It sold RIDICULOUS amounts of copies, propped up the other console versions at retail, got a TV advert (which undoubtedly helped the other platforms too) and was nominated for an MCV award for "Sales Hero". Phenomenal commercial success and probably went a long way towards getting us to IC10...

If you wanted REAL excitement obviously you had to have the Australian SKU of the Wii game (just called "CRICKET"), which came with a little plastic bat attachment (Kookaburra branded) and a frankly more bizarre little ball attachment for bowling...

Kids loved it.

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IMO motion control is not ideally suited to cricket. If it's a real simulation a la DBC14 you wouldn't want to stand in your living room for hours trying to bat out no. of overs in a Test to score a 100. If it's an arcade game hitting 6s using motion controller, the novelty wears off pretty quick.

When I play a video game, I want to sit on my couch and play the game and not jump around the living room or basement with a controller in hand. And if you are playing with your mates, sitting on the couch case gets even stronger.

Agreed. Did you play "Big Beach Cricket" on Wii? Horrid little game (I think HB Studios did that). Made Ashes 09 look like a FLIGHT SIMULATOR by comparison.

Like all gimmicks, motion control had its day in the sun without leaving much to shout about. 3D is the same. Oculus. All gimmicks.

Gameplay is king.

 

[cricket_online]

It was a toy (the game AND the console!).
I'm still proud of it though: It sold RIDICULOUS amounts of copies, propped up the other console versions at retail, got a TV advert (which undoubtedly helped the other platforms too) and was nominated for an MCV award for "Sales Hero". Phenomenal commercial success and probably went a long way towards getting us to IC10...

If you wanted REAL excitement obviously you had to have the Australian SKU of the Wii game (just called "CRICKET"), which came with a little plastic bat attachment (Kookaburra branded) and a frankly more bizarre little ball attachment for bowling...

Kids loved it.

Proves Ross' point about best burgers and McDonalds.

 

[Chief]

Proves Ross' point about best burgers and McDonalds.

I didn't see that one, but I can imagine.

 

[cricket_online]

Agreed. Did you play "Big Beach Cricket" on Wii? Horrid little game (I think HB Studios did that). Made Ashes 09 look like a FLIGHT SIMULATOR by comparison.

Like all gimmicks, motion control had its day in the sun without leaving much to shout about. 3D is the same. Oculus. All gimmicks.

Gameplay is king.

I gave up on motion control technology a few years back when I had friends over and we thought of playing Wii Sports Boxing. Suffice it to say after an accidental blow to someone's head and one broken controller later, the whole thing was shelved as a bad experiment.

I find motion control technology too gimmicky... it's good for kids or for games like Dance Dance Revolution and exercise games, but not for gaming.

 

[saif258]

i think that the combat between bat and ball is the most imp thing in cricket games.like the line and bounce and deviation of a ball is set and it travels on that path.while for batting the most imp thing IS HOW THE BAT MEETS THE BALL.when you play a shot how does the bat move.and this connection programming should be most important.the analog stick should be your bat and not just selection of direction where you want to play the shot.like the batsman shouldn't be a statue when the balls released.we should tap the bat and move it to play the shot.depending on how and when and which direction the bat meets the ball it'll go.when the ball hits the bat in the bat swing will determine the timing instead of a window.

this will be east to play(Contrary to the belief that it can't be playable)but also will be the most realistic way and the control will be in the players hand.instead of all the complex ai discussed-timing window,how it changes with the time batsman spends and all.

THIS MIGHT BE VERY LONG AND DETAILED AND EXPENSIVE TO PROGRAM OR ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. but if its not this can be the better approach.other details and ai programming efforts will be significantly reduced and not needed.

it will result in such a good batting mechanism.a small example you should move the player and play in the correct direction to play the shot in 360 batting control or you just wouldn't make the contact.
in previous games it looked like everything is set mostly ai controlled and you just waited for the perfect time to just get timing in the red middle zone.

cricket has to take a more pes approach rather than fifa.

 

[Crossy333]

Just reading a couple of the posts in this thread and thought I would add my 2 cents worth (as I am an opinionated oaf).

It is hard to compare the FIFA/Madden juggernauts to cricket, rugby league/union and AFL games. Obviously, EA have a much larger budget to develop those massive games.

Another fact that is overlooked is that EA have been making both those games for a very long time. I think the first FIFA International Soccer was the first game I bought on the Mega Drive. Whereas for the other sports, no company has had an extended crack at it.

Just think about what would happen if one company made cricket games every year for 20 years. They would learn a lot and learn how to make the game better. Hopefully, with Big Ant and even Trickstar maybe things will change.

 

[blockerdave]

i think one of the strongest things Bradman has got going for it is that Big Ant is using the same engine as previous games, i think they mentioned this is the 5th game? so it shouldn't feel too much like a first iteration.

hopefully it is the first in a long franchise and as you say, that means it will only get better over time

 

[Chief]

Saw this, and just HAD to put it in this thread.

NBA 2K14 - Real Voices Trailer - YouTube

"NOT a reasonable expectation for a cricket game" I'd say.

 

[Dutch]

Saw this, and just HAD to put it in this thread.

NBA 2K14 - Real Voices Trailer - YouTube

"NOT a reasonable expectation for a cricket game" I'd say.

Darn how good is that! Would be so cool to have something like that in cricket one day. The commentary and mood that is put into these American sports games is incredible.