The perfect example: Too Human

May 4, 2007 09:20 GMT  ·  By

Speaking to GameIndustry.Biz, Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack (Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, Too Human etc.) said that long games aren't so popular nowadays, but short and fun games are up: "People don't want that [sixty hours of play] any more. I don't care how good the game is I don't want to play something that's one hundred hours long."

OK, I'm not going to say anything... actually, I am. Personally I think he's wrong. Some games are good because they have a thinner storyline, but offer a catchy gameplay experience, while others lose some gameplay features in favor of storyline and visuals. Different games offer different experiences, not all of them fit Dayeck's description.

But as he's keen on making his point, Dyack says Too Human is the perfect example, as I found posted on 1UP: "If we're going to craft an epic story we decided we had to divide it into manageable chunks for the consumer. At the same time we wanted to do a game that it has a chance to evolve and take advantage of development changes. We think the future is all about content. By getting our flow of process together for the first game we can then look at it and evolve the way we work for the next games in the series. We didn't want to have to start from scratch again after the first Too Human. Is it gutsy to promise so much? Yes, but making games is hard."

OK, that's their point of view and a good one nonetheless. The idea works great with Too Human, we can all understand that, but there's not just one gaming community to tap out there. Some find it pleasant to wonder through endless stages in search of a lousy rusty key, while others just want to shoot, hack and slash 'till there's no one left on a 10 mile radius, so again: different games for different experiences. I rest my case.