81 réponses à ce sujet

[Carfax]

Who are the best game developers in your opinion?  State your preferences, and explain why you made your choices..

For me, the most important attribute for a game developer to have is the commitment to releasing the highest quality product they can muster.  For them, game development isn't only about money, but personal pride as well.

With that said, here's my aces:

Platinum grade:

1) Naughty Dog (Uncharted series on the PS3)

2) CDProjeckt Red (The Witcher series on PC)

3) Rocksteady Studios (Batman Arkham Asylum/City)

4) ID Software (Rage, Quake series, Wolfenstein etc)

5) Valve Software (Half Life series, Portal etc)

There are many more developers that deserve to be in the platinum category, but from the games I've played, these are the one that left an extremely positive impression on my mind.

Naughty Dog, a PS3 exclusive developer, made me abandon my PC elitist ways and buy the PS3 so I could play Uncharted 2 Among Thieves, one of the most highly acclaimed games for the PS3.  The quality of art work, voice acting, textures, lighting, and not to mention the highly cinematic action sequences in Uncharted 2 are unbelievable for a console with such limited hardware.  And just when I thought ND couldn't top UC2, I saw this trailer from UC3 Drake's deception:

Plane fight sequence

Like I said, unfreaking believable! 

CDPR, responsible for the Witcher series on the PC, is one of the few game developers out there these days that still make hardcore RPGs.  The original Witcher was a flawed masterpiece, which suffered from a number of technical and gameplay issues.  So what did CDPR do?  They released a massive patch that attempted to correct as many issues with the game as possible and polish it to a fine sheen.......and then release it for absolutely no cost whatsoever!  Now thats what I call commitment to quality.

Witcher 2 is one of the greatest games ever made period.  The Red Engine brings to visual splendor the World that Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski envisioned in his novels, and the challenging game play, life like characters, plots and intrigue easily earn CDPR a spot on the platinum bench.....even if CDPR wasn't releasing an improvement patch thats reminiscent of the "enhanced" patch from the first game, all for free.

Rocksteady Studios made the only comic book hero game thats worth a damn.....Batman Arkham Asylum.  Even if you don't like Batman comics, you'll most likely enjoy this game because it manages to squarely put you in the role of the Dark Knight in a way that has to be seen to be believed.  RockSteady also utilized some of the latest game technologies in Batman AA, such as 3D Vision and PhysX, which makes the game even more immersive.

Batman Arkham City, the sequel looks like it's improved on the original in practically all aspects, and even has DX11 support on the PC!

ID Software.......****, they don't need a paragraph.  They are one of the main driving forces of innovation in game development, and are responsible for the entire genre of the FPS shooter.  Rage is their new IP which uses the ID Tech 5 engine (also brand new) and will feature new game technologies such as megatextures, as well as being extremely well optimized and capable of running at 60 FPS on consoles (typical ID Software and their obsession with refinement)

Vale Software is almost as iconic as ID, in that they have a very long, and very successful history of game development.  Half Life 2 is consistently regarded by many PC gamers as the "best game of all time," which is quite amazing given the fact that PC gamers are without a doubt the whiniest and most self centered gamers of them all.....and thats coming from a long time PC gamer!

Anyway, these are just a few.  There are others like Blizzard for instance, which most likely deserve being in the platinum category, but since I've never played any of their games, I can't comment honestly on them..

And what about yours truly, aka Bioware?  For me, I'd rank Bioware in the silver category.   Bioware is a good developer in that they make immersive and engrossing titles with interesting plots and characters.  However, they almost consistently fail when it comes to polish and their commitment to releasing top quality games.

For instance, In any Bioware game regardless of platform, you will find an ungodly amount of low rez and blurry textures.  Yeah I know that Bioware has never regarded itself as being overly concerned with graphics, but c'mon.....some of the textures are just so utterly abysmal, that they can be considered unprofessional. 

And when they're that bad, it just goes to show the nature of the creators.  Their games also tend to be very buggy, at least on PC.  Mass Effect was one of the buggiest games I've ever had the displeasure of playing.  The infamous "rendering thread exception" bug was absolutely horrible!  And Dragon Age Origins had a bad memory leak which they denied for the longest time..  Bioware has also shown itself lazy in adopting new gaming technologies such as 3D, enhanced physics, DX11 etc, while other developers are embracing them.  Dragon Age 2 was a pleasant surprise with the inclusion of DX11, but we'll see if it's the beginning of a new trend, or merely a one time affair.

[Epic Legion]

1) Valve
2) Blizzard
3) ID Software

Why? Because they are actually making PC games, not porting them from inferior consoles.

[termokanden]

Carfax wrote...

And what about yours truly, aka Bioware?  For me, I'd rank Bioware in the silver category.   Bioware is a good developer in that they make immersive and engrossing titles with interesting plots and characters.  However, they almost consistently fail when it comes to polish and their commitment to releasing top quality games.

For instance, In any Bioware game regardless of platform, you will find an ungodly amount of low rez and blurry textures.  Yeah I know that Bioware has never regarded itself as being overly concerned with graphics, but c'mon.....some of the textures are just so utterly abysmal, that they can be considered unprofessional. 

And when they're that bad, it just goes to show the nature of the creators.  Their games also tend to be very buggy, at least on PC.  Mass Effect was one of the buggiest games I've ever had the displeasure of playing.  The infamous "rendering thread exception" bug was absolutely horrible!  And Dragon Age Origins had a bad memory leak which they denied for the longest time..  Bioware has also shown itself lazy in adopting new gaming technologies such as 3D, enhanced physics, DX11 etc, while other developers are embracing them.  Dragon Age 2 was a pleasant surprise with the inclusion of DX11, but we'll see if it's the beginning of a new trend, or merely a one time affair.

They made many of my favorite games. Definitely deserve to be in the top category. But I'm more willing to overlook bugs than you it seems. For example, Dragon Age had horrible DLC related issues (like having a separate service that didn't always start automatically, with no real explanation). It certainly had degrading performance over time (indicative of memory leaks typically), and to this day I still can't get past Lothering without crashing at least once. And yet I really love that game. Dragon Age 2 was OK but it was a step back. Technically it was better (and yeah sure it had DX11), but that's not really what counts for some of us.

By the way, I do not recognize your complaint that "Mass Effect was one of the buggiest games" you've ever had the displeasure of playing. I had a few crashes in elevators in ME1 on the PC. No issues apart from that. Absolutely no issues in the xbox version either. Now I realize other people may have experienced more bugs. But BUGGIEST? Not a chance.

Other developers I consider "Platinum Quality ™":

- Troika. RIP. Probably bad business sense. But they made top quality RPGs. That is a very rare thing to see.
- Blizzard. I think WoW is a a sad zombie-and-money-making machine, but there is no doubt they are great developers.
- Bethesda. They have issues with bugs and they messed up Oblivion if you ask me. But they have made some seriously awesome games (Morrowind is one of my alltime favorites), and I can only say I'm excited about Skyrim.
- Epic. For Unreal and Unreal Tournament. More recently the Gears of War series.
- Rockstar. Quality games overall. I consider Red Dead Redemption one of the best open-world games out there, and possibly Rockstar's best.

I am probably forgetting some.

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

1) LucasArts
2) Bioware
3) Obsidian
4) Rockstar games
5) Ubisoft
Honorable mentions) Bethesda ,Paradox Plaza, 3DO, Creative-Assembly, Maxis, ID Software, Epic Games

[Seagloom]

I will ignore disbanded studios lest this become a long list.

Obsidian Entertainment

Why? Their writing staff continues to produce stories I enjoy. They are one of a very short list of developers outside the indie scene creating RPGs with an old school touch. That includes their hybridized titles such as Alpha Protocol. In short, Obsidian has been my new BioWare for years. They are by no means perfect, but perfection is unimportant to me. What matters is getting to play the kinds of games I want, and they tend to deliver.

Modifié par Seagloom, 10 septembre 2011 - 01:16 .

[termokanden]

I was a bit in doubt about Obsidian. I thoroughly enjoyed New Vegas and found it better than FO3. But KotOR2 and NWN2 were disappointments for me. The sad thing is KotOR2 looked like it would be better than the first for a little while. A lot darker and some parts were more interesting. But it just wasn't finished, and I found the last parts of the game to be a bit of a mess.

[Seagloom]

I will not dispute it was a flawed, unfinished game. That it was rushed out the door is common knowledge. It is Obsidian's weakest title despite traces of potential greatness.

NWN2 was another story. I was thoroughly impressed once its most severe bugs were patched. It did not do everything as well as NWN did, but it did many things better. I enjoyed both campaigns immensely. The tragic flaw of NWN2 is it took Obsidian too long to address its worst issues.

Druids had barely any new class features at launch. Forumites complained over it. So they included nine new spells in a day one patch. There was no DM client. So a DM client was built in from scratch, with added functionality above and beyond what NWN allowed. Patches were slow in coming, but many community demands were met to accommodate builders. It was a shame Atari delayed Mysteries of Westgate over a year to test their DRM scheme; because if NWN2's adventure pack model took off it could have funded many more patches.

Still, NWN is solid in its current state. There are some great modules out there and others in the works. Its community seems smaller than what NWN had its peak, but is just as dedicated.

Modifié par Seagloom, 10 septembre 2011 - 10:41 .

[Turnip Root]

Bioware
Crytek
Gearbox
Obsidian
Bethesda
Capcom
The guys who made Deus Ex Human Revolution.

[Kronner]

Blizzard and Valve are the best IMHO. They never made a bad game.
CD Projekt RED is getting up there as well.

[Dominus]

Harmonix. They took a big risk with the cult classic frequency, and managed to ressurect what bemani games like guitar freaks started into the console-fit guitar hero. Their work on rock band was stellar back when it came out.

Obsidian. I'll second seagloom's pick, they've got some seriously great writing - even when the other pieces of the game aren't chugging at the same speed, they shine at getting you interested in the story they have to tell.

BioWare. They have a knack(most of the time) in creating characters with interesting histories and relatable personalities. Plus there's all that visceral combat and mainstream action. Har har.

Quantic Dream. Although they're only known for 3 titles, and only one has been a huge hit, all of them took daring risks that other developers wouldn't. Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit tried making a more cinematic and contextual storyline thanNomad: The Omikron Soul had tried. Heavy rain added a much needed dose of emotional potency and a significant effect to your in-game choices, making it a top title of 2010.

Rare. They have a goofy, yet adult sense of humor, colorful and vibrant art design, and (more often than not)like to take ambitious ideas and bring them to life. Plus, they're chock full of easter eggs, which I love. Some of the best scores I've heard for both their kid-targeted and adult-targeted titles.

[Chromie]

Blizzard. They have never made a bad game. Hate all you want on WoW it brought more recognition to MMOs than any other. Every time Blizzard releases a game the gaming community takes notice not just the PC crowd. They are what first got me into PC gaming and have to love them for that. Their "when its done" attitude and not releasing their games until its incredibly polished is only rivaled by Valve.

Valve. Gabe and company have hired more modders on to their team than any other studio I can think of and like Blizzard everytime a game is released everyone notices. Their commitment to releasing not just good but great games is rivaled by no one going through numberous iterations of any game they make until they are happy with what they have created. Steam has turned more pirates into legitimate customers than any draconian DRM can ever hope to do. Valve is also embracing cross-platform games not only with PC and Mac but also PS3 that kind of dedication to delivering a quality product with their philosphy of free dlc and great games really makes them shine.

CDProjekt. So far they have only released two games but they have been simply amazing. Dark, mature, gritty worlds that feel more like dark fantasy and CDPR isn't afraid of a little boobage or cursing. They don't half ass their game, story or characters. The series has personality and great presentation and CDProjekt shows that a game doesn't have to suffer in gameplay or graphics. Their original game ran on a tired old engine, like the op said, what did they do? They created something specifically for rpg games. They took their time with their game. The devs don't treat the people on forums like babies and get insulted like others when we don't like their games. They continue to support the community with free dlc and constant updates and hell their giving out free Witcher medalliions.

Nintendo. Say what you will about them now they thrive on creativity. The games they develop are so fun and great. Nintendo are the only ones of the three console makers that actually try making new things. Only Nintendo seems to have the balls to make a console and if it flops make something else and turn it around and have people love it. The Wii is so succesful that people bought it reguardless of it having HD or a true online gaming community because it offered what no one else did. Now look who is playing catch up. The DS offered two screens with touch controls look how amazingly well it did and how bad the Psp sold. Then there are the franchises. Zelda my most favorite series since a child. Mario still arguably the best platformers being released. Mario and Link are The Beatles. You may not like them or listen to them but you've heard of them and most likely heard a song with out even realizing.


Like you OP I don't reguard Bioware to be the best anymore.

They have become lazy and with every knew game they release it feels more like fan service. Companions are becoming more important then actual story and let me not forget the tired and cliched story line they have been doing for a long time now. Their best game BG2 was not about saving the world they tried that today with Dragon Age 2 and made such a disjointed plot that ultimately falls apart and made a protagonist that isn't even necesarry to the story. I really like Bioware guys I do but they are not at the top of their games and don't innovate even though they have become quite big. Look at the top studios. Blizzard, Valve, Id Software, Dice they don't release half assed games. Blizzard and Valve hell probably changed the whole rts and adventure and platformer genres. Bioware now has decided if we want mutliplayer in a game that means single player must suffer. Why? BG1,2 and Neverwinter Nights have multiplayer. Each game they release is more and more consolized as well. Mass Effect 2 lost rpg elements (ME3 looks like it might fix that) and hell had a plot about gathering people and nothing else. Dragon Age 2 took a lot of what made Origins great and decided to dumb it down. Look at Witcher 2. that is good streamlining.


Other studios I think deserve being mentioned are

Piranha Bytes. They make open world games that have been as good if not better than Elder Scrolls.

Bethesda. While not my favorite studio and I hate Oblivion and FO3 I can look past that because they make good open world games. Also their commitment to give the PC community SDK's at a time when the other big guys won't is always great.

Eidos. Have made some great games and who doesn't love the Deus Ex, Thief or Hitman? Offering some great use of stealth mechanics that don't get worse with each iteration unlike Ubisoft with Splinter Cell.

Firaxis. They have released some of my favorite strategy games. Alpha Centauri and Civilization and even their Pirates games are so fun and always beg for one more turn and I have to uninstall anything from them because I always go back to them.

Modifié par Ringo12, 10 septembre 2011 - 02:17 .

[Eternal Phoenix]

Snowblind: Probably the only developer you'll find that interacts with their own community greatly. They answers questions of the community, ask what the community would like to see next for the game they are developing (in this instance - The Lord of The Rings: War in The North) and so on.

Blueside and Phantagram: They developed the Kingdom Under Fire series. What makes the series so good? The fact that it has multiple genres and that all genres are done well. Apart from Circle of Doom and A War of Heroes, the two other Kingdom Under Fire games for Xbox were exceptionally well done as they combined RTS with RPG and action.

Larian Studios: They created the Divinity series. What makes the series good is the humor, dialogue and the detail in quests and characters. They also post on their forums regularly more so than any other developer that I have ever seen.

Bioware: Just like Larian, I've seen the developers post on the forums, I don't like them for what they did to Dragon Age 2 but when I look at all their other games (Sonic and that robot game excluded), I see the detail they've put into them. Origins and Mass Effect 2 are the prime examples.

Honorable mentions:

38 Studios who are co-developing Kingdoms of Amalur with Big Huge Games. They seem to be very active on their official forums.

[MorrigansLove]

I feel that Obsidian are the kings of RPG games in this day and age.

[Seagloom]

Ah, Larian. I contemplated throwing their name in as a second or third choice and decided against it. The Divinity series is pretty good, but I'm not too quick to forget how those games all had bad endings prior to Flames of Vengeance. Hopefully they finally understand it's okay to give us victories in their games sometimes.

[MJRick]

Carfax wrote...

Who are the best game developers in your opinion?  State your preferences, and explain why you made your choices..

For me, the most important attribute for a game developer to have is the commitment to releasing the highest quality product they can muster.  For them, game development isn't only about money, but personal pride as well.

With that said, here's my aces:

Platinum grade:

1) Naughty Dog (Uncharted series on the PS3)

2) CDProjeckt Red (The Witcher series on PC)

3) Rocksteady Studios (Batman Arkham Asylum/City)

4) ID Software (Rage, Quake series, Wolfenstein etc)

5) Valve Software (Half Life series, Portal etc)

There are many more developers that deserve to be in the platinum category, but from the games I've played, these are the one that left an extremely positive impression on my mind.

Naughty Dog, a PS3 exclusive developer, made me abandon my PC elitist ways and buy the PS3 so I could play Uncharted 2 Among Thieves, one of the most highly acclaimed games for the PS3.  The quality of art work, voice acting, textures, lighting, and not to mention the highly cinematic action sequences in Uncharted 2 are unbelievable for a console with such limited hardware.  And just when I thought ND couldn't top UC2, I saw this trailer from UC3 Drake's deception:

Plane fight sequence

Like I said, unfreaking believable! 

CDPR, responsible for the Witcher series on the PC, is one of the few game developers out there these days that still make hardcore RPGs.  The original Witcher was a flawed masterpiece, which suffered from a number of technical and gameplay issues.  So what did CDPR do?  They released a massive patch that attempted to correct as many issues with the game as possible and polish it to a fine sheen.......and then release it for absolutely no cost whatsoever!  Now thats what I call commitment to quality.

Witcher 2 is one of the greatest games ever made period.  The Red Engine brings to visual splendor the World that Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski envisioned in his novels, and the challenging game play, life like characters, plots and intrigue easily earn CDPR a spot on the platinum bench.....even if CDPR wasn't releasing an improvement patch thats reminiscent of the "enhanced" patch from the first game, all for free.

Rocksteady Studios made the only comic book hero game thats worth a damn.....Batman Arkham Asylum.  Even if you don't like Batman comics, you'll most likely enjoy this game because it manages to squarely put you in the role of the Dark Knight in a way that has to be seen to be believed.  RockSteady also utilized some of the latest game technologies in Batman AA, such as 3D Vision and PhysX, which makes the game even more immersive.

Batman Arkham City, the sequel looks like it's improved on the original in practically all aspects, and even has DX11 support on the PC!

ID Software.......****, they don't need a paragraph.  They are one of the main driving forces of innovation in game development, and are responsible for the entire genre of the FPS shooter.  Rage is their new IP which uses the ID Tech 5 engine (also brand new) and will feature new game technologies such as megatextures, as well as being extremely well optimized and capable of running at 60 FPS on consoles (typical ID Software and their obsession with refinement)

Vale Software is almost as iconic as ID, in that they have a very long, and very successful history of game development.  Half Life 2 is consistently regarded by many PC gamers as the "best game of all time," which is quite amazing given the fact that PC gamers are without a doubt the whiniest and most self centered gamers of them all.....and thats coming from a long time PC gamer!

Anyway, these are just a few.  There are others like Blizzard for instance, which most likely deserve being in the platinum category, but since I've never played any of their games, I can't comment honestly on them..

And what about yours truly, aka Bioware?  For me, I'd rank Bioware in the silver category.   Bioware is a good developer in that they make immersive and engrossing titles with interesting plots and characters.  However, they almost consistently fail when it comes to polish and their commitment to releasing top quality games.

For instance, In any Bioware game regardless of platform, you will find an ungodly amount of low rez and blurry textures.  Yeah I know that Bioware has never regarded itself as being overly concerned with graphics, but c'mon.....some of the textures are just so utterly abysmal, that they can be considered unprofessional. 

And when they're that bad, it just goes to show the nature of the creators.  Their games also tend to be very buggy, at least on PC.  Mass Effect was one of the buggiest games I've ever had the displeasure of playing.  The infamous "rendering thread exception" bug was absolutely horrible!  And Dragon Age Origins had a bad memory leak which they denied for the longest time..  Bioware has also shown itself lazy in adopting new gaming technologies such as 3D, enhanced physics, DX11 etc, while other developers are embracing them.  Dragon Age 2 was a pleasant surprise with the inclusion of DX11, but we'll see if it's the beginning of a new trend, or merely a one time affair.

Quit taking you serious there.

[slimgrin]

Seagloom wrote...

Ah, Larian. I contemplated throwing their name in as a second or third choice and decided against it. The Divinity series is pretty good, but I'm not too quick to forget how those games all had bad endings prior to Flames of Vengeance. Hopefully they finally understand it's okay to give us victories in their games sometimes.

Larian just needs a bigger budget and some better writers and their games would be up there with the best. I consider Divine Divinity an RPG classic. 

[Andarthiel_Demigod]

Bioware - I can't say I've hated any of their games(the ones I've played, yes I even liked DA2. And BW was literally the first community I joined online.And my first real obsession on the PC was NWN so that's saying something)
Bethesda(So many titles here that I love most notably TES which I played and enjoyed to death. I even learned how to use the Construction Set)
Troika(Made some of the more unique games, pity they went bust)
Looking Glass Studios(Same as Troika, had some creative and interesting IPs and also an awesome community too)
Koei(They have made some mistakes with their games but they know how to please the fans and it's admirable that they have such long running series of games, like DW and the fans are still loving them)
CD Projekt Red(It's good to see an alternative in the gaming industry and these guys have done really well for themselves with the Witcher. I'd say they are one of the best RPG devs of late)
The Creative Assembly(I'm a big fan of the Total War series and I think they've pretty much re-invented the RTS genre and gave it a fresh remake, almost a sub-genre in itself)

[Seagloom]

slimgrin wrote...

Larian just needs a bigger budget and some better writers and their games would be up there with the best. I consider Divine Divinity an RPG classic.

Indeed. It's an underrated game. I recently reinstalled it along with Beyond Divinity. By this time next year I want to play through the entire series for old time's sake. I see potential in their games, but their writing could definitely stand improvement. I'd be satisfied with that alone. Not that a bigger budget would be a bad thing.

[TK Dude]

Blizzard: They make very good games and they still yet make a game that disappointed me. I like ''when it's done'' attitude and their care for polish.
Valve: Half-Life. nuff said.
Obsidian: Even though their games are buggy, the writing is phenomenal

[chrisuuuu]

Nintendo - single-handedly revived the video game industry in the 80s. Gaming would not exist now as we know today without them. Have the most recognizable franchises in all of gaming. Zelda: The Ocarina of Time often listed as best game of all time on many game publications.

Bioware: I think Bioware is hitting its stride as they are becoming in a sense the Square of the new millenium. Remember Squaresoft had a string of critical or commercial hits spanning two systems: FF4, FF6, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, FF VII, FF VII, Vagrant Story, Einhander, Parasite Eve, Final Fantasy Tactics.

I concur with the above poster who put Looking Glass, truly unique titles.

Team ICO: Man there is really nothing like their games. Generates such a emotional response from so many gamers.

Alexey Pajitnov - Tetris has become the chess of gaming. We often take it for granted since it has been ported to every conceivable electronic device with a screen. But it's still ingenious in its design to this day.

LucasArts - IMO there has never been a game like Loom even though it was released a zilllion years ago. Monkey Island series will always hold a special place for me

I would say Square but man, after so many monumental games from the 90s, they just totally dropped the ball for the last 11 years. Same with  Capcom and Sega.

[Carfax]

termokanden wrote...

By the way, I do not recognize your complaint that "Mass Effect was one of the buggiest games" you've ever had the displeasure of playing. I had a few crashes in elevators in ME1 on the PC. No issues apart from that. Absolutely no issues in the xbox version either. Now I realize other people may have experienced more bugs. But BUGGIEST? Not a chance.

Just google "Mass Effect rendering thread exception and general protection fault" and see what you find.  On the old forums, there was a thread of ridiculous length devoted to fixing these bugs.

In the end, upgrading to Vista x64 from XP fixed the problem for me..

[Carfax]

Seagloom wrote...

I will ignore disbanded studios lest this become a long list.

Obsidian Entertainment

Why? Their writing staff continues to produce stories I enjoy. They are one of a very short list of developers outside the indie scene creating RPGs with an old school touch. That includes their hybridized titles such as Alpha Protocol. In short, Obsidian has been my new BioWare for years. They are by no means perfect, but perfection is unimportant to me. What matters is getting to play the kinds of games I want, and they tend to deliver.

Obsidian has a lot of talent, but their delivery leaves much to be desired.  Games are usually very buggy on release, and even worse, incomplete.  NWN2 was a great game though, much better than it's predecessor.  And these are the same guys that were responsible for Planescape Torment, one of the greatest RPGs of all time.

If they could just get their execution together, then they could conceivably be at the top imo..

[Romantiq]

Blizzard
/thread

ps: don't confuse it with activision-blizzard 

Modifié par Romantiq, 10 septembre 2011 - 04:57 .