BlackSite designer says low scores "no surprise"
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Nov 29th 2007 at 3:30PM }
In the financially driven world of the video game industry, honesty can sometimes be hard to come by. From sycophantic game reviewers to gab-gifted PR reps that constantly spin crap into gold (no easy feat), finding a bit of real honesty is refreshing. Kind of like politics. For today's bit of honesty we turn to Harvey Smith, designer of the recently released Midway shooter BlackSite: Area 51. You may recall the game not wowing critics upon release. So, how honest is Smith about BlackSite? Take this quote for a spin: "This project was so f*cked up." Of course, he didn't go to the trouble of injecting an asterisk into his statement. No, he really said it. Smith went on to say that development was hampered with multiple problems, noting that one (unnamed) aspect of the game took eight months to implement. Furthermore, the development team didn't have adequate time to test and polish the game, and Smith said that the project went directly from alpha to final (ouch). He concluded that he was upset that many failed to see the game's subversive and satirical nature -- he would have given the game an 80 -- but said the low scores were "no surprise."
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mattclarkie @ Nov 29th 2007 3:40PM
I had actually been looking forward to this game. But hey, I'll still get it even if it is just to get a few hundred APs.
Fox318 @ Nov 29th 2007 3:42PM
BlackSite: Area 51 looks like the perfect game to pick up once it hits $30-$35. Its just sad because this team clearly has talent. This is a game that if pushed back and midway wasn't so strict with holding the release date it may have done well.
DSR7997 @ Nov 29th 2007 3:47PM
That's not news! This is news!
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8148&Itemid=2
Yuccadude @ Nov 29th 2007 4:09PM
Yeah, it's kind of lame, seeing as I want to get an Elite, and they are Sold Out everywhere I look. I found one a state over online in a store called Nebraska Furniture Mart, still don't know if I wanna get it there though.
Token White Guy @ Nov 29th 2007 3:51PM
Great, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought shit game was a snooze-fest.
Token White Guy @ Nov 29th 2007 3:53PM
Crap, errors FTL. Change "shit" to "this".
dramamoose @ Nov 29th 2007 9:50PM
That's one humorous case of dyslexia you have there. (Or it could be a Freudian slip, who knows?)
Tony @ Nov 29th 2007 4:16PM
Well, if one component took 8 months to finish I guess it's hard to blame Midway for pushing it out the door. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and it sounds like this was more or less doomed in a lot of ways.
It seems like it'd have been better off having been delayed into 2008 for a lot of reasons, though. there's just so many big FPSes this year, not to mention games in other genres. It's going to be completely ignored.
Knight Marquise @ Nov 29th 2007 4:22PM
I wonder if these problems were, in any way, related to the Unreal Engine 3?
dunnypop @ Nov 29th 2007 4:42PM
they should have waited until Feb. to release this... just like Kane and Lynch... even with poor scores, I'm sure they would have sold much better than being buried by COD4, Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, Rock Band, GH 3, etc....
look at the very avg Lost Planet.
Knight Marquise @ Nov 29th 2007 5:26PM
You know, I actually enjoyed Lost Planet. I know everyone states it was "meh", at best, but I enjoyed it enough for a playthrough and a little online. I still think the graphics were incredible, and also enjoyed what storyline was there.
Teabag @ Nov 29th 2007 5:31PM
Agreed. No idea why Midway was so eager to release the game as quickly as possible. Developers should learn this one thing from Valve. Delay the game until it's in perfect shape. No matter if it takes another year. But get it in shape. You will receive brick bracts from everywhere, media, gamers, etc. But it does bring in the 10s and 9s in the end. If does bring in the moolah. And more importantly, it does bring in the appreciation.
I am still gonna get blacksite. Demo looked decent enough for me.
ccc @ Nov 29th 2007 6:16PM
I wonder if they were having problems using the unreal engine? I think the game will be a great grab for 20. But its a shame what happened to it. This makes the second semi let down from Midway this year, lets not forget about Stranglehold. I hope they take the time to do the next MK and Gauntlet right when the time comes.
Gemini Ace @ Nov 29th 2007 6:53PM
Dude, Stranglehold was awesome! Just nobody bought it because it was up against Bioshock.
ccc @ Nov 29th 2007 8:26PM
@13
Well I bought Stranglehold, beat it and got all the cheevos and Gamerscore out of it in about 2 days. It was too short and failed to impress me comparing it to Max Payne and what Payne would be like using the Unreal Engine. I like the game and gve it an 8 ouita 10 but bottom line is, in Midways eyes, the game probably costed more to make than it made in profits.
thisguyrighthere @ Nov 30th 2007 9:16AM
I liked Blacksite a lot but I could definitely see in many parts of the game how there was some great potential but it would fall short.
Definitely rushed it.
Sad part is now because of poor reviews and possibly poor sales there may not be a sequel OR if they do a sequel and make it all what Blacksite should have been nobody will pay any attention to it because this one was a disappointment.
Cash @ Dec 1st 2007 6:06PM
"He concluded that he was upset that many failed to see the game's subversive and satirical nature"
We didn't fail to see anything dude, we just chose to ignore your hamfisted moveon.org-brand of satire because the majority of us aren't looking for a GD social commentary when playing an alien blasting FPS. Calling the players dumb or unobservant isn't exactly going to win you any popularity points either genius.