Gamasutra postmortem feature on FX 2

[Cloda]

I was browsing around looking for Ms. Splosion Man game play videos and I stumbled across the following... very interesting reading and insight in what goes on behind the scenes at ZEN.

"In a new Gamasutra postmortem feature, Zen Studios creative director Neil Sorens says he was pleasantly surprised by how much Microsoft's suggestions improved the final release of Pinball FX 2."

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6469/postmortem_zen_studios_pinball_.php

[Cloda]

OK... finally some insight into why we are waiting for table patches (rather than Zen's approach until now where nothing was explained and all we were told was that it was going to happen soon... and then we wait!!!):

"What makes our situation especially problematic is that each table we release is essentially a self-contained game, more prone to bugs than most types of downloadable content. Although the tables tend to sell reasonably well, it is still prohibitively expensive to have a patch for a single table tested and certified by Microsoft, since the cost of testing/certification is very high relative to the revenue from a single piece of DLC, and we already paid it once the first time around. Thus, we must let some bugs live on until we can release an update that addresses multiple tables at once."

I'm happy with the explanation and the reasoning behind it but I have a suggestion on how to avoid this in future. My solution to this, is a simple one... add some of the more frequent and top players to your pre-release beta testing team. They will point out everything that they find and Zen will be able to fix it before releasing the table and then needing at a later stage to do an expensive fix. Fantastic 4 is the biggest mess so far... the table is hugely bugged and I alone experienced the most serious game breaking glitch (Dr. Doom/NZ ball-saver) within the first couple of times I played the table. It is unplayable at the moment because in any decent long game your chance of experiencing a game-breaking glitch is quite high.

Please Zen... take this suggestion into consideration for your future releases.

[Layth]

Thanks for posting that, it was a pretty interesting read.

[jibblypop]

That was the most interesting thing I've read about Pinball FX2. Thanks for posting!

It's infuriating hearing about all the trouble getting press and good reviews because "it's pinball". Yes, it is. The gaming press should still review it and let the public decide if pinball appeals to us or not. I don't care what some moron reviewer thinks about the genre. I know that *I* like pinball so all I am concerned with is whether the game is good for the genre.

[ShoryukenToTheChin]

Nice read.

[DavidCos]

Great

Great article.

Initially saw a review in Game Informer magazine about FF table. Downloaded it and now I'm hooked.

Thanks for posting.

[rapierdwit]

That was a great article! Thanks for sharing!

[MAT]

Great article. I hope Zen does the same kind of platform upgrade on the PS3 side. After that they will get double my money.. or at least the exclusive content. Now it's pointless to purchase Marvel Pinball and Zen Pinball is dated, and forces you to buy the old tables even if the engine is updated on the new ones like Sorcerer's Lair (is it, by the way?)

[shogun00]

Great article. I hope Zen does the same kind of platform upgrade on the PS3 side.

One of the reps already confirmed that Zen Pinball 2 is in the works and they hope to have it rolled out in the Fall or Winter. Hence, why we haven't been seeing that many new tables on the PS3.

[MAT]

fourth

Awesome, I had missed that. Let's hope it will be as good as FX2 upgrade.

[shogun00]

Awesome, I had missed that. Let's hope it will be as good as FX2 upgrade.

It's suppose to be the equivalent of Pinball FX2, so there shouldn't be any concerns.

[Flynn74]

Excellent interview and article. It's an exciting thought that in a couple of years there should be 40 or 50 tables to choose from. *Frothing at the mouth in anticipation*

[crackervizzo]

Please Zen... take this suggestion into consideration for your future releases.

Thanks Cloda. We are going to discuss this in depth and figure this out.

[Cloda]

Thanks Cloda. We are going to discuss this in depth and figure this out.

Great... thanks for considering the suggestion and taking it forward.

[Extrema22]

Thanks for the link, great read!