Last year, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was released to reviews that ranged from glowing (Variety) to anything but (Wired). It was those negative reviews that made the gameās developer glum.
According to the titleās project lead Haden Blackman, āBut part of itā¦is that Iām watching this team that has worked so hard on this game for two, almost three years. And theyāre reading this stuff. And youāre right; all the air gets sucked out of the room. People were miserable for the whole day. Itās hard to keep them focused.ā
Two things: 1. Donāt confuse hard work with good game making. Everyone works hard. Thatās what it means to be a professional. 2. This is the nature of the beast. You work on something and put it out to be judged. It can be judged by critics, and it can be judged by consumers. The Force Unleashed was judged favorable enough by consumers, it seems, racking up 5 million copies sold in North America and Europe.
Some games critics love, but consumers hate. Other games critics hate and consumers love. Chin up, Haden Blackman! Remember critics donāt play the bills. George Lucas does.
Dining With Developers, Vol. 2: Haden Blackman, Part 1 [Crispy Gamer via GameBizBlog] [Pic]
