Hahaha, well I had to tell my friend about her present and let's say her visiting this site (or me telling her about it) was not a good idea.
[15:15] PecanBlu: damn I have to ruin a surprise to tell you something
[15:17] KawaiiOtacon: what
[15:18] PecanBlu: well when the 5th episode was out I was going to send you the whole set of Tales of Monkey Island as a christmas gift via Steam but they have a special DVD for people who order from their site so I'm going to have to get it from there and I need your new address just in case, and also you might be asked to make an account so heads up
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: don't send me christmas presents!!!!!!
[15:18] PecanBlu: SHUT UP
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: please I'll feel so guilty
[15:18] PecanBlu: YOU WILL LIKE IT
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: I love giving and I CAN'T
[15:18] PecanBlu: don't give me ****!!!!
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: ****!!!!!!!
[15:18] PecanBlu:
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: ;3
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: I mean >:(
A few minutes later...
[15:20] KawaiiOtacon: WHAT
[15:20] KawaiiOtacon: I WENT TO THE TELLTALE SITE AND NOW I AM SPOILED
[15:20] KawaiiOtacon: WHY DO THEY HAVE A SPOILER ON THEIR OWN SITE
[15:20] PecanBlu: HUH??
[15:20] PecanBlu: oh! hahahaha
[15:20] PecanBlu: why did you go to their site you dummy?
[15:20] KawaiiOtacon: I wanted to see if they had info on this DVD!
[15:21] PecanBlu: well the "spoiler" has a question mark
[15:21] PecanBlu: he might die in episode 5 but we don't really know
[15:21] PecanBlu: it's not like it's being stated blatantly
[15:21] KawaiiOtacon: UH HUH SURE
[15:21] PecanBlu: be quiet and trust me
Whattt? I was under the impression you could get it even if you brought through steam... this makes me slightly sadder
Well... you technically /can/ get the DVD. You'll just have to pay another $34.95.
You can only get the DVD for free if you bought the season direct from Telltale.
And as for dates... it'll be well into the 9th of December here before I can get it I've just learned to add one day to the dates published by Telltale and then I don't get disappointed by "late" release.
I'm a bit surprised with the positive comments in this thread, why are you guys happy the game is getting delayed? If anything has shown us, delaying games never make them better it just shows really bad management from the people who make them. I think the video game market is the only one where you can still get away with stuff like this, making information systems you get hefty fines for even being a few days late. :P
As for "they'll add more cool stuff" --> Yeah last minute changes are known to make games "better". With a proper design and implementation phase (preferably iterated) there should be no surprises like this. Last minute changes should be issued by the acceptance tests and these should be placed at a time were development allows said change within the deadline, or moving the deadline after reaffirming with the buyer (every person who bought the season in this case).
It somehow would have been cool if they would have been able to deliver all episodes just in time but that's how it is and it's fine as 10 days more or less, who cares, there are other nice games to be played as well, did you play Torchlight already?! :O)
I generally just don't agree with the more waiting = more fun mantra as this sounds a little bit like lying to yourself to me.
Now back to Torchlight, ähm i mean work, yes work...
I'm a bit surprised with the positive comments in this thread, why are you guys happy the game is getting delayed? If anything has shown us, delaying games never make them better it just shows really bad management from the people who make them. I think the video game market is the only one where you can still get away with stuff like this, making information systems you get hefty fines for even being a few days late. :P
As for "they'll add more cool stuff" --> Yeah last minute changes are known to make games "better". With a proper design and implementation phase (preferably iterated) there should be no surprises like this. Last minute changes should be issued by the acceptance tests and these should be placed at a time were development allows said change within the deadline, or moving the deadline after reaffirming with the buyer (every person who bought the season in this case).
I'm not impressed.
I think most people have more important things to worry about than the fact that its a week into December. I guess TTG should take a leaf out of the book of all the other adventure game company that release a game EVERY MONTH.
If you think game development is an exact science in terms of time management, you don't clearly don't know what you're talking about.
If you think game development is an exact science in terms of time management, you don't clearly don't know what you're talking about.
Game development like any other development _is_ an exact knowledge in time planning, there are several good ways to do it. There is no difference between delivering a game on time or a component for a information system, which are usually delivered on time every second week.... If you don't know that then you clearly don't know what you are talking about.
Game development like any other development _is_ an exact knowledge in time planning, there are several good ways to do it. If you don't know that then you clearly don't know what you are talking about.
So you are suggesting that TTG don't know what they are doing?
Then hopefully you don't expect your opinion to be taken seriously.
Why not? I have made a long series of actual argumenting statements as opposed to you repeatedly insulting me, why would my opinion be taken less into account then yours?
TTG have proven beyond reasonable doubt to use a fancy legal term that they don't know what they are doing with this stuff, I have never thought TTG have seemed professional about their release dates and I still don't. I am even prepared to venture to say that in general we will see much less delayed releases for no apparent reason as the computer software market matures and people become to expect what they pay for. Mainly since this has already started happening on a certain scale.
In short, the cowboy area of computer software development is quickly coming to an end.
Late edit for the telltale people:
I do enjoy the games you make a lot however, and I think you make terrific games.
How much creativity goes into creating "components for an information system" (I assume this is what you do?)
How do your ideas evolve over time? If something doesn't work how you initially imagined, or could be improved, would you just leave it?
Whatever you think and however much epxperience people have, you can never quantify the exact amount of time different tasks take in creative processes! You can estimate, but there are too many variables. Sure, TTG could release the game at whatever state of completion it was at on the 30th. Would you be happy with that?
In my experinence of software development you are constantly improving what you are creating. For a season finale, of course TTG are going to want to make the best possible chapter they can.
TTG is kind of unique when in terms of being able to add/change things based on user feedback which I think is a very good thing.
Just out of curiosity, is there an official statement that the game got delayed due to that it will be more enhanced than any other episode or is this more wishthinking? I thought it was more due to breathe deeply and Halloween.
Oh and of course you have the more creative and less creative moments but also in the gaming industry you'll have to deliver in time, after all it's a business.
Oh and of yourse you have the more creative and less creative moments but also in the gaming industry you'll have to deliver in time, after all it's a business.
Of course but in 99% of the rest of the gaming industry leads times are much longer so more contingency is factored in.
Oh come on, how could any form of delay possibly make a game worse than it would be if it were released on time? It's such a little amount of delay-by-days too, I think we can let their "monthly release!" thing slide. I mean if it isn't even a "month and a half" delay, I still could see it as a monthly release.
Atleast TTG announced the "delayed" release date this early and not in the afternoon of October 30.
Imagine the heated comments on this board if they did the latter.
Atleast TTG announced the "delayed" release date this early and not in the afternoon of October 30.
Imagine the heated comments on this board if they did the latter.
You do realize that October 30th was a long time ago right?
They haven't been episodic Since Sam and Max Season One. Culture shock = October
Situation Comedy = December
The time was factored in. In fact, I'm pretty sure they had solid dates set for every Sam and Max episode's release ahead of time, and everyone knew that there would be a month between the launch episode and the monthly episodes. It's like when a TV show pilot airs months before the weekly release, but on a smaller scale.
Surely a reasonable post that is not inflammatory at all, no matter whether or not you happen to agree with the presented points, adds more to a discussion than "Grow up" ever did to any bit of human discourse. Considering everyone else in the thread was more than excitedly praising a delay from the existing release window, a level-headed assessment, however harsh, was quite welcome as far as I'm concerned.
"Really bad management" and "Cowboy" developers don't come acrross a level-headed, as for as I'm concerned.
How not? Nothing said was inflammatory or personal. Saying something negative does not a forum troll make. If they happen to miss their fairly broad set goals, by both definitions of the word "monthly", how is that not bad time management? "Cowboy" development obviously refers to unrestricted development that can run without a release date or strict management of time, how is it not "Cowboy management" if there is no set date and the broad time frame is missed?
I understand that the infraction is a small one, and I'm personally not too affected, but it's not really something to be impressed by or something to celebrate when a delay occurs. And you know, I would like it if there were release dates posted ahead of time, and I could know that they were all coming on these specific days of the month. Video games are the only entertainment industry in which this sort of thing is acceptable. Yes movies get delayed, but that's well before the general public even knows they're being made. When you see an ad for a movie, it's coming out on that date.
By the way, the "how is it not" questions aren't rhetorical. If his points have no merit, then saying why they don't have merit would have contributed far more to discussion than a cheap gradeschooler stab.
How much creativity goes into creating "components for an information system" (I assume this is what you do?)
How do your ideas evolve over time? If something doesn't work how you initially imagined, or could be improved, would you just leave it?
I'm happy for that question There is a very great deal of creativity in making information systems. First of, I feel I have to explain what an information system is, an information system is a system made for displaying and handling information. Examples of information systems are: Ordering systems, employee/student management systems, bookkeeping systems, resource management and so on.
The amount of creativity in these type of endeavors is very great, the system has to correspond to the reality, the users view of the reality, the users demands on usability, the law (in a lot of cases), the cooperate demands and of course the budgeted hours. Managing these aspects and ending up with a product which everyone feel they can use and feel happy with requires a very great deal of creativity. You usually send it back and forth between developers and tests groups before you get an end result which everyone is happy with.
I'm sure you've used systems like these that simply "suck". They do, these are typically made by people who don't know how to do stuff or who don't understand trying to do system development. Just like there are bad games.
Again, TTG make very good games
Whatever you think and however much epxperience people have, you can never quantify the exact amount of time different tasks take in creative processes! You can estimate, but there are too many variables. Sure, TTG could release the game at whatever state of completion it was at on the 30th. Would you be happy with that?
In my experinence of software development you are constantly improving what you are creating. For a season finale, of course TTG are going to want to make the best possible chapter they can.
As a consumer, TTGs creative process is not my problem. I buy the games, I expect to get them on time and having a satisfactory quality. If they don't have a satisfactory quality I and a lot of other people will simply not buy any future games.
TTG being unable to manage their resources and time is not my problem, if they couldn't deliver the episodes monthly they should not have made any such promises. It is that simple.
I have already pointed out how it is very possible to manage this sort of things, I don't intend to do so again, it would be redundant.
TTG is kind of unique when in terms of being able to add/change things based on user feedback which I think is a very good thing.
Yes, why is my feedback/criticisms not welcome then? What's the point of having a forum like this if you can't make criticisms about company making the games in order for them to improve? I may be a bit harsh, but then I'm trying to make a point and I really don't care how many fanboy toes I step on on the way
"Really bad management" and "Cowboy" developers don't come acrross a level-headed, as for as I'm concerned.
These comments are not in anyway "flaming" calling someones management really bad is not insulting them. Nor is calling a developer who lacks professionalism (explained in an other post) a cowboy developer.
Again, for the people at TTG:
You make kick ass games!
Not all babies are born after exactly 40 weeks of pregnancy, either. And no mother would say "Get it out NOW! I don't care if it's not ready!"
I just want to thank you Mermaid, I haven't laughed that hard for quite a while and that joke made my day. xD
(TTG, you should use that joke in-game sometime as a little reminder to these forums) :P
Also, I cannot wait to play the last part!
To me the game has grown better and better for every new chapter, so I think the finale will be totaly awesome!
I'm a programmer and I work in a big game studio. I've also worked in plenty of other projects not related to games.
And I have to say that, contrarily to what JohanShogun says. Game development IS something really different.
I don't think anyone who has not worked in videogames has an idea of the amount of work involved, and in particular, when you're committed to a release date, the CRAZY amount of work you'll always have for the last days/weeks/months (depending on the project's size). And yes, it is always like that, even in experienced studios with talented people working who make pretty good estimations for the time required for their tasks.
I don't know the reasons for the delay, I'll just say that if TTG decided to delay it to give a little break to the people that work there and avoiding having to work too many extra hours (that they should spend with their families) just to get the game out on November. Then that's great for TTG, one week is nothing.
I think that TTG is a good enough studio to make the correct call when it comes to decide whether to delay a game or not.
I'm a programmer and I work in a big game studio. I've also worked in plenty of other projects not related to games.
And I have to say that, contrarily to what JohanShogun says. Game development IS something really different.
I don't think anyone who has not worked in videogames has an idea of the amount of work involved, and in particular, when you're committed to a release date, the CRAZY amount of work you'll always have for the last days/weeks/months (depending on the project's size). And yes, it is always like that, even in experienced studios with talented people working who make pretty good estimations for the time required for their tasks.
How is it different to work crazy to meet a deadline on a video game or a information system? I dare venture to say that when you pay million of dollars in fines on late arrivals, you work. I don't see the difference, that computer game studios have really bad management overall is not a surprise. So did the rest of the software development industry just a few years ago, the game industry is lagging behind in the rest of the software development industry since other companies do not depend on their deliveries. The computer game industry is becoming more and more professional as people realize the amount of money there is to gain in being an actually professional video game studio.
As for me not having worked on video games: I have, the stress is no different.
I don't know the reasons for the delay, I'll just say that if TTG decided to delay it to give a little break to the people that work there and avoiding having to work too many extra hours (that they should spend with their families) just to get the game out on November. Then that's great for TTG, one week is nothing.
I think that TTG is a good enough studio to make the correct call when it comes to decide whether to delay a game or not.
A delay is never acceptable, ever. If your development follows good practice you will always have a release candidate which can be shipped on the day. It may not have all the fluff fluff and the coolness, but it has the stuff people want. If you want to add the fluff fluff and the coolness later, patch it.
A delay is never acceptable, ever. If your development follows good practice you will always have a release candidate which can be shipped on the day. It may not have all the fluff fluff and the coolness, but it has the stuff people want. If you want to add the fluff fluff and the coolness later, patch it.
Everything what is wrong with the gaming industry, summed up in one paragraph.
1. Delays can be acceptable if certain critical problems are found in the eleventh hour( And by critical problems I mean security related problems, problems that can result in data loss/corruption, external failures {another service can be affected}, external causes or a mix of those)
Example: You're ready to ship, but the latest patch from Windows causes a critical problem. You can delay (and you should) however good communication is the key here. Keeping the customers in the blank is a really bad thing.
If you explain the cause, no harm done (I'd rather have a product a few days later than having it today but risking an unwanted side-effect)
2. Delays caused by bad planning are never acceptable
Telltale delayed the release, I'm uncertain if that was good or bad. But the delay is not then problem: The real problem is that they're not telling us why they delayed the release. If for example the game (a.k.a. product) is "ready" but they're are delaying the release for logistical, marketing, technical, whatever reason they should say so.
Even if the problem is that the game IS NOT or WONT be ready, they can give a conveniently crafted excuse. Even that is better than no info other than "The Game was Delayed"
However if the delay was caused by Thanksgiving Day, then it is both bad planning and bad communication since this event was known a lot of time ago and since it is fixed, you can work around it in advance (or at least say "A new chapter every month, but November is special" say 2 month ago)
They may have been the first company with Sam and Max season 2, but they're lost this title.
If the first guy to run a four-minute mile later takes five minutes to run a mile, does he lose his original title?
Also, I'm pretty sure Telltale has always averaged out to having episodes about 35 days apart. That's still "monthly" as far as I'm concerned, even if one calendar month gets jumped over from time to time. Doesn't even constitute a "delay" in my mind. 38 days isn't the longest gap they've had, it's not even the longest gap they've had this season.
Everything what is wrong with the gaming industry, summed up in one paragraph.
Yes, indeed! It really is unfortunate that the rushed releases have focused on the wrong things. Take a game like for example Oblivion (I'm not saying oblivion had any problems, I don't know this, I am using it a descriptive example since most people have played or know of the game) were you have a main quest and a lot of side quests.
The release candiate would always have the main quest 100% ready and then add the side quests over time (this is based upon doing top down development instead of layered). The strength in that game lies in the open world and the very many side quests, along with a nice main story. Now ponder the situation were you are upon the release date, you have a fully working game with 90 out of the 110 side quests (missing 20 (no, I don't know how many quests oblivion has)), do you delay the game perhaps the month it would take to make these or do you deliver it as is?
Of course you deliver it as is, most users won't notice or even know there are quests missing. Then when the other content is done you release it in a patch adding the new quests. Everyone wins, the users get what they expect on time, the people who develop the game won't be stressed and the end user feels happy when the extra quests comes since it's a goody.
This is how most computer information system development is done, but it's not done in the gaming industry and I do wonder why...
If all the fuss would be about 30 days, I'd understand it. But 1 week?
I must stop reading this thread.
I feel ashamed and disgusted about what kind of ungrateful gamers we are.
Honestly? I can wait until January, if that means I'd get a finished bug-free game. I've seen broken unpolished games rushed out by other companies and trust me, that's far worse than waiting a couple of extra days.
If all the fuss would be about 30 days, I'd understand it. But 1 week?
I must stop reading this thread.
I feel ashamed and disgusted about what kind of ungrateful gamers we are.
We are ungrateful since we expect what we pay for when it has been said to be delivered? Why do we owe TTG gratitude? We are consumers, we are buyers, we expect what we pay for when the delivery date is. Would you walk idly by and feel ungrateful if this was perhaps a delay with your new car that you ordered?
Honestly? I can wait until January, if that means I'd get a finished bug-free game. I've seen broken unpolished games rushed out by other companies and trust me, that's far worse than waiting a couple of extra days.
Following a correct development like for example the one I described above the game would be bug free and and polished in what it had when it was delivered. Don't expect any less from game developers then what you expect from other developers.
Comments
[15:15] PecanBlu: damn I have to ruin a surprise to tell you something
[15:17] KawaiiOtacon: what
[15:18] PecanBlu: well when the 5th episode was out I was going to send you the whole set of Tales of Monkey Island as a christmas gift via Steam but they have a special DVD for people who order from their site so I'm going to have to get it from there and I need your new address just in case, and also you might be asked to make an account so heads up
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: don't send me christmas presents!!!!!!
[15:18] PecanBlu: SHUT UP
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: please I'll feel so guilty
[15:18] PecanBlu: YOU WILL LIKE IT
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: I love giving and I CAN'T
[15:18] PecanBlu: don't give me ****!!!!
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: ****!!!!!!!
[15:18] PecanBlu:
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: ;3
[15:18] KawaiiOtacon: I mean >:(
A few minutes later...
[15:20] KawaiiOtacon: WHAT
[15:20] KawaiiOtacon: I WENT TO THE TELLTALE SITE AND NOW I AM SPOILED
[15:20] KawaiiOtacon: WHY DO THEY HAVE A SPOILER ON THEIR OWN SITE
[15:20] PecanBlu: HUH??
[15:20] PecanBlu: oh! hahahaha
[15:20] PecanBlu: why did you go to their site you dummy?
[15:20] KawaiiOtacon: I wanted to see if they had info on this DVD!
[15:21] PecanBlu: well the "spoiler" has a question mark
[15:21] PecanBlu: he might die in episode 5 but we don't really know
[15:21] PecanBlu: it's not like it's being stated blatantly
[15:21] KawaiiOtacon: UH HUH SURE
[15:21] PecanBlu: be quiet and trust me
Well... you technically /can/ get the DVD. You'll just have to pay another $34.95.
You can only get the DVD for free if you bought the season direct from Telltale.
And as for dates... it'll be well into the 9th of December here before I can get it
As for "they'll add more cool stuff" --> Yeah last minute changes are known to make games "better". With a proper design and implementation phase (preferably iterated) there should be no surprises like this. Last minute changes should be issued by the acceptance tests and these should be placed at a time were development allows said change within the deadline, or moving the deadline after reaffirming with the buyer (every person who bought the season in this case).
I'm not impressed.
I generally just don't agree with the more waiting = more fun mantra as this sounds a little bit like lying to yourself to me.
Now back to Torchlight, ähm i mean work, yes work...
I think most people have more important things to worry about than the fact that its a week into December. I guess TTG should take a leaf out of the book of all the other adventure game company that release a game EVERY MONTH.
If you think game development is an exact science in terms of time management, you don't clearly don't know what you're talking about.
Game development like any other development _is_ an exact knowledge in time planning, there are several good ways to do it. There is no difference between delivering a game on time or a component for a information system, which are usually delivered on time every second week.... If you don't know that then you clearly don't know what you are talking about.
So you are suggesting that TTG don't know what they are doing?
When it comes to this stuff, since they have handled it like this: Yes.
They may have been the first company with Sam and Max season 2, but they're lost this title.
But back to serious stuff here, having a delay with the final chapter is pretty reasonable, and I expect to be epic. EPIC!
Then hopefully you don't expect your opinion to be taken seriously.
Why not? I have made a long series of actual argumenting statements as opposed to you repeatedly insulting me, why would my opinion be taken less into account then yours?
TTG have proven beyond reasonable doubt to use a fancy legal term that they don't know what they are doing with this stuff, I have never thought TTG have seemed professional about their release dates and I still don't. I am even prepared to venture to say that in general we will see much less delayed releases for no apparent reason as the computer software market matures and people become to expect what they pay for. Mainly since this has already started happening on a certain scale.
In short, the cowboy area of computer software development is quickly coming to an end.
Late edit for the telltale people:
I do enjoy the games you make a lot however, and I think you make terrific games.
How do your ideas evolve over time? If something doesn't work how you initially imagined, or could be improved, would you just leave it?
Whatever you think and however much epxperience people have, you can never quantify the exact amount of time different tasks take in creative processes! You can estimate, but there are too many variables. Sure, TTG could release the game at whatever state of completion it was at on the 30th. Would you be happy with that?
In my experinence of software development you are constantly improving what you are creating. For a season finale, of course TTG are going to want to make the best possible chapter they can.
TTG is kind of unique when in terms of being able to add/change things based on user feedback which I think is a very good thing.
Oh and of course you have the more creative and less creative moments but also in the gaming industry you'll have to deliver in time, after all it's a business.
Situation Comedy = December
Of course but in 99% of the rest of the gaming industry leads times are much longer so more contingency is factored in.
I still don't see it as a delay personally.
It's one extra week. Get over it.
Imagine the heated comments on this board if they did the latter.
You do realize that October 30th was a long time ago right?
*evil laugh*
Surely a reasonable post that is not inflammatory at all, no matter whether or not you happen to agree with the presented points, adds more to a discussion than "Grow up" ever did to any bit of human discourse. Considering everyone else in the thread was more than excitedly praising a delay from the existing release window, a level-headed assessment, however harsh, was quite welcome as far as I'm concerned.
I understand that the infraction is a small one, and I'm personally not too affected, but it's not really something to be impressed by or something to celebrate when a delay occurs. And you know, I would like it if there were release dates posted ahead of time, and I could know that they were all coming on these specific days of the month. Video games are the only entertainment industry in which this sort of thing is acceptable. Yes movies get delayed, but that's well before the general public even knows they're being made. When you see an ad for a movie, it's coming out on that date.
By the way, the "how is it not" questions aren't rhetorical. If his points have no merit, then saying why they don't have merit would have contributed far more to discussion than a cheap gradeschooler stab.
I'm happy for that question
The amount of creativity in these type of endeavors is very great, the system has to correspond to the reality, the users view of the reality, the users demands on usability, the law (in a lot of cases), the cooperate demands and of course the budgeted hours. Managing these aspects and ending up with a product which everyone feel they can use and feel happy with requires a very great deal of creativity. You usually send it back and forth between developers and tests groups before you get an end result which everyone is happy with.
I'm sure you've used systems like these that simply "suck". They do, these are typically made by people who don't know how to do stuff or who don't understand trying to do system development. Just like there are bad games.
Again, TTG make very good games
As a consumer, TTGs creative process is not my problem. I buy the games, I expect to get them on time and having a satisfactory quality. If they don't have a satisfactory quality I and a lot of other people will simply not buy any future games.
TTG being unable to manage their resources and time is not my problem, if they couldn't deliver the episodes monthly they should not have made any such promises. It is that simple.
I have already pointed out how it is very possible to manage this sort of things, I don't intend to do so again, it would be redundant.
Yes, why is my feedback/criticisms not welcome then? What's the point of having a forum like this if you can't make criticisms about company making the games in order for them to improve? I may be a bit harsh, but then I'm trying to make a point and I really don't care how many fanboy toes I step on on the way
These comments are not in anyway "flaming" calling someones management really bad is not insulting them. Nor is calling a developer who lacks professionalism (explained in an other post) a cowboy developer.
Again, for the people at TTG:
You make kick ass games!
Don't worry, our feelings aren't hurt.
I just want to thank you Mermaid, I haven't laughed that hard for quite a while and that joke made my day. xD
(TTG, you should use that joke in-game sometime as a little reminder to these forums) :P
Also, I cannot wait to play the last part!
To me the game has grown better and better for every new chapter, so I think the finale will be totaly awesome!
And I have to say that, contrarily to what JohanShogun says. Game development IS something really different.
I don't think anyone who has not worked in videogames has an idea of the amount of work involved, and in particular, when you're committed to a release date, the CRAZY amount of work you'll always have for the last days/weeks/months (depending on the project's size). And yes, it is always like that, even in experienced studios with talented people working who make pretty good estimations for the time required for their tasks.
I don't know the reasons for the delay, I'll just say that if TTG decided to delay it to give a little break to the people that work there and avoiding having to work too many extra hours (that they should spend with their families) just to get the game out on November. Then that's great for TTG, one week is nothing.
I think that TTG is a good enough studio to make the correct call when it comes to decide whether to delay a game or not.
As for me not having worked on video games: I have, the stress is no different.
A delay is never acceptable, ever. If your development follows good practice you will always have a release candidate which can be shipped on the day. It may not have all the fluff fluff and the coolness, but it has the stuff people want. If you want to add the fluff fluff and the coolness later, patch it.
Everything what is wrong with the gaming industry, summed up in one paragraph.
Yes, unfortunately end-user priorities in the business world are not the same as end-user priorities in the gaming world.
1. Delays can be acceptable if certain critical problems are found in the eleventh hour( And by critical problems I mean security related problems, problems that can result in data loss/corruption, external failures {another service can be affected}, external causes or a mix of those)
Example: You're ready to ship, but the latest patch from Windows causes a critical problem. You can delay (and you should) however good communication is the key here. Keeping the customers in the blank is a really bad thing.
If you explain the cause, no harm done (I'd rather have a product a few days later than having it today but risking an unwanted side-effect)
2. Delays caused by bad planning are never acceptable
Telltale delayed the release, I'm uncertain if that was good or bad. But the delay is not then problem: The real problem is that they're not telling us why they delayed the release. If for example the game (a.k.a. product) is "ready" but they're are delaying the release for logistical, marketing, technical, whatever reason they should say so.
Even if the problem is that the game IS NOT or WONT be ready, they can give a conveniently crafted excuse. Even that is better than no info other than "The Game was Delayed"
However if the delay was caused by Thanksgiving Day, then it is both bad planning and bad communication since this event was known a lot of time ago and since it is fixed, you can work around it in advance (or at least say "A new chapter every month, but November is special" say 2 month ago)
If the first guy to run a four-minute mile later takes five minutes to run a mile, does he lose his original title?
Also, I'm pretty sure Telltale has always averaged out to having episodes about 35 days apart. That's still "monthly" as far as I'm concerned, even if one calendar month gets jumped over from time to time. Doesn't even constitute a "delay" in my mind. 38 days isn't the longest gap they've had, it's not even the longest gap they've had this season.
Yes, indeed!
The release candiate would always have the main quest 100% ready and then add the side quests over time (this is based upon doing top down development instead of layered). The strength in that game lies in the open world and the very many side quests, along with a nice main story. Now ponder the situation were you are upon the release date, you have a fully working game with 90 out of the 110 side quests (missing 20 (no, I don't know how many quests oblivion has)), do you delay the game perhaps the month it would take to make these or do you deliver it as is?
Of course you deliver it as is, most users won't notice or even know there are quests missing. Then when the other content is done you release it in a patch adding the new quests. Everyone wins, the users get what they expect on time, the people who develop the game won't be stressed and the end user feels happy when the extra quests comes since it's a goody.
This is how most computer information system development is done, but it's not done in the gaming industry and I do wonder why...
I must stop reading this thread.
I feel ashamed and disgusted about what kind of ungrateful gamers we are.
We are ungrateful since we expect what we pay for when it has been said to be delivered? Why do we owe TTG gratitude? We are consumers, we are buyers, we expect what we pay for when the delivery date is. Would you walk idly by and feel ungrateful if this was perhaps a delay with your new car that you ordered?
Following a correct development like for example the one I described above the game would be bug free and and polished in what it had when it was delivered. Don't expect any less from game developers then what you expect from other developers.