Monster Hunter games are becoming a genre- that most dreaded of foibles- after two decades of being that incredibly niche little side project that Capcom threw out every now and then fill up space between bigger franchise games. And maybe that is the strength of Eastern game developers- never sticking all their eggs in one basket but keeping loose and creative so that little underdog you might never have given two cents a while ago ends up polishing up to perfection in the background and perhaps even becoming the next 'Like a Dragon' is raised right. We've seen Wild Hearts step up to try and score some attention, we're apparently going to be seeing a Horizon series game based on this style of progression (as though base Horizon Zero Dawn doesn't already owe enough to the MH franchise) and, yes, we even have the old faithful of Dauntless.
Now, Dauntless is actually something of a special case- because it was conjured up off back in a time before Monster Hunter broke into the mainstream. Sure, Monster Hunter was a pretty well known off entity for the sheer number of entries it had accrued within it's relatively short life and simply the staying power the brand seemed to have in the minds of those who played it- but how many people had actually played the games? Enough to justify the franchise existing, evidently, but not enough to set off a fever pitch. Phoenix Labs, off Riot Games heritage, spun off with the hopes of making 'big games with small teams', and aimed right dab at the Monster Hunter franchise based on nothing but hunches and ambitions. I guess they had some solid market analysts to hand, then- because Dauntless would manage to score a release date within 12 months of Monster Hunter World.
There's no understating the monumental success of Monster Hunter World- a title released globally for all major platforms whereas previously the franchise had been mostly relegated to handhold or Nintendo Wii. It was inescapable for it's time, everyone had to talk about the big monster game- the addictive game loop, the oodles of build variety, the insanely complex enemy designs- Monster Hunter World benefitted from a decade and a half of hard-built experience all being exposed to a new audience at once and they were dizzied by the prospect. And about a year later, when the lustre of World has worn some and folks were wandering about for their next fit- here roles up Phoenix Lab's Dauntless with a promise of recurrent content updates built on a live service model. Oh, and it was free-to-play? You couldn't dream for more optimal conditions for a studio's virginal outing.
Dauntless scored big with a core audience that flocked to the game and gave it their all, proving the validity of the Monster Hunter brand and probably directly spawning the modern day interest to be included in conversations of 'generic diversification' right alongside 'a battle royale spin off' and 'An extraction shooter spin off'. (Waiting on 'Final Fantasy 7 Materia Hunter' to be announced any day now...) And to their utmost credit Phoenix labs knew exactly how to capitalise on the excitement around their game to keep some folks around- entering that stable state of player interest that few live services achieve. Not a burning phenom perhaps, but a healthy and approachable medium. Dauntless lived off itself for years and Phoenix Labs were going to use it as a springboard to launch their vast game development dreams. Until reality came knocking.
Looking at Phoenix Labs today you might be surprised to see the headlines- with the majority of the staff being let go and the future of both Dauntless and their (farming-based cozy game?) 'Fae Farm' being up-in-the-air. What happened? Capitalism obviously. Phoenix Labs were affected by the industry funding troubles as surely as anyone else and through a series of bad circumstances that led to them being acquired by a company so odious that the team actively (and arguably maliciously) attempted to hide the identity of their purchaser from everyone including potential hires. Forte- a Blockchain company. Blockchain and games go together like ionizing radioactive material and Deoxyribonucleic acid- which it to say: one totally ruins the other. Blockchain people are just so terminally unfun and deprived of basic lovable properties that their sheer repulsiveness just sucks the talent and life out of everything they touch- and yes I very much would love to say that to any of their faces; were any brave enough to leave their circles of protective sycophantic yes-goblins.
So what do you think happened when Forte- a cadre of creepy cretins- took effective control of their modestly popular- if lightly declining- game? Well of course they ended up tilting the company, directly or otherwise, towards what might go down in history as the worst 'revamp' a video game has ever received. A Steam launch to a bigger set of players, thanks to the end of Epic Exclusivity (can only imagine how many companies have grown to resent those deals in hindsight) should have been a cause for celebration- but when that launch heralded a wiping of all progress, a total reworking of progression to be flat the recycling of previous rewards into paid cosmetics- well... let's just say the cheering crowds never arrived.
There are few dumber ideas, when nurturing an years long fan base, then wiping progress to make a worse experience- When Final Fantasy XIV did something similar, that team pulled every stop imaginable to ensure the game born out the otherside was as polished and lovable as possible. Phoenix Games, however, just murdered their game loop and rolled out the corpse for mockery. It was a disaster. Fans that were still with the game were pushed out the door, the new audience saw the headlines and stayed well clear and the game managed to peak on Steam with under 1000 players. Which is bad, if that needed to be said.
Which leaves us with a tale, one of Dauntless prospects being squandered- seemingly under the direction of people who couldn't draw a circle with a compass. At least, that is what we can assume happened to the game. There's always the chance that the entire team was just hit with a stupid ray and came to Steam with the intention of killing their own game from day one- but I guess we'll have to wait until Jason Schierer does the expose on that on. Until then we can take away the lesson- when the devil comes to bargain baring gifts- remember to treat everything in that wicker basket like it's a curling monkey paw in waiting- sometimes it's better to die with dignity.
No comments:
Post a Comment