What went wrong with GW2 and why I am worried for this series (longtime fan)
As a longtime Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare player and fan, I am simply concerned about the future of this franchise.
I have always been a lurker, but I am simply too frustrated to remain silent about the state of this game.
GW2 was supposed to be a victory for the fans and Popcap, and while the press praised the game with high scores (and not putting too much time into it), lots of fans have been vocal about many of the mistakes EA/Popcap have made.
And before I continue with my thoughts about what went wrong with GW2, I want to be very clear and say that I personally believe Popcap is one of the most talented studios in gaming.
The mistakes made on this game do not change the fact they create some of the best looking and sounding games in the industry.
But let me get to the main points of this post:
What made GW1 a classic in 2014 was the fact the game was accessible, simple and very straightforward to the player.
People would get on the game and immediately jump into action, enjoying a game that was not only fun to play, but also very strategic.
It was really special.
These are ALL elements missing in GW2:
The game is not so accessible, and the unlocking system is incredibly complex, grindy and annoying.
Yes, I have to play in order to get coins, I get it, but after spending 200 hours in the game I STILL don’t own any Legendary character.
And while Popcap calls this “exciting, because it makes these characters even more rare”, I feel like an idiot for spending 60 dollars on a game that forces me to to grind for hundreds of hours.
I do understand a great number of developers at Popcap were in love with Destiny (with Gary Clay being one of them), but that did not mean they had to turn the entire Garden Warfare franchise into a copy of Destiny (the Easter eggs give it away).
Guys, the beauty of the first game was the fact it was ACCESSIBLE, and this important value is now lost, with all of these weird design choices that mimic a game that has nothing to do with the franchise.
We went from one of the best team based shooters on the market to a semi-MMO grindy game that forces players to spend hundreds of hours to receive ONE character, or spend real money.
And do not get me wrong, I do understand there is a market for these type of games. Obviously, seeing how well Destiny did, there must be one.
But it does not mean this was what Garden Warfare had to become. It literally killed any aspect that people loved about the first one.
Like I said, GW was straightforward.
While the game was focused on online multiplayer, there was an incredible level of depth that players enjoyed. And now it is all gone.
GW2 is too frenetic, chaotic and filled with explosions.
I cannot be strategic anymore, I cannot take time to study my enemies and work on a great solution to counter their attacks.
I now have to jump into battle, and run/gun into my opponents, otherwise, it will take a few seconds for me to get vanquished.
Why is this?
Maps are beautiful, but their design is so “go and shoot eachothers” oriented.
The new characters have super advanced abilities and they make the old characters look weak and simply not on par.
Why would anybody pick a Foot Soldier when Super Brainz is literally better at everything?
I mean, it does not make any sense.
The old characters need serious improvements, which will not be included in this game, obviously (GW3, woooo…).
And now, here comes my biggest problem with GW2 and the main reason why the game failed to impress as GW1 did.
During development, Popcap had some very poor project management/planning, and this is something everybody can see. It is obvious.
Why do I say this?
Well, there a few elements that show us something went wrong during development and Popcap did not really understand their ambitions were too high for an 18 months development cycle.
- Having a beta filled with balance issues, bad framerate, glitches and missing features one month before launch was really a bad sign. It just proved the game was not ready and the fact Popcap tried to put too much into it in a short time.
You cannot change the overall game speed one month before launch when you design maps considering that specific movement speed for each character. It is pure logic.
When you do that, you are going to break something.
This is why the maps feel off.
How could Popcap ask players to send their feedback 2/3 weeks before launch? What kind of testing is that, when the game is literally finished?
This says “poor planning” to me, and I am sure EA was pushing the devs to release the game at the end of February.
On the other end, Popcap made a huge mistake: thinking they could fit so much content in time, and being able to polish it with a little beta that lasted a few days.
- Rose being as broken as she was literally killed the game at launch. I have seen a huge number of players being turned off by it after experiencing the absurd mess that character was for several weeks.
And in my mind I just cannot understand how testing and balancing is conducted at Popcap.
I am sorry. I understand making mistakes is human and game development is NOT easy at all (I do consider this while writing this post), but we are looking at one of the biggest reasons why the online servers are dying.
Whoever is responsible for the nerfs/buffs NEEDS to stop nerfing and buffing the same characters patch to patch.
One patch the Imp is nerfed, the other patch he is buffed, then nerfed, then buffed. And this happened with Rose too.
Can we cook these games for a little longer and not use customers as beta testers 3-4 months after the game release?
- Why was GW2 launched as a 60 dollars title with such a strong competition in the gaming market for that month and season? Who planned that? Isn’t the marketing department supposed to think about these possible problems (especially when your game relies on a strong online population)?
It would be way wiser to launch this game as a 39,99 dollars game like GW1, especially when your competition is called The Division (which broke records when it comes to sales). Even Far Cry Primal did way better in sales, and that was a spin off.
Ratchet and Clank launched as a 40 dollars title and it was the most old game in USA last month, with some great competition.
I mean, the servers on PC are dying, the servers on console aren’t doing as bad, but not that hot, to be completely honest.
After seeing the game is not doing so well, and knowing how EA cuts franchises when sales are not the best, I am seriously worried about Garden Warfare. And Popcap being so silent does not help.
I would not be surprised if some major changes are happening behind the scenes, at the moment.
I love the franchise and I wish Popcap did not make those obvious mistakes when it comes to game design and marketing.
I would suggest to keep that 10 hours trial on console and PC, so at least there will be a decent amount of new players always populating the servers.
I doubt the online counterpart will be alive if this is the way things are going to be (PC EU is dead, PC NA is dying).
When it comes to future development, I would like to see an approach similar to Blizzard with Overwatch. That game was built with the community for the community.
Popcap, share your ideas with us, don’t be so secretive for “marketing sake”.
Look at what happened with GW2 and how the poor marketing and design choices lead to a game that bombed when it comes to sales.
Make a closed beta, share it with the players and test your characters before it is too late.
Before you work so hard on quests, story modes, Legendary items, get your gameplay right.
With that being said, these are my 2 cents about what went wrong with GW2.
I hope the next game will go for a style closer to GW1 and less crazy game design/marketing decisions that have nothing to do with the series.
I definitely think a 39,99 dollars model is the way to go. And PC should keep the 10 hours trial.
Anyways, thanks for reading.
Let me know if you agree, and feel free to share this post around if you share my ideas.
Marcus
