Why was Calling All Cars delayed so much?
by Nick Doerr 
{ Apr 4th 2007 at 2:30PM }
The Full Moon Show, an Insomniac podcast, recently released "Episode 2" where they interviewed some guy who called himself David Jaffe or something like that. Ever heard of this lout? He thought he could explain why Calling All Cars, made by this other guy named... hmm... well, shoot, we completely forgot! Was it something like Javid Daffe? Either way, here's the explanation from the man himself.During their extensive playtesting, there were instances where one player would just blow away the other players, creating a gap in score that kept growing to silly amounts. Sensing that it would draw away from the fun, Jaffe retreated to some devs who worked on older, arcade-style games for some coding help. Enter the image of Jaffe conversing with a Council of Elders in Developerland. Jaffe and crew are currently testing out some of the strategies for fixing the issue as given by these other developers. At least he's trying to make it fair for everyone, right?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Stef Geiger @ Apr 4th 2007 2:56PM
Wait, if he's STILL getting work done on the game, doesn't that mean it's getting pushed back yet AGAIN, seeing as there's no way it'll be ready for April 12th? Oh wait, now IGN says it's April 19th. Seems like even that's too soon to release if they're still working out balancing issues etc.
James @ Apr 4th 2007 3:25PM
Welcome to the world of digital distribution! You no longer have to ship the game a few weeks in advance to get it to the publisher and all that. Now they just put it on a few servers and away they go. I say that if it isn't locked down 3 days before release, then they'll delay it another 2 months. If they haven't delayed it yet, I bet it won't be delayed at this point.
Colin @ Apr 4th 2007 3:33PM
Jaffe confirmed an April 19th release date on his blog (www.davidjaffe.biz). And not to be a stickler, but the insomniac podcast came out almost three weeks ago. :p
Stef:
I've thought the same thing, but at the same time it sounds like the tweaking is getting wrapped up. The game has been *content* complete for at least a couple of months now. Since then, all they've been doing is tweaking gameplay. And the GDC previews were very good overall, so it sounds like everything is just about finished.
I'm glad there is finally a solid release date though. Feels like I've been waiting for this game forever! (Though Jaffe says that the entire development time for this game was only 10 months, so I guess I wasn't waiting THAT long.)
-Colin
John @ Apr 4th 2007 3:58PM
Wow, interesting. (and hilarious). Whatever you think of Jaffe, I'm glad he did this, even going so far as to seek council from 'old-schoolers,' as this game is more indicative of that style of design. I am weary of this game, as it looks a bit intense for my decidedly 'non-hardcore' self but if he's making things 'fair,' this will not only enhance the attraction to such wimpleton thumbs as myself but incur better ratings from the press, and since his work has been so lauded by them of late, I'm sure he understands the importance of this for the continued potential reverence of his induced creations.
Stef Geiger @ Apr 4th 2007 4:51PM
I can't remember if this game is supposed to run at 720p, 1080i or 1080p. Anybody know for certain?
Colin @ Apr 4th 2007 5:05PM
Stef,
I'm 99% certain it's 1080p. Don't have a link on hand, but I'd cautiously bet one of my unborn children on it.
-Colin
Windmill @ Apr 4th 2007 7:16PM
I think thats fair. I wish more developers cared enough about their games like that. Perhaps then we wouldn't get so many rotten games that are just milking us, the consumer (i.e. sonic games)
Stef Geiger @ Apr 5th 2007 12:40AM
ok dude, if you're wrong about 1080p, I get one of your unborn kids.
shase @ Apr 5th 2007 10:42AM
I dont know if Jaffe is making the right move making mini games from now on... This game looks too simplistic for my liking. Jaffe talked about how he wants to do mini games from now on and will continue to do it until he "gets it right". I think he should listen more to the general public on what games THEY WANT (like another masterpiece like GOW) not what HE WANT. We all have dreams sure but if you are trying to make money sometimes you gotta go with the people who are buying your product.
I am not saying the game will flop but if it does he should try to do a longer game