2013-07-30 Oh glob

[Waker]

Well, it sounds like the VG character may have been inspired by Kameo, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kameo:_Elements_of_Power).

[vampire hunter D]

Don't forget Final Fantasy series (III, V, and X-2)

[Dave Zero1]

never played those games, i was thinking more a cross between metroid-megaman-little nemo in slumberland

[Bloody Vikings]

You get points for the Little Nemo shoutout, then. Fun, but surprisingly hard game.

[Waker]

Initially I was thinking of a Mega/Metroid Hybrid too, but the clothing seemed less hi-tech and more mystical, so that's why I though of Kameo. At least I wasn't 100% wrong.

[texasfanboy]

Second, they've already spent money on the game. If they have a working game, they aren't going to redo it. That would cost MORE money and delay the release of the game. And they can't make money until they release the game.

While this is generally true, video games have been sent back to square one a number of times.

1) It's very common for games to be scrapped and started over whenever there's a technology leap. This happened a lot in the 90s as the old SVGA gave way to 3D acceleration.
2) Activision had completed development of MechWarrior 2, printed the discs, and had the crates ready to ship to retailers when they recalled the game and started over from scratch, purely because the source material the game was based on had just experienced a major plot moment and they felt it necessary to incorporate it into the game.
3) In an example that mirrors this arc fairly well, Ubisoft experienced a very negative response to their reveals for Splinter Cell: Conviction. The series had become famous for an iconic look to the main character and distinct stealth-based gameplay, but this installment had him in plain clothes "hiding in plain sight," in a modern-day Assassin's Creed knock-off. The reaction was so bad, they started over from scratch.

The video game industry is very risk-sensitive. If there's a very strong consumer backlash to a game that's still in development, changes will be made to salvage the project. Once you've spent $30 Million on a game, and it becomes apparent that your target demographic hates what they see, you either release the game as is and eat the loss, or you spend more money fixing it so it will actually sell.

They've even done this after the game's release -- BioWare had to patch the ending of Mass Effect 3 after release because the original ending was almost universally reviled by players.

[Adamas]

ME was mainly because no matter you choices throughout the series, and especially at the end, it was basically the SAME ENDING, only Difference was the color of the blast and if ED-I survived.