Demigod and Customer Service

So, one of the games that I have been looking forward to playing recently is an Action RPG/RTS Lite game called Demigod. At this point, I have not actually played the game (I should be getting a copy of the game in the mail in the next day or two), but issues surrounding the release are certainly worth commenting on.

Demigod has been plagued with a number of launch-day related issues, ranging from Gamestop selling copies early to mass pirating of the game, server instability, and much more. The reviews of the game vary wildly, as many review sites are hammering it for its launch day issues, and different reviewers have different levels of experience with the mod it seems to be based on (Death of the Ancients is a Warcraft III mod that is perhaps some of the best player-created gaming content of all time), and even ARPGs in general.

Through it all, Gas Powered Games and its publisher, Stardock, have been very upfront with the community regarding proposed solutions and their long-term view for the game. See the latest community update here.

This is something that I touched upon yesterday in my Braid review, and would like to talk about in the future using Burnout Paradise, but there has been a recent (am I correct, or does it just seem that way) trend in the industry towards being upfront and honest with the end user. This is awesome.

First, there is an implicit recognition that both parties in this relationship, the developer (or publisher, distributor, etc.) and the consumer, are both human. Take it from me, but there is nothing a game designer/developer wants to see more than people genuinely enjoying his game. Lost in the anti-EA threads and the over-commercialization arguments et al. is the concept that there are real people trying to make an honest living designing games, to go along with the fact that the consumer isn't someone that should be taken advantage with crappy sequels, shovelware, and shoddy games.

So if you enjoy playing a game, take the time to tell your friends about it, participate in forum banter, add positively to the community (no intelligent, mature person wants to read Guild Wars vs. WoW flame fests), or even write a letter to the developer letting them know how much you enjoy their game. I think it is fantastic that fans have been mailing Stardock fan art and even cookies.

In the meantime, I will be eagerly awaiting my copy of Demigod in the mail. I'll give you my impressions on it soon.

-Jon