Kane & Lynch Producer: Review Scandal Good for Us
Adapted its developing process to include more rigorous tests.
IO Interactive producer Mads Prahm has told SPOnG that the controversy that surrounded 2007's Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has helped the studio create a better game in the sequel, Dog Days.
(Quick recap: rumour had it that Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann was fired because Eidos was unhappy about his negative review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The incident sparked outrage among fansites and forums as the age-old debate of 'advertising versus editorial' came to the fore once again.)
The developer spoke candidly about the feelings of IO at the time, and agreed that some gamers who reacted negatively to the reviews scandal could not perhaps distinguish the difference between developer and publisher actions.
“It was terrible for us, because it made all the gamers turn against us, or at least against the game itself”, Prahm told SPOnG in an interview that will be published in full later today. “Everybody would go onto a game site and rate it really low – of course, we got some mixed reviews anyway, but that sort of protest reviewing really amplified the overall negative rating. We were devastated.
“Our biggest fans could probably identify us, but [at the time of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men's release] there was a lot of people who didn't know us that would have bought our game, but decided not to because they had heard about the controversy.”
Prahm revealed that IO has been taking on board the mixed reviews and implementing rigorous testing within the studio to ensure that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is of a much higher quality. “We didn't really pay much attention to the controversy-protest comments, but the real, honest reviews really made us change the way we test our games. Now we're using consumer testing and other tests, and we've not been through a process like this before.
“In a way I think this situation has been good for us. A wake up call, right? We're willing to listen to people and ready to make changes to get our shit together”, Prahm concludes with a chuckle.
The full interview will be published on SPOnG shortly, including IO's inspiration from Youtube, the depth of Lynch's character and the potential for future sequels.
(Quick recap: rumour had it that Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann was fired because Eidos was unhappy about his negative review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The incident sparked outrage among fansites and forums as the age-old debate of 'advertising versus editorial' came to the fore once again.)
The developer spoke candidly about the feelings of IO at the time, and agreed that some gamers who reacted negatively to the reviews scandal could not perhaps distinguish the difference between developer and publisher actions.
“It was terrible for us, because it made all the gamers turn against us, or at least against the game itself”, Prahm told SPOnG in an interview that will be published in full later today. “Everybody would go onto a game site and rate it really low – of course, we got some mixed reviews anyway, but that sort of protest reviewing really amplified the overall negative rating. We were devastated.
“Our biggest fans could probably identify us, but [at the time of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men's release] there was a lot of people who didn't know us that would have bought our game, but decided not to because they had heard about the controversy.”
Prahm revealed that IO has been taking on board the mixed reviews and implementing rigorous testing within the studio to ensure that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is of a much higher quality. “We didn't really pay much attention to the controversy-protest comments, but the real, honest reviews really made us change the way we test our games. Now we're using consumer testing and other tests, and we've not been through a process like this before.
“In a way I think this situation has been good for us. A wake up call, right? We're willing to listen to people and ready to make changes to get our shit together”, Prahm concludes with a chuckle.
The full interview will be published on SPOnG shortly, including IO's inspiration from Youtube, the depth of Lynch's character and the potential for future sequels.
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Comments
Nick Price 19 Jan 2010 08:57
1/2
Just to add a slight correction to this article, the producer's name is actually Mads Prahm with an M at the end.
Dreadknux 19 Jan 2010 09:26
2/2
Thanks for the heads up, I'll correct that now.