While we mostly liked what we played of Titanfall 2 during the tech test weekends, some fans (from gaming forums and Reddit, etc.) of the original Titanfall weren’t as pleased with the then current state of the game and assumed the final version would be the same.
At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, PlayStation LifeStyle had the chance to speak to Respawn’s Art Director Joel Emslie, and Chief Operating Officer Dusty Welch, and we asked what they thought of people assuming that the Titanfall 2 tech test would be the same thing as the final product.
PlayStation LifeStyle: Is it a little bit annoying to see comments (based on a tech test) as if it were the final product? Do you wanna just get in there and say ‘No, you don’t understand!’
Joel Emslie: I don’t know if it’s an annoyance, it’s more of like…it makes me scratch my head. You know, I think it’s more about…I wonder why they thought that. Like, I saw a headline that said we ignored our fans, absolutely, and didn’t listen to a word they said. I just was–
PSLS: Was that headline referring to the original Titanfall or the Titanfall 2 tech test?
Joel Emslie: The tech test. I was really…I wasn’t upset, I wasn’t hurt or anything, but I was confused by it. Maybe we’re not getting the message out to everybody — press and game community alike — that we’re insanely flexible. We listen and agonize over every piece of, you know, NeoGAF, and people saying things. Sometimes it’ll be sent around the office. It’ll go out to artists and design teams and say thing like ‘Hey this person had a REALLY big problem with this? Why do they feel that way? How can we make that better?’ That’s what we’re really interested in.
So hearing a bold statement that we just ignore everything and make games all day in a bubble seemed absolutely confusing and completely inappropriate.
Dusty Welch: It’s an ignorant comment, unfortunately.
Joel Emslie: I didn’t understand it. I don’t understand where it came from. It doesn’t help make the game better. What we’re really looking for is some constructive criticism. That’s the stuff that we really love. And if it’s constructive and it comes from… you know, ‘Hey, I hated this. I hated this part of the game and I wish you could do something different.’ Like, that’s the stuff that we’re really after. That’s the gold that we’re after.
Do you agree with Respawn’s answers? Were people overreacting on a sample of the game or are the issues they have with it too significant that it can’t be changed in just a few months’ time?
Stay tuned to our full interview set to hit the site later this week where as about the online reaction to the tech test, paid microtransactions and more.
