Can a game be in development for too long?

I know what your thinking "how can a game be in development for too long? more time the better I say." Hear me out. Think of making a game like raising a child;you feed him, take care of him and teach him good manners and values,then when the time is right you send him of to be either a productive member of society or a hobo living under the bridge slowly drinking himself to death. But there are some parents that just won't let go which brings be to my first example

:Dev time, 10 years

Too human is like the 40 year old guy who lives with his over-smothering mom who decides to go out and find a place nearby. Too Humanwas downright awful and just felt like it had too many tweaks to it. why it took so, long and cost so much money I don't know, but what I do know is the devs had this one on there hands a bit too long. But what about the game with a rather short development cycle?

:Dev time, 2 years.

That's right folks, 2 years. 2 years to make the engine, 2 years to writhe a story, 2 years to make the campaign 2 years to tweak the graphics and 2 years to develop the fantastic multiplayer which people are still playing today. Everything about CoD4 was fantastic, yes the sp was kind of short, but it was fun while it lasted! "But there are games that have been in development for a real long time and are fantastic. what about them?"

:Dev time, 6 years

Half-life 2 is debatably the greatest FPS of all time. Now i don't know whether its the fact that Valve is a smaller company than most, or if there perfectionist. But what I do know is, this is an example of time, money and effort being used properly. Lets hope some of the other vaporware games can pull this off, if they are ever released.)

:Dev time, I lost track. Can some one refresh my memory?

Should add Team Fortress 2 on there. I know that game took a long time to develop.

Killzone 2 four years tOtalPWNaAe

I don't really care about development time, but i hate it when devs/publishers reveal a game too early. e.g. FFXIIIbdum_pshhh

Haze was in development to long, if it was a launch title I cout have seen it getting AA status

The fact that people still think Too Human had a 10 year development time makes me sad. It wasn't a 10 year development cycle people...

Yes. Starcraft: Ghost.

The fact that people still think Too Human had a 10 year development time makes me sad. It wasn't a 10 year development cycle people...

spinecaton

Devs really shouldn't be spending more than 4 years max on a game though honestly in my opinion it should only be 3. Devs however shouldn't be annoucing games more than a year in advance. Also the dev time really needs to be in terms of what the publisher can reasonably hope for. THQ should never have games in development for more than 2 years while someone like Capcom can obviously handle it.

Should add Team Fortress 2 on there. I know that game took a long time to develop.

Spartan8907

Doesn't bother me how long they take as long as the game is good.

[QUOTE="spinecaton"]

The fact that people still think Too Human had a 10 year development time makes me sad. It wasn't a 10 year development cycle people...

II_Seraphim_II

The only that didn't change was the name, the concept, the story, the characters all changed from when it first started.

No. As long as the game is released in a finished state up to what the developers wanted, then I could care less how long it took them to make it.

[QUOTE="II_Seraphim_II"][QUOTE="spinecaton"]

The fact that people still think Too Human had a 10 year development time makes me sad. It wasn't a 10 year development cycle people...

spinecaton

The only that didn't change was the name, the concept, the story, the characters all changed from when it first started.

[QUOTE="II_Seraphim_II"][QUOTE="spinecaton"]

The fact that people still think Too Human had a 10 year development time makes me sad. It wasn't a 10 year development cycle people...

The only that didn't change was the name, the concept, the story, the characters all changed from when it first started.

[QUOTE="spinecaton"]

[QUOTE="II_Seraphim_II"] Well it depends what we mean by "development time". Does development time start when the first bit of code, the first textures, the first models are being created, or the moment that they start writing the story? The moment they get funding for a project? If its the moment they get funding for a project, then the decade dev time is pretty accurate. I know they switched ideas and platforms, and the game changed over time, but it was still the same project.II_Seraphim_II

The only that didn't change was the name, the concept, the story, the characters all changed from when it first started.

The PS1 verion was in development started 1999 then it was cancelled. In 2005 the game was shown again with everything changed but the name. I don't care what you say the 360 version of Too Human was not in development for 10 years.

The PS1 verion was in development started 1999 then it was cancelled. In 2005 the game was shown again with everything changed but the name. I don't care what you say the 360 version of Too Human was not in development for 10 years.

spinecaton

"Too Human was first announced in 1999 to be released on the original Sony PlayStation with a first teaser showings during E3 that same year.[12] Unlike its eventual format on the Xbox 360 as a single disc, the game was to be released across four CD-ROMs bundled together (a similar format to that of Final Fantasy VIII released in 1999). Also, unlike the finished product, the plot, while involving the theme of human cybernetic enhancements, was to be set in the distant future of 2450 AD instead of the alternate science fiction take on Norse Mythology.[12]

Development halted when Nintendo announced an exclusive partnership with Silicon Knights, and the game was moved to the Nintendo GameCube in 2000. Prototyping for the game took place on the GameCube, but the staff at Silicon Knights soon devoted their efforts towards two other releases, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, with further news over Too Human becoming mute, without any indication of future development being announced until five years later in 2005.[13]"

So as you see alot more was kept then just the title, the whole concept of cybernetic enhancements was kept which is also another reason why it was the same project and same name all this time. The setting is different but as I explained to you, Dark Sector did the exact same thing, changing settings drastically but that didnt mean it wasnt developed during its early stages. Its obviously a tough call because its not like we have a timesheet showing exactly how much time during those 10 years was dedicated to making this game but I am sure the simple fact the game finally came out with such a large budget means that they were bouncing ideas for this game for a while before pitching it to MS.

So as you see alot more was kept then just the title, the whole concept of cybernetic enhancements was kept which is also another reason why it was the same project and same name all this time. The setting is different but as I explained to you, Dark Sector did the exact same thing, changing settings drastically but that didnt mean it wasnt developed during its early stages. Its obviously a tough call because its not like we have a timesheet showing exactly how much time during those 10 years was dedicated to making this game but I am sure the simple fact the game finally came out with such a large budget means that they were bouncing ideas for this game for a while before pitching it to MS.

Javy03

In your own link you stated that the development was halted around 2000. As you stated we don't exactly how many years in between they were working on it but I can guarantee that is wasn't in development for the full 10 years.

Anything beyond 3 years isnt worth it.

I mean, your in grade 9 and you hear about KZ2.

You graduate highschool and are on the way to college or university...........do you really care enough by then to buy KZ2 when its done?

According to non-Halo 3 sales, my theory has merit.

perfect dark zero is 6 years,

and it proves that it shouldnt have been in development that long because there was very little effort put into it

almost 10 years

I think its like 4 years now