I know the process of getting a game onto the psn/xbl marketplace is a long one and I’m wondering what features the team is deciding on having included with the mandatory demo/trial that goes with Skullgirls release. [(trials are released same time as the game and is basically a download of the entire game with most of the features locked until you purchase it)]
The trials that always got me to buy the full package all had the same elements: I liked playing them and the demo allowed enough progression to see that there was much more to the game than doing the same thing over and over again.
The trick with fighting games is that the general audience doesn’t see the depth of it until several repetitions of playing. Most FG demos usually only allow you to select one character and portray a poor example of the depth of the game they’re supposed to represent.
On the other hand some demos such as the instore one for SSf4 for 3ds had all characters available at the start and you were able to go through the arcade mode, but if the demo was available at home I would have very little incentive to purchase it since the demo would satisfy my portable needs.
Based on the features already announced for the game what do you think would be the best features to leave in the trial version that would interest new players while not being so much as to be giving the game away?
putting a demo out there costs like putting the full game out there, so no.
Did you even read the post?
I think it’s a given that the trial will need to have the tutorial in it; -the whole point of the tutorial is to get those unacquainted with fighting games to feel welcomed in and anyone that shows an interest enough to download the skullgirls demo should be granted that tutorial. The depth of how far that tutorial goes has yet to be seen but I think that players should be given as much information as possible without being overwhelmed- perhaps later tutorial lessons being unlocked after _____minutes of gameplay in the trial?
As far as who is playable in the trial; I think everyone should be. There is a variety of characters that each will appeal to a variety of people; both aesthetically and in terms of gameplay. What got me hooked on fighting games was really finding that character that I felt good controlling and players will need to try out different characters to find the one they like. Trick is: in what modes should all characters be playable? I think every mode that’s available in the trial. Maybe in Arcade mode limit the size of the team to 2 so they can see some of the team aspect but see that there’s just another flavor in 3 char teams that they can get by buying game. For Story mode it’d be cool if they can at least see the opening or play the first level of a characters story.
I think that the tutorial should cover the basics, and a little of the intermediate stuff. They should tease the higher level tutorials.
I think a limited arcade mode should be included. Story mode shouldn’t be there, though (It won’t be there on release, anyway.) If they let the initial eight all playable, then they shouldn’t include versus mode, because that’s the core game.
Source?
Anyway, it’s an interesting topic to discuss (though no doubt one the guys at Reverge have already had), and you make a fair point that characters should not be locked (I would have just assumed that would be the case since it’s pretty typical). I think some of the tutorials should definitely be included, but only the Beginner and Intermediate ones. As for the game types, either an Arcade mode to tease out the story, or VS mode without a local multiplayer component (and naturally no online component). I don’t know if access to training mode would be a good idea or not, especially with all characters available. I think having a story component available will be critical because not everyone will be buying Skullgirls (at least not at first) for it’s finely polished mechanics, some people might just be intrigued by the plot and getting them interested will surely be important.
Annoying them with a “buy SG now!” splash screen after either every VS match or at the end of Arcade mode (perhaps only include half of Arcade mode?) would be a good addition.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say first off I doubt any demo of Skullgirls is going to have all of the characters present. I think you would be asking too much of any company just starting out to give you that much from a demo. My initial guess would be Filia and Cerebella, with Peacock maybe making an appearance. That gives you access to enough playstyles to make an educated choice on the game. I’m not expecting anything other than arcade mode with maybe beginner trials and an video showing the ones not included. Even then I expect trail mode to be excluded from the demo.
What i would like to see, is around 4 characters playable, probably Filia, Cerebella, Peacock and Parasoul. This allows you to experiment with all different team sizes with at least 1 characters spare, which is good enough imo. Next should be arcade mode. What i think should happen is that you can run arcade mode up until the boss/sub-boss where that character is introduced in the pre-fight screen, but then just before you start the match it will fade out with a screen saying like ‘Conclude the fight in the full game!’ which then goes into a trailer showcasing what they will actually get if they purchase the full game, which then goes back to the main menu. This makes it so they look forward to fighting these characters they have (probably) never seen before and want to finish where they left off in the demo and makes for an easy transition to plug a trailer in.
I also think there should be a limited tutorial mode. Just stuff that shows the basics and what shows off the depth and completeness of the tutorial mode that would be in the full game. I’m kinda mixed on training mode being in but i do think it should be there. Maybe limit some options you can do in training mode? Nevertheless i think we should have a way to practice against a dummy somehow in the demo, no matter how limited at this stage, just to test different team sizes and the custom assist feature etc. on the fly without having to go through arcade mode again and such.
Another thing is the colours available. A minor thing, but i’d say around 10 colours would be fine, if they are aiming for a lot of colours in the game. Can’t really think of anything else at the moment.
I don’t have an online source, but I talked to Peter at NYCC. Correct me if I’m wrong!
I see 3 characters usable so you can check out the team size thing
Fillia, Cerebella, Peacock
vs CPU or limited arcade mode to 1-2 stages and vs 2P available
I see a 2-3 tutorials available, maybe training mode limited to 30-60 minutes before kicking you out?
I pretty much agree with everything you said. I know for me, whenever I played a demo like this (the castle crashers demo is a perfect example) I would immediately buy the game. The most important thing a demo has to accomplish is making a good impression, and the first impression is a lasting impression. I really hope Reverge reads your post.
I don’t think they’ll release a trial ver of the game. If they did, it’d be severely limited. Like, it’d probably be at the most a 1p vs 2p only demo with 3 selectable characters.
You could hope for more, but im not sure a demo is even being thought of.
IIRC, XBLA requires that games released on it have a “trial” version, which is where all this talk is coming from.
Pretty sure the retail game should come out in the next few months. Hang on for a bit longer guys :).
-Tha Hindu
Does anybody know what Marvel VS Capcom 2’s demo is? I’d check but I have the full version and it won’t let me redownload. Could someone without MvC2 on xbl check what the trial includes?
- also it seems like most people are missing the point of this thread: this isn’t talking about a pre-release demo but speculation/thoughts on what would be on the sample that’s available for every game on XBL. Example: if you don’t have MVC2 now you can download the trial of it. Since Skullgirls will be on XBL there will be a demo for it released the same time as the whole game; you trial is a download of the entire game with most features locked.
AFAIR it VS only with Ryu, Hayate, Cap, Cable, Wolvie and someone else from Capcom side as playable chars.
I want to say its Ruby Heart, if that’s her name. I don’t recall exactly.
It’s gonna be her, right. And yeah, that’s her name indeed.
Iron man is in it too.
Is he? O_o I’m pretty sure I got Wolvie/Cable/Cap. Maybe they are randomized?