Dr Disrespect Fires Back At Latest Midnight Society Criticism
Midnight Society, Dr Disrespect's new game studio, just announced plans to use a format called Snapshots to test its upcoming FPS, "Project Moon." However, game developers and critics are skeptical about its methods.
"Snapshots aren't the full game, but rather vertical slices of key aspects of the game meant to focus the community's discussion around specific features or mechanics we're actively building," explained the Midnight Society blog. "Every six weeks these Snapshots are updated with additional features, mechanics, and assets based on the discussions with the community."
Following each Snapshot, the team will assemble and review feedback and host Dev Roundtables to assess what worked and what didn't. This process will influence the focus of future Snapshots and the game as a whole. The first Snapshot, Player Hideout, will center on gunplay mechanics via the game's first assault rifle, and will collect data related to recoil, accuracy, and similar aspects.
Midnight Society firmly believes in early player input and serving fans features they want. This doesn't sound bad in theory, but onlookers have proven skeptical.
Dr Disrespect takes a jab at the doubters
On Twitter, Forbes journalist Paul Tassi asked for the input of the game development community regarding Midnight Society's six-week Snapshots and player-based development. "Game testing also seems like something you would normally...pay professionals to do," Tassi mused in a subsequent tweet.
"Destiny 2" game director Joe Blackburn responded to the call for developer input. "Innovation comes from trying stuff that others think won't work, so maybe they'll discover something cool," he said. "My 2cents are the cycles seem too fast for meaningful new changes. [Games] are bad for a long time, I'd worry most features get panned before they get a chance at iteration." Although he seemed skeptical about its implementation, he acknowledged some good could come out of it.
Eventually, Tassi's tweet gained enough traction to catch the Doc's attention. He doubled down on his plans, striking back with typical Dr Disrespect flair. "Damn we forgot to run our plans by the 'Gamedev folks,'" he wrote. "Hope they say it's ok."
Project Moon currently doesn't have release date information. Fans are allowed to participate in Snapshots, but they need to purchase a Founders Pass to get in.