Too Much Pre-Release Info?
/With the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword about a month away from release, I wanted to share my thoughts about the pre-release information on the game. The information has me both excited, but also apprehensive. In this digital age, I feel like I have too much information available on games that I want to purchase and play, such as Skyward Sword. With this wealth of information available on future game titles, is it too much of a good thing?
Skyward Sword is the Zelda title I have been most excited about since Ocarina of Time (OoT) was released. Back at that time, my greatest source of game information was my Nintendo Power subscription. It would give tidbits about OoT and how the game was progressing. There would be an article with a few pictures. At the game’s release there would be a couple of short walk-throughs for the beginning section of the game. At the time, I didn’t use the Internet much, mostly because it was a pretty new thing and AOL charged by the minute and not by the month yet. The information I had available at that time was limited. Sometimes a friend would have a few more tidbits from another gaming magazine or a wild rumor they heard from a friend of a friend of a friend. Information was limited. I felt like I had enough to formulate some thoughts about the game and if it was worth going for, even if I didn’t know everything; which is the problem I encounter now in the gaming world: knowing everything.
Even though I didn’t know about every place or mechanic in the game, I knew enough to make a decision on whether to play the game. However, my knowledge was limited leaving some mystery to the game. That’s the thing I feel is lacking in today’s coverage, the mystique of the game. If I know about the game’s every secret before it is released, why should I play it? To get the sheer joy out of checking those items off on my game progress list? Currently with Skyward Sword, I can find an over abundance of information: screen shots, articles, videos, music tracks, podcasts, interviews, game play and opinion pieces. Some of this information I desire, such as release dates, general stats in pre-orders, or interviews, but I don’t want to see every screen shot or video. I don’t want to know everything about the game, just a convincing summary. I want some surprise when I play the game. I want some mystery that has been hidden from my knowledge.
It’s like avoiding spoilers on that new movie you haven’t seen yet or that book you’ve been meaning to read. There is so much information being flung around that it’s hard not to know what happens or what it’s all about. I have purposely started to not read articles or look at videos to avoid what I feel are spoilers for Skyward Sword. There seems to be something new every single day, even if it’s only a few more screen shots or game play video. I did demo Skyward Sword at E3, mostly to see how it looked moving. I was placed into a dungeon but not given a clear goal, just allowed to explore and test out the controls. That’s the sort of information I want, concise and to the point. I’m given the general goal of the game and some of its flavor, but the rest remains hidden for me to explore at my leisure when I begin to play.
Assimilator argues that as game reporters we don’t have the luxury on not knowing about upcoming games and what’s happening with them. People want to know about them. That’s true, but do they want to know everything? Does every new screenshot have to convince someone again that they want to purchase and play this game or does it take that extra screen shot, that extra info to make them want the game? Where do we strike a balance? I’m not against all information, I’m just against too much information. Let there be a little mystery and surprise around a title so the player can get to enjoy that experience while participating in the story, not before the game is released.
