Does anyone else feel a little irksome when developers put their names on titles

I have the utmost respect for game developers especially the guys who are renowned for sharing their visions and talents with us who love games. But for some reason, I get a little bit, I don't know how to say this, but kind of irksome whenever a developer puts their names on the titles they develop.

For example, Supreme Commander has "a RTS game by Chris Taylor" on the bottom of the box, or how Richard Garriot has his name on his new developed MMO entitled, "Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa." Another huge example is Sid Mier who practically has his name on, well, everything. These are just a few examples. I had no idea who Chris Taylor was until I picked up Supreme Commander. It's like he placed his name on the box so everyone can know who he is. Is that really neccessary?

Now, I recognize that these games are their babies, so-to-speak, and I do respect them for loving their creations, but it feels a little bit egotistical in some ways. In contrast, I don't see Miyamoto place his name on his titles. He could easily have put "Shigeru Miyamoto presents: Pikmin" or "Miyamoto's Super Mario Galaxy." I also don't see Will Wright give himself credit on his Sim games, even though he deserves all the credit in the world. Also, guys like Mikami, Metzen, Gabe Newell, or even John Carmack don't have their names on their highly popular titles. Doom 3 doesn't have "John Carmack's Doom 3" on it.

I guess this kind of bothers me...just slightly...because no matter how amazingly talented or what great minds these developers have, games are still a team effort. I don't know, that's how I feel about it. Please forgive me if I said anything wrong or offended anyone who are fans of these developers' games...I'm a fan too. I dig Supreme Commander and look forward to Tabula Rasa by the great Richard Garriot...but I guess it's because...I know they're great, but having their names on the titles seem like they want to reinforce their greatness a little too much.

I think when a game is good and it delivers greatness, people will recognize who these developers are. That's how I feel about it.

I've got no problem with it. Movie directors such as Tarantino and Raimi don't make their movies singlehandedly, but most if not all of their movies have characteristics in common.

What with companies offering spinoffs handled by their Z list developers and having multiple teams of differing talents working on mainline games in some franchises directors being upfront about what they are and aren't involved with is an extremely useful piece of information. Along the same lines, the development team should also receive a prominent place.

Right now the model (which gives pride of place to a game's publisher) makes little sense. Nobody reads books based on their publisher or watches movies on the basis of the studio that produced them.

I've got no problem with it. Movie directors such as Tarantino and Raimi don't make their movies singlehandedly, but most if not all of their movies have characteristics in common.

What with companies offering spinoffs handled by their Z list developers and having multiple teams of differing talents working on mainline games in some franchises directors being upfront about what they are and aren't involved with is an extremely useful piece of information. Along the same lines, the development team should also receive a prominent place.

Right now the model (which gives pride of place to a game's publisher) makes little sense. Nobody reads books based on their publisher or watches movies on the basis of the studio that produced them.

CarnageHeart

With publishers snapping up developers left and right (Take 2 buying Rockstar, M$oft buying Rare), the publisher's name is usually the only name left.maddog95376

In none of those cases did the development teams cease to exist, its just that ownership changed hands.

[QUOTE="maddog95376"]

With publishers snapping up developers left and right (Take 2 buying Rockstar, M$oft buying Rare), the publisher's name is usually the only name left.CarnageHeart

In none of those cases did the development teams cease to exist, its just that ownership changed hands.

From my experience,it's not the designers thatare the ones that are pushing to have their name on the box. In most cases, it's simply marketing. The marketing department has decided that putting Chris Taylor's name on a box is unlikely to dissuade people from buying the game and likely to ring a bell with fans of Total Annihilation orwill possibly have the effect of trickingnew gamers into thinking the game was created by some world renowned designer worthy of having their name plastered front and center on the box.

I have the utmost respect for game developers especially the guys who are renowned for sharing their visions and talents with us who love games. But for some reason, I get a little bit, I don't know how to say this, but kind of irksome whenever a developer puts their names on the titles they develop.

For example, Supreme Commander has "a RTS game by Chris Taylor" on the bottom of the box, or how Richard Garriot has his name on his new developed MMO entitled, "Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa." Another huge example is Sid Mier who practically has his name on, well, everything. These are just a few examples. I had no idea who Chris Taylor was until I picked up Supreme Commander. It's like he placed his name on the box so everyone can know who he is. Is that really neccessary?

Now, I recognize that these games are their babies, so-to-speak, and I do respect them for loving their creations, but it feels a little bit egotistical in some ways. In contrast, I don't see Miyamoto place his name on his titles. He could easily have put "Shigeru Miyamoto presents: Pikmin" or "Miyamoto's Super Mario Galaxy." I also don't see Will Wright give himself credit on his Sim games, even though he deserves all the credit in the world. Also, guys like Mikami, Metzen, Gabe Newell, or even John Carmack don't have their names on their highly popular titles. Doom 3 doesn't have "John Carmack's Doom 3" on it.

I guess this kind of bothers me...just slightly...because no matter how amazingly talented or what great minds these developers have, games are still a team effort. I don't know, that's how I feel about it. Please forgive me if I said anything wrong or offended anyone who are fans of these developers' games...I'm a fan too. I dig Supreme Commander and look forward to Tabula Rasa by the great Richard Garriot...but I guess it's because...I know they're great, but having their names on the titles seem like they want to reinforce their greatness a little too much.

I think when a game is good and it delivers greatness, people will recognize who these developers are. That's how I feel about it.

ASK_Story

Even though Miyamoto, Carmack, Will Wright, ect. don't slap their names on the box but they still pretty much get 100% of the praise and credit for their respective games.