DOTY - Demo of the Year (the standards)

So, for a little lighter and more fun conversation, I thought we could put down the knives, RPG's, and swords and have a little debate on demos.

First off, let me say that this gen has been sweet when it comes to being able to play a demo of a game before making the decision to buy. I think, and most would agree, that demos are an important part to this gen. They can help you spend your money more wisely. They can get you more excited about a particular title. And, most importantly, they allow you to play the friggin' game before its fully released!!! Sweet.

So, why not try and crown a Demo Of The Year, AKA. DOTY?!?!? Interested? Good, proceed. If not, go back to slashing throats.

I think we first need to establish some standards for demos. How do we grade them? What features of a demo are important? And, remember, we can not base these solely off of opinion.

So, list some of the important standards to you, and I will post nominations for the set standards.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT WHICH DEMO, not yet. Just the standards we'd judge them with.
(I guess I have to make this larger so some of you can read it)

people here don't know the difference between a good demo and the game they like best.

expect them to choose their favorite game instead of the best demo.

good sampling, fun, replayable.

tied between skate and crackdown

Guys, did you not read the end of my post? If you can, please refrain from naming any actual titles. At this point, I'm only trying to see what standards we should be looking at.

Once those standards are set, then we can name names.

good sampling, fun, replayable.

tied between skate and crackdown

Awinagainov

TY

I will post those suggestions.

*** Wait....... what do you mean by "good sampling?" Length, at what point in the actual game, what?

Why make demos a big deal now? They've been around for several dacades already.XaosII

Yet Nintendo still don't do them. Angers me really.

Why make demos a big deal now? They've been around for several dacades already.XaosII

Not in this form and not with this many people using them. To be able to download right to your console and try it out within minutes, is quite the different story.

Also, can we usea standard like "fun"? Isn't that more of an opinion? I dunno, maybe there's no way to do it without too much personal bias.

Why make demos a big deal now? They've been around for several dacades already.XaosII

[QUOTE="Awinagainov"]

good sampling, fun, replayable.

tied between skate and crackdown

The_Crucible

TY

I will post those suggestions.

*** Wait....... what do you mean by "good sampling?" Length, at what point in the actual game, what?

ie: crackdown had only one island open, not all the weapons and a 30 minute timer once you got to a certain level. but the gameplay was identical to the retail game.

somde demos are released too early and dont give a good sampling of gameplay

Oh yeah, and standards: fun factor and replayability. Yep, still Crysis. :PZeliard9

word, and don't forget dynamic gameplay ^^

I Think two of the biggest factors would be re-playability and how it affected your attitude toward the final product.

I downloaded a few demos this year that I just couldn't get enough of them. I played them over and over again. And they never got old.

And there have been demos that have made me instantly say "Holy crap. I'm buying this game" and other that killed my budding interest in the retail product.

I assume betas are not included in this competition.

[QUOTE="XaosII"]Why make demos a big deal now? They've been around for several dacades already.musicalmac

That has ZERO to do with it. I have a bought as good of an idea of how the actual game is than the demo.

R&C demo was good. Sounds like Crysis' was good. Don't get it twisted. Plus, won't there be a MAss Effect Demo? Plus, isn't there a SMG demo available in store now?

Bioshock demo was amazingtccavey2

That's one that will go on the list for sure.

But I don't want titles. i want standards to judge the titles. TY.

I Think two of the biggest factors would be re-playability and how it affected your attitude toward the final product.Private_Vegas

That one is critical but still extremely subjective. It can greatly vary person by person.

1. Crysis

2. Bioshock

3. skate.

1. Crysis

2. Bioshock

3. skate.

MikeE21286

Thanks for not reading.

Edit: well you said it was ok to discuss which demo at one point, could that be now?

Anyhoo, I think a good demo shows off a new IP with a healthy amount of gameplay time that ends on a cliff-hanger.

For me whats important in a demo (in this order)

1. Functionality - Showing me what the final game will be like as an experience and showing off the controls.

2. Playability - does it actually reward me with a decent experience in itself?

3. Replayability - I'd like to play it again or show it off to my friends. "Look what this game will be like!"

[QUOTE="MikeE21286"]

1. Crysis

2. Bioshock

3. skate.

The_Crucible

Thanks for not reading.

:D