Five Developers That Need To Vindicate Themselves This Year

All game developers, be it big or small, popular or not, face highs and lows. And all developers, no matter if they created some of the best games out there, face lows. It might be because they bad mouthed some other devs, or said something outrageous. It might be because they made just one game that wasn’t up to everyone’s expectations. Or maybe they’ve not really been at the top of their game recently. In this list, we have listed five such developers who need to vindicate themselves and prove to everybody that they’re better than what everyone thinks.

Remember, this list isn’t about five crappy developers or five developers who have sucked lately, so please don’t take it in that spirit.

So enjoy, and leave behind your feedback in the comments section below.

BioWare

Why they need to vindicate themselves

Let’s be honest- Dragon Age II was a sore disappointing. We all know it, and we’re not too quiet about it. Ever since DA2 was released earlier in 2011, fans have been bad mouthing BioWare for allegedly becoming too “casualized” and “consolized”, for having become bad developers. Frankly, that’s just stupid. Dragon Age II is just one bad game, and BioWare has proven over the years that they’re one of the best developers around.

How they can vindicate themselves

The Old Republic is awesome as it is, and that game alone might be able to earn BioWare some points in the eyes of their haters, but you know will really help them? If Mass Effect 3 turns out to be as awesome as it looks, if not better. That’ll shut the naysayers up and show everybody they’re not “mediocre” developers. Add a proper, deep Dragon Age game that is more like Origins than 2, and that might just seal the deal.

Gearbox

Why they need to vindicate themselves

Gearbox hasn’t really done anything wrong- they’re awesome developers, and the last game they actually developed- Borderlands- was brilliant. But Duke Nukem Forever… well, there’s no polite way to say this- it sucked. It bombed. It was a horrible, horrible game and an insult to anyone who played it. But Gearbox didn’t really developed it. They just put it together and released it, so it being so bad wasn’t really there fault. A lot of people don’t get that, sadly, and they’ve been blaming Gearbox.

How they can vindicate themselves

Borderlands 2 comes out this year, and it’s looking great so far. If it turns out to be as good as everyone’s expecting, Gearbox will be vindicated for sure. Announce a new Duke Nukem game that looks freaking awesome, and they’ll be gold.

343 Industries

Why they need to vindicate themselves

Bungie, the developers that created Halo, have left Microsoft, and now the franchise is being handled by an entirely new development team- 343 Industries. People have been doubting them for a long time now, saying they will mess up the entire franchise and that Halo 4 won’t be half as good as any of the other Halo games, and that they won’t be able to handle the legendary series well. To be fair, their fears are not irrational.

How they can vindicate themselves

If Halo 4 turns out to be as good as everyone wants it to be, and if it remains true to the heart and soul of the Halo franchise, and if it doesn’t ruin the characters of Master Chief and Cortana, then people might hold 343 Industries very highly in their eyes, maybe even as high as Bungie themselves.

Treyarch

Why they need to vindicate themselves

Well, come on. It’s Call of Duty. It’s Activision. It’s Treyarch. If anyone needs to vindicate themselves, it’s these guys. They’ve received a lot of hate. Not just by the virtue of being Call of Duty developers, but they’re also considered inferior to the other Call of Duty developers, Infinity Ward. And a lot of people thought that Treyarch’s last game, Black Ops, was bad (which it really was not).

How they can vindicate themselves

Just release an awesome, awesome game with balanced multiplayer that is not broken, a great single player campaign with a great story, and actually make some changes to the formula- something we haven’t seen in the series in a long time. Chances are people will still hate Treyarch, the franchise and the game itself, but, well, what’s the harm in trying?

id Software

Why they need to vindicate themselves

id Software was once the king of the first person shooter genre- heck they created the genre. The likes of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein have all come from under the id banner. Rage was supposed to be their grand comeback, their return to glory. And while Rage was a great game, according to many people, it was a disappointment, and it just wasn’t as good a game as everyone expected it to be. It wasn’t a game worthy enough of the id Software banner. People have started doubting id Software now, and if they’re as good as they were back in the day.

How they can vindicate themselves

Doom 4 is rumoured to be released this year, and obviously, a lot is expected of it. If id can make an awesome Doom game that is not just brilliant by today’s standards, but also stays true to the franchise’s nature, most of their haters will be ready to “forgive” them for everything they seem to have done wrong over the past few years.

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