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Bully vs. Harry Potter

Posted by Zonk on from the you-don't-have-to-like-me dept.

Via the ever-enjoyable GameSetWatch, a post on a blog for the development house Surreal Game Design. Surreal is a Midway division, and it's interesting to see a company blog actually ponying up opinions on the work of other designers as they do in this discussion of the unlikeability of Bully's setting. They discuss the problems with setting the game in a boarding school, the protagonist's sniveling classmates, and the unfavorable comparisons between Bullworth Academy and the halls of Sunnydale High or Hogwarts. From the post: "A while ago I was talking to Director of Design Richard Rouse along with some of the other Midway studio creative directors about our experiences with Bully. In both our cases, we really, really wanted to like it, but only played a few hours before giving up. Since it was blessed with many high reviews, we were left wondering 'What were we missing?' ... Harvey Smith of Midway Austin (and Creative Director of Area 51: Blacksite) rightfully pointed out that high school has been a successful setting of great things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Ultimate Spiderman comics. Richard noted that the high school of Buffy was populated by attractive, always-witty teenagers that killed freakin' vampires. Those California high schools you see in TV and movies are probably some of the most idealized environments you'll ever see."

4 of 34 comments (clear)

  1. Nice title by ArcherB · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bully vs. Harry Potter

    Now that is a game I'd buy!

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    1. Re:Nice title by jfinke · · Score: 4, Funny

      Isn't that pretty much what the books are about?

    2. Re:Nice title by athdemo · · Score: 2, Funny

      In Soviet Russia, Harry Potter bullies you!

  2. Re:It's pretty obvious... by c0d3h4x0r · · Score: 2, Funny

    I hear the same thing about Zelda: Twilight Princess. People spend half an hour, don't make it out of the village, and complain that you have to fish to much, conclude that the game sucks, and don't play any further. Any game that requires you to spend time in a boring, monotonous activity in order to earn things (experience/points/items/coins/gold/etc) or unlock things (weapons/keys/flutes/goblets/etc) is a boring game.

    If I wanted to have to suffer through somethig boring just to finally get something good, I'd shut down my console and go live real life.
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