Sony's "Colossal Failure" - The Tragedy of The Order: 1886

[Music] [Music] every week the graphical leap between the seventh and eighth console generations proved momentous though titles such as the last of us pushed the older hardware to its limits the first showing of something like killzone shadowfall running on playstation 4 demonstrated how the boost in memory and raw processing power could enhance interactive entertainment from environments replete with higher quality details to real-time lighting effects that dynamically elevated the digital world the ps4 and xbox one bridged the gap to realism that had long eluded video games early in the generation no game came quite as close to bordering a line of authenticity as ready at dawn's the order 1886. ready at dawn often described the order as the culmination of everything it had learned in its 10-plus year history in developing god of war projects for the psp the studio endeavored to squeeze every ounce of power possible out of the handheld the same rules applied when it came time to produce a new ip for ps4 as a result many dubbed the order 1886 the most impressive looking game on console upon its february 2015 release thanks in no small part to the proprietary rat engine 4.0 world-class technology which ensured even the smallest of details presented themselves in character models environments and the various objects complementing both however an obsessive emphasis on the minutia came at a cost to the macro so much so that the experience ran less than 10 hours in length for the average player news of the short campaign made the rounds ahead of launch rousing discourse about the value of full-price games and stifling much of the hype surrounding the order 1886. unfortunately that one blow almost guaranteed rediadon would never get to complete its alternate history epic this is the tragedy of the order 1886. [Music] [Music] [Music] founded in 2003 by blizzard entertainment and naughty dog alum rue vera ceria andrea pacino and idiom allen funt ready at dawn made a name for itself by developing critically acclaimed titles on the playstation portable the 2006 jack and daxter spinoff daxter served as the first of such projects with a pair of beloved god of war entries truly launching the studio into the stratosphere but virus surya told game informer the seeds for what would become the order 1886 were planted as early as 2005 and left to stew until powerful enough hardware allowed the team to pursue its aspirations in full notably rumblings about the ps4's potential capabilities encouraged ready at dawn to begin tinkering with a brand new game engine in 2009 before earnest work on the project kicked off the following year uncharted 2 among thieves and formed much of the order 1886's genesis since the emotion naughty dog evoked in people inspired ready at dawn's interest in more cinematic storytelling however virus surya said in a gamescom 2013 interview with eurogamer that the order developer wanted to capture a similar sense of entertainment instead of emulating naughty dog's success beat for beat thus began the focus on creating what redia dawn deemed a filmic experience the studio didn't view the filmic and cinematic labels interchangeably though as opposed to following the formula of developing a game where insequential events happened like in film the overarching goal centered on injecting techniques seen in film into the interactive medium this line of thinking resulted in the team closely analyzing the process of shooting video games wanting to eschew sterility in favor of stimulating a lick that appeared visually more comfortable to the eye as game director dana jan put it ultimately redia dawn concluded its visual target for the order necessitated aesthetics most associated with cinematography including the use of lenses grading and lighting techniques camera lenses employed in photography were built into the rat engine allowing the developers to experiment with chromatic aberration and lens distortion optical design choices whose implementation accentuated the look and feel of the game's gritty recreation of victorian era london [Music] the filmic approach to presentation in the order 1886 complemented the late 19th century post-industrial revolution setting chosen because of ready at dawn's fascination with how quickly society transitioned from agricultural to industrial london in particular came into play due to its significance in world history and general disuse in gaming the well-known grit and grime of the city especially during the victorian era proved tantamount when designing the action title's visual field a research trip to london helped establish a baseline resulting in developers snapping thousands of reference photos many of them close-up shots of small details such as local brick and ironwork these efforts weren't for naught considering the attention given to furnishing every corner of the experience with uncanny realism an idea made possible thanks to the design of an in-house material system capable of recreating the texture of leather metal stone and wood the embellishment of insignificant intricacies additionally engendered the creation of a new physics engine able which employed soft body physics as its basis rather than the standard rigid body physics of the day and the technology worked in such a way that each material boasted unique properties meaning every object could bend flex and react to the world as authentically as possible naturally rediadon's built-in lenses and proprietary systems began a visual quality quite unlike anything else in gaming at the time for example developers riddle the interiors with specks of dust tiny particles filtering through the air settling on the camera to further elevate the already impeccable atmosphere even oil lamps in the same room flickered independently of one another character models similarly received the utmost care rendered through a meticulous process demanding hundreds of work hours per character the models and dynamic effects proved so impressive that the order 1886's awe-inspiring e3 2013 reveal required no cg fake outs everything shown in the teaser existed in engine but masterful technological feasts hardly mattered by the end of the pre-release period [Music] the order 1886 entered the public consciousness during sony z3 2013 press conference with a three-minute teaser depicting four nights in a horse-drawn carriage traveling through an overcast london a steampunk design scheme complete with advanced dirigibles and relatively high-tech weaponry contrasted with the 19th century white chapel setting instantly alerting viewers to the game's alternate history angle based on a script penned by creative director ru virusuria and john adams scribe kirk ellis ready at dawn's first original ip reimagined the arthurian legend as one about the knights of the round table seeking salvation through eliminating a centuries-old threat to humanity that threat came in the form of half-breeds or lichens born out of genetic mutations in humans circa 7th century a.d though humans outnumbered the mutated and exiled creatures the latter possessed superhuman abilities ensuring the tide of war always favored the half-breeds king arthur's in-universe establishment of the honor-bound fellowship marginally improved humanity's chances of long-term survival yet the discovery of a mysterious substance known as blackwater significantly even the odds courtesy of its regenerative and life-extending properties those who swore their allegiance to the roundtable such as the order 1886 protagonist sir galahad could spend centuries combating the lycan threat and the late 19th century creation of advanced technology namely airships thermite firing weaponry and wireless communications systems further tipped the scales in humankind's favor in-game the fight between half-breed forces and the order manifested in standard third-person cover shooter battles galahad and his fellow knights lady egrain sir percival and marquis de lafayette wielded unique guns like the thermite rifle and electricity spewing arc gun according to game director dana jan the order 1886's firearms were designed as stars of the gun play almost like extra characters in and of themselves in terms of the minute to minute action ready at dawn struggled to build mechanics that adequately melded the story and gameplay the production crew's primary focus in this regard revolved around delivering a roller coaster-like experience to keep players engaged spikes in gameplay which reduced or increased the presence of combat encounters were contingent on whether or not the narrative sat center stage at any given moment these so-called spikes included quick time events and short melee bouts introduced to maintain player engagement during cut scene-heavy segments and action-packed sequences repetitiveness served as another major concern giving rise to the addition of puzzle mechanics that players came to loathe following the order 1886's release company rats leading their supership cowards the order 1886 generated a fair bit of excitement leading up to its february 2015 launch on the ps4 playstation faithful especially took an interest in the alternate history premise the order's stunning visuals heightened the anticipation as well in the end however numerous critics and players would view the title as little more than a glorified tech demo a showpiece for the exclusive hardware upon which it launched this narrative began circulating when since terminated youtube channel play me through uploaded a complete walkthrough of the order 1886 about a week before its official street date play me through's video ran approximately five hours long but didn't constitute a comprehensive walkthrough given that the player rarely investigated story related items and seldom died another user managed to earn the platinum trophy after nine hours meanwhile multiple news outlets reported the order 1886's campaign ran somewhere between eight to 15 hours in length questions of the game's value concerning its 60 dollar price tag and lack of a multiplayer component quickly rose to the forefront but before the leaked walkthrough hit the web ru verasuria found himself fielding similar questions from journalists to which he responded in agreement with the importance of game length but only insofar as recognizing every title needed to take its own time to tell the story he elaborated further when noting that some interactive experiences required longer run times than others citing call of duty 4 modern warfare's 4-hour campaign as one prime example of a short single player mode offering a high quality experience still the creative director understood why the amount of time spent with the game mattered and hoped players would feel rewarded by the story which redia dawn plotted to present questions that would either receive answers in the order 1886 or a hopeful future entry to the chagrin of those captivated by the game's cliffhanger ending sir galahad's journey may not soon reach a firm resolution while developers insisted the efforts across the order 1886's 120 person team were spread evenly between art and content the public response suggested the preponderance of critics and players believed gameplay and story took a back seat to visual quality the latter garnered much acclaim since users couldn't help but gawk at the graphics and ready at dawn's obsessive attention to detail in addition the overarching narrative along with each night's role in the order proved remarkably intriguing yet many agreed the world itself suffered from a lack of depth similar criticism was leveled at the bog standard qte field gameplay too as a result though the order 1886 set the bar high for presentation its metacritic score settled in at an unfavorable 63 because of several other shortcomings poor critical reception combined with underwhelming sales meant sony the ip holder had little to no interest in pursuing a subsequent installment with ready at dawn at the helm the studio moved on as a consequence producing games for other third-party partners before its acquisition by oculus studios in the summer of 2020 should the order ever receive a new lease on life its original creators won't likely lead the charge speaking to polygon during a 2018 retrospective riviera surya reasoned one of the order's main shortcomings stem from an excessive concentration on building the ip at the very beginning some would argue the studio set its sights too far into the future to the degree that it seemingly worked under the assumption it would inevitably get to explore the property further the sequel bait the order ended on evinces as much thus the tragedy of the order 1886 lies in the realization that ready at dawn's tunnel vision regarding the brand's future left little room for securing enough player interest in the first installment the resources used for developing cutting-edge technology and crafting a bold new world didn't go to waste though the order 1886 set the bar for a generation of visual presentation on consoles and its history-bending narrative while once mired in controversy beyond its control remains one that players hope sony will revisit sooner rather than later i'll join you shortly and don't you know i'm galahad no more [Music] thank you for watching we'd like to take this time to think by name the generous patrons who have pledged to our hall of fame rewards year alex moretti and those currently subscribed to our producer rewards here brock pb roto dario get wrecked dot com keira may landy k hayes mario herrera milkshake if you enjoy our content please consider subscribing to our channel and backing us on patreon [Music] you

Channel: GVMERS

Views: 305,879

Keywords: 4K, Documentary, Tragedy, The Order 1886, The Order 1887, Part 2, Sony, Gameplay, Graphics, Stunning, Lifelike, Rise and Fall, Ready At Dawn, PS5, PS6, PS4

Id: WyzMZcQ1Naw

Length: 15min 47sec (947 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 25 2022