http://www.destructoid.com/peter-molyneux-hates-demos-150412.phtml

I happen to agree with him. Picking and choosing what experiences from your game the player sees in a demo is too much of a "mine field" situation. Not getting into how presumptuous it is. They can be misleading. But if you let the player have the first hour of a game, they are having the same experience as if they purchased the title. That way it is not misleading and if the game is truly , then it will have captivated the player. I think it is a brilliant idea.

But I'm a tad bias. As a struggling designer, I think I would pass out due to excitement just being in the awesome presence of Mr. Molyneux.

"I hate demos. I think demos are the death knell of experiences," raged the Fable creator, possibly after throwing a brandy glass into a fire.

Heh ha. Classic.

If a game is something you think you'll like, you can generally tell within five minutes. Takes about ten seconds to judge the visuals, and thirty seconds to judge the controls, and about two minutes to judge the lot (voice acting, writing, repetetive gimmicky gist if it has one).

I think demos should be completely seperate from anything in the final title, I mean, they should be made to show off the visuals, controls, and offer a taste of what's in store. A Gears of War demo would be a run through a section of a map made specifically for the demo. A combat scenario and a specially written story to preview the action of the main game.

Demos are usually cheap, and far from polished. If you're gonna release anything at all to promote a game, then you should hook people up with a complete, but short experience that has a beginning, a middle, and a... ah... almost... buy the game when it comes out... end. That's what I'd do if I was in charge anyway. Rather than offering a section of the finished title, or a pants mini-version of something far from finished, way too early.

Edit: Think of it this way. If you hadn't played the demo (the kind of demo I'm talking about), you'd find it on the game when you bought it - it would be that involving and necessary to the final game.

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"Deus lo vult!"

I love demos. I almost always use them before purchasing a game as it gives me a idea on what it is like.
For example:
I had never heard of the game Mirrors' Edge before and would never have bought it if I had not experienced it first hand. (Great, unique game by the way).

I understand your argument but they really do help.

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Such a terrible perception of demos...It's funny how people, usually developers, always say the same thing about "not knowing which gameplay mechanics to accentuate..."

Here's an idea, build a bootleg Arena or Colosseum which can allow gamers to get a feel for what most of the gameplay would inhabit, different areas of combat and so forth...

Here's an idea, release a made up area specifically designed for DEMO-ING!! It's funny how people don't remember the GDC 07' demo where Peter and the team created that area to first show off the dog...Couldn't move forward with that demo?? Couldn't expand on WHAT WAS BUILT??

This nonsense about developers refusing to release demos is ridiculous...Assassins Creed 2 is doing the same thing...Amazing how at E3, the developers who were DEMO-ING the game even stated that, what they were showing isn't part of the game, it's made specifically for a DEMO PURPOSE!??!?

So if they were able to bug test THAT demo, what is so hard about releasing it for public consumption?? Such a weak argument made by developers these days...

I was thinking more along the lines of a Fable 1 demo: Control Scarlet Robe in her fight against Balverines using spells, ranged and melee weapons in a journey through a forest. Several encounters with NPC's for all the / decisions. Total play time approx: 20 minutes. Various choices mean a second or third play-through will yield different experiences. Total possible play-time 1 hour +

Buy Fable 1, and find the Scarlet Robe quest on the menu. It doesn't give anything away. But when playing the main game, and the Hero finally comes to learn that his mother was Scarlet Robe... it has more impact, because that Scarlet Robe Balverine fight was a first hand experience for the player.

An Assassin's Creed demo, if I'd have been wanting to demo it, I would have used test subject number sixteen, I think that's right, the one before Altair. And have the player control that assassin until death. Have a first person experience after the fact, of hearing them milling around the Animus and panicking because they're losing the subject.

You'd get a running demo of all the features, a genuine look at all the options and what it is to play the full game, and also an experience that will expand on the story of the main title when it is released. Everybody's happy. I think that's better than a little look at a finished game, or a quick go on something with the words "May not reflect finished product" or something. Meh.

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"Deus lo vult!"

Brilliant Idea. Love it. Wish it would actually happen like that.

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http://criticalhitgameblog.blogspot.com/

I love demos. Ive found many games that were that I wouldnt have given a chance without one. But I do see his point.

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When you smile the whole world smiles with you, when you fart you stand alone.

I quite like the sound of a demo that perhaps follows events before the actual start of the game, this would allow players to easily try out some of the different functions and even experience combat. This would all be without damaging the plotline and if anything encourage gamers to buy the actual game to experience what happens next

However I can see PM's point.