Capcom Exec Explains Talisman Cancellation

Kris Erickson • Nov 5, 2008 • Comments ()

The other problem was that late-stage game testing revealed many players were not ready for the slow, plodding pace of the turn-based game. If members of a party were not equipped with a headset to chat with others, the wait times would be interminable, Boyes said.

"This brings us one thing that we again failed to realize as PSN and XBLA were still in their infancy. Complex board games like Talisman live and die on the social interaction of people. If the people in your match aren't going to use their headsets, the social aspect of a board game gets completely drained and becomes a slog as you could be sitting there for five minutes waiting for your next turn.”

Other board games have successfully survived the transition to virtual reality. The runaway success of Scrabulous on Facebook is just one example of how board games can work online. Other communities have embraced games such as Funatics’ adaptation of The Settlers of Catan. The PSP version of Tom Clancy’s Endwar uses board-based gameplay mechanics developed by Funatics. Will Capcom turn around and change its mind as online services like PSN and XBLA develop? Unlikely. Boyes said that he is interested in short, appetizing games that “satisfy the base” of Capcom’s market. Bummer for board game fans, but in the current economic atmosphere of risk and uncertainty, the game’s cancellation does not come as a surprise.

A screenshot proving the one-time existence of Talisman for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

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Source: Eurogamer]

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Director of production for Capcom, Adam Boyes spoke to Eurogamer about the recent cancellation of Capcom’s quirky board game Talisman. The cancellation was due to problems inherent to the board game genre – namely that these games take a long tome to complete and require participants to be in the same room. Boyes estimated that a typical game of Talisman in which players build up characters using typical RPG stats, could last up to five hours. This is too long for most ADD afflicted gamers (ourselves included) to devote to a multiplayer match-up over PSN.\n\nThe other problem was that late-stage game testing revealed many players were not ready for the slow, plodding pace of the turn-based game. If members of a party were not equipped with a headset to chat with others, the wait times would be interminable, Boyes said.\n\n\"This brings us one thing that we again failed to realize as PSN and XBLA were still in their infancy. Complex board games like Talisman live and die on the social interaction of people. If the people in your match aren't going to use their headsets, the social aspect of a board game gets completely drained and becomes a slog as you could be sitting there for five minutes waiting for your next turn.”\n\nOther board games have successfully survived the transition to virtual reality. The runaway success of Scrabulous on Facebook is just one example of how board games can work online. Other communities have embraced games such as Funatics’ adaptation of The Settlers of Catan. The PSP version of Tom Clancy’s Endwar uses board-based gameplay mechanics developed by Funatics. Will Capcom turn around and change its mind as online services like PSN and XBLA develop? Unlikely. Boyes said that he is interested in short, appetizing games that “satisfy the base” of Capcom’s market. Bummer for board game fans, but in the current economic atmosphere of risk and uncertainty, the game’s cancellation does not come as a surprise.\n\n\n $\"talisman-screen.jpg\"$ \n\nA screenshot proving the one-time existence of Talisman for the Xbox 360 and PS3.\n\n\n