The only risk of showing games before they're finished is to developer egos, the lead designer of upcoming dungeon crawler Diablo III has said.
Blizzard's Jay Wilson told VideoGamer.com in an interview to be published on the site later today that it is better for developers to learn from feedback and make their games better than "clutch things close to their chest".
Wilson said: "This is going to sound snarky, but there's only a risk to your ego. That's it. If it's good then people will recognise that it's good; if it's not good then you need to learn from that and make it better. Sometimes people clutch things close to their chest and they don't want to show off something that misrepresents them and I understand that - but the thing is, gamers only remember the last thing you showed them. So if you show them something and they say, "Oh my God, that's horrible!" then you say "Well, geez... let's go back and make it better." At least now you know why. At least now you have some information."
Who says a dud game can't have a video game comeback?
Cyberpunk and No Man's Sky have to be up there. We're lucky and cursed, equally, to have games that can be updated now. For folks old enough to remember the Sega/SNES into PS1 and even 2 eras, if a game came out that was half baked (*cough*Angel of Darkness*cough*) that was it, no redemption. At the same time, having the option for updates shouldn't be an excuse for half assing games.
Diablo III still works on modern PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and remains hugely playable a decade after initial release.
Are you comparing a continuously improved 10+ years old masterpiece with the... beta of an unreleased game?
Diablo III: Season 28 brings with it the Altar of Rites, an altar full of unlockable bonuses and potions that will require the gathering of tons of resources. One of things needed is the Staff of Herding, which also unlocks the famous Cow Level known as Whimsyshire. Here's how to craft that staff, for those that either have forgotten, or have never completed it.