alanschu

Butthurt or lazy? Hahaha. I can understand why people come to the conclusion that a dev is being lazy, especially when there are issues that are pretty obvious (DA2's map reuse, to call BioWare out on a glaring issue). Being lazy is having the disinclination to do work despite having the ability to do so, and I think people can (fairly) say "You definitely have the ability to do so." I think they are incorrect that there's a disinclination to actually put in said work, however. It usually means work is being done elsewhere.

If you mention the term "butthurt" in a critique of a game, it doesn't motivate me to continue reading said post. At that point, best to hope that someone with similar issues presented the same position but with less, well, condescension. (there typically is, however, so I wouldn't worry too much). So speaking for myself, I definitely do not give any extra consideration (which is precisely what David is saying...) if you start tossing in words like that, even if you're not directing said "butthurt" towards me. I would argue that in most cases (if not all), someone using the phrase "butthurt" is likely being condescending themselves. That is definitely a teeth grating one for me too. Would prefer "I didn't like the choices you make" or even the slightly more adversarial "You make bad decisions" than "You are lazy" haha.

A pack that provides high resolution textures?

Well, it did only serve to muddy up the waters, since you were no longer clear on your perspective. The idea of trying to not be too harsh is weakened if you're just going to state that he's terrible in the first place, so yeah, just say it. It doesn't come across as any more harsh IMO. In any case (and perhaps still related) David did post on his tumblr a degree of explanation: http://dgaider.tumblr.com/post/59443409665/on-things-i-learned-from-the-internet I actually agree with the sentiment that people understate their idea of "Well I just didn't like it." Although I think the dichotomy that consumers often end up creating helps facilitate this. If something isn't appropriately justified, a critic will come in and attempt to dismiss due to lack of justification. I mean, if someone wishes to elaborate on why they disliked it, that's fine. But simply saying "it wasn't something I liked" is still valuable. If you elaborate on it but start talking about immersion and whatnot, it doesn't necessarily help me understand what you didn't like about it though. Though the worst culprits are when people try to economically substantiate why we should do things they like, while not doing things they don't like. They are logical deductions which may or may not be true, but typically it boils down to that: "Don't do thing I don't like because ultimately you will lose money in the end" or "If you do this thing I will like, it'll totally make you more money too." It's where fans recognize that it's still a business and if I can substantiate my argument with economic reasoning, there's a greater chance of getting what I want. Which may or may not be true, I find (since I have little data on that sort of stuff in order to corroborate). Same with the idea of "it shouldn't be hard." Sometimes it is. And even if it isn't, there are thousands of "not very hard" tasks that go into a game, and the opportunity cost may or may not be worth choosing X of Y.

He's not the only person arguing the point. So, based on your responses, I am led to conclude that your answer to that question is actually "yes." Or is it just a "now that I've gotten the last word in" type of conclusion? (I do that all the time too, btw) I wouldn't normally consider someone "terrible" at something to be capable of writing "completely average" stuff. Given that you led with it (as opposed to quite below average), leads one to feel that your conclusion is that he is typically completely average. At this point, perhaps ostensibly because of your rhetorical question, I actually do feel like engaging in this discussion now (though I have never read any of the books). I'm finding it difficult to disassociate your perspective from the standard internet MO of excessive use of hyperbole.

Apparently the secret hat reveal has been leaked....

Do they even plan to do a physical PC version?

I notice this for a lot of stuff, but it seems geek culture (which I am more familiar with, so there's a bias there) there's the idea that people's passions are exploited via nickel and dime stuff like DLC. EA/BioWare is evil because it knows people will want to have a Prothean party member because Protheans are essential to the story, so it was cut out intentionally for the sole purpose of milking a few dollars more out of customers. Now, many of these people say they have no problem with Day One DLC, but it shouldn't be vital story content (I find the definition of the term "vital" is variable, however). It should be things like item packs and other non-essential things like that. I have seen this extend to ALL DLC, and that story content is considered vital and people shouldn't be charged more for it since it's exploitative. The thing I notice about this is that it comes across as "Please don't make and charge me for DLC that I want. Only make and sell DLC that I don't really find interesting." Almost as saying "Make stuff that people don't want" as DLC. As a consumer, I totally expect people to want as much content as they can get for as little cost as they can pay. To many of these people, getting the content ASAP is also a factor, because the idea of "I don't think the game + DLC (that I want) is worth $70, so I will pick it up when the prices drop so that it is $60 or even $50" doesn't seem to jive with them. As a consumer, it's the stuff that I do to influence my choices. I rarely preorder games, but if it's a game I just *know* I will get on day one, I find myself more compelled to buy preorders since it'll snag me extra content. Some will see it as "punishing those that don't preorder," but I think at any point one man's reward can always be interpreted as another man's punishment, so I'm not sure if there's as much that can be done to counter that, if we feel compelled to reward people for taking a risk on preordering. As for buying things they dislike, the notion of "if you don't like the DLC, don't support it by buying it" often (not always) sees responses of "but then I miss out on content!" Which certainly doesn't tug on these capitalistic heart strings as much as people may like If you happen to be in Seattle, I think you might enjoy PAX

Hmmm, popcorn needs more salt! (I was not at all expecting this thread to end up where it has)

Hurlshot do you not think this game is a little violent...it seems its just about killing things? Sounds like a Might and Magic game.

Yeah, sometimes it's clearly joking. Other times it's not. Most of the time it's in that ambiguous "I'm not sure if they are or not" state. Stupid writing words on internet!

It happens from time to time. Probably moreso in the aftermath of a game's release, actually, in the event of said game having poorer reception.

Oh that one.... Here you go: "Something I dislike about the experience that I am not really able to apply a more applicable word to." I find its usage to pretty much be that catch all for "I don't like something because <reasons [which may or may not be good ones]> and I'd like to add in one more thing for extra weight to my argument." It's a pretty nebulous and personal term I find, so understanding what any individual person means by immersion is not that easy, IMO. I think how one interprets them is often influenced by the preexisting opinions someone has of either Gaider and/or BioWare, as well, however.

Probably just more stress!

Turns out it was a dragon. At least, I think it's a dragon!

Hmm, I didn't notice. But there could also be an aspect of "Check out this new stuff that I can do" on early passes as well.

Yeah it's antiquated legacy and there's some level of impetus to see it removed, thankfully. Not fast enough, however.

<.<

Haha he has a nice shirt! ^_^

Depends on what they're doing with the beta. It could be anywhere from specialized parts of the game to focus particular features, to the full game being available in a not yet finished state. My expectation would be closer to the latter, however.

The anime in general is... somewhat special.... >.>

Obviously BG2's existence wouldn't occur without BG1, but BG2 is still considered by some to be BioWare's best game, and when compared to BG1 I would definitely bet money that BG2 is more highly regarded than the first. This doesn't mean BG1 isn't a good game, or well liked. I think BG2 is just, for the most part, a better game. EDIT: In any case, this thread isn't really for Baldur's Gate or even PST, so I'll be ducking out of that tangent now.

Preaching to the choir my man. I coullllld. Tell you what, swing by PAX and well go over it

Ah I see. Well done sir!

Are the heroics equivalent to "end game content but with difficult jacked up" like in WoW?