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Journalism and bias in the gaming industry


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Selling well is hardly merit.

No ? For a game designer I'd think that would be one, you design games that sell well (or work on games that do) and that works in your favour when trying to get ahead in the industry. Was like that, somewhat, at Sierra, recall Jensen mentioning that Williams would give designers one chance and if it sold, then you'd move up and get another.

Edited by Malcador

Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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Being a fan of Troika I am well aware that brilliant games can sell poorly.
While the market can be effective at sorting the wheat from the chaff, success there does not always mean that it is a game that is either worthy of the praise it is given or the number of units it sells.

Very often gems slip through the cracks and mediocrity is held up as the gold standard.
Indeed, these days it seems that more often than not it is a game's marketing that determines whether something is a success or not.

Niche games tend to have more luck at becoming successful via word-of-mouth than games that try to aim for broad appeal.

When in doubt, blame the elves.

 

I have always hated the word "censorship", I prefer seeing it as just removing content that isn't suitable or is considered offensive

 

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Hm ok, was looking at it in terms of a developer or designer succeeding in the industry via award or promotion and pay for their work.

Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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Double post

Edited by Malcador

Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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Selling well is hardly merit.

No ? For a game designer I'd think that would be one, you design games that sell well (or work on games that do) and that works in your favour when trying to get ahead in the industry. Was like that, somewhat, at Sierra, recall Jensen mentioning that Williams would give designers one chance and if it sold, then you'd move up and get another.

 

 

It doesn't have to mean you worked hard or put in a lot of effort. A lot of selling well is based on marketing or pure, dumb luck.

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Selling well is hardly merit.

No ? For a game designer I'd think that would be one, you design games that sell well (or work on games that do) and that works in your favour when trying to get ahead in the industry. Was like that, somewhat, at Sierra, recall Jensen mentioning that Williams would give designers one chance and if it sold, then you'd move up and get another.

It doesn't have to mean you worked hard or put in a lot of effort. A lot of selling well is based on marketing or pure, dumb luck.

True, but you still move ahead based on that. You did right by the people cutting your paychecks, after all.

Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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I would have thought that with the shared iterative nature of game development an unfit for purpose team member is quickly flagged and dealt with, obviously this is before sales and possible success. After all what advice do experienced developers give to aspiring ones: Usually to prove themselves in practise with a mod, a small Flash game or something similar that proves their ability. This is appointment based on merit, and one would assume advancement based upon the same.

 

Look at Mr Sawyer, I believe he began at Interplay on the old boards and through success, his intelligence and let's face it the grit shown in making good games while a studio crumbled around him, he advanced. Now I know that it's unfashionable to praise Mr Sawyer as there is a little hate train aimed at the gentleman, but to my mind we need more developers like him, who study the medium, have clear ideas, hold interesting views and seek to really immerse themselves in the internal consistency of their world, and the minutiae.

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Quite an experience to live in misery isn't it? That's what it is to be married with children.

I've seen things you people can't even imagine. Pearly Kings glittering on the Elephant and Castle, Morris Men dancing 'til the last light of midsummer. I watched Druid fires burning in the ruins of Stonehenge, and Yorkshiremen gurning for prizes. All these things will be lost in time, like alopecia on a skinhead. Time for tiffin.

 

Tea for the teapot!

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I am also pretty sure that even the most unoriginal and boring AAA title is still made by people working their tails off on art and programming.  The people phoning it in are most likely in management.  :p

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Usually those unoriginal and boring, even uninspired and broken games may have flashes of genius and genuine innovation as well, this is a creative medium staffed by people whom want to create and are passionate, they're not terrible, degenerate people as the media is stating.

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Quite an experience to live in misery isn't it? That's what it is to be married with children.

I've seen things you people can't even imagine. Pearly Kings glittering on the Elephant and Castle, Morris Men dancing 'til the last light of midsummer. I watched Druid fires burning in the ruins of Stonehenge, and Yorkshiremen gurning for prizes. All these things will be lost in time, like alopecia on a skinhead. Time for tiffin.

 

Tea for the teapot!

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Usually those unoriginal and boring, even uninspired and broken games may have flashes of genius and genuine innovation as well, this is a creative medium staffed by people whom want to create and are passionate, they're not terrible, degenerate people as the media is stating.

Sometimes they are, we have seen such devs in the past. Thats natural, they come up. In most cases i would say you are right, it is a creative industry. Sadly run by publishers and their respective shareholders. So we will still see more COD shooters being financed (which is fine, the sell well) rather than cRPG´s. Which is a niche, and is also fine. The real sad thing here is that publishers like EA or Activison think that this genres are exclusive. While, and i must say respect, Ubisoft went, "wait a moment..lets fund some small games and see what happens" and suddenly they had 2 of the most successfully games that year. This war of mine, child of light, were big success compared to cost and brought in money.

 

That won´t  change the current market, but it´s a good example on how the industry works. Blind would be the nicest thing i could say, especially if you factor in things like kickstarter, patreon etc. who found mostly games that would otherwise be dead because Publishers, not devs, Publishers decided it wouldn´t make enough money. Well, their loss really.

Edited by cirdanx

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man who never reads lives one."

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Usually those unoriginal and boring, even uninspired and broken games may have flashes of genius and genuine innovation as well, this is a creative medium staffed by people whom want to create and are passionate, they're not terrible, degenerate people as the media is stating.

Sometimes they are, we have seen such devs in the past. Thats natural, they come up. In most cases i would say you are right, it is a creative industry. Sadly run by publishers and their respective shareholders. So we will still see more COD shooters being financed (which is fine, the sell well) rather than cRPG´s. Which is a niche, and is also fine. The real sad thing here is that publishers like EA or Activison think that this genres are exclusive. While, and i must say respect, Ubisoft went, "wait a moment..lets fund some small games and see what happens" and suddenly they had 2 of the most successfully games that year. This war of mine, child of light, were big success compared to cost and brought in money.

 

That won´t  change the current market, but it´s a good example on how the industry works. Blind would be the nicest thing i could say, especially if you factor in things like kickstarter, patreon etc. who found mostly games that would otherwise be dead because Publishers, not devs, Publishers decided it wouldn´t make enough money. Well, their loss really.

 

Honestly we're seeing far more innovation on the side of the AA/budget titles than AAA. Call of Juarez was funner to me than any of the CoD's of recent years (ok Advanced Warfare was awesome), and it was a fairly low budget game that did some really interesting stuff with the narrative and design. But most people haven't even heard of it because A) the critical and fan backlash to the Cartels racist/mysoginist style and B) it had NO PR behind it.

Victor of the 5 year fan fic competition!

 

Kevin Butler will awesome your face off.

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"Selling well is hardly merit."

 

Yes, it is. If youa re selling a product or service and nobody buys it  than  its not merited - no matter hwo specific individuals think of it.

 

I perosnally loathe the ES series. But, obviously, it has sold a lot so it is merited.

 

I liked Troika's games for the most part - but not enough did - so it did not merit success.

 

PERIOD.

DWARVES IN PROJECT ETERNITY = VOLOURN HAS PLEDGED $250.

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Just played Stormfront or SJW for the first time. 11/12 right for me. Guess I'm just good at telling the difference (and I got a little lucky).

"Good thing I don't heal my characters or they'd be really hurt." Is not something I should ever be thinking.

 

I use blue text when I'm being sarcastic.

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Just played Stormfront or SJW for the first time. 11/12 right for me. Guess I'm just good at telling the difference (and I got a little lucky).

Some of them are really obvious. I got like 5 in a row that were really tough, then everything after were obvious.

The area between the balls and the butt is a hotbed of terrorist activity.

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Isn't the point of the test that you're either full Sensitive Joss Whedon or Stormfronter if you score full? :p

"Some men see things as they are and say why?"
"I dream things that never were and say why not?"
- George Bernard Shaw

"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

 

"The amount of energy necessary to refute bull**** is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it."

- Some guy 

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Oh,

 

https://archive.is/uwgPG

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X546RqY1OBw

 

It seems like Leigh Alexander's PR company didn't bring the expected sales.

 

//edit: MOAR http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2015/06/sunset-devs-shutting-down-states-advertising-on-sjw-sites-didnt-help/

Edited by Meshugger
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"Some men see things as they are and say why?"
"I dream things that never were and say why not?"
- George Bernard Shaw

"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

 

"The amount of energy necessary to refute bull**** is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it."

- Some guy 

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Adrian Chmielars, the man behind games like Painkiller, Bulletstorm and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has a good write-up on the closure of Tale of Tales:

http://www.theastronauts.com/2015/06/what-really-happened-to-tale-of-tales-sunset/

 

 

While I don't like to see anybody go out of business, my disposition to them gets somewhat soured when they go and say things like this:

7djW2Sp.png

huuxIxA.png

kmX0fvp.jpg

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When in doubt, blame the elves.

 

I have always hated the word "censorship", I prefer seeing it as just removing content that isn't suitable or is considered offensive

 

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Capitalism sucks when your ventures don't go anywhere (which, let's face it, seems like it can be a lot of the time, particularly if you're not an experienced and/or celebrated veteran)...capitalism sure does seem to rock when they do work out, though. wink.png

Edited by Bartimaeus
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How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart.

In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance.

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Capitalism for some, walking simulators for others

"Some men see things as they are and say why?"
"I dream things that never were and say why not?"
- George Bernard Shaw

"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

 

"The amount of energy necessary to refute bull**** is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it."

- Some guy 

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Adrian Chmielars, the man behind games like Painkiller, Bulletstorm and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has a good write-up on the closure of Tale of Tales:

 

http://www.theastronauts.com/2015/06/what-really-happened-to-tale-of-tales-sunset/

 

 

While I don't like to see anybody go out of business, my disposition to them gets somewhat soured when they go and say things like this:

7djW2Sp.png

huuxIxA.png

kmX0fvp.jpg

 

Wow, that moon-sized entitlement mixed with willful economic illiteracy.

 

Those kinds of SJW indie devs seem to honestly believe that the world at large owes them money because they choose to spend their time delivering a 1st year sociology essay in multimedia form and call it a "game", and that big bad capitalism is preventing them from getting what they're owed.

 

:blink:

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"Some ideas are so stupid that only an intellectual could believe them." -- attributed to George Orwell

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Maybe this is the immediate anger of experiencing failure. I hope anyway, else I'll almost get a sense of glee of them shutting down.

Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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Adrian Chmielars, the man behind games like Painkiller, Bulletstorm and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has a good write-up on the closure of Tale of Tales:

 

http://www.theastronauts.com/2015/06/what-really-happened-to-tale-of-tales-sunset/

 

 

While I don't like to see anybody go out of business, my disposition to them gets somewhat soured when they go and say things like this:

7djW2Sp.png

huuxIxA.png

kmX0fvp.jpg

 

Wow, that moon-sized entitlement mixed with willful economic illiteracy.

 

Those kinds of SJW indie devs seem to honestly believe that the world at large owes them money because they choose to spend their time delivering a 1st year sociology essay in multimedia form and call it a "game", and that big bad capitalism is preventing them from getting what they're owed.

 

:blink:

 

 

In fairness they were schooled to think like that by being funded by the evil capitalists tax money for many years (never objecting about that supposed evil,) now when they release a poor game that has to stand on its own merits, and the market shrugs, well their reaction is obvious: It's not our fault, it's the buyers.

 

It's the usual victim mentality and easy demonisation of gamers, we've seen it from the beginning and it's par for the course. "To be united by hatred is a...fragile alliance at best."

Edited by Nonek
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Quite an experience to live in misery isn't it? That's what it is to be married with children.

I've seen things you people can't even imagine. Pearly Kings glittering on the Elephant and Castle, Morris Men dancing 'til the last light of midsummer. I watched Druid fires burning in the ruins of Stonehenge, and Yorkshiremen gurning for prizes. All these things will be lost in time, like alopecia on a skinhead. Time for tiffin.

 

Tea for the teapot!

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