Editorial: Game Developers Who Refuse To Give Me Their Home Address Have No Right To Call Me Toxic
It seems like every week there’s another game developer out there trying to control how we think and feel. First they told us we were “entitled” – and now they’re saying we’re so “toxic” and “unable to handle discussion” that we’re not even allowed to ask for their home address?
Game developers are a secretive bunch. Their kind is always engaging in one unwholesome behaviour or another – drawing the blinds, calling the police, you name it. So how can they say that it’s too hard to talk openly about game development issues if they won’t even come to the door when I’m pounding on it at four in the morning?
If gamer culture was really so hostile to discussion, would there be an entire cottage industry set up around providing angry reaction videos and articles to every single piece of information released by a game developer within minutes of them releasing it?
And such an industry did exist, and I happened to film my reaction video from my car parked outside a game developer’s house, am I the entitled one – or are they? Really makes you think.
Now there’s no doubt that there are bad apples in every culture, just like there are apples on the shopping receipt that I recovered from a game developer’s bin outside their house. Nobody can deny that.
But game developers shouldn’t let these few rogue elements give the whole culture a bad name – the majority of us are open to reasonable, informed discussion, as long as we get answers immediately, and those answers are pleasing to us.
Now some might say that we have no right to make unreasonable demands like “just add multiplayer” because we “don’t actually know how the game development process works”. Well, I don’t know how to change a tyre either, but I do know how to slash one. And really, isn’t that the experience that I need?
I’m calling on all gamers to stand with me and refuse to pre-order $500 collectors editions until we get some transparency. If you don’t want my money, game developers, that’s fine – I’ll buy the basic edition instead for $60. I’ll do it. Don’t test me on this.
You pushed me to this, and you have nobody to blame but yourself.
Now if you want to own up to your mistakes, and admit that gamer culture isn’t too toxic to have reasonable discussions, I’ll be on your porch ready to hear your apology.
