HBGames
Hi! Regarding the recent Flappybird controvery, I wrote a short blog post: http://www.pelagicgames.com/2014/02/08/ ... d-gamedev/
I'll also transpose it here:
You see this everywhere, so it’s not surprising, but I’m going to get on my soapbox for just a second here. This is just some personal opinions of
People often forget that developers are people. You see this a lot in MMOs: make a patch somebody didn’t like, get told that you should die. Left in a bug? “You’re worthless and should be fired.”
Why do people do this? I don’t know. They certainly forget that the developers are just human. I think that often times people see stuff like “Oh I can’t believe that content was lame. The developer must be a lazy schemer who doesn’t care about the game, he’s only in it for the money.” Even worse is that devs aren’t protected. When a user makes a death threat, even in jest, it’s terrifying. They don’t have bodyguards like a politician or celebrity (who will also encounter similar ‘feedback’), they just live in a regular house. If someone says you should die or they want to kill you, it’s crap to hear. You’re also pretty much sure they’re not serious. But they might be. It’s easy to think “There are a lot of insane people in the world.. What if this guy is serious?” Tracking down a dev isn’t hard either, you know he could easily find out where you live.
Maybe people imagine that devs are up on some pedestal in the sky, and words like that don’t harm them? I daresay there are only a few other professions where getting constant shit slung at you is considered acceptable.
I know that the people who say things like this are by far in the minority, but it’s enough to make many devs feel horrible. I’ve seen many posts by GW2 devs who talk about how, after pulling near all nighters for a week to ensure a patch comes out right, it’s hard to struggle against depression when the response they get is death threats. Of course, the people who are too busy enjoying the game to leave a bunch of comments, leading to an over representation of vitriol.
Linking this into Flappy Bird. Dong Nguyen did NOT set out to make a big hit game despite it’s simple mechanics. Did “Flappy Bird” deserve it’s amazing success? No. Well maybe. It is oddly addicting. However, The criticisms of it are all very valid. Would people be tearing at him if he had made yet another unsuccessful (out of the vast number being added every day) mediocre sidescrolling app? No!
He made a little game and threw it up there. From the beginning it was clear he was not expecting anything of it. The amazing success is an occurrence of unbelievable luck. Also an example of the importance of a good name. Despite this, people imagine him as “everything wrong with ios gaming” and the sort. I’m sorry, but did he gouge his game with monetization tactics?
The worst part is that unlike the usual trend, in which gamers claw at a dev that they’re unhappy with, a lot of the negativity in this situation actually game from the gamedev community! I can only presume that such people were enraged at jealousy at the success of such a simple game.
What does this mean for all of us gamedevs out there? First of all, steel yourself against it. This isn’t going to change so be ready for it if you become popular and controversial. But please don’t be part of the problem yourself. Lets make sure to give each other criticism where it’s due, but remember, it’s about improving all of us, not about making someone feel bad because they “don’t deserve their success” or anything of that nature.
And to Mr. Dong Nguyen: If you somehow happen to read this. Don’t take down Flappy Bird. The negativity may be scathing to you, but you are in a position of power. Direct this money to good ends and you’ll win the support of every sane individual (or just keep it, it’s your money!) There are a lot of good charities that could use your help (but please choose very intelligently.) You could even direct this money into helping promote the indie dev community. Become a patron of the arts! Through all of these things, you would be literally making the lives of countless individuals. There is a lot of good you can do with your game and the money from it, please don’t waste it by succumbing to the bullying.
I'll also transpose it here:
You see this everywhere, so it’s not surprising, but I’m going to get on my soapbox for just a second here. This is just some personal opinions of
People often forget that developers are people. You see this a lot in MMOs: make a patch somebody didn’t like, get told that you should die. Left in a bug? “You’re worthless and should be fired.”
Why do people do this? I don’t know. They certainly forget that the developers are just human. I think that often times people see stuff like “Oh I can’t believe that content was lame. The developer must be a lazy schemer who doesn’t care about the game, he’s only in it for the money.” Even worse is that devs aren’t protected. When a user makes a death threat, even in jest, it’s terrifying. They don’t have bodyguards like a politician or celebrity (who will also encounter similar ‘feedback’), they just live in a regular house. If someone says you should die or they want to kill you, it’s crap to hear. You’re also pretty much sure they’re not serious. But they might be. It’s easy to think “There are a lot of insane people in the world.. What if this guy is serious?” Tracking down a dev isn’t hard either, you know he could easily find out where you live.
Maybe people imagine that devs are up on some pedestal in the sky, and words like that don’t harm them? I daresay there are only a few other professions where getting constant shit slung at you is considered acceptable.
I know that the people who say things like this are by far in the minority, but it’s enough to make many devs feel horrible. I’ve seen many posts by GW2 devs who talk about how, after pulling near all nighters for a week to ensure a patch comes out right, it’s hard to struggle against depression when the response they get is death threats. Of course, the people who are too busy enjoying the game to leave a bunch of comments, leading to an over representation of vitriol.
Linking this into Flappy Bird. Dong Nguyen did NOT set out to make a big hit game despite it’s simple mechanics. Did “Flappy Bird” deserve it’s amazing success? No. Well maybe. It is oddly addicting. However, The criticisms of it are all very valid. Would people be tearing at him if he had made yet another unsuccessful (out of the vast number being added every day) mediocre sidescrolling app? No!
He made a little game and threw it up there. From the beginning it was clear he was not expecting anything of it. The amazing success is an occurrence of unbelievable luck. Also an example of the importance of a good name. Despite this, people imagine him as “everything wrong with ios gaming” and the sort. I’m sorry, but did he gouge his game with monetization tactics?
The worst part is that unlike the usual trend, in which gamers claw at a dev that they’re unhappy with, a lot of the negativity in this situation actually game from the gamedev community! I can only presume that such people were enraged at jealousy at the success of such a simple game.
What does this mean for all of us gamedevs out there? First of all, steel yourself against it. This isn’t going to change so be ready for it if you become popular and controversial. But please don’t be part of the problem yourself. Lets make sure to give each other criticism where it’s due, but remember, it’s about improving all of us, not about making someone feel bad because they “don’t deserve their success” or anything of that nature.
And to Mr. Dong Nguyen: If you somehow happen to read this. Don’t take down Flappy Bird. The negativity may be scathing to you, but you are in a position of power. Direct this money to good ends and you’ll win the support of every sane individual (or just keep it, it’s your money!) There are a lot of good charities that could use your help (but please choose very intelligently.) You could even direct this money into helping promote the indie dev community. Become a patron of the arts! Through all of these things, you would be literally making the lives of countless individuals. There is a lot of good you can do with your game and the money from it, please don’t waste it by succumbing to the bullying.