Comments on Hit Self-Destruct: Sharing And Caring

Yeah, please. I'd be interested in your take as we...

2008-09-25T06:05:00.000+12:00

Yeah, please. I'd be interested in your take as well -- at the end of the day, I still haven't the experience of working in the industry and there's really only one perspective that I can write from.

Funny you should reference that strip. Jerry Holki...

2008-09-25T03:35:00.000+12:00

Funny you should reference that strip. Jerry Holkins, recently writing in Game Developer Magazine about his experience making Penny Arcade Adventures with Hothead, actually concludes his sidebar about what he learned in the process with the thought that one shouldn’t criticize the industry unless/until one is in it. That substitutes industry for game, and it may have a slightly different meaning, but it is an interesting follow-up. I’ll try to find the article if you are interested.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/24/

2008-09-23T17:12:00.000+12:00

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/24/

What I don't get is why this dance is still happen...

2008-09-23T06:49:00.000+12:00

What I don't get is why this dance is still happening.

Theater, movies, even restaurants live and die by the first weeks opening figures and what critics say on their column. Do we see movie producers cry and moan over a bad review to a controversial movie (pick any that critics hated and audiences loved and vice versa)?

IMHO Indiana Jones 4 was as terrible as it gets. You don't hear Spielberg and Lucas say "you can't criticize until you make one.

Critics are critics, creators are creators and the audience is really who gets to decide what flops and what soars.

There are stories of publishers telling their deve...

2008-09-23T01:49:00.000+12:00

There are stories of publishers telling their developers they will get a cash bonus if they hit a certain score on Metacritic when the game is released.

Anyway, maybe critics should start all their reviews with "It's nothing personal, but.." or "No disrespect to the fine people who created this game, but..".

Maybe reviewers should be planted inside a developer studio the complete time a game is made, documenting exactly how hard those people are working on the game, effectively reviewing the creation process instead of the game?

"After spending three years bearing witness to the birth of Halo 4, it was disheartening to see some people skiving off to spend Christmas with their families in 2007, while most employees worked on diligently.. this makes Halo 4 less of a game than it could've been."

Oh gosh, this all sounds like a lot of fun!

Scott: I think the problem is reviewers DO explain...

2008-09-22T17:03:00.000+12:00

Scott: I think the problem is reviewers DO explain their scores but the score is all anyone cares about. Nuanced critical thought doesn't cut in the world of gamerankings.

I've been thinking about criticism and reviews qui...

2008-09-22T14:32:00.000+12:00

I've been thinking about criticism and reviews quite a bit recently, so it was nice to read your take on the situation.

I think the scores themselves foster a lot of the bitterness we see between creators/pr and critics/players. Distilling the hard work down to a number is glib to say the least. Might it feel better if a reviewer spent more time actually explaining her/his reaction?

At the same time, developers do need to realize that life can be harsh, and not everyone will appreciate their art.

I think a little civility and empathy on both sides would work wonders.

I suppose Prey was a bad game probably because tho...

2008-09-22T07:34:00.000+12:00

I suppose Prey was a bad game probably because those guys didn't want it bad enough.

Apart from hard, cold sales numbers (which makes m...

2008-09-21T22:39:00.000+12:00

Apart from hard, cold sales numbers (which makes me sigh), I have yet to see a good dismissal of criticism and its place by a PR person or big-shot developer. Those that criticize critics for not "creating" have not ever tried to write a serious critique of anything and those that say that time, effort and money invested need to be considered in a critique make me think that Prey, with its slow ten year development, must have been the best game of the decade.