The developers of Hearthstone rarely appear on camera – and the community is to blame for that.
Those who follow the development of Hearthstone and its numerous expansions mainly see two people: Ben Brode and Yong Woo. Whenever there is a major announcement or a discussion about certain mechanics or individual cards, these two developers are present and are sometimes tempted to appear on camera. However, the Hearthstone team actually consists of many more developers.
The reason why we never see anything from the other developers in a “Developer Insight” video has two reasons, as Ben Brode revealed.
The first reason is quite banal: The developers have to record these videos in their free time and don’t even have a proper studio for that. Therefore, most of these videos were also made in Ben Brode’s own room. However, this point is meant to change in the future – efforts are being made to provide a suitable place.
The second reason has to do with the community. While there are some developers who would like to talk more with the players, not everyone can handle the public well. Especially not in a community that writes threads about how the developers are all completely stupid – often, it only revolves around a single point of attack or life force on the cards. In such an environment, many people do not want to make themselves a target and prefer to work quietly.
If you want to engage more with the developers – and want more information about their thoughts and workflows – a small part of the community should probably adopt better manners.
Cortyn says: The problem is quite serious. The larger and more successful any project becomes, the more people it attracts, and the more idiots there are among them who cannot express themselves appropriately. Developers are too often severely insulted, and a constructive exchange becomes impossible after just a few lines. Since appearing in a video makes one even more of a target, it is completely understandable that one prefers to exercise restraint and leave the talking to others.
