Game developers are losing their passion for their profession – and we gamers are to blame for that. A hostile climate dominates the discussion around gaming.
Anyone who wants to be a game developer these days and is still keen to engage with the community and the players must meet a lot of requirements. The biggest requirement that didn’t exist a few years ago is: A thick skin against hate and insults.
No matter where you look, whether on Twitter or YouTube, developers are being insulted and attacked fiercely everywhere.
The Internet is to blame
The fact that many developers are now treated this way is mainly due to the Internet and how it has evolved. In the early years, it was still a place for the exchange of opinions and respectful interaction, but that has drastically changed within a few years.
Morgan Jaffit, the founder of the indie studio Defiant Development (Hand of Fate and Hand of Fate 2) writes in a long blog post where he sees the problems of today. The tweets included here also come from the blog post (see sources).
A significant part of the blame he attributes to the Internet itself. Because the fact that every person is only a click away makes it easy to hurl nasty things at each other.
Angry players often wish the worst things upon developers: diseases, accidents, assaults, attacks.
However, it is important that Jaffit does not see the entire player base as responsible, but like many other developers, the 0.1% of players who can openly express their hate on the Internet without filters and moderation.
YouTubers like AngryJoe or Jim Sterling are part of the problem
Jaffit sees two major problems:
- On one hand, YouTubers like AngryJoe or Jim Sterling have made it acceptable to express harsh and loud criticism of game developers. Those who shout about the injustices in the industry reach an audience that cannot be reached with nuanced criticism – This harsh tone has now become the standard.
- In addition, almost all places where discussions about video games take place are unmoderated – on Twitter or Steam, anyone can come through with the harshest attacks and insults without fearing consequences.
Players perceive outbursts as “okay”
However, according to Jaffit, the biggest problem is that many players have now accepted the outbursts:
- Although many of them do not act against developers themselves, there is a large number of players who believe that the developers have brought this upon themselves. A “shitstorm” with insults and threats would occasionally be perfectly fine.
- A smaller group of people even holds the opinion that there are situations in which it is okay to “threaten the lives of developers.”
- An even smaller segment believes that it would be acceptable to release the personal information of the respective developer and even target their family.
The fact that more and more people believe that such behavior is “perfectly fine” should give us all something to think about.
Indie developers have it particularly hard
Jaffit states: Indie developers are often hit the hardest here. While there is a trend among fans to focus more on indie titles that have not fallen victim to the “greed of the market,” it is precisely the indie game developers who suffer the most from the hostilities.
Unlike large developers like Blizzard or BioWare, there is no community manager filtering the feedback between indie game developers and players. Insults, hostility, or even threats hit the developers unfiltered.
There needs to be a change in mindset
Mein-MMO believes: Sure, only a very small percentage of players behave like the proverbial bull in a china shop, but it is precisely this segment of gamers that causes developers to increasingly ask themselves: Is the work I am doing still worth the stress? Should I still engage with the players?
It is important that a change in mindset takes place in these areas. Even if it should be a given, some parts of the player base need to remind themselves that developers are just humans trying to do their best at their jobs.
A little respect and a polite tone will surely achieve more than insults and hostilities. Because that only leads to developers losing the passion that once brought them to this profession. And in the end, developers stop listening altogether.
At the moment, we are living in an era with the wonderful opportunity to directly connect with the developers of our hobbies. We should not squander this chance by driving developers to avoid contact with fans altogether. But that is exactly the point we are heading towards.
Anyone who is fluent in English should read Jaffit’s entire post. It is linked in our sources.
How do you behave towards developers or other people on the Internet? Do you ever lose your temper? Or do you find such behavior to be good and necessary?
