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The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

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Re: The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

#101

Post by lagadu »

QAPereo wrote: post #69
Florin_Andrei wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As things move away from the real world and towards increased virtualization of everything, it's a lot easier for people to fall prey to "road rage" type of reactions - folks who are otherwise well-behaved and respectable turn into assholes behind the wheel. Same with the virtual world.

It’s also a bunch of young people, who tend to assume that turning the rhetorical volume up to 11 does something more than inspire disgust. Chan “culture” has not helped. people with the most time to burn are asymmetrically advantaged in this, as are the enraged. Can any of us really compete in terms of obsessive devotion, with a 1-issue poster? An angry, lonely person, a mentally ill person, or a teen with attitude?…

We live in an age of outrage culture, what does anyone expect? The cultural norm nowadays is to get vocally outraged whenever anyone does anything that you even slightly dislike, of course this kind of abuse is the result, it doesn't happen just in the games industry, it happens in society at large too, about most social issues.

Re: The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

#102

Post by vanderZwan »

arkh wrote: post #96
swivelmaster wrote: post #39

I had a long phone conversation recently with a game industry friend who had the misfortune of being involved in multiple games that became targets of abuse. I had asked him for advice about potentially making some youtube videos about game design, including f2p game design (which I have substantial expertise in). He warned me that depending on the approach, even implying that I thought certain types of games or mone…

You just need to not give a fuck. It works for online interaction and it sure work for other parts of life. Care about what you can influence, don't about things you have no control over. Someone cut in front of you in traffic: good for them. Someone insults you: heh, must be their own insecurities showing. I think the only threshold for online interaction would be people threatening violence against you. If they do,…

This advice is entirely oblivious to how the creative process works, and why people create games, music, literature or art in the first place.

It's also somewhat irritating to me, because it reminds me of how I was constantly told the same thing in the context of being bullied as a child. Which in the end is really about it being easier for adults to make the one bullied kid conform, than the clique of kids who do the bullying. It's basically victim blaming in disguise.

Re: The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

#103

Post by DanBC »

auggierose wrote: post #99

Well, try to publish an academic paper, and prepare for abuse in the form of reviews. At some point you need to learn to just shrug it off and focus on your work. Same is true for making games, I guess.

Do reviews of academic papers typically come in the form of "Hello, FUCK YOU - people do not read this SJW paper, it is retarded and a piece of crap"?

Re: The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

#104

Post by tonyedgecombe »

tremon wrote: post #100
arkh wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just need to not give a fuck. It works for online interaction and it sure work for other parts of life. Care about what you can influence, don't about things you have no control over. Someone cut in front of you in traffic: good for them. Someone insults you: heh, must be their own insecurities showing. I think the only threshold for online interaction would be people threatening violence against you. If they do,…

Apathy is not a healthy approach to life in general. Forcing yourself to feel "meh" about things you really did enjoy once is soul-crushing in itself.

I don't think @arkh is suggesting apathy, quite the opposite in fact. Enjoy your art and don't give the naysayers a second thought.

Re: The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

#105

Post by vanderZwan »

auggierose wrote: post #99

Well, try to publish an academic paper, and prepare for abuse in the form of reviews. At some point you need to learn to just shrug it off and focus on your work. Same is true for making games, I guess.

I'm sure that negative feedback on research papers hurts, and that there is more emotional vitriol thrown in there than necessary for constructive criticism, but I highly doubt it's comparable to the type of abuse gamers send game designers on-line, let alone that researchers have to worry about death threats and doxxing from fellow researchers.

Public backlash to controversial research is another topic entirely of course

Re: The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

#106

Post by pavlov »

Uhhrrr wrote: post #54

This is just something that happens when you put something out into the world. I had a project I worked on reviewed by a major newspaper as, "At best obscure, at worst ridiculous." That (temporarily) stung worse than "CUNT CUNT CUNT CUNT" ever would.

The difference is that the newspaper doesn't actively send you their review hundreds of times per hour, or try to discover your personal information and intimidate you with insinuations of what they could do to you directly.

Re: The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

#107

Post by EugeneOZ »

I understand I will be in minority here and I'm ready for downvotes.

This article is outrageous not less than tweets inside of it.

I think players have a right to express their hatred when they were asking for months about some balance change or submitting negative (but polite) feedback about some change, and didn't receive a single response. And after all of that they receive even worse update for the game they truly love.

And more they love the game more they will hate developers who ignore their feedback.

Of course, imbeciles who write life threats or personal attacks - they are just trash of humanity, nobody should listen them. But don't ignore hateful feedback without threats - this feedback comes from the people who love your game, love so much that it drives them crazy when you are moving it in the wrong direction.

Re: The problem of game developers receiving abusive messages

#109

Post by elthran »

EugeneOZ wrote: post #107

I understand I will be in minority here and I'm ready for downvotes. This article is outrageous not less than tweets inside of it. I think players have a right to express their hatred when they were asking for months about some balance change or submitting negative (but polite) feedback about some change, and didn't receive a single response. And after all of that they receive even worse update for the game they trul…

I think if your emotional reaction to a developer not developing their game in the way that you want is "hatred" you should probably consider that you might be overreacting?
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