Report: Game Developer Harassment On The Rise?

[back_by_demand]

Xzaapryca, so Devs should hide then, you are basically capitulating and saying that it's the Wild West out there and if you allow yourself outside contact with the world you should expect death threats and you should just become a hermit and pretend it doesn't exist. There's only one way to deal with bullies and contrary to what you may have heard it is not ignoring them, give them plenty of attention, like a film crew joining the cops as they bust down the door and drag the sorry punk into the street and transmit live as he starts crying his eyes out and pisses himself. I'm sure his hardman internet cred will soon dry up when it's all over FB, Youtube and the 6 O'clock news.

 

[kinggraves]

I'm sorry but guys like Fish and Orth were trolls themselves that deserved to be harassed. They put themselves out there, talked a lot of trash, then cried like the spoiled prats they were when people actually insulted them back. That's what happens when the "special stars" modern parenting are raising actually get criticized in the real world. Toulouse should've known what he was getting into when he took a job who's main function was to deal with trash talking juveniles. At the end of the day, until internet threats actually start meaning something in the real world they're going to keep flying about wildly. If you can't take the heat, perhaps set your facebook to private and realize that when you put your name into the public you're exposing yourself to negativity. Oh, right. If they did that then they wouldn't be able to get all the public adoration that comes from random strangers as well, would they?

 

[fudoka711]

So umm, I agree that the death threats and such are way overboard and need to stop, but when game developers make an amazing game trilogy with an ending that sucks (*cough* ME3), you have to expect that fans are going to be upset.

 

[fixxxer113]

@lazymangaka
@capt_taco

When it gets from some e-mails to actual phonecalls at your house, calls that can be answered by, let's say, your children then it gets serious. Apart from the psychological pressure and the effect it will have to the developer's world, there's a genuine fear. How do you know that among those whiny brats there's no actual psycho? How do you know what other info they might have on you apart from your phone number? Especially if you live in the USA, psycho capital of the planet, it's not something to laugh at...

 

[fixxxer113]

@knightmike

Lol, why all the thumbs down, did noone get the reference?? What's the age average in here?

 

[fixxxer113]

@lazymangaka
@capt_taco

When it gets from some e-mails to actual phonecalls at your house, calls that can be answered by, let's say, your children then it gets serious. Apart from the psychological pressure and the effect it will have to the developer's world, there's a genuine fear. How do you know that among those whiny brats there's no actual psycho? How do you know what other info they might have on you apart from your phone number? Especially if you live in the USA, psycho capital of the planet, it's not something to laugh at...

 

[The_Trutherizer]

oO Death threats?! Heck most gamers have vented their frustration on GMs at one point or another, but dang! What a loser you must be to take it to that level!

 

[quilciri]

"I think it's almost like if more people throw fuel on the fire and there's more and more of that and some people think, 'Hey, I can do that. I don't need to work, I can be an internet personality and yell at people all day long. I win."

Shh! Change the subject quick before Fox news sends you a horse's head in your bed.

 

[ubercake]

I'm not saying I've got it all going on or anything, but I have to say if you're spending you're time bullying or harassing game developers, you don't have much going on at all.

 

[velocityg4]

I couldn't imagine going to the length of a death threat or any threats for that manner.

If I don't like a move a developer is making in a title I write a formal and concise complaint and let them know I will not be purchasing their product because of a design decision. I don't use vulgarity, profanity or threats. The only time I bother writing is when they drastically change the scope of a sequel or include overly oppressive DRM to a title I want to play or sequel.

Overly oppressive being having to connect online ever after initial installation or setting up an account. Seriously, if I wanted to pirate the game I would have done so easily. Anything beyond a cd key and requiring the disc be inserted is overkill as those measures prevent casual piracy. Sometimes you have to download anti-drm cracks just to get your DRM ridden games you paid for to work. Such as GTA IV in Windows 7.

Such as KOTOR to TOR completely changing the gameplay and turning a beloved single player game into an MMORPG. Or Assassins Creed 2 requiring always online DRM.

Perhaps developers should drop the extreme DRM measures that only hurt paying customers and stop making drastic changes to game sequels. If you want to make drastic changes in the gameplay type effectively changing the genre of a game don't make it a sequel. Just make a new game series to avoid the ire of fans. I'm sure KOTOR fans would have embraced TOR if it was named something else rather than the developers calling it a sequel.

Fans comes from the word fanatic for a reason.

 

[antilycus]

That;s because today's gamers are a bunch of spoiled little cry babies that lack social skills and empathy. Let them cry or better yet, be spiteful and ruin the game on purpose... that's what I would do.

 

[alidan]

Adam Orth - a douche who liked always online
Phil Fish - a douche who can't take criticism at all, lashed out often, and said gameing is on consoles computers aren't for gaming. his japanese games suck... sad to say, most of them do, mechanically speaking, they are SO far behind its laughable. look at any non rpg game and almost all lack in core mechanics, and only get by on the the fact they are japanese and you can tell... some games are a step above others but its also true that out mediocre games still have better mechanics than their triple A.
Stephen Toulouse - was on the crap end of the stick for what he did, he screwed many people over by just strictly following policy instead of looking at specific scenarios.
Jennifer Hepler - an insider in a game company who said she hated gameplay, yea she did not work on the design part, but tell me what she did cant influence people inside to make games easier and you are naive... and her quote came after dragon age 2 which seemed severely dumbed down combat wise

these people aren't harassed for no reason... and i feel no sympathy for them.