(cache)When did the "activist" game developer mindset start?

All Discussions > Steam Forums > Off Topic > Topic Details

They Live, We Sleep!

27 Jun @ 8:01am

When did the "activist" game developer mindset start?

Most strange phenomena can be pinned down to a single date or title, such as the first game to feature a turrent section, or the first game to feature quick-time events (I'm glad those two features are gone). So, what was the first game where the developers had a "activist" mindset, where they didn't care about their customers at all and actively fought against them brazenly. When did this terrible, narcissistic mindset start, and what's the first game to be plagued by it?

I can pinpoint such a mindset with movies, with Ghostbusters 2016. That was the first movie I saw where the director, the actors, and even the studio funding it actively went against the customers and fought against them so openly. It was pretty weird, which made it satisfying when the movie flopped and it sequel was cancelled.

But what about games? What was the first game to be plagued with the "activist" mindset that ruined it?

< 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 ... 82 >

Showing 91-105 of 1,223 comments

The nameless Gamer

28 Jun @ 2:04pm

Originally posted by D. Flame:
Originally posted by The nameless Gamer:

The very same one.

I believe the only way to get more games like the ones you are a fan of is to show them your love and support. Arguing with or against "activists" on the internet avails nothing. Motivating the developer to make more games is the best course of action.
Stellar Blade sold like a million copies on Steam in like 3 days, IIRC. They announced a sequel in the works almost immediately after.

Meanwhile, censored to hell DOA6:LR has mostly negative reviews, and it has more day 1 DLC than concurrent players.

Meanwhile games like Concord are getting cancelled in under a month.

The message is being sent. The issue is that the activists aren't listening. They would rather watch the industry burn (their own words) than step away from their agenda. There is a reason why like 1/3rd of all western devs have been laid off over the past few years.

DoA 6 would get a negative review from me too, but mostly because it 1) over-monetizes with cosmetic DLC and 2) has awful keyboard support. I'll jog your memory why Concord failed though:
1) It had a mandatory PSN requirement, making it unavailable for 178 countries.
2) It was a premium purchase on a market which has free-to-play competition while not offering anything said competition doesn't. The bland character design played a role, but not as significant as people like to think.

#91

Tito Shivan

28 Jun @ 2:05pm

Originally posted by D. Flame:
The message is being sent.

We've had a whole decade of that 'message being sent'. Is change coming anytime soon?
spoiler:No, because the 'activism' and the 'culture war is mostly external to the industry itself and older than you've been made believe to be

#92

Zukabazuka

28 Jun @ 2:05pm

Originally posted by The nameless Gamer:
Originally posted by Archerodees:
When did groups like Sweet Baby Inc first become prominent, metastasize and stink? That may be what you're looking for.

Most of the clout and attention they've gotten is from people who complained about them. I'm pretty sure they're grateful for all the press they've gotten. It would've been smarter to not give them any exposure.

So them removing all the games titles they worked on from their website, having companies hiding the company in credits and coming out that they didn't work with them. They have most likely just rebranded and still try to do the same thing but pretty sure they get less attention these days.

So no I don't think they are doing good.

#93

D. Flame

28 Jun @ 2:13pm

Originally posted by The nameless Gamer:
Originally posted by D. Flame:
Stellar Blade sold like a million copies on Steam in like 3 days, IIRC. They announced a sequel in the works almost immediately after.

Meanwhile, censored to hell DOA6:LR has mostly negative reviews, and it has more day 1 DLC than concurrent players.

Meanwhile games like Concord are getting cancelled in under a month.

The message is being sent. The issue is that the activists aren't listening. They would rather watch the industry burn (their own words) than step away from their agenda. There is a reason why like 1/3rd of all western devs have been laid off over the past few years.

DoA 6 would get a negative review from me too, but mostly because it 1) over-monetizes with cosmetic DLC and 2) has awful keyboard support. I'll jog your memory why Concord failed though:
1) It had a mandatory PSN requirement, making it unavailable for 178 countries.
2) It was a premium purchase on a market which has free-to-play competition while not offering anything said competition doesn't. The bland character design played a role, but not as significant as people like to think.

Concord had less than 5K players when it was a free-to-play beta. And people knew it was going to flop from the first trailer from the second they saw the trailer, you could actually see them talking about it in the live chat, and that was when we only had the designs to base it on.

Even one of the devs said something along the lines of, "We found out that there is something worse than making a bad game, making an uncool one."

#94

The nameless Gamer

28 Jun @ 2:14pm

Originally posted by Zukabazuka:
Originally posted by The nameless Gamer:

Most of the clout and attention they've gotten is from people who complained about them. I'm pretty sure they're grateful for all the press they've gotten. It would've been smarter to not give them any exposure.
So them removing all the games titles they worked on from their website, having companies hiding the company in credits and coming out that they didn't work with them. They have most likely just rebranded and still try to do the same thing but pretty sure they get less attention these days.

So no I don't think they are doing good.

How they're doing is no skin off my back. They likely would've fizzled out even sooner if nobody talked about them to begin with.

#95

D. Flame

28 Jun @ 2:15pm

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:
Originally posted by D. Flame:
The message is being sent.
We've had a whole decade of that 'message being sent'. Is change coming anytime soon?
spoiler:No, because the 'activism' and the 'culture war is mostly external to the industry itself and older than you've been made believe to be

You are already seeing the changes. Stellar Blade got an immediate sequel announcement. Games like ZZZ making major bank. And something like one out every three western devs getting laid off over the last two years.

#96

The nameless Gamer

28 Jun @ 2:16pm

Originally posted by D. Flame:
Originally posted by The nameless Gamer:

DoA 6 would get a negative review from me too, but mostly because it 1) over-monetizes with cosmetic DLC and 2) has awful keyboard support. I'll jog your memory why Concord failed though:
1) It had a mandatory PSN requirement, making it unavailable for 178 countries.
2) It was a premium purchase on a market which has free-to-play competition while not offering anything said competition doesn't. The bland character design played a role, but not as significant as people like to think.
Concord had less than 5K players when it was a free-to-play beta. And people knew it was going to flop from the first trailer from the second they saw the trailer, you could actually see them talking about it in the live chat, and that was when we only had the designs to base it on.

Even one of the devs said something along the lines of, "We found out that there is something worse than making a bad game, making an uncool one."

Interestingly enough, Melty Blood has pretty ordinary looking characters for the most part. Nobody who isn't familiar with the Tsukihime universe would consider them "cool". And yet Melty Blood remains relevant enough.

#97

D. Flame

28 Jun @ 2:20pm

Originally posted by The nameless Gamer:
Originally posted by D. Flame:
Concord had less than 5K players when it was a free-to-play beta. And people knew it was going to flop from the first trailer from the second they saw the trailer, you could actually see them talking about it in the live chat, and that was when we only had the designs to base it on.

Even one of the devs said something along the lines of, "We found out that there is something worse than making a bad game, making an uncool one."

Interestingly enough, Melty Blood has pretty ordinary looking characters for the most part. Nobody who isn't familiar with the Tsukihime universe would consider them "cool". And yet Melty Blood remains relevant enough.

Melty Blood started off as a porn game (Tsukihime).

#98

The nameless Gamer

28 Jun @ 2:24pm

Originally posted by D. Flame:
Originally posted by The nameless Gamer:

Interestingly enough, Melty Blood has pretty ordinary looking characters for the most part. Nobody who isn't familiar with the Tsukihime universe would consider them "cool". And yet Melty Blood remains relevant enough.
Melty Blood started off as a porn game (Tsukihime).

Tell me something I don't know. Doesn't change the fact that it's played at the EVO now. Nothing raunchy about Melty Blood though. And I doubt that people who played Tsukihime for the porn would play Melty Blood to begin with.

#99

D. Flame

28 Jun @ 2:34pm

Originally posted by The nameless Gamer:
Originally posted by D. Flame:
Melty Blood started off as a porn game (Tsukihime).

Tell me something I don't know. Doesn't change the fact that it's played at the EVO now. Nothing raunchy about Melty Blood though. And I doubt that people who played Tsukihime for the porn would play Melty Blood to begin with.

It proves that that characters are not just designed to be "unoffensive," and characters like WARC are cool, and the Cats have a crap ton of meme potential.

YouTube™ Video: Beams are so… unisex.

I love neco arc family (From Carnival Phantasm)

#100

hypehype

28 Jun @ 2:42pm

The Last of Us Two. 2020

when it won game of the year, they thought they had control of the industry and could do what they want.

now look, so many developer studios shut down.

#101

KrakenGreywolf

28 Jun @ 2:46pm

Ghostbusters 2016 is by far my favorite Ghostbusters. Sorry, not sorry.

#102

Reiya

28 Jun @ 3:14pm

Originally posted by hypehype:
The Last of Us Two. 2020

when it won game of the year, they thought they had control of the industry and could do what they want.

now look, so many developer studios shut down.

Wait until you realize that I have been predicting the AAA crash since before Gamergate.

Wait until you realize that corporate greed is the problem. Woke isn't killing ♥♥♥♥.

Having to make 200 billion dollars this year because you made 199 last year is

#103

BJWyler

28 Jun @ 3:38pm

Originally posted by D. Flame:
Originally posted by BJWyler:
What pattern is that? Is it the one where Big Macho White Dude and Big Breasted Blonde Girl aren't the de facto characters in games any more, and we are actually getting different types and looks for characters? I would say that's a good pattern to have.
Y'all got the memories of a gold fish. Even black females characters are getting beat with the ugly stick. We already discussed this multiple time.

You're just desperate to make it a race thing because you know that you lost on the facts, but minority characters are catching the hits too.

Sorry bub, but I'm not the one making it race thing. Let me rephrase to make it clearer for you:

Is it the one where Big Macho Buff Dude and Big Breasted Vapid Girl aren't the de facto characters in games any more, and we are actually getting different types and looks for characters? I would say that's a good pattern to have.