Look at all our highly-rated games, look at this embarrassment of riches. It gives the unmistakable impression that videogames today are basically great. Even though they’re not. They’re really not.
Wow. On videogame reviews.
I obviously concur with this. But it goes way deeper than game critic. A recent article with Chris Crawford, a dude who’s been making videogames since 1973 says that he doesn’t need to play games these days to know if a game is good or interesting or none of that. Immediately someone commented that he was stupid and that he should go away. Thirteen industry people agreed.
To me, if one of the oldest computer game designer known is saying that he doesn’t play games anymore because they’re all the same, I just nod. I don’t need to play Bioshock Infinite to get a sense that this FPS makes no sense. A couple of videos and reviews from different people –that is, no professional review- demonstrate it. I avoid graphic porn because it makes us tech dudes way too soft on what games actually are. So a dude with 40 years of experience designing games yeah, I get that he doesn’t need to play the last GTA. That’s like, duh. But no, people get nasty and immediately dis him.
The lack of humility and respect around and in the game industry is something, man. You’ve got to be a fan for something, hardcore. Expert. I was glad the article brought in Little Big Planet and how it’s been overrated because it’s cute. It was the poster child for “a new era”. Heavy Rain, same. But every time I would criticize those games because they’re not so great, people would jump and think I have a problem or that I’m just a hater because “you use Windows”.
Look at how polarized people are around deities that brands have become. We’re speaking of Sony “community”. Xbox “community”. People buying a Wii U “by loyalty for Nintendo”. Console “wars”. Exclusive games mean you don’t have it, I DO TAKE THIS. There is no adult behavior. It’s embarrassing.
Games can’t mature if society as a whole just keeps getting more childish (remember iOS people going crazy because Instagram was coming to Android? What in the actual fuck).
So we need to step up. We need to stop being so complacent about our medium, hard.