Behind Every Game Are People

Today, everyone wants to express their opinion. And while it shouldn’t be questionable that everyone should have the freedom to express their thoughts, I can’t help but wonder: are people mistaking opinions for hatred and bluntness? This goes a long way for gamers and game developers alike.

Not so long ago, you couldn’t find a post or hear someone talk about Anthem. Yet once EA made it clear that the servers are going down and the game will no longer be available, people suddenly started asking for the game to stay online and began making a scene. I’m sure there were some people who played that game. Every game is like that. Even though most people are no longer playing it or have already left, some people form a connection with a game, and then it becomes hard to let go.

But when a game is online only multiplayer and there is no profit for developers, keeping servers running costs money. I do agree that when games are going offline, developers should either offer source code for private servers or, even better if possible, adjust the game so it is playable offline.

The thing with Anthem is that the game really had potential. I played it when it first came out and I liked it. It felt good, looked good, and I thought it might become very popular. But then came wave after wave of criticism and bashing toward the game, the developers, and everything around it. Eventually, I believe that backfires on players too.

Why? Because the people behind these games are just that, people. Imagine working on something for years. You and your team are happy, excited, exhausted, but still can’t wait to hear the first feedback and read comments to see how you’re doing. You’re sure you’ve created something great, something special. And then comes the cold shower. People start bashing the game. You try to hotfix issues, but more and more waves of negativity keep coming. As usual, gaming portals use your “failure” as advertising, because nothing gets more clicks than a story about someone failing. Eventually, the human mind breaks. Excitement turns into disappointment, motivation turns into wanting it all to end. You start believing that something you once considered your achievement is now trash.

A lot of damage has been done to developers in this way. People who never even played the game talk about it, repeating popular negativity they have heard elsewhere. Is that really an opinion? Opinions should be based on personal experience, not on something you have heard and think sounds right.

I would love it if Anthem could receive a single player hotfix so people could play it offline, even though there are already talks about private servers. I just wonder how, for years, we heard nothing about the game, and then all of a sudden, when developers are shutting it down, people reappear, unhappy that it is going away.

People make mistakes. Nothing is perfect. We should remember that the next time we decide to jump on a bandwagon and bash a game. Giving constructive feedback instead of being hateful would go a long way. We need more understanding for people who are doing their jobs. Think about the schedules they have to keep. Imagine their stress and pressure. After all that work, instead of excitement, they fear for their future in the company, the possibility of losing a job, or even losing the company itself. That is not a small thing, and much of it comes from people expressing their opinions in the wrong way.

The power of media should not be underestimated and definitely should not be misused. Every time I hear massive hate toward certain games, I can’t help but wonder if people are truly right or just overestimating things. Not everything on the internet is true.

I remember the first few weeks of Days Gone receiving backlash in most gaming magazines and portals. Many people talked badly about the game without ever playing it. I played it on day one, enjoyed it so much that I only stopped after earning the platinum trophy, and I recently replayed the entire game again. So I know from personal experience that the game is far better than what people said. Luckily, Days Gone eventually won people over, but the damage was already done, as Sony shut down the idea of Days Gone 2.

In the last few days, there has been a lot of negativity toward Highguard and Ashes of Creation. People are calling these games scams and leaving massive amounts of negative reviews. While I do not wish to defend developers who fail to deliver what they promised, I believe that when games are in early access, what developers need is feedback, not reviews.

I understand the frustration. I am a gamer myself, and when a game I buy feels unfinished or poorly executed, I am angry and disappointed too. But if you are playing a game that is a work in progress or in its first weeks of release, you should give it some time, leave feedback for developers, and see if they fix the issues. That is why I believe every game should have a website with a forum, a place to discuss the game properly.

Recently, I played the World of Warcraft beta, and it is far from good. It is laggy, buggy, and performs terribly at times. But it is a beta. I do not expect it to be good yet, as it is still a work in progress. If those problems make it to the retail version, then we have a real issue and a reason to call developers out.

But harming developers and small studios is far more damaging. I wish people would think about what their words can do and take responsibility when commenting and leaving reviews. Because at the end of the day, hatred is not an opinion.

Let us hope people can base their opinions on facts and personal experience with the games they review. And let us be honest, not every game is for everyone. I could write a review about FIFA even though I do not play sports games. I could still say that while the game is not for me, it is probably great for people who enjoy playing football online.

Hopefully, people will realize that sometimes, as a community, we are too harsh and that we are making game development harder than it ever needs to be.