And while i'm on a non-game specific bent i may as well get my feelings about another phrase:
Angry Internet Men.
Whoever invented this phrase (i have a feeling it was someone over at RockPaperShotgun!) needs to go and hide away from humankind forever. Originally it was supposed to be a term for the most extreme people who overreacted and could not be logically reasoned with in any way, shape or form.... these people are just stereotypically angry and there's nothing anyone can do about it to shut them up or for them to really make much sense.
The phrase has evolved into a sort of derision or dismissal of any argument that goes against 'the establishment'. Complain about LAN functionality being removed from Starcraft 2? You're an AIM. Be annoyed by erroding consumer rights in the games industry? You're an AIM. Complain about Diablo 3's lightness and wow-gayness? You actually are an AIM - that's a legitimate use of the phrase ;)
Like the terms "ad hominem" (often AIM is an ad hominem) and "straw man" it's begining to get carted out during any discussion that has an argument against those in authority or control - regardless of whether the situation warrants the use of those terms. People use them to try and blindly discredit and undermine the arguments of their opponents by sowing seeds of doubt in third parties on the legitimacy of the arguments.
It seems like anyone who rails against a decision these days is a "whiner" or an "angry internet man" in the eyes of fans or the general public.... from the eyes of the publishers and developers they are "pirates". In response to the questions of 'Why no LAN option?' in StarCraft 2 the posted message just reads as a literal - if you want LAN then you must be a pirate - so stop leeching off of society and buy our game, no questions asked.
We would not take out LAN if we did not feel we could offer players something better.
If I were to buy StarCraft II or any other title, I know the money I spent would be going to supporting that title. Personally, I would be upset that others were freeloading while others are legitimately supporting a title that has great potential and goals of making this title have 'long legs.'
If you like a song a lot, buy it, and that artist will only come out with more awesome songs for you. If you like a game, buy it, and we will promise to constantly work to make the player experience better at every corner we can.
Support the causes you believe in (This is applicable to all things, not just gaming).
Don't be a leech to society, innovation, and further awesome creations.
Similar intonations have been made by various figureheads throughout the gaming industry whenever DRM schemes have been questioned. Frequently it's a case of, "The people who care about DRM must be pirates and the rest who don't, don't care because they don't know about it."
Don't you just love arguments that rely on cultural division between 'them' and 'us'?
Well, that *is* how politics works, so perhaps we can take it as a sign that the game industry is maturing?
ReplyDeleteOr at least aging.
Hehe, yeah... i guess it is. Though i definitely think "aging" is a better/more accurate word for it than "mature". There's very little that is mature in how the games industry views and treats their customers.
ReplyDeleteNot that i think that people within the industry are inherently bad. I just feel that the industry as a whole enjoys a lot of perks that other industries did during the pre-consumer protection world.
ReplyDeleteThe propensity of large businesses to gouge and trick their customers never ceases to amaze me. It's like people can suddenly hide behind a corporate entity when selling actual poison as medicine or baby food and it's a mentality i do not understand and hope never to become infected with.
Obviously, there's nothing on that sort of scale within the games industry. :)