Too Long; Didn’t Listen episode 10 — Dying of the Plague

Spot. On.

Sometimes it’s super hard not to be negative. I think I do that well. but I try and find something goofy to write a post around. I’m not a news blog, just a ‘personal experience’ one but yeah. Sometimes it’s too easy to be negative.

Let me lawyer up Lucifer here for a sec;

Presenting a critique of a game, or some of the features/systems/mechanics of a game is not, in and of it’s self, being overly negative.  Often, it’s just being honest.  More often it is a required first step of identifying problems so that they can then be addressed.

Dodge pointed out (quite accurately) that WOW did not start with many (most?) of the features it possesses today… but, how did those features get added?  Not necessarily all, but many of them were brought about as a response to concerns or criticisms expressed by the players.

Rather than a trend towards being “overly negative” I see the current trend being one of identifying too strongly with one title over another, and taking criticism of the preferred title personally, instead of a legitimate counter perspective.

Criticising SWTOR for having essentially the same systems and mechanics of previous MMO games is an accurate assessment… it DOES have basically the same gameplay, however, does that make it a bad game?  The answer to that is completely subjective.  If you are still enjoying those systems/mechanics then SWTOR presents an opportunity to continue enjoying them with a new setting, improved story elements, and with very slight “tweaks” to give them a slightly “new” feeling.  If, on the other hand, you have had your fill of those systems/mechanics then perhaps more of the same (even in a new setting) is not going to be such a welcome new addition to the MMO genre.

The criticism itself, is not inherently bad… how it’s framed could be considered overly zealous by some, but perhaps those who would view it as such are personally identifying with the game to an extent that causes them to lose objectivity on the subject.

One of the underlying themes I took away from Thades article was that he seemed to think “more of the same” wasn’t just ok, but to be expected, and that it was somehow unreasonable to expect something innovative or different within the genre.  First, if that accurately describes the viewpoint of that article, then I whole-heartedly disagree with it.  Second, I would just like to point out that F***ing GW dude!  I really don’t think any further elaboration on my counter argument is necessary… ;-)

Perhaps I should preface this by disclosing that I was raised by a Marine Corps Drill Seargent (not hyperbole; literally the man served 20 yrs, with 8 of them as a DI in the USMC.) so my personal perspective on what is “too harsh” and what is not has been severly skewed, but folks need to harden the F*** up!

Criticism is not only NOT a bad thing… it is vitally essential for progress and growth. 

There is also a certain “entertainment value” associated with criticism if it is done particularly well (KiaSA as case in point) but regarless of whether it is done well or poorly, whether it is “constructive” and gentle, or brutally harsh and straightforward, it is up to the target of the criticism to take it in, assess it’s accuracy dispassionately, and if warranted, make changes/improvements as appropriate.

“You want the truth?  You can’t handle the truth!” – Jack  Nicholson trying to act as hardass as my dear old dad.