Staff writer for Bioware gets flamed and starts a flamewar. Just amazing to see that happen. Wow, 400+ comments by all manner of netizens. A few points that I found very interesting:
Said writer has stated that she does not play games, just writes the dialog/plot/text paths that players can follow along in. Basically if you have played a Bioware RPG computer game, then you know their style. I'll sum it up basically as your RPG component choices boil down to old style adventure book decisions. For example, when you meet an NPC, you can a) talk insultingly b) curry favor by sucking up c) make sincere romantic overtures.
Okay, maybe admitting that you don't like to play games is kinda not a smart PR move in a world full of rabid fan boi with no sensitivity training or anything resembling common courtesy. You write the games these things play. You are by proxy considered their slave however much you consider yourself a master of their world. But maybe she has more reasons than being a game snob. I have my own excuses for not buying a Bioware product in the last ten years. I'll get to them soon enough.Hepler is a BioWare writer and woke up one day to discover the entire Internet hated her. A number of online communities recently started dogpiling on the lady, accusing her of "ruining" BioWare games with her writing. She's also received a lot of heat for admitting that she doesn't like to play games -- certainly a requirement if your job is to craft narrative (sarcasm).
Okay, well now she really threw gas on the fire, but I don't care. I agree with her! I can't remember the last time I played a game through to completion. If I had to guess, I would have to say it was the first Halo game from Bungie. It is common for most computer RPG games to have 40-80 hours of content to play through. I just don't have that time anymore. And really, I could have used a fast-forward button for the last third of Halo 1.By far her greatest "crime" was suggesting that games should let the player skip combat, stating: "Games almost always include a way to "button through" dialogue without paying attention, because they understand that some players don't enjoy listening to dialogue and they don't want to stop their fun. Yet they persist in practically coming into your living room and forcing you to play through the combats even if you're a player who only enjoys the dialogue."
Halo's last third literally was the same rooms over and over again, only slightly different. The first time through, I was eliminating alien guards over and over again, but perhaps from slightly different points of egress or alertness. Then I went to the big bad boss room, fought him or something, and accidentally released an ancient virus based life form that wanted to eat me. So I had to run through all those same rooms I just cleared, but this time fighting down that virus life form that made those dead alien guards into running suicide bomber zombies.
Then I went and watched the history of Bungie documentary and about shit a brick when they fully admitted that they ran out of production time with Halo and had to cut a bunch of content. So all that running through the exact same rooms was fucking filler! I fucking knew it! But I had to get to the end.
Anyways, the original article spawned so many feelings in me ranging from, do these gaming trolls know what it is like to work on a big project with 50+ people? A staff writer is just one cog. Could you imagine your job being a writer for games which 50% of the player base doesn't get to read or see your creation? Just on the bare idea alone that 50% of players just buy the games but don't have time to play it through. I have a bookcase full of games that I have not complete. They sit on the shelves gathering dust, trinkets of a dead hobby.
If I finished any bit of story telling, I'd be sorely tempted to make sure all my reading capable friends read it. Then, do these game trolls know how much game companies pay a staff writer? Compare that to a writing gig that pays royalties? Do you think they compare? So to get a writer on staff that cares about the craft... it's a miracle. And the stuff they get to write? probably supervised to the T.
Anyways, I need to get to bed. Stayed up too late filling next supply order. Must get up early for Jack's workout. What the fuck!
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