It's a long read, but a good one. Have you ever worked really hard on something with a lot of enthusiasm, to have it shot down with harsh opinions? It sucks. But can you imagine someone threatening to kill you over it? Obviously it would be an empty threat, but a response like that is pretty unfathomable. So in this, we take a step into game developers shoes. People who work hard on releasing products so that we can enjoy them. Now that's obviously a pretty selfish response, it's not all about us. If you put it in terms like this: "The gaming industry is an area in which a group of people strive to follow through with every single fan-made request", it doesn't sound very fun. Sharing your work with the fans is the pay off, but the work being put into it is theirs. It's a creative outlet, whether you're a concept artist, an environment designer, or an engineer. I can imagine one of the big things that draws people to the industry is the fact that they get to have a part in creating a world. I can't imagine any aspiring game developer going into the industry, eager to create a world that other people made for them. It just doesn't sound enticing at all, nor does is it a great environment for innovation. So, to the point. Why is it that a portion of the gaming community is being so harsh on the very people providing us this awesome entertainment? Obviously we've had our fair share of games that weren't what we expected. It sucks, and we are allowed to be disappointed, but why are we attacking them over it? If any of you have had a job, you probably wouldn't want your boss yelling at you over every mistake you've made, then a few supervisors coming in and threatening your children, would you? In real life, that response is not okay, and usually leads to someone getting into legal trouble. But it's not about the law, it's just about being a decent person. Why are we chasing people out of the industry which they helped shape? Recently we've been seeing a lot of people leaving the gaming industry, normally we hear something about them wanting to pursue other goals in life, but after reading this and hearing what they have to say about it, I'm a bit surprised to hear it's because we can be assholes. For some reason it didn't really occur to me that this stuff can take a toll after a while. You can tell me "That's just how the internet is", but I don't buy it. I haven't bought that bullshit in years. We're still communicating with actual people, and in this case, we're for some reason fighting with people who just wanted to invite us into a world they've created, and supply us with some entertainment along the way. Often we hear the grizzled ancients of gaming complain about how crappy this industry is turning. As the article states, this is an industry that's becoming more and more popular. When I was a kid, I never knew who was behind the games I played. I just played to enjoy them, and that was about it. I let the developers do their own thing. But now we're in a time where the developers are becoming public figures, and they're breaking this gap between player and developer. Instead of taking this opportunity to communicate with them about games, we're using it to yell at them for certain aspects of their games that we didn't like, and sometimes getting them fired over it. Next time you find yourself in a position to critique a developer over something, keep in mind that it's not all about you, and remember that they're not going to listen to anyone who can't maintain a level-head. You don't listen to people who yell and threaten you, and neither will they. We're all in this together, so why don't we strive to make it better? Some of you might be thinking: "I don't take anything people say to me on the internet seriously". Neither do I, and I'm better for it. I don't stress over it, but keep in mind we take these things in very small doses. Developers are subjected to enormous quantities of harassment like this, I'd have a hard time believing there's not one person out there who could handle the amount of responses and not getting either upset or irritated by one of them. Long post aside, what did you think of the article? Do you think things can progress the way they are, or will gaming just hit a flatline due to the attitudes of some gamers?