Nice read as always, Sanya. Greetings!

Originally posted by Itoao

Originally posted by Sanya

Originally posted by Teiman

What you comment in this article, methinks is private to these people, and sould not be commented publicy in a website.

but thats me.. 

 

I can promise you this - there are no statements in that entire article that apply to one single individual. What I said applies, for better or for worse, to multiple people. And I'm told that the same is true across many industries, which vaguely depresses me.

People are broken. And people are magnificent, too. Usually the same people are both, if that makes sense.

 

Ok, I really enjoy your articles. Sometimes the posts even more. I think I may have to steal that one. If someone said it please let me know.

People are broken. And people are magnificent, too. Usually the same people are both, if that makes sense.

 

Gotta Love it!

I also fell in love with that quotation and I am also wondering if there is any origin to it.

What makes Dilbert, The Office (I prefer the UK version though the US one has its moments), and other business-life-based comedies so endearing is how the jokes have such a ring of truth to them. After working for several companies that have transitioned from small businesses to large corporations (and now consult for businesses that run across the spectrum), I can say from personal experience that even the most outlandish jokes in entertainment pale in comparison to what really happens.

The "geek" culture of MMO development houses is just transitioning to the "middle-management" culture of corporations.

It's a sad thing to see happen to any business, but until executions of middle-management become legal (ah, but the glory of the Roman Empire is long gone) it's inevitable for any growing business.

-w

The truth is that the people who sit atop a large game or company do deserve the majority of the blame when things go wrong. They make all the final decisions, and in the case that there are others who make the final decisions they are the ones who picked and hired the other decision makers. It's the same as every other type of company.

They have to balance the fine line of giving the employees enough freedom to do something great, but enough restriction to make sure it all follows the same vision and works together wonderfully. In the end it all gets traced back up to that top guy and what policies/decisions he made over the design and implementation time. It's his fault if he was persuaded by the guy who was determined to get a certain feature in that failed miserably, and his fault if he didn't allow in a feature that might of made the game a huge success.

I'm not saying it's easy but in the end it is his fault and his bad leadership (I use he through all this because everyone listed in the article was a guy).

A hard article to read.  Even with the many drafts, it feels so very raw.

People on both sides of the curtain are far too human sometimes.

Sonya - your articles are always good to read and give good insight to the gaming industry.

Someone else already stated that "Celebrity" status is attained by repeated success in the eyes of the users.  Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Steven Spielburg, ect. did not become famous with just one movie.  They became famous after years of acting and/or directing movies.  When the "BIG" names in gaming reach that pinnacle in thier career they will very possibly have the poveratsy(sp?) chasing them with the same vigor as they chase the big movie stars, and for the same reasons - Dirty Laundry.

The MMO workplace sounds exactly like every other workplace that I have ever had the displeasure of going to, except for one thing; most people in the gaming industry joined not because they just had to have a job, but instead because they dreamed of creating games or being part of the process of creating games.  If those employees dont enjoy what they are doing then its a reasonable probability that the people who play the game are not going to enjoy what the unhappy employee created.

Short to say, my last job was working in a company that created medical equipment and supplies.  My boss was caught screwing his bosses (Sr Director of Supply) secretary in his bosses personnal conference room during lunch.  A guy two offices down from my office  hung himself when the divorce papers came in the office mail from his wife - apparently when he called home his wife had left a message letting him know that she was going to rake him over the coals and press for full custody of thier 3 children.  Icing on the cake, in the packing warehouse, we had a father and daughter working packing boxes.  The father had to be arrested and removed from the premises when he found out his daughter was pregnant with the baby of another of thier coworkers.  This all happened in a six month timeframe.  FUN FUN FUN..... but most those people worked thier jobs not because they had a dream of working that type of job, but because thats the type of job they could get with thier educational levels; they all pretty much hated thier jobs.

Well I must admit that I have read your posts in the past as a passing interest. This article comes across to me that you are a little pissed at alot of people. Maybe you should be the one to take a year off and practice those smiling exercises?

I come from a TV and Theatre background where things are similar yet unfold in the background, and at least we have the decency to keep them in the background!

This is by no means a personal stab mind you. I just think you had a bad day and need to vent more before posting articles, otherwise you'll become a victim to those statements.

As far as I am concerned though, this article was a simple rant, so just like those MMO dicks you mention, who cares all I want is a good damn MMO to play and see someone actually fix those errors rather than playing the schoolyard blame game.

God, no wonder people leave these MMO's soon after the game reaches retail. Get back to making real games that work and if you're one of those dicks with wads, keep it in your pants and show us your money, stick it in your mouth and give us what we want. What else are you gonna do with it, spend it?

Well as for my money, I'm keeping it until something descent comes out, hype isn't worth it, end game for me!

Originally posted by skintrade

Originally posted by lilune666

A product that stands out as exceptional is almost always the result of a good team effort, but a product that flops is almost always the result of bad management.  MMO customers will always remember the flops first, I promise. 

the game industry is deep down no different than any other trade I've worked in - the old adage "you're only as good as your last project" ring true, and it's human nature to remember the bad over the good, you can have 8 days of blazing sunshine and only bleat on about the fact it rained for 2 days straight. I do find however that "geekdom" for want of a better word is often more forgiving of the flops if you'vealready proven you can do great things.
 

No, I don't think geekdom is forgiving.  My counter to your observation is Jeff Freeman.  He did great work on SWG, with its launch and Jedi instilation but he will forever be remebered as the creator of the NGE.

RIP Jeff,

Your troubles are done.

Nice article.  Interesting read.

I can't help but think how heartbreaking it's gotta be for developers to see an MMO they've worked on for years crash and burn.  And to add salt to the wounds you have a plethora of people online posting hateful things, often personally insulting the creators. 

A thought provoking and well written "take" on the industry from the inside that seeks a commonality -- a "thread" to obtain answers that thinking MMO hobbyists seek.

Of course, the title says it all, really.  There is no "End Game" -- no "magic bullet" to explain away all the issues for all the problems and failures.  Except one.  For all of them (the latest put out to pasture is Mark Jacobs) -- it was time for them to go.

Originally posted by Sanya

No, and I'm not explaining myself well.

Right now, on several forums, there are people posting under newly created identities just to make cheap shots at someone they don't know, and they've made no effort to talk to anyone informed. That's a dillweed.

People who say "die in a fire" over a video game in any sense but an ironic one are dillweeds.

But I don't think an observation counts as dillweed behavior. And I clearly don't think using a forum handle is in and of itself dillweed behavior, although it is often a contributing factor.

Great article.  You have really raised the bar on this site (not to disparage the other editors...it's just that you are a truly exceptional writer).

I personally maintain a "blogosphere/ message board" identity that is separate from my real life identity because

A. If something I post can't stand on it's own legs, then it is flawed. I'm not going to try and use my RL credentials to prop it up.

B. It being instantly obvious to anyone that googles my name that I put a lot of energy into commenting on MMOs would potentially hurt my career. Particularly if they catch the random posts I make while chewing on problems at work (I often find that when I get stuck on something it helps to distract myself for a bit and then rethink it). Employers expect you to be focused on the task at hand 25/7 in my field, serious hobbies are a distraction you cannot afford.

However I do use Yeebo everywhere. So if you want to find more stuff that "that guy" wrote, you can find it.
 

Good insigt in to persons at top.. "Celebrity status" breaks dow a person.. Like MJ was broken