Plague of game dev harassment erodes industry, spurs support groups

[KarissaMann05]

Plague of game dev harassment erodes industry, spurs support groups | Polygon

The greatest threat to the video game industry may be some of its most impassioned fans. Increasingly, game developers are finding themselves under attack by some of the very people they devote their lives to entertaining. And this growing form of gamer-on-game-developer cyber harassment is starting to take its toll.

Developers, both named and those who wish to remain anonymous, tell Polygon that harassment by gamers is becoming an alarmingly regular expected element of game development. Some developers say the problem was among the reasons they left the industry, others tell Polygon that the problem is so ubiquitous that it distracts them from making games or that they're considering leaving the industry.


The problem has become so pronounced that International Game Developers Association executive director Kate Edwards tells Polygon that the organization is looking into starting support groups and that while the harassment isn't yet having a major impact on game development, "we're at the cusp of where it could."

Power and positioning

Fans are, by definition, fanatical.


That passion for the books they read, the movies and television they watch and the games they play can lead to amazing things from cosplay to tribute operas, from charities to art. But that fanaticism can also lead to a level of obsession that can trigger some very bad things like threats of death, kidnapping, torture, stalking and financial ruin.


Online harassment, no matter the reasoning, is always about power and positioning, about putting people in their place, said Nathan Fisk, lecturer at the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.


"I think fans harass developers for a range of reasons, but again, it is always about power and position," said Fisk, who was featured in Bullying in the Age of Social Media. "Fans are invested in the stories and worlds that developers create, and certain design decisions can be seen by fans to threaten those stories and worlds. Harassment silences and repositions content creators in ways that protect the interests of certain fan groups, which again is no justification for the kinds of abusive behavior and language seen online today."

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Oh, tsk. =/

 

[Smithtr]

sound look likes dangerous risk ! it very serious gamers!

 

[JMH]

Typical gamer fanboys. *shrug* I have seen it everywhere - Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc... Even iRacing. But not just game itself - also film, music, etc...

I know few films that were made some change due to fans' pressure - specifically Star Wars prequel, Spider-man 3, and few others.

It's really sad.

 

[metalangel]

Sometimes they bring it on themselves. They are obsessed with hyping their games up and making people expect a game that will be 110% perfect, except that designation is completely subjective. So, when people are told that a game will be amazing and then they start detailing a bunch of stupid features they don't want, they feel like they're being let down.

There's also the fact that so many companies are now obsessed with chasing the 'mainstream', in that they are making the classic mistake of so many businesses: it's far easier to keep existing customers happy than to try and attract new ones. By 'streamlining' your products to appeal to the lowest common denominator, you're removing the stuff that made people enjoy your product enough in the first place.

Finally, there's the companies that actively set out to screw their customers over, like Microsoft's ridiculous always-on policy. That benefited nobody but Microsoft.

I'm not saying they should receive abuse, but when they forget that their customers are the reason they're even making products in the first place, they shouldn't be surprised that people are upset.