The Dysfunctional Three-Way - Revision history

Checker at 18:43, 12 March 2012

2012-03-12T18:43:52Z

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	* [http://kotaku.com/5892030/spy-partys-chris-hecker-calls-out-players-the-press-and-developers-for-lack-of-variety-in-games Spy Party’s Chris Hecker Calls Out Players, the Press, and Developers for Lack of Variety in Games]		* [http://kotaku.com/5892030/spy-partys-chris-hecker-calls-out-players-the-press-and-developers-for-lack-of-variety-in-games Spy Party’s Chris Hecker Calls Out Players, the Press, and Developers for Lack of Variety in Games]
	* [http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466081 GDC: Chris Hecker (spy party) rants about sameness in games. It's your fault.]		* [http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466081 GDC: Chris Hecker (spy party) rants about sameness in games. It's your fault.]
			* [http://www.develop-online.net/news/40170/GDC-Lack-of-games-variety-down-to-everyone GDC: Lack of games variety 'down to everyone']

	Here are the slides: [[Media:gdc12rant-Dysfunctional-Three-Way.ppt\|ppt]].		Here are the slides: [[Media:gdc12rant-Dysfunctional-Three-Way.ppt\|ppt]].

Checker at 18:39, 12 March 2012

2012-03-12T18:39:53Z

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	* '''Developers:''' The statement, "We make the games we want to play" may be true and great, but then can you please want to play a wider variety of games so you'll make them in turn?		* '''Developers:''' The statement, "We make the games we want to play" may be true and great, but then can you please want to play a wider variety of games so you'll make them in turn?

	Why should people care? For the same reason people should care about biodiversity. Not because the human race will die off, [http://harpers.org/archive/1998/10/0059715 because we won't]. We should care because a world with only ''weedy species'', a world with only the kudzu, rats, cockroaches, and us would be incredibly sad and boring, and we deserve more. The same is true of games. We will not die as an entertainment form, but man, what a shame and waste of our [[Potential Unreached\|potential]] for us and our children.		'''Why should people care?''' For the same reason people should care about biodiversity. Not because the human race will die off, [http://harpers.org/archive/1998/10/0059715 because we won't]. We should care because a world with only ''weedy species'', a world with only the kudzu, rats, cockroaches, and us would be incredibly sad and boring, and we deserve more. The same is true of games. We will not die as an entertainment form, but man, what a shame and waste of our [[Potential Unreached\|potential]] for us and our children.

	<center>[[Image:beach.jpg\|600px]]</center>		<center>[[Image:beach.jpg\|600px]]</center>

Checker at 18:34, 12 March 2012

2012-03-12T18:34:52Z

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	My [[Game Developers Conference\|GDC ~~2011~~]] rant was titled ''The Dysfunctional Three-Way'', and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Rabin Steve Rabin] was nice enough to let me move him from his prime seat to record it for me:		My [[Game Developers Conference\|GDC 2012]] rant was titled ''The Dysfunctional Three-Way'', and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Rabin Steve Rabin] was nice enough to let me move him from his prime seat to record it for me:

	<center>{{#widget:YouTube\|id=MMpAoLsl1QY\|width=640\|height=385}}</center>		<center>{{#widget:YouTube\|id=MMpAoLsl1QY\|width=640\|height=385}}</center>

Checker at 06:53, 12 March 2012

2012-03-12T06:53:46Z

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	<center>[[Image:beach.jpg\|600px]]</center>		<center>[[Image:beach.jpg\|600px]]</center>

			There's been some discussion of the rant on the internets:
			* [http://kotaku.com/5892030/spy-partys-chris-hecker-calls-out-players-the-press-and-developers-for-lack-of-variety-in-games Spy Party’s Chris Hecker Calls Out Players, the Press, and Developers for Lack of Variety in Games]
			* [http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466081 GDC: Chris Hecker (spy party) rants about sameness in games. It's your fault.]

	Here are the slides: [[Media:gdc12rant-Dysfunctional-Three-Way.ppt\|ppt]].		Here are the slides: [[Media:gdc12rant-Dysfunctional-Three-Way.ppt\|ppt]].

Checker at 06:23, 12 March 2012

2012-03-12T06:23:55Z

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	* '''Press:''' Provide sorely needed context, and hold Players and Developers accountable for this appetite for sameness. You are the ''conscience'' of the industry.		* '''Press:''' Provide sorely needed context, and hold Players and Developers accountable for this appetite for sameness. You are the ''conscience'' of the industry.
	* '''Developers:''' The statement, "We make the games we want to play" may be true and great, but then can you please want to play a wider variety of games so you'll make them in turn?		* '''Developers:''' The statement, "We make the games we want to play" may be true and great, but then can you please want to play a wider variety of games so you'll make them in turn?

			Why should people care? For the same reason people should care about biodiversity. Not because the human race will die off, [http://harpers.org/archive/1998/10/0059715 because we won't]. We should care because a world with only ''weedy species'', a world with only the kudzu, rats, cockroaches, and us would be incredibly sad and boring, and we deserve more. The same is true of games. We will not die as an entertainment form, but man, what a shame and waste of our [[Potential Unreached\|potential]] for us and our children.

			<center>[[Image:beach.jpg\|600px]]</center>

	Here are the slides: [[Media:gdc12rant-Dysfunctional-Three-Way.ppt\|ppt]].		Here are the slides: [[Media:gdc12rant-Dysfunctional-Three-Way.ppt\|ppt]].

Checker at 06:17, 12 March 2012

2012-03-12T06:17:31Z

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	The common denominator I found between these three groups was what I call '''An Appetite for Sameness'''. Players seem to want to play the same games over and over again, Press seem to want to write about the same games over and over again, and Developers seem to want to make the games over and over again. It's not just a tolerance for sameness, it's an actual appetite for it. This is true of both the mainstream and indies.		The common denominator I found between these three groups was what I call '''An Appetite for Sameness'''. Players seem to want to play the same games over and over again, Press seem to want to write about the same games over and over again, and Developers seem to want to make the games over and over again. It's not just a tolerance for sameness, it's an actual appetite for it. This is true of both the mainstream and indies.

	I played a snippet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Crawford_%28game_designer%29 Chris Crawford]'s Dragon Speech, the entirety of which you can and should watch: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_04PLBdhqZ4 part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymu4A9861Ck part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpW0fZ0390M part 3], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7N_Ju1L_Mg part 4], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMwmdvf8v0 part 5]. It's a sad but important lecture.		I played a snippet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Crawford_%28game_designer%29 Chris Crawford]'s Dragon Speech, the entirety of which you can and should watch: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_04PLBdhqZ4 part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymu4A9861Ck part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpW0fZ0390M part 3], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7N_Ju1L_Mg part 4], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMwmdvf8v0 part 5]. It's a sad but important lecture. I make a parallel between Chris's study of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote Don Quixote], and my study of Chris. I hope I don't eventually run out of the GDC carrying a sword, never to be seen again, but it's a distinct possibility.

	In the end, I gave the following advice:		In the end, I gave the following advice:

Checker: Created page with "My GDC 2011 rant was titled ''The Dysfunctional Three-Way'', and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Rabin Steve Rabin] was nice enough to let me m..."

2012-03-12T06:15:01Z

Created page with "My GDC 2011 rant was titled ''The Dysfunctional Three-Way'', and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Rabin Steve Rabin] was nice enough to let me m..."

New page

My [[Game Developers Conference|GDC 2011]] rant was titled ''The Dysfunctional Three-Way'', and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Rabin Steve Rabin] was nice enough to let me move him from his prime seat to record it for me:

<center>{{#widget:YouTube|id=MMpAoLsl1QY|width=640|height=385}}</center>

As you can see in the video, the ''2012 Duct Tape Award'' went to [http://numberless.net/ Scott Jon Siegel], who gave a great rant about shutting up and making more games.

The three-way I'm talking about in this rant involves Developers, Players, and the Press. The relationship between the three groups is completely broken, and the games we all make, play, and write about have almost no variety. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but they are just that: exceptions.

The common denominator I found between these three groups was what I call '''An Appetite for Sameness'''. Players seem to want to play the same games over and over again, Press seem to want to write about the same games over and over again, and Developers seem to want to make the games over and over again. It's not just a tolerance for sameness, it's an actual appetite for it. This is true of both the mainstream and indies.

I played a snippet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Crawford_%28game_designer%29 Chris Crawford]'s Dragon Speech, the entirety of which you can and should watch: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_04PLBdhqZ4 part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymu4A9861Ck part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpW0fZ0390M part 3], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7N_Ju1L_Mg part 4], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMwmdvf8v0 part 5]. It's a sad but important lecture.

In the end, I gave the following advice:

* '''Players:''' Request and purchase true variety. True variety is not a turret mission in an FPS. You are the ''body'' of the industry, and you need to feed your body a variety of healthy foods.
* '''Press:''' Provide sorely needed context, and hold Players and Developers accountable for this appetite for sameness. You are the ''conscience'' of the industry.
* '''Developers:''' The statement, "We make the games we want to play" may be true and great, but then can you please want to play a wider variety of games so you'll make them in turn?

Here are the slides: [[Media:gdc12rant-Dysfunctional-Three-Way.ppt|ppt]].

[[Category:Lectures]]
[[Category:Opinions]]