About three weeks ago we first started hearing rumors that No Mans Sky may be delayed by a few months. As someone who pre-ordered the game I just said "cool!" and went about my daily life, I mean sure I'd love to have the game by the end of this month, but things happen in the world of video game development. To be honest I have to gave the developers props on the fact that they are trying to give us a completed and bug free game, and not just ship what they have as other game developers have done in the past. I mean what's really the issue with taking a little more time since this game, like Star Citizen, is an extremely ambitious project and releasing it two months too soon, and full of bugs would undermine everything they have worked so hard on in the past three years.
Not more than 48 hours after word hit the internet that the game was officially postponed for an August release, stories began to pour in about death threats to the developers. It's at that point I began to roll my eyes at the stupidity of those conducting these acts. Somehow in my mind I keep imagining shut-ins huddled over their computers in a dark room, with the general appearance of "Comic Book Store Guy" from The Simpsons. Their minds filled with fevered anger that the game is delayed, and the two months wait will forever ruin their lives, fully solidifying the fact that they've checked out of reality.
My question is why does the delayed release of a video game require death threats? I mean does this game suck one into it alá Tron, or lead one to being called upon by a galactic alliance alá The Last Starfighter? Do these individuals somehow believe this is honestly a life or death matter? I mean is perhaps one of them the prince of Epsilon Theta III holding a secret that can save the universe, and No Mans Sky will open a Stargate like portal to get him home? I don't mean to poke fun (well actually I do) but what exactly is the logic behind such actions? I mean lets think about this a bit, they're angry the game is delayed so they threaten to kill its creators, hmm!. Doesn't anything register in their heads that murdering the games makers may pretty much postpone the game indefinitely or cancel it all together?
So here are some suggestions to those who feel their threats aren't getting them anywhere. Try using the "carrot on a stick" approach. Rather then threaten to kill No Mans Sky's creators why not offer then something nice for completing the game before late August. How about offering to, I don't know...make them fresh baked cookies, or buy them a cup of Starbucks, or hey how about sending them a free copy of No Mans Sky on Steam. Better yet how about, as William Shatner put it in his now infamous SNL-Star Trek Convention skit, you "GET A LIFE!", and learn its just a video game.
All kidding aside though, stories like these have become more and more commonplace in the world of gaming, and its a really disturbing trend. Death threats to developers over delayed releases, glitches, minor changes in game play, and even the firing time of in game weapons are just a few of the many stories we have heard like this over the past few years. Lets not also forget the ongoing joke of pre-pubescent boys angrily yelling obscenities at each other on headsets over games of Modern Warfare and whatnot as well. Sure, I've played multiplayer before and I've seen people do some really dick things, but these kids take it to a whole new level that I'm pretty sure would garner them weeks of detention or community service if they did it at their respective schools to their fellow students.
Sure there is a serious side to video gaming, and there are many titles out there now with mature themes, but when does someone stop treating it as a video game and instead treat it like a life changing event that justifies being nasty to other human beings in the real world? In a way I have to wonder why people who act this way would want to even play a game like No Mans Sky, when the games main premise is solitude and exploration, and there's no one around to abuse. To be honest I think the most exciting part of No Mans Sky will be the month after it comes out when all these type of folks bail on the game since it wasn't what they where expecting, and those of us looking for a more cerebral and relaxing experience can move more freely.
So what about you, how do you feel about the death threats to No Man's Sky developers? How do you feel about different types of behavior in online mutli-player? Lastly, what are your thoughts on No Mans Sky?
All kidding aside though, stories like these have become more and more commonplace in the world of gaming, and its a really disturbing trend. Death threats to developers over delayed releases, glitches, minor changes in game play, and even the firing time of in game weapons are just a few of the many stories we have heard like this over the past few years. Lets not also forget the ongoing joke of pre-pubescent boys angrily yelling obscenities at each other on headsets over games of Modern Warfare and whatnot as well. Sure, I've played multiplayer before and I've seen people do some really dick things, but these kids take it to a whole new level that I'm pretty sure would garner them weeks of detention or community service if they did it at their respective schools to their fellow students.
Sure there is a serious side to video gaming, and there are many titles out there now with mature themes, but when does someone stop treating it as a video game and instead treat it like a life changing event that justifies being nasty to other human beings in the real world? In a way I have to wonder why people who act this way would want to even play a game like No Mans Sky, when the games main premise is solitude and exploration, and there's no one around to abuse. To be honest I think the most exciting part of No Mans Sky will be the month after it comes out when all these type of folks bail on the game since it wasn't what they where expecting, and those of us looking for a more cerebral and relaxing experience can move more freely.
So what about you, how do you feel about the death threats to No Man's Sky developers? How do you feel about different types of behavior in online mutli-player? Lastly, what are your thoughts on No Mans Sky?
No comments:
Post a Comment