Developers Don’t Need to Grow Up. Journalists Just Need to Shut Up

Forget the new Zelda game, or that teaser for Modern Warfare 2. The biggest news out of GDC ’09 is that apparently video games are not ‘œmature’. Yes this comment was made by Heather Chaplin, author of the book Smartbomb and a video game ‘œjournalist’.

I just have to say, calling video game developers ‘œfucking adolescents’ to their face, in a convention that was made for them, that takes balls. While Chaplin went around accusing people left and right, without backing them up with actual proof, it raised interesting questions. One of which being that if the video game developers aren’t doing their job, are the video game ‘œjournalists’ doing theirs?

Since I am not a journalists I will back up my claims with actual proof. Lets take reviews for example; when you look at the state of video game reviews in the different websites and magazines, the word ‘clusterfuck’ comes to mind. Can the ‘œjournalists’ please tell me what the difference is between a game that gets a 9.5 /10 or a 10/10? Or even a game that gets a 4/10 and a 5/10?

When news broke of the service OnLive (told you I’d milk that story), how did the ‘œjournalists’ react? Well with ‘cautious optimism’, saying things like ‘œthis is the future of gaming, but I don’t see this happening with the current infrastructure.’ Well thanks a lot captain obvious for telling me what I already knew.

But that’s not even the worst part. Many claimed that ‘œI will believe it when it’s in my house and not in a controlled environment like the GDC booth.’ This is hypocrisy at its finest folks. When the ‘œjournalists’ tested Gears of War 2 to review and played online multiplayer in a controlled environment they didn’t complain. The whole issue with ‘people waiting 20 minutes to connect to a game’ went unnoticed. When they nominated the game as their pick for ‘œGame of the Year’, where was sense of integrity then ‘œjournalists’? Don’t take this the wrong way, I am not hating on Epic Games, no game is perfect and many of them have bugs; but isn’t it up to these “journalists” to tell me if there is a problem with the game?

The new fad seems to be comparing the graphics of multiplatform games. How would you decide to buy GTA 4 for which platform? Well by going to Gamespot and Gametrailers and looks at their graphical comparison. The minuscule difference of pixels in Nico Bellic’s face and the fact that one console displays the game in full HD proves a console’s superiority over another. The monthly publishing of the NPD reports, the sales report in Japan and in the UK. Dear Gamers, have you wondered why these reports have suddenly become so important among the ‘œjournalists’? Why they are suddenly talking about it and writing about it and predicting the future of a console by it? Simple; because of the fanboys. Nothing gets those fanboys riled up and commenting on your website than a good sales report. More comments mean more hits, means more money.

Enough ‘œjournalist’ bashing, let us get back to the point. So video games, are they mature? Are they art? Well like most reviews, the answer to that question is highly subjective. Even if the gamers and the developers are not ‘œmature’, I don’t see why they need to ‘œgrow up’. We have played some of the best games because of developers and their childlike imagination. A mature adult wouldn’t come up with a game about an ordinary boy saving a princess or a game about a young boy who leaves a circus to join a summer camp for psychics. That kind of imagination and creativity lies within exceptional people who have never truly grown up, and that is why those games are so much fun to play.

To some people, video games may not be ‘œart’, they may not be a respectable form of entertainment, but I don’t think we as a community need to prove anything to anyone. Video games are video games, they are supposed to be fun and they don’t have to include social commentary. Compare video games to the film and music industry as much as you want to, but we as gamers don’t want to associate ourselves with people who give Oscars and Grammy awards to Cher.

David Jaffe’s response to ‘œCHAPLIN-GATE 09′ is actually more mature than I had wanted it to be. I wanted him to curse and scream at the top of his lungs, but then again I am a petty and jealous man. It’s ironic that Jaffe’s response is more mature and well thought out that Chaplin’s original comments, then again he isn’t a scum of the earth journalist. I’m sure Chaplin is a nice and intelligent woman, but then again, Hitler and Bin Laden seem nice and intelligent to a lot of people. When you cant express your ‘œintelligence’ in coherent and proper language (without using expletives), I get the impression you are not a very bright person.

So at the end of the day, what can we take from this? Not much really. While the ‘œjournalists’ were busy with their holier-than-thou panel, they missed the very important Independent Games Festival; where the independent developers had more creativity and talent than most of the shit that the film and the music industry is made up of. None of the real ‘œjournalists’ bothered to cover such an event, so I had to get my fill from the excellent webshow Co-Op.

I wonder what it’s like to be a journalist, not having to base your speculation on facts, selling your sole for ad revenue, must be fun. I wouldn’t know, I am only but a humble blogger. But I will say this to the developers; never lose your child-like innocence. You are more creative because of it. It is a shame that the GDC – which was supposed to be a celebration of your hard work – was tainted by some of the dipshits in the industry.

These ‘œjournalists’ don’t care whether you make Citizen Kane: The Game or whether you make Madden 10 because they will give the same amount of attention to both. But the fans will still be here, we will buy your immature adolescent video game, as long as it is fun to play.