A Message to TIGS from Teh Internets

“My take on that is: Well, fuck morals, i’ll just go for what is fair and is efficient.”

This makes the Frankfurt School of critical theory cry.

If you like this video, you are probably lame. Not being sarcastic here, this was really lame. He got so worked up about people insulting his favorite games that he yelled at a camera for 6 minutes in a primitive form of satire. Stop letting cognitive dissonance make you angry, Seth Rogan! Honestly I liked you in Superbad but this is just pathetic.

“If that school was unable to differentiate between “something being the case” and “wishing that something be the case”, then it probably wasn’t all that “critical” after all.”

Oh snap!

Actually, they were bright dudes. Max Horkheimer’s “Eclipse of Reason” is largely about the utilitarian outlook. You should check it out!

Hi Edmund

A professional developer would see attacks of their game on the internet, and ignore it.

Man up and stop being a cry baby. How you can take attacks personally from anonymous internet idiots is beyond me. By responding you are only encouraging them and making the situation worse.

If you are driving down the street and someone yells an insult at you because they don’t like the colour of your car, what do you go? Go home and cry? Get out of your car and start a fight? If they are insulting a complete stranger then obviously they are an idiot and should be ignored.

“A professional developer would see attacks of their game on the internet, and ignore it.”

Then good thing we aren’t professional developers.

Also, I never said we should be polite to trolls for altruistic reasons, the whole morality thing is besides the point. I’m just about the least moral person you can imagine, but I still think it’s a good idea to make friends with one’s enemies rather than ignore them. Just like it’s in a nation’s interests to make friends of its enemies rather than ignore them.

Edmund is still my hero.

trying too hard

You know what I think?

I think you guys are taking this way too seriously.

@Paul

“I’m just about the least moral person you can imagine…”

Holy shit, you’re Cesare Borgia, infamous son of Pope Alexander VI?

I shall come and fuel this discussion when necessary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft-1OZafqe4

Awwww cute, some game developer is angry and frustrated. Come here, you need a biiiiig hug!

Ok after watching the rest of the video I have to say:
Wow, you need help coping with critics.

this video makes me laugh every time.

People who give me feedback always make me feel sad, because either it is nice, and I think they’re just being polite, or it is nasty, and even if it’s potentially constructive, I can’t see past the negative tone.

Then, if I do get some positive, constructive feedback, you have to decide how to take it on board without feeling like you’re doing it for the wrong reasons: just to be polite, or because you’ve run out of faith in your own ideas. Or if you have to turn it down, you have to try not to offend the person whose feedback you have to politely disagree with.

It is a mine field, that’s for sure!

Learning to deal with feedback is definitely a skill in its own. I hope I will get better at it as time goes on.

@Chris: well, it was hyperbole. What I meant was that I don’t normally meet my own standards of morality and often fail to live by my principles. For instance, I set deadlines and then watch YouTube or play Starcraft all day instead of being productive. I say I will do things and then don’t due to laziness, sometimes for months at a time. Of course there’s a slight difference between supreme incompetence and supreme immorality, but that difference is just in the interpretation, in practical results and for all intents and purposes incompetence is immorality.

Boy, there sure are a lot of posts here!

PS. Love you Edmund!

@corpus
It was all the hype. Hype kills things. Kills them dead.

My point was you can’t expect indie developers to be more mature than the people who play our games. We’re amateurs. So what you’re saying may theoretically work but is practically impossible.

My only expectation is that people who post seven-minute video rants ought to try to at least be entertaining.

I realise that, having never made a video rant myself, some people might feel that I have no right to criticise. But I’ve certainly experienced having my work ripped to bits by internet critics, and while it’s not pleasant, at least it serves as a reminder that I can’t take my audience for granted and become self-indulgent.

Edmund may be a talented game developer, but his video ranting is sub-par.

“I agree, but telling people to act more professional usually doesn’t make them act more professional. Besides, I think funny videos are slightly more mature than anonymous internet insults; at least the former takes work.”

Work that isn’t even necessary to begin with considering the latter could easily just be ignored in the first place.

Ehh, people like all kinds of crap, just like they hate all kinds of good stuff. They can’t be trusted. Which is kind of what this is all about, I guess.

I trust my own judgement as to whether something is good or not; I didn’t use to, but back then I recognised that I didn’t really have the experience to judge. Nowadays I feel like I do, that I’ve experienced enough of the good and the bad to have an idea of where something might sit on the scale. Although I’m always amenable to having my mind changed by somebody with a persuasive argument (as opposed to just a forceful opinion).

In my not-humble opinion, the video fails by being too long, too repetitive, and not witty or cutting enough. It’s basically an extended session of “this is you: nuur nuur nurrr I’m a retard”. Heartfelt, I guess, but hardly a great piece of video.

I suppose people who are sympathetic to the sentiments expressed may be more enthusiastic about it, but I can’t help but think of the example of someone like Charlie Brooker, who can spew bile for extended periods while being sincere and clever and funny and offensive all at once. That’s the gold standard of venting for me.

In a way, this whole thing is weirdly self-referential. I think Edmund’s rant was lazy and needed improving. I guess he didn’t really want to go to TOO much trouble to make it, but then again, if you’re going to make something and release it to the public (even if it’s just a video rant) you should try your best to make a really good one. Or failing that, make it shorter.

So as an audience member, I kind of feel like my time and attention was taken for granted a little too much. And here I am slagging it off on the internet.

It’s all very meta.

200

I’m glad most indie developers have personality. They’re almost like real people!

That was pretty funny

Also bawwwsome

Who cares if it’s feeding the trolls? No one should avoid doing something they want to do just because it might provoke an internet-asshole. Feed the trolls ’til they pop, people.

Yeah, definitely keep on showing trolls how much of an effect their trolling has on you. Maybe instead of making them feel GOOD, it will make them feel bad and they’ll stop.

And see if you can blow it up to a seven minute whinefest. That’s great.