For those who missed my previous article, the point of these features is to look at each of the three main branches of gaming culture, fans, devs, and journalists, then take a good hard look at what they could be doing to gain more respect for the medium of gaming as a whole for their actions.  You can check out my previous article where I dissect some of fans’ more detrimental behaviors, but for now, I’ll be looking at the people who actually make the products this whole industry is based around.  I just want to jump right into it so here goes.

Devs: Anyone who contributes to the making of games, works at a publisher or PR wing.

Over/Misuse of “Mature” Content:  I have nothing against violence or sexual content or any other adult content in videogames.  My problem lies in how it is often handled by devs.  Sexual content in games is virtually never approached in any kind of tasteful or non-juvenile manner.  In most cases it is intended merely to fuel certain gamers’ fantasies.  The same thing goes for violence.  Violence in videogames is often there just for the sake of having more violence and to appear more “extreme” to gamers.  It almost never serves to illustrate something(though I must give props to Red Dead Redemption for doing so recently).  We also have the problem of sensationalist media outlets and others using these elements to halt the advance of games.  The solution:  I’m not calling for an end to mature content in videogames.  I just feel it should be used more smartly, so that we can gain the respect of critics like Roger Ebert through actual progress, not just tired arguments. 

Sequelitis:  This is very simple.  I’m against the way the industry handles sequels.  Making games annually has never worked right and often turns franchises into jokes, running them into the ground(See: Tomb Raider, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, Madden, etc.).  There is also the issue of making a game with the intention of a huge franchise following.  This is not always bad, all mediums feature pieces made with the creators’ knowing a sequel would be made.  However, this should be done for artistic reasons, not monetary.  Yet another issue is what I like to call the “beta-test dilemma” which occurs when the first game in a soon-to-be franchise is rushed out with the intent of fixing the numerous problems in the sequel.  This can be seen in many games such as Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect to some degree, and others.  While these games had great sequels that fixed most of the originals’ problems, wouldn’t it have been better if the devs had spent more time on the first game to make it as good as the second would be?  What if Francis Ford Coppola decided while making The Godfather: Part I that he should just get it out and fix any complaints in Part II?  Well then we’d currently be short at least one all-time classic film, and the same thing may happen to some videogames.  The solution:  Give sequels adequate development time.  Give original games the time they need to reach their full potential.  Finally, it’s OK to make games that will never become franchises. 

PR Cloak-and-Dagger:  Too often we see PR coming down on journalists with their draconian preview restrictions, their review score pressuring, and the occasional catastrophic reaction to bad press(e.g., Ubisoft’s blacklisting of EGM a few years ago, the alleged firing of Jeff Gerstmann over his poor review of Kane and Lynch, the Australian journalist’s firing over his Red Dead Redemption coverage, etc.).  While I’m sure these kinds of situations have happened and are happening in other industries, we live in an internet era where this stuff cannot stay secret.  And the more these events reach the public eye the less respect people will have for the PR establishment and by extension, the game industry as a whole.  This also is one of the largest if not the largest contributing factor to frequent loss of journalistic integrity, a problem I address later in this article.  The solution:  I understand PR has a lot of pressure as well, but any self-respecting PR person should not interfere with the journalistic process.  Their job is to promote the games they represent, not to force good coverage out of press outlets.  They should also do their best to be a help rather than a hindrance to those trying to cover their game.