In an interesting and thought-provoking editorial on his personal blog, Activision’s community manager Dan Amrich expressed concern about the treatment of game developers on the Internet by the very people who play and enjoy their games, specifically citing a series of recent examples targeting David Vonderhaar of Treyarch.
In a recent patch of Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II, a series of tweaks were rolled-out that reduces the damage and speed of certain weapons. Due to the changes, which no doubt will alter the way some folks play the game, Vonderhaar was subject to ridicule and violent threats. The changes made some “people violently angry,” according to Amrich.
As Amrich explains, “One of [Vonderhaar]’s many responsibilities is to keep the game as balanced as possible,” yet when he does make these changes, he “often gets told he should die in a fire or kill himself or is a horrible person. If anyone thinks for a second that this is okay, it is not.”
“But if the loudest voices in the Call of Duty ‘community’ act like an angry mob instead, guess how the entire world views Call of Duty?” Amrich continued. “Now consider that these Internet Tough Guy rants and demands are not unique to COD, but exist everywhere, in many gaming communities. This is why the world often does not take gaming seriously; this is why gamers are assumed to be immature, whiny assh***s. Because the immature, whiny assh***s are louder.”
Amrich concludes with a plea for more thoughtfulness and calm, asking people to think about how they want to be treated. “If you enjoy your games,” he ends his blog post, “have a little respect for the people who make them – and stop threatening them with bodily harm every time they do their job.”
Colin Moriarty is IGN’s Senior Editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.
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