Fansplaining & devsplaining

This morning, a response to an angry e-mail about a remark I made in a PocketGamer.biz interview triggered another one of my Twitter rants, so I guess we start 2014 in style. This one is about the weird online interaction between gamers and developers.

So much for me not having said anything particularly controversial in 2014, I guess. http://t.co/Str0h9IgQ2

— Rami Ismail (@tha_rami) January 1, 2014

Let me update you when the first complaint e-mail from some F2P developer comes in.

— Rami Ismail (@tha_rami) January 1, 2014

Stop the timer, the 1st e-mail is in. Favorite line so far: "just because you don't like F2P doesn't mean that it is inherently flawed."

— Rami Ismail (@tha_rami) January 1, 2014

This one is a beauty too: "Every day, Candy Crush engages millions of players […] clearly millions of players disagree with you."

— Rami Ismail (@tha_rami) January 1, 2014

(Full disclosure: there's like 10 lines between those two, but they were so boring I cut them out)

— Rami Ismail (@tha_rami) January 1, 2014

I don’t understand how people can find the time to get up in arms and write a stern e-mail about a disagreement on business models. Please, if you think something is great, do reach out to that developer or person to let them know. If you feel something did is absolutely and/or morally wrong, send an e-mail inquiring about it, or engage publicly for all I care. But please don’t waste the precious time of people by e-mailing them ‘I disagree, you’re wrong, no argument possible?’ in almost 500 words?

The developers I know are generally open-minded, caring people that love their work & medium. They’ll take constructive criticism to heart. What they won’t listen to is ‘Why is this not on sale ffs everything is on sale” or “you’re wrong this is why”. You don’t need to tell developers how they should do their job, but you can definitely tell us how you’d like to see us do it.

We might agree or disagree. We might take the time to answer it, either personally or publicly. But devs do read. They do listen. And developers are human beings. We are not an ever-resistant shield of ‘they’ll get what I mean if I shout at them’. We don’t work harder to fix things when you 1-star a review because you miss a setting you’d like to have. We don’t listen more to you when you shout as loud and insultingly as possible, or threaten ‘online campaigns’ against us.

You don’t need to tell developers how they should do their job, but you can definitely tell us how you’d like to see us do it.

No one thinks you’re smart if you tell us how we should’ve done something. We probably considered that, too. Considering options is our job. You can say ‘millions of people agree with me’, but we’d know if they did. We see every complaint. We obsess over how people play our work.

Basically, you don’t need to fansplain us how to make games. You wouldn’t appreciate us devsplaining you how to play them properly either.

But if you have a thought, or an opinion, or constructive criticism, or worries, or complaints, let the dev know. We’re listening & we do care. We care, because our games are such a big part of us. You, the players, make them whole. So in a way, as a player, you’re part of what we make. We think of you as important by default, because our medium is about interaction. Players don’t have to shout at developers to get their attention. Players are at the center of attention pretty much by default.

We all hope to be treated more like a human being, and less like a ‘consumer’ or ‘corporation’, but that courtesy extends both ways. Playing someones game does not make you acquaintances. It doesn’t give you the social stance to barge in and ‘demand’ things of a developer. You’re not friends just like that. That’s not saying we can’t be friends, by the way. In fact, I consider a lot of our fans ‘friends’. People I’ve talked to a lot on Twitter or Facebook or in real life. It just means that it’ll take more than playing our games.

Like following on Twitter doesn’t make you friends, playing games doesn’t make you friends. You don’t become friends by proxy like that. You become friends by talking about things you like and dislike, shared experiences. It’s a mutual thing. It is not a button on a screen.

And if you’re a developer, don’t let me down here. Treat people like people, not numbers. No fake bullshit and pretend. You don’t need that.

Whoa. Way to start 2014, Rami. I almost made it to 3PM without a rant. I need breakfast and something to drink. Maybe tea.

— Rami Ismail (@tha_rami) January 1, 2014

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