Yesterday there was a leak from an Italian GameStop of a poster for Destiny 2. Many people think it looks legitimate (I have some doubts), and it set off a frenzy of speculation.
It also set off the seemingly rampant community of folks out there who love to hate on Destiny.
Allow me to tangent here for a moment.
I understand the original release of Destiny wasn’t what many people wanted. It wasn’t perfect. What game is perfect? But I adored it.
Was I glad when they made things less grindy? Of course. Was I excited when The Taken King released and elevated the game to a better overall place? Absolutely.
I think what showed Bungie really cared about their community, was that they listened to avid players of Destiny and adapted the game accordingly.
But some people will never admit improvements were made or, worse yet, never bothered to see the improvements for themselves and still feel more than free to complain about the game and all its initial shortcomings.
I rarely type “sigh” but I’m going to do it now.
Sigh.
I should know better than to engage with people who are now years into their commitment of disliking something, but I couldn’t take it and wanted to try to set the record straight as much as possible.
And this got me thinking.
I’m sure this type of behavior has always existed, but I just don’t understand. There are enough problems in the world; why go out of your way to be negative for the sake of being negative?
If these people who were upset actually complained in a productive way (say, perhaps a letter to a developer stating their issues with the game and why they felt they should be changed), I would have less of a problem with that. But to deliberately click on an article about a game they already know they have crappy feelings about, why bother? Why not click on any one of the dozens of new articles a day about a game they are actually interested in, instead?
On top of that, some of these people not only want to crap all over the article, but all over anyone who comments that is excited for it. That’s just bizarre! To me, I like to use the benchmark of “would I behave this way to someone’s face?” If the answer is no, then no it stays across any platform. If the answer is yes, I continue on.
I love when someone is excited for a new game. Heck, I love when someone is excited for something, period. I feel like all too often, people end up stifling their passions. How frustrating. I think, particularly with games, if someone wants to be excited, they should get to be excited without someone raining all over that experience.
I do think there is a time and a place for constructive criticism of a game, but to try to actively ruin someone’s enthusiasm, that’s when I have to say something.
I will always do my best to intervene when I see these things happen; yesterday just got to me a bit.
What do you think when you see rampant negativity for a game? How does it affect you? I’m curious how others feel about this.
And with that I bid each of you a good weekend. What will you be playing? Please let me live vicariously through your weekend gaming plans.
Cheers, friends.
Categories: games
Rebekah Lang 
I just usually ignore people who complain just cause they can. Still working Horizon and Andromeda.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s good. They are rampant lately.
I hope you enjoy your weekend with Horizon and Mass Effect!
LikeLike
Well I finished Horizon so that’s off my list.
LikeLiked by 1 person
WHEEE!
LikeLike
Unlike Colton, still pressing towards the Horizon, (pun intended!) in Horizon; Looking forward to starting Andromeda too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Two massive games! I wish you luck!
LikeLike
It’s unfortunate but that seems to be what some people thrive on doing. In a time where literally any game can be made to cater to a person’s tastes, there’s still that group of people who love to crap all over certain games. The unfortunate thing is that this behavior drowns out any actual constructive debate.
A lot of this I feel is the anonymity the internet and social media provides. It makes it that much easier to do and say the things people do because there’s no direct feedback from that negativity. It’s only gotten worse over the years where some people think death threats are a ligitimate response to a game delay or DDoSing a website is a response to an opinion you don’t agree with. I sincerely doubt that most of these people would act the way they do if they were face to face and had to account for their actions.
On a more positive note, I’m hoping to get to play some more Red Dead Redemption or Breath of the Wild. If more energy was focused on enjoying the games each person likes instead of hating the games someone else likes, things would be a lot more positive. Have a great weekend Rebekah, I hope you’re feeling well enough to enjoy some gaming time as well. Sorry this was a bit long winded.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly! There are more options out there than ever before and STILL people find things to go out of their way to try and ruin.
I very much think the anonymity of the internet fosters that kind of behavior. I try to be as transparent as possible because of that. I use my real name on gaming sites and, of course, here. I like people to know that with me, if I’m saying it, I’d say it in reality, too.
Oh my gosh, the idea that anyone would issue death threats because of anything related to a video game is appalling. The same thing with all those DDOS attacks. All they do is paint an unflattering (and incorrect) image of those of us who love games.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend in the digital wilderness with Link or Marston (or both!).
I have already told myself that, no matter what, I will play as much Everything as I can. I’m having a lot of amazing thoughts about it and I want to share them.
You NEVER need to apologize for writing as much as you want! One of the main reasons I wanted to write about games was to connect with others over this amazing medium we all enjoy. THIS is what it’s all about for me. :)
LikeLike
I was just speaking with someone about how incredibly toxic the gaming community can be. I was appalled at the instant harassment of the female facial animator at BioWare and the accusations that BioWare’s staffing diversity is the root of the poor animation quality that was resulting in the complaints. Yes Mass Effect Andromeda made some weird game design choices that reflected complaints from the first game and yes the character models as well as the animations look off. Discussing complaints about the game is certainly valid. But personally attacking the staff is atrocious. In short, I agree that the online nature of gaming communities can result is horrific behavior.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my gosh, I saw that, too. It was ridiculous. I also made the mistake of reading some of the comments on an article about it and all I can say is WOW. It was disheartening to say the least.
I’m all for civil conversations and constructive criticism, but lately it feels like things have gone off the rails a bit.
It’s these times that I try to remind myself of all the GOOD the gaming community is capable of like Games Done Quick and Extra Life. It doesn’t negate anything, but it does help.
LikeLike
I will be playing Everything. I may break to rest and eat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope my weekend is a mirror of this.
LikeLike
It’s sad that this is the world we live in. Today, the fanboys get all pissy whenever somebody doesn’t think their favorite toy is the most perfect thing to have ever existed. People can’t just enjoy what they like, they have to go around and dog-pile on anyone who doesn’t conform to the majority. This kind of behavior has elevated to frankly unsettling degrees to the point where death threats are considered a reasonable response to a difference in opinion.
Sorry about that, I’ll be playing Strange Journey and TMS#FE over the weekend. I’m getting close to the end of Strange Journey, I got to the final area. I also finished Resident Evil 7 about a week ago, it was a pretty great game.
Have a great weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s very strange, isn’t it? And as far as the death threats go, there is just no reason for it, EVER. I mean, there are so many video games out now, more than any of us could feasibly play. Why those people don’t just move on to something else is beyond me.
Like the No Man’s Sky fiasco. I didn’t love the game but I didn’t hate it by any means. It just didn’t hold my interest. But the response from some people astonished me.
Man, you are just trucking through the games! Nice work!
LikeLike
For some bizarre reason that I can’t really comprehend there are people out there who feed off of the type of negativity that you are describing. I’ll never understand it and so for the most part I try and just ignore the volatile conversations that are out there. If people want to waste their time obsessing over a game that they hate then that’s their problem. I’m not going to give them the satisfaction of having their awful opinions be acknowledged. Of course it would be pretty cool if they would just grow up, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. Thankfully there are communities out there that are mature and positive in the way that they discuss things; they can just take some effort to find is all.
This weekend I’ve been playing Mass Effect. So. Much. Mass Effect. And as it happens, Mass Effect hasn’t been immune to the negativity on the internet, but I’m enjoying it nonetheless. It’s not flawless and I’m in agreement over some of the constructive criticisms that others have raised, but there are also a lot of things that the game truly excels at. For one, I just love being able to explore the compelling alien worlds of Andromeda.
Also, I’m looking forward to the official reveal for the next Destiny. It’s going to be really interesting to see where they take things with the sequel.
LikeLiked by 1 person
See, I am torn. On one hand, I totally get ignoring the troll. Starve the trolls and all that. But on the other, I feel like if I don’t at least try to show the positive side, I’m somehow not doing what I feel I should. It’s an odd balance.
I am always grateful for the people who can discuss both the good and the bad in a productive and calm fashion.
Oh believe me, I’ve seen plenty of negativity about Mass Effect. It’s never been a series I’ve been into, and I think the animations of Andromeda look goofy for sure, but that’s not reason to go apecrap all over it. I will just pass on this one. I’m glad you are able to enjoy it despite its shortcomings. I’ve seen plenty of videos with some crazy glitches, and I hope BioWare is committed to patching some of them out.
Oh man, I’m really excited for Destiny 2. My obsession with Destiny is ALL YOUR FAULT!
LikeLike
I understand being torn on the issue of how to respond to the negativity as I share similar thoughts to yours. So I appreciate that there are people like yourself who put forth the effort to counter that negativity with positivity.
It’s a shame that the game wasn’t released in a more polished state, but I’m fairly confident that Bioware will continue to fix things and support the game moving forward.
You’re Welcome! Haha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, to be fair, I’m not sure it does any good, but I still try.
It’s surprising, really. They had more than enough time, and it was also delayed. How it turned out the way it did surprises me, honestly.
YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT
LikeLike