PROFESSIONALISM, NOW WITH LESS EXIT FATE

author=Blitzen link=topic=3159.msg62347#msg62347 date=1234889740
I know, eh?

Q: You know who cares less (if at all) about your game and your game's progress than you do?
A: Everybody.

I always thought that was true by default. You obviously invest more time in your project than anyone else. It's when you let that get to your head that you fall flat on your ass.

Case in point: Pimp.

I might as well toss my thoughts into the pit here. Counter arguments, negative opinions, and flames are welcomes. Express yourself.

Professionalism in the game development community is a lot like professionalism in the music or film community, its a delicate balancing act of trying to be number one, while respecting the fact that everyone else out there is a part of the community. That's not to say that rivalries don't exist, for one would have to be living in a glass bubble to say that music artists and actors don't have rivalries ranging from the friendly rivalry to outright hatred. However, it is generally considered faux pas to refuse to work with someone, or to blatantly attack someone, or someone else's work, without the pretense of 'critically reviewing'. It still happens all the time, people get shunned by their contemporaries, and the media has a field day. Still, not generally considered professional.

The same holds true of the professional game development community. If you ask the guys as Valve, who created Portal, what they think of the guys at Human Head Studios, who are creating Prey, they will tell you that the while the game Portal is the first use portal technology, the game Prey, which started development first, was the first to develop that technology. (Prey's article) And the guys at Human Head Studios would say that while the guys at Valve beat them to the punch in using portals, the application of the technology is quite different, given that one is a puzzle game and the other is a science fiction shooter.

The point of that diatribe up there is that updating information about one's game does not demonstrate a lack of professionalism, so long as the guidelines of proper decorum are followed. If someone wants to bump their thread every few days with actual developments, then it is within the parameters of professionalism. It is not professional, however, to beg for attention, plead with people to play your game, or deconstruct constructive criticism because it hurts your feelings. It is also not professional to criticize someone else's game in a destructive fashion (that means to blast their game to bits because you didn't like their plot, setting, or characterization) or to direct attack commentary at another person's game, or the person themselves (see flaming), in order to bolster your own game's image, or your own ego.

Also, it is a fact that word of mouth advertising is still (and most likely always will be) the best form of advertisement. This heralds back to the days when Jimmy Augustus the Roman Hot Dog Vendor would stand at the entrance to the Coliseum and cry out how awesome his wieners were, and that Maximus Pectorius, the current champion, chomps down on ten of his wieners every day (crude attempt at humor intended). Even today with the advent of internet advertising, word of mouth is still better. I have bought, or not bought, many items solely due to the opinion of others. We humans are impressionable social creatures. Word of mouth advertising works. Therefore, if a person uses these forums to advertise his or her game, and is following the guidelines of a professional, then no one really has the right to complain, unless they are a moderator here and simply do not want advertising to take place instead of other topic oriented discussion.

Lastly, after spending just a few weeks here, I can clearly and without guilt, say that the vast majority of people on here are not professional. What's even worse is that many of the people on here present the illusion of professionalism, and are no better, if not worse, than those who are blatantly not professional. Any one with any real world experience should be able to see what I mean. This is to be expected though, and is not a horrible thing. This is a community of amateur and independent game developers. Most of the people on here are under the age of thirty and have not been in the professional world for more than five years (I duly apologize if my data here is inaccurate, as I can only go off of the information shared in the off-topic forums).

No one can expect a 21 year old who hasn't even started college to be a professional game designer, much less carry him or herself with the professionalism of someone who has been in the field for several years. It is not only unfair to expect the members of this community to act as those professional developers do, it's downright condescending. What should be expected, and enforced, is for the community members to have the maturity to agree to disagree, constructively criticize each other, and accept critical feedback, learn from it, and better themselves. When this community can move beyond the 'lol' and the 'stfu', it will be what the casual observer would call 'Professional'.

author=Max McGee link=topic=3159.msg62525#msg62525 date=1234991623

The same holds true of the professional game development community. If you ask the guys as Valve, who created Portal, what they think of the guys at Human Head Studios, who are creating Prey, they will tell you that the while the game Portal is the first use portal technology, the game Prey, which started development first, was the first to develop that technology. (Prey's article) And the guys at Human Head Studios would say that while the guys at Valve beat them to the punch in using portals, the application of the technology is quite different, given that one is a puzzle game and the other is a science fiction shooter.

Am I missing something here? PREY CAME OUT BEFORE PORTAL.

I know that this is not on topic but when I see egregious journalistic errors like these I feel compelled to correct them.

Darn. You are correct. I would blame the mistake on attempting to post and provide citations while busy at work, but I try not to make excuses for getting facts wrong. Ah well, reverse the time line and you can still make the same argument about professionalism. Good catch, Max.

author=Mitsuhide_The_Vagrant link=topic=3159.msg62591#msg62591 date=1235060740
I actually don't care what others think of my game. I put them on here on the off chance someone will like them as much as me. I don't care if they become popular or not.

I will, however, get pissed about negative criticism. That's just the way I am.

Let's ignore that you are contradicting yourself with a retarded statement. And it isn't as if everything you make is solid gold and without flaw. Everything has flaws.