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    VGIRollerEthan Gach
    3/15/19 5:11pm

    No fucking shit. Gamers can be some of the most entitled assholes ever. Why the hell would someone want to engage with spoiled shits who armchair game develop, as if content and features are as easy to make as a meme template.

    These games cost hundreds of millions of dollars and involve hundreds of people. A chucklefuck who thinks they know everything can fuck off.

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      KekkleHydeVGIRoller
      3/15/19 5:23pm

      Imagine being such a corporate cheerleader that you demonize consumers from organizing and giving feedback. Maybe instead of being a bootlicking megacorp apologist, you could find your moral center and realize that these companies don’t want complaints and that most of this narrative is designed to serve them. 

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      HeyVGIRoller
      3/15/19 5:23pm

      And its happening everywhere. Even places that have a lot of mods can turn into a huge shitshow, its crazy.

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    ArnheimEthan Gach
    3/15/19 5:47pm

    Others have already said it better: “No fucking shit.”

    The purchase of a game (or, really, a license) doesn’t entitle you to shit all over the people who made that game just because it doesn’t conform to your individual expectations.

    It entitles you to voice your concerns, certainly, but not to issue threats, drop the f-bomb every third word, or question their mother’s virtue/whether or not their family tree ever forked.

    Here’s the way I look at it: An awful lot of the folks who engage in hostile posting against/toward devs have probably, at some point in their lives, held part-time jobs, either in food service or in retail.

    I held both while I was in high school and working my way through college.

    Customers—particularly those at the bar and grill where I tended bar—seemed to feel they had the right to talk down to/insult me just because I was wearing the company colors and a name tag.

    I came to call this “company shirt syndrome.” The idea being that a part-time, minimum-wage employee is, in some folks’ eyes, worth less as a human being than they are, and therefore is a fit target for the shit they’re too cowardly to throw at those they see as equals/superiors.

    If you’ve experienced this, and you’re still shitting on others for how they do their job, then you’re either the same bastard who was a shit to you, in which case, way to be the “bigger man/woman,” or you’re a fucking coward who wouldn’t dare say that shit if you ran into that same person on the street.

    Either way, you’re a continuation of an abusive behavior you had to endure.

    “I got through it, so now you have to, as well,” is a system of thought that only perpetuates shitty, awful behavior.

    Take responsibility for that, or don’t be surprised when the people who develop the toys you love so much decide that your bleating isn’t worth their time.

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      MrDiabolicalArnheim
      3/15/19 5:52pm

      Said brilliantly.

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      SwagstallionArnheim
      3/15/19 5:57pm

      Reading this comment section, you’d think there’s nothing in-between saying nothing and feeling like you got screwed and frothing rants. 

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    RueninEthan Gach
    3/15/19 5:28pm

    Aw, poor thing. I guess they didn’t expect to catch so much heat over the garbage product they released to unsuspecting customers.

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      ToxicMicrobeRuenin
      3/15/19 5:44pm

      You sure showed them. And people wonder why devs never "listen to the fans"

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      crmusRuenin
      3/15/19 5:53pm

      This. Are people being nasty in the sub? Yes, some of them are. But most people are just upset Bioware misled expectations and basically lied about their game in pre-release. They made a broken shitty game and they knew it, so of course people are going to be annoyed. 

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    Admiral AsskickerEthan Gach
    3/15/19 5:29pm

    “Why would a dev team member take time away from working on the next update to post when they know it’s likely to be met with hostile replies, or they get flamed because [they] can’t answer other questions that players are asking? I don’t mind posting here when things aren’t so nice, but that’s because it’s my job. For the devs it isn’t their job, and I’d like to ask that people remember that when replying to them. When some people say ‘be nice or the devs will stop posting’ it’s 100% true.”

    On one hand I understand, on the other hand this is why you hire more community managers and avoid letting devs interact directly with customers. If its a small indie company, sure people have to wear multiple hats, but for something like this (Anthem) you should be ready.

    ALSO technical decision makers need to keep on the same wavelength as the whoever is talking to the community, and not try to stealth-nerf things. ALSO maybe doing some more testing before releasing the game or pushing out updates.

    A lot of game sales get driven by a somewhat rabbid fandom and extreme hype, and to an extent this is stoked by the company for sales. There is another side to that coin.

    A lot of this statement feels like decision-makers using (probably overworked) devs as a shield.

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      craycrayfishAdmiral Asskicker
      3/15/19 5:38pm

      On one hand I understand, on the other hand this is why you hire more community managers and avoid letting devs interact directly with customers. If its a small indie company, sure people have to wear multiple hats, but for something like this (Anthem) you should be ready.

      Were developers posting on the forums because they were short-staffed, or because they genuinely wanted to engage with their fans? My guess is the latter.

      Fans like hearing from and interacting with creators, which is why you see movie directors giving interviews on talk shows and authors at book signings instead of their PR agents.

      Granted, I do hear that game developers in particular are encouraged to engage with players, but I suspect it’s more for marketing than not having enough CMs on hand to address issues.

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      ATBroAdmiral Asskicker
      3/15/19 6:01pm

      I hear what you’re saying, but a community manager isn’t a developer. They aren’t going to have the information that the community really wants, especially one that is in such a negative place. Another community manager would just make them feel like their are being placated rather than actually listened to.

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    HawkEyeTSEthan Gach
    3/15/19 5:43pm

    Dear Bioware, how about you start releasing games that are stable, complete, and aren’t trying to scalp people of money again, and try to build up some good will, rather than sticking your heads in the sand because “people are mean to us on the internet.” There will always be people mean to other people on the internet, but if the amount has been abnormally high lately, perhaps you should look at what you have been doing for nearly the last decade and really ask yourself if all of the anger is unwarranted.

    And by the way, if your devs are engaging on Twitter as employees of a company rather than as just themselves, they’re opening themselves up to this. There are way too many people on Twitter who like to talk about their work, and then get upset when customers engage them negatively about their work. I’m amazed that HR hasn’t told them all to shut up on social media at this point. And if it’s your personal account and vile people track you down, the block button is there for a reason. If I went on Twitter and started engaging negative comments on my own as a representative of my company, I’d probably be fired. We’re explicitly told to send people to PR contacts. The gaming industry needs to grow up and take responsibility for their actions sometimes.

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      ToxicMicrobeHawkEyeTS
      3/15/19 5:47pm

      “Wahhhh i just wanna be an asshole they should take responsibility for their actions but i shouldn’t wahhh”

      I wish people got banned from a game if they harassed the dev

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      HawkEyeTSToxicMicrobe
      3/15/19 6:09pm

      Which I said nowhere in that comment, you petulant child.

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    Foxfire15Ethan Gach
    3/15/19 5:26pm

    What? Being an asshole to the people trying to help you pushes them away? What kind of crazy mumbo jumbo is this? /s

    But seriously people, learn to not be a giant dick and you’ve got a better chance of getting what you’re asking for.

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      ArppisFoxfire15
      3/16/19 3:47am

      Yeah, devs aren’t dogs that just pooped on your carpet. And you need to tell them off. :p

      I CAN however understand the concerns of the consumers not getting what they were promised. If Bioware would start responding a bit more they wouldn’t most likely have this problem. Because if they have this wall between consumers and themselves, the consumers get frustrated and start shouting, because they don’t get any assurance that their product gets fixed.

      Still, I wish consumers would cool off, because this is making the rift between the devs and themselves worse. 

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      Ginger101Foxfire15
      3/16/19 12:27pm

      Agreed, unfortunately we love in an era that is full of entitled cry babies who throw a fight like a 4 year old if they don’t get what they like. They are to closed minded to realize that if they are nice and civil then they would be given positive feedback from any dev team. 

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    StunkydunkEthan Gach
    3/15/19 7:07pm

    If you release a game that isn’t finished and charge full price for it (and pepper it with micro-transactions, to boot), and then do very little in the way of meaningful apologies or commitments to improvements, AND if you’re a mega-publisher whose gotten ripped on many times in the past for doing the same unethical shit, it shouldn’t be a surprise when paying consumers get salty.

    Obviously the typical Bioware dev doesn’t deserve the kind of derision they’re probably receiving from players, but it should come as no surprise that it’s happening. I say those devs, many of whom are probably quite talented, should probably start looking for jobs with publishers who have actual standards for ethics, and who deliver on their promises. I know that’s not realistic for everyone but the reality of the situation is that change in the AAA gaming industry will only be achieved if consumers speak up about it (and stop making day one purchases on dubious games and being shocked when they turn out to be disappointing and unfinished). 

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      tinyhipsterboyStunkydunk
      3/15/19 7:43pm

      I mean, that’s why a lot of developers are trying to fight for unions in the industry. It’s already an incredibly unstable industry, so the chances of devs being able to simply leave, especially for better companies (which aren’t easy to find!), are slim. :/

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      KinjhatmanStunkydunk
      3/15/19 11:32pm

      Considering how EA treats its’ studios, I’d be looking for another job regardless of my personal ethics if I was working over there rn.

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    StunkydunkEthan Gach
    3/15/19 7:16pm

    Yowza this is like the most toxic discussion thread I’ve ever seen on kotaku 

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      KinjhatmanStunkydunk
      3/15/19 11:35pm

      Never check out anything involving any sort of non-straight white male person or character.

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      ArppisStunkydunk
      3/16/19 3:45am

      It’s pretty extreme for sure. Noticed the same thing.

      I can totally understand the both sides of the argument, it’s just too bad it goes from one extreme to another. 

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    talverioEthan Gach
    3/15/19 7:40pm

    Can someone explain to me what’s “broken” about the game? I’m so confused, because I could have sworn I played the game with friends and beat the campaign, and did some grinding, and while running into issues, disconnects, problems, still managed to play and enjoy most of the game, while still noticing its faults.

    I think broken is an exaggeration. Some things don’t work, but the game itself is not broken.

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      Kinjhatmantalverio
      3/15/19 11:33pm

      The entire loot incentive doesn’t work since your character is better naked and punching.

      Someone broke down the math on the forum. I’m not much for Anthem (or BioWare in general), but it’s pretty danged bad.

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    HiemothEthan Gach
    3/15/19 5:49pm

    Not really surprising althought naturally sad. I still remember the old Bioware forums and how unbearable they became after DA2 and ME3 launches, which was just this insane level of toxicity.

    I’ve always wondered if it is bad with other companies or is it just Bioware that really drew out that absurd level of entitlement and forcefullness. And before anyone complains how people should be free to voice their opinions, it got to the level that the negative voices would actively target and drown out any positive discussion threads so that the Bioware devs would not get positive feedbacks on the game.

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      strangeWindmillHiemoth
      3/15/19 5:53pm

      I’ve always wondered if it is bad with other companies or is it just Bioware that really drew out that absurd level of entitlement and forcefullness.

      I used to think it was because singleplayer RPGs drew out all the kids too anti-social for even Call of Duty multiplayer.

      Now I’m not so sure.

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      HiemothstrangeWindmill
      3/15/19 6:07pm

      Yeah, the RPG fanbase has always been weird, I mean No Mutants Allowed was such a shock visit from time to time, but with Bioware it has felt like there was this extra level of vitriol towards the very company making those games to start with.

      I’ve actually recently been thinking how the DA2 and ME3 messes were real harbringers of the toxic fanbase stuff we see now, I just didn’t recognize it at that level back then even if I already hated it.

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