As I described in my previous blog post, a small controversy in the gaming sphere arose when the small indie game developer team making the upcoming Ooblets game announced that they were going Epic exclusive, did so in a rather condescending and dismissive manner towards their supporters and potential customers, and moreover when the CEO of Epic Games stepped in and fully supported this announcement and its tone.
The announcement didn't sit well with the people who have (often monetarily via crowdfunding) supported the development of the game, especially because of the condescending tone used in it. Not only did the supporters get the picture that the developers were selling out, but had become smug and condescending while doing so. It didn't exactly help that one of the developers made it ten times worse in their Discord server when responding to people's criticism and complaints, by doubling down and amping up the condescending and dismissive tone, by personally attacking those people with a "if you don't like it, gtfo, good riddance" kind of attitude.
Unsurprisingly, the developers have received a lot of backlash because of this. Certainly lots of trolls are sending them very demeaning and hurtful messages. Anyways, the developers are now using this "harassment" as a shield from criticism, and obviously the SJW gaming press is whiteknighting for them and defending them. Of course, as it always happens, these journalists (or as the moniker goes, "urinalists") are presenting a very skewed version of what happened and the reason for the backlash. And the CEO of Epic Games has joined the whiteknighting group and has been bickering in his Twitter feed with people, defending the Ooblets developers, using quite an unprofessional tone.
The whole thing started with that announcement by the developers, which has a rather condescending tone. The people who wrote it have absolutely no concept of proper public relationships, customer service, and diplomacy. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, it might well be that all that money that Epic Games showered them with went onto their heads and made them into assholes.
I get it. I understand taking the exclusivity deal. They are a very small indie developer team with a shoestring budget, relying on crowdfunding for their living. Now this giant corporation comes in and offers them a very lucrative deal: "We'll fund your game (with probably at least ten times as much money as they were getting from crowdfunding and what they were expecting to get from sales), if you publish it exclusively on our platform." It's their livelihood, and here there was a really profitable business proposal. The thought of being a "sellout" doesn't feel so bad when you need to feed yourself and your family. I get it. That's fine.
However, they should have announced this in a much more diplomatic manner.
Firstly and most importantly, they should have shown understanding and respect towards their supporters and potential customers. Explain that you understand that taking this exclusivity deal may be a bit of a disappointment to some of their supporters, who were expecting to be able to get the game on Steam, and then proceed to explain in a sympathetic manner why you took the deal. It doesn't need to be a sob story, but nevertheless something that people can empathize with.
They should have never, ever shown any kind of dismissive and condescending attitude towards people's objections, not in the announcement itself nor later in their Discord server. They should have shown understanding and empathy towards their supporters, not disdain and dismissal. This is basic PR and diplomacy. Even if deep inside they thought that the objections were just ridiculous, outwardly they should have shown respect and understanding towards their supporters.
Even after publishing the announcement after they did, perhaps without thinking that the tone expressed in it was completely wrong, they should have most definitely not doubled down on it later, when people started protesting. They should have understood that they made a mistake with that announcement, and should have admitted it, retracted it, and posted an apology and a proper explanation of why they took the deal. They should not have just started playing the victim to get sympathy points from the SJW gaming press. The gaming press doesn't pay your salary.
The announcement didn't sit well with the people who have (often monetarily via crowdfunding) supported the development of the game, especially because of the condescending tone used in it. Not only did the supporters get the picture that the developers were selling out, but had become smug and condescending while doing so. It didn't exactly help that one of the developers made it ten times worse in their Discord server when responding to people's criticism and complaints, by doubling down and amping up the condescending and dismissive tone, by personally attacking those people with a "if you don't like it, gtfo, good riddance" kind of attitude.
Unsurprisingly, the developers have received a lot of backlash because of this. Certainly lots of trolls are sending them very demeaning and hurtful messages. Anyways, the developers are now using this "harassment" as a shield from criticism, and obviously the SJW gaming press is whiteknighting for them and defending them. Of course, as it always happens, these journalists (or as the moniker goes, "urinalists") are presenting a very skewed version of what happened and the reason for the backlash. And the CEO of Epic Games has joined the whiteknighting group and has been bickering in his Twitter feed with people, defending the Ooblets developers, using quite an unprofessional tone.
The whole thing started with that announcement by the developers, which has a rather condescending tone. The people who wrote it have absolutely no concept of proper public relationships, customer service, and diplomacy. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, it might well be that all that money that Epic Games showered them with went onto their heads and made them into assholes.
I get it. I understand taking the exclusivity deal. They are a very small indie developer team with a shoestring budget, relying on crowdfunding for their living. Now this giant corporation comes in and offers them a very lucrative deal: "We'll fund your game (with probably at least ten times as much money as they were getting from crowdfunding and what they were expecting to get from sales), if you publish it exclusively on our platform." It's their livelihood, and here there was a really profitable business proposal. The thought of being a "sellout" doesn't feel so bad when you need to feed yourself and your family. I get it. That's fine.
However, they should have announced this in a much more diplomatic manner.
Firstly and most importantly, they should have shown understanding and respect towards their supporters and potential customers. Explain that you understand that taking this exclusivity deal may be a bit of a disappointment to some of their supporters, who were expecting to be able to get the game on Steam, and then proceed to explain in a sympathetic manner why you took the deal. It doesn't need to be a sob story, but nevertheless something that people can empathize with.
They should have never, ever shown any kind of dismissive and condescending attitude towards people's objections, not in the announcement itself nor later in their Discord server. They should have shown understanding and empathy towards their supporters, not disdain and dismissal. This is basic PR and diplomacy. Even if deep inside they thought that the objections were just ridiculous, outwardly they should have shown respect and understanding towards their supporters.
Even after publishing the announcement after they did, perhaps without thinking that the tone expressed in it was completely wrong, they should have most definitely not doubled down on it later, when people started protesting. They should have understood that they made a mistake with that announcement, and should have admitted it, retracted it, and posted an apology and a proper explanation of why they took the deal. They should not have just started playing the victim to get sympathy points from the SJW gaming press. The gaming press doesn't pay your salary.
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