Gamer vs. Developer

Gamer vs. Developer 

Written By Trey Sherrod 

There has been a luminous feeling around gaming recently. It seems as if a trend of either overhype or let down.  

People will, until the end of time, have mixed and varied opinions about games and the video gaming industry. I believe this is a fact in many facets of life but there is something about the relationship between Gamer and Developer that really sets itself apart. It’s like developers feel as if there will never be anything good enough for the consumer, and the gamers feel as if the developers really aren’t even trying. 

These are the two fuels that feed the fires on the quality of today’s video games and the people behind them. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s all out war, but I feel there must be a healthy discussion between consumer and provider. This, however, seems to be a more recent trend than others. As if the industry is a pot that has been boiling and boiling, and things seem to be just now boiling over in this comparably young industry. 

To use a game I’ve seen rise from the ashes, so to speak, for example; Rainbow Six Siege. This game was FUELED with hype before the release of Ubisoft’s major FPS installment… Only the community was met with a complete mess; bugs, glitches, exploits, hackers, operator balancing… The game was, or so it seemed, in shambles. People were ENRAGED with developers! There were the reviews, the rants on Reddit, the developers scrambling to figure out a plan of action.  

Today, Rainbow Six Siege is, arguably, one of the biggest titles in the FPS scene. I believe this is because of the willingness of the developers to listen, and faith of the gamers to stand behind a game they love.  

This may highlight the root issue of the problem at hand. If you pay close attention to the interaction now between developer and gamer, there seem to be many steps in the process in order to get your point across to the people with the ability to put a gamer’s complaints “on the board of concerns”. There’s the odd notion that developers aren’t listening, but I believe that it is just impossible to listen to every voice breathing complaint after complaint, or ever suggestion to how a mechanic works in the game.  

I believe that anyone that masters the ability to see what is important within the community as a whole, as well as make a quality product to deliver to their fans will be the group that changes the narrative that plagues this industry currently. eSports is definitely not going anywhere any time soon, but in order to reach the peak/plateau financially, as well as mend the damaged relationship with customers, an understanding needs to take place and changes most definitely need to be made.