"Starry Sky" design director Emil Pagliarulo recently wrote a short essay on Twitter/X, expressing his views on players' complaints about the quality of the game and sharing his insights. He said that players cannot complain about the quality of games, but if you have never been in the game industry, please don’t pretend that you know everything, because game production is extremely difficult, and the birth of a game itself is a miracle.
Although the Bethesda design director did not make it clear that his remarks were about "Starry Sky", we can still make a judgment based on the "player complaints" and "AAA games" mentioned in his original article.
In the original article, he also wrote about many behind-the-scenes situations of game production. Interested players can read the original article below:
"It's interesting how some players are out of touch with the reality of game development, but they sound authoritative. 'I can guess what it takes to make a Hostess Twinkie, but I don't work in a factory,' so what do I know? Not much."
I understand that when you as a consumer pay for something you have the right to complain. I spend a lot of money on games every year, and sometimes it takes a lot of effort not to complain and get sucked into the collective consciousness of the internet.
But I don't complain about games online for two main reasons: 1.) I know how hard it is to make games, and I have the utmost respect for my peers. 2.) I work at a game studio and it would be uncool and unprofessional for me to do this. But sometimes I really want to complain.
Most people don't have these restrictions and are free to complain about anything. The Internet is like the Wild West, and I'm in it. There was a time when I exercised this right very freely.
A long time ago, when I was writing game reviews for AdrenalineVault, I was definitely one of those guys who said whatever I wanted, good or bad. Driven by enthusiasm, sometimes the good words are too much, and sometimes I am as bad as a sarcastic asshole.
But during that time, I had no idea what game development was really like. You don’t know the level of effort of designers, programmers, artists, producers, and everyone else; you don’t know the effort and pressure it takes to realize the vision while resources are constantly changing.
I'm not complaining about my job. I've been through it all and I'll go through it again, it's the nature of AAA game development. But I also have a good job that still pays off after 21 years. That's a good thing considering the thousands of layoffs this year.
I don't want to change anyone's mind because this is the internet. But given my profession, I cannot hide the truth. The truth is, no one sets out to make a bad game. Most game developers are extremely talented...even if the games they release aren't up to par.
I never knew that game development was a series of give-and-take and hard decisions. From ‘wanting to make a perfect game’ to ‘just what kind of game can I make’. Sometimes if the gods can smile, then these two things can become one.
But in order to achieve that goal, to get it as close to the vision as possible, the team has to push themselves harder and harder... More often than not, you're dealing with developer changes (or departures), looming deadlines, and critical decisions you wish you didn't have to make.
‘Team’ is definitely the key word. Lots and lots of developers doing all kinds of work: writing, level building, making character models, writing game systems, all kinds of work are divided up so that people don't burn out.
Sure, you can dislike parts of a game, and you can completely hate a game, but don't fool yourself into thinking you know why it is the way it is, or how it came to be the way it is.
Unless you make a game yourself, you have no idea who made certain decisions, who did specific work, and how many people could do the work? Anytime there's a challenge, or the technology itself that you have to constantly overcome (this one is a huge challenge).
Finally, love games, buy them, play them, and complain as much as you want! This is the nature of the developer/player relationship.
But...you know, the game you're playing is in some way a miracle in itself. Ordinary people working together for years with one goal - to bring you joy and happiness. So this is worth remembering! "