|
Post by Finn Quill on Nov 11, 2015 2:19:31 GMT -5
This statement makes me really sad. Whether you're 22 or 54, Ryu, I'm thinking, "Kids these days have such low expectations." Running a business isn't brand new territory. There is nothing new under the sun about an exec jumping on-board with some new thing and not having the sense to stop for a second to think that maybe one or two of the many, many projects he's decided it will apply to across the board aren't as uniformly suited to it (especially when his employees are saying so emphatically). It was a mistake. It was a matter of incompetence. It wasn't that suddenly for no reason there was a budget; it was that the budget couldn't cover both the failed project and the one that went out. And, yes, when the franchise ends, which I'm sure has already been decided, there will be other people to fill the gap. I just hope those people aren't doing it in an economic environment, where marketers are telling them straight up that it would be stupid to even try to make it a quality product because everyone now knows that customers will accept anything (even having to be unpaid pro-corporate spokespeople) and still pay as much. You make the world you live in. I did say, I hate EA as much as the next guy, and I do, but I also hate fans who act entitled. Again, I'm not talking about people here, but it's not a small portion of the fanbase. I can't count the number of 'This is what EA/Maxis needs to do' posts out there. No one needs to cater to anyone, or make video games at all, and there's plenty of content I want, but I'm not going to pretend they owe me. If they were catering to me, we'd be seeing Pets and Supernatural content now, and screw toddlers (not that I don't want toddlers, but I want other stuff way more). So yeah, there's totally greedy assholes at the top who are taking more than their share and using shoddy data to push bad ideas, but they're not the developers. If I work at the cash register at Wal-Mart, I'm not in charge of their policies. The fans don't get a pass for entitled, childish tantrums because EA is run by greedy businessmen. The customer is very much not always right, and that mentality does no good. As to 'The next game in the series needs to be better, period', your statement isn't objective truth. Even with all the expansion packs and content, I haven't played Sims 3 as much in the entire time it was out as I have Sims 4 in the past month. To me, Sims 4 is the much superior game. I get why some people wouldn't feel that way, but it's not objective by any means. I'm not saying anyone's wrong to dislike the game, but it's 'inferiority' is not a fact, and I've seen way too many people talk like it is. Once you start talking in absolutes and demands, it's no longer constructive.
|
|
|
Post by Merry927 on Nov 11, 2015 11:46:16 GMT -5
There are times where people actually should be entitled. Of course, when it comes to video games, it's a trivial matter. But the bigger picture is a business climate where the argument for out-sized political influence is how awesome a job corporations are doing of serving the greater good (providing for people's needs for productive employment and consumption). When they can't even be bothered to pay lip service to that anymore, you know they feel that they have the political situation tied right up in their favor and they don't need to; no one can or will do anything meaningful to counter it for the betterment of their own interests.
|
|
|
Post by Finn Quill on Nov 11, 2015 16:16:45 GMT -5
There are times where people actually should be entitled. Of course, when it comes to video games, it's a trivial matter. But the bigger picture is a business climate where the argument for out-sized political influence is how awesome a job corporations are doing of serving the greater good (providing for people's needs for productive employment and consumption). When they can't even be bothered to pay lip service to that anymore, you know they feel that they have the political situation tied right up in their favor and they don't need to; no one can or will do anything meaningful to counter it for the betterment of their own interests. Video games are a luxury, we should never be 'entitled' with regards to them. Bad business practices are bad business practices, but a lot of bad business practices stem from ass protection in a hostile climate. Fact is, if a dev slips up even a little, the internet will hound their ass as long as it can. Ever gotten advice on what to do when you get into a car accident (or anything similar), a lawyer will ALWAYS tell you not to apologize or admit fault. That's the climate most businesses live in. It shouldn't be, but it is. There's a poo ton of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' issues with gaming, and I'm honestly just not going to give most fans the benefit of actually considering the fact that games take time and money, and people make mistakes. As I said, constructive criticism is great, but entitlement and bitching are not constructive. If you have a complaint about the game: 'Give me toddlers NAO!' (for example) is not the way to deal with it. Programming takes time, especially when you have a lot of checks and balances to go through, and quality is not objective. I'm sure you've probably worked some form of customer service, even if it's low-level, and if so, you know that customers will happily treat you like poo over things you can't do anything about. I've had customers bitch about things that are literally not even the management's problem, they're issues with the laws of physics or thermodynamics or other factors that simply have nothing to do with anything any worker did. For instance, working at a pizza place, I've seen customers ask to have their pizzas run through the oven twice, and then bitch that it was overcooked, even after being told that's what would happen. I've seen retail workers take poo for policies that they have no control over. All that does is make some worker's day worse. It's not fighting the man, it's not harming the business as a whole, it's not changing the business climate, it's just being unpleasant and entitled. A lot of the complaints with Sims 4 are just that. The workers are not responsible for decisions the higher ups make, they are doing their job; no one can really change that programming takes time and money and is fickle as hell; and if you just don't like the finished product, that doesn't mean it's bad. In the end, that last point is what it comes down to. I like TS4, I think it's far better than TS3 (at least where TS3 was a year in, and honestly, I'd still rather play TS4 right now than TS3, even with all the content). I don't exactly like the amount of nickle and diming in the series, but it's better in TS4 than it was in TS3. So yeah, I agree EA is a greedy corporate suckhole, I just don't think the fans are the innocent victims.
|
|
|
Post by Merry927 on Nov 12, 2015 11:10:30 GMT -5
Well, I think I'm done here. There's no point in me just repeating myself again.
|
|
|
Post by orangemittens on Nov 12, 2015 11:51:19 GMT -5
Actually, working for EA as a coder doesn't seem to be such a dream job. In fact EA recently settled two class action law suits with its employees. One was with graphics people I think and one was with coders. These suits kind of grew out of this blog post detailing the abysmal working conditions and corporate culture going on at the EA shop. I guess it remains to be seen if the company leadership will head in a new direction in terms of how they treat the people who work for them.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2015 12:28:18 GMT -5
Sounds like EA needs a Management change. The LEAST they could do is pay the Overtime, i would Sue them too. °Still a Dreamjob, to me...hire new Management. Treat your Staff well and the Game will come out better - me thinks.
I can't wrap my Brain around why that is so hard to do? Seems like all these Managers are sent to, "How to be an A^^hole - an Advanced Study", these days. Pathetic.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2015 12:30:52 GMT -5
Depressing...I suppose these days, it's a Dream Job because that's all it is - A DREAM.....
|
|
|
Post by Finn Quill on Nov 12, 2015 16:53:20 GMT -5
Actually, working for EA as a coder doesn't seem to be such a dream job. In fact EA recently settled two class action law suits with its employees. One was with graphics people I think and one was with coders. These suits kind of grew out of this blog post detailing the abysmal working conditions and corporate culture going on at the EA shop. I guess it remains to be seen if the company leadership will head in a new direction in terms of how they treat the people who work for them. Yeah, see, this, this I don't deny is absolute poo. This is EA being a greedy money-sucking hole of a corporation. You'll get no argument from me on that front. The worst part is the people already getting mistreated by the management, are also the ones taking the most poo from the community. No one should have to take it from both ends like that unless they're kinky.
|
|
|
Post by orangemittens on Nov 12, 2015 22:04:23 GMT -5
I'd be pretty surprised to find that any coder over at EA is even aware of player dissatisfaction with the game. My bet is that to them this is a job and they write the code they're paid to write and then go home and do their own thing.
|
|
|
Post by Finn Quill on Nov 12, 2015 23:06:20 GMT -5
I'd be pretty surprised to find that any coder over at EA is even aware of player dissatisfaction with the game. My bet is that to them this is a job and they write the code they're paid to write and then go home and do their own thing. I'm sure they're not quite that insular, but still, coders, devs, gurus, whoever it is, I guarantee it's not the investors and producers and business moguls who have to deal with the vitriol up close and personal. Sure, it hurts their bottom line, but at the end of the day, it's never going to hurt them as much as it hurts the people who work for them. If Sims 4 doesn't do well, they'll just amputate what they consider dead weight, and go 'At least we still own a thousand sports games we can churn out every year with minimal effort!'
|
|
|
Post by Merry927 on Nov 13, 2015 18:34:49 GMT -5
I really appreciate that link, orangemittens. It *is* a raw deal. At the same time, for lots of workers, this sort of situation is already understood as the norm for working conditions. I'm here with the time on my hand to create stuff for Sims, because working 70-80 hrs a week as a special educator was impacting my heart health and I'd end up in the hospital from the stress. I lasted longer than most people who entered the profession when I did, but had to leave doing something absolutely loved and that many people told me I'm very good at, because I just couldn't handle it anymore after years and years. Never mind people who have to have two or three low-wage jobs where there is zero respect in the workplace and even less outside of it, but still live in poverty.
|
|
|
Post by paika on Nov 15, 2015 15:34:24 GMT -5
Merry927 I don't know anything about your health, but perhaps it was just exhaustion? I would recommend everyone who believes stress is affecting them negatively to watch this video
|
|
|
Post by Merry927 on Nov 16, 2015 10:18:53 GMT -5
paika: "I don't know anything about your health..."
Then it would seem that you are the one who needs additional information, not me.
|
|