series where i sit down with people who made games i don't like and we talk about the decisions that made them. the idea would be that with a respectful dialogue, we might learn interesting things about each others' processes. maybe we'll change our minds as we reconsider things. or we kill each oth - ThreadSky

docseuss.bsky.social • 100 days ago

series where i sit down with people who made games i don't like and we talk about the decisions that made them. the idea would be that with a respectful dialogue, we might learn interesting things about each others' processes. maybe we'll change our minds as we reconsider things. or we kill each oth

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bendertheoffender.bsky.social•100 days ago

"And why did you make the cutscene not skippable for the Riku Fight in Kingdom hearts 1?"

And than we fist fight.

folmer.bsky.social•99 days ago

i’d fight you instantly but it would make for good views i guess

slippydippity.bsky.social•100 days ago

The thing is ultimately I still wouldn't play the game. I have enough respect for developers but that respect won't translate to me playing a game I just don't like. I could end up disliking an individual for a choice they made and never buy a game they make.

Unless this is just dev talk.

docseuss.bsky.social•100 days ago

no i really do think it would be cool to like, face a person and have them go "okay so I made this because of this reason" and I go "oh wow i learned something, my opinion has changed" or for me to go "well, all these quests are fetch quests" and them going "what are fetch quests"

docseuss.bsky.social•100 days ago

i think if i approached it in this very mr. rogers kind of way, where it's not about going "HAH I HATED THAT SHIT" but going "why did the game do this thing? why do I like or dislike that thing?" are interesting questions to ask and I think a curious audience would love to see them

docseuss.bsky.social•100 days ago

the goal would be to get players watching to realize there's actually a lot of things that can happen to make a game the way it is, and sometimes we just might not like things because of that, or because we're different people, or because i had a game breaking bug i didn't know was a bug at all

docseuss.bsky.social•100 days ago

the other goal would be to help designers see things they might not be aware players do or don't like. i've met plenty of designers who actually get surprised when players play in ways that seem obvious to many people, even other players, like overwatch's team being surprised at the concept of mains

docseuss.bsky.social•100 days ago

i do think the big fear would be that there'd be episodes where I'd go "well, I didn't like this" and the developer would go "yeah that was beyond our control" because we've all seen that and that's never fun (though I do try to avoid criticizing a game for those issues)

docseuss.bsky.social•100 days ago

the really interesting episode would be talking to someone who worked on a game you loved and a sequel you didn't love to much and have a conversation about how the expectations for a sequel can do really interesting things to our brains and how we build on ideas in our heads

sighingcorvid.bsky.social•100 days ago

I'd watch this

cosettetape.bsky.social•100 days ago

You'd definitely need to do a scout session off-the-record to make sure the hooks are in & there's something to dig into.

Even if that was the return, if they were at liberty to talk about why that stuff was out of their control, that would he a worthwhile episode

alectremblay.com•100 days ago

perhaps another way to do something similar might be like, two designers arguing for and against a mechanic, either in a game or in general, and then a jury of a few players or more designers decide who made a better case?

alectremblay.com•100 days ago

lol i’d die on the hill of killing quicktime events, i never have fun with them, but id be curious to hear someone defend them

tsartzu.bsky.social•100 days ago

You’re not supposed to be open to changing your opinion based on new information. You’re supposed to dig your heels in and double down whilst rejecting new information and clinging to what’s since been disproven, duh.

jdouganderson.bsky.social•100 days ago

More conversations like this needed in the world in general.

ragnarrox.bsky.social•100 days ago

Gimmick: If you reach a point in the conversation where you're convinced your mind won't be changed, you yank a cord and a large amount of slime drops on the guest from above.

cosettetape.bsky.social•100 days ago

I will absolutely buy into making this real somehow

Not like, a lot, but I'd throw a few bucks at it!

squidradio.bsky.social•100 days ago

I feel as if this has promise, but is going to end with pistols at dawn against Neil Druckmann or David Cage.

Honestly, though, I'd love to talk to folks behind games like Vexx, or EvilZone, or Kinetica or any number of weird, not-quite-good-but-still-remembered games like that.

rolopogo.bsky.social•100 days ago

It's a difficult sell to approach a developer from the starting point of "I didn't like your game, wanna chat?". That said, treating games as a series of decisions and compromises is something I'd love to see more of.

clementinedanger.bsky.social•100 days ago

I think with the right people it would be brilliant! Different subject matter, but the first thing that came to mind for me was Conversations With People Who Hate Me. You'd have to hit the exact right note and everyone has to agree to go in with a lot of grace, but if it works it works a miracle.

docseuss.bsky.social•100 days ago

I've never heard of that; what's it about?

clementinedanger.bsky.social•100 days ago

Kind of what it says on the tin. The host calls up people who have left him hateful online comments and they just chat about that, why they did that, what kind of day they were having, and it all comes together into this odd portrait of digital isolation. It shouldn't work at all but it does.

docseuss.bsky.social•100 days ago

huh that's fascinating

clementinedanger.bsky.social•100 days ago

That's not every episode, it's hard to explain the tone in one post, and it does lean into a pretty anodyne "why can't we all just get along" theme I don't like, but the approach as a whole was very interesting. It painted some portraits that have stuck with me, kind of despite itself at times.

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