In the early 20th century, baseball was a very different game. The rules were still the same but the culture was not comparable at all. Fans and players were intrinsically linked in the ballpark. Players were paid decently well, but were far from the multi-millionaires they are today, fans sat closer to the action, and their were no rules of etiquette like you would see at today’s ballpark. Fans would heckle the players and players would in turn charge the stands. People would throw garbage at visiting teams, harass them, and–in extreme cases–attack them. There was no division between fans and players like their is today, not the security you would see at a modern ballpark. Back then when a fan screamed at a player the player would give it back tenfold. Fights were common, violence was tolerated, women and children were discouraged from attendance. Soon, it was realized this was no way to run a business. Nor is it today.
As everyone assuredly knows, the internet is not a place for the thin skinned. Take a gander at any forum, social network, or blog and you will find that people treat each other with a vicious honesty that can sometimes turn into harassment. Everyone feels their opinion is valid, that their voice should be heard and the internet gives everyone a medium on which to express their thoughts. With the speed at which we can express our opinions it sometimes causes people to spew their emotions rather than thoughts into the digital world. We all have said things we didn’t mean, put things indelicately without consideration, but the internet give these feelings and emotions a place to live forever.
A lot of these ideas contribute to the recent cancellation of Fez II and game designer Phil Fish’s exit from video games. Fish first arose to prominence when his game Fez jumped onto the scene at the 2008 Independent Games Festival. However, as documented in the film Indie Game: The Movie, Fez entered years of development hell as Fish and his previous partner butted heads over the future of the game. In the spring of 2012, Fez was finally released on the Xbox 360 to critical acclaim and Fish’s status as one of the most unique minds in the games industry was cemented.
Unfortunately, Fish also has one of the loudest mouths in the industry. Following the release of Fez, Fish has constantly found his way into the media, not for his games but for the things he says. Fish put Japanese game development on blast at GDC, he criticized Microsoft for the lack of support he felt from Fez, he lashed out at fans about the price of his game, and last week ranted at video game website Polygon about an interview they did with Kevin Dent. With the consistency with which Fish makes his voice heard, it might be difficult to argue which is more prominent: his game or his statements.
When Fez II was announced during E3, the industry responded positively. Fish has earned credit for his first entry into what would apparently become a series, and many were interested to see what his follow up would hold. During the same time, Fish continued to speak out about Microsoft’s new console, the Xbox One, criticizing their DRM and lack of support for independent games. When Microsoft changed their policy last week, Fish and independent counterpart Jonathan Blow were asked to comment. The request makes sense as both debuted their breakout successes with Microsoft and has less than glowing comments regarding the experience. When both declined to comment on the story, journalist Michael Beer criticized the duo he named BlowFish.
On the podcast the Invisible Wall Beer said, “[Blow and Fish] are successful game designers, you’re indie game designers–hurrah, good for you, you fucking hipsters.” Continuing onto his point Beer states, “[Blow and Fish] should be grateful that these guys consider what you say something of use. Me? I think the both of you are a pair of tosspots.” Beer’s point–although crassly stated–is valid to a degree. Blow and Fish are two of the most iconic game designers on the independent scene. Games like Bastion, Hotline Miami, or Super Meat Boy are generally attributed to teams of more than one person, but Braid and Fez have brought their creators individual recognition. Thus, it makes sense to ask them to comment on a decision affecting the independent market.
It does not make sense to get persnickety when the duo refuses to comment. Blow and Fish are entitled to speak when they choose and elaborate when they choose. The media cover their games because it would irresponsible not to do so, not because they are begged to. As I stated in a previous article, there is a relationship between fans, media, and developers in video games that does not exist anywhere else. We are so used to access, so used to having big name designers and industry moguls give us reactions that we kind of assume it is going to happen. We assume we will get previews to games before they are done, we assume we will playable demos to sample a game before purchase. We often get such direct and intimate contact with the creators of this material that when it is denied to us, we get angry.
We also don’t tend to think of Phil Fish as a person. When you play Fez, you don’t see Fish’s face on screen at any point, his face isn’t on the cover of the game. We get access through game demos, written articles, and second hand statements, but we never associate a game with the people behind it. So when we get upset, we last out in immature ways. Look at the abuse recently leveled against Treyarch developer David Vonderhaar after the most recent Call of Duty: Black Ops II patch, where he received death threats and other insults. Too often players don’t think of the people who work on games as people, but rather as faceless creators.
Fish’s response to Beer’s comments was emotional, as are most of Fish’s reactions. Fish stated on Twitter, ”i am done.i take the money and i run. this is as much as i can stomach. this is isn’t the result of any one thing, but the end of a long, bloody campaign. you win.”
Is Phil Fish egotistical and emotional? Of course, but so are many other people who possess such creative minds. You have to be egotistical to think that you’re idea is going to be a successful video game, you must think you’re the best or why are you even trying? Great things are not accomplished by people who think they are mediocre, however humble they may be. When it comes to defining emotional people, Fish’s connection to Fez is about as emotional as someone can get. When people attack Phil Fish, it is not without reason, it is without tact.
The biggest mistake Fish, and so many other people in the game’s industry make, is that they use Twitter as a platform so often. He uses it to argue with fans, he uses it to poke at journalists, he uses it to vent his thoughts. Fish is far from the only person to do this (a long list of athletes are guilty as well), but Twitter is so reactionary and simple-minded that it creates more miscommunication and arguments than it ever solves. Fish’s absence on Twitter is smart and desperately needed. His absence from games is not.
It is unfair to pick on Fish to make this argument, but it is timely so I’ll do it anyway. Video game developers need to file a restraining order against its fan base. To have emotional and reactionary people like Fish, determine the financial state of developers and projects is dangerous. Furthermore, to put those people into the shark tank that is the internet is irresponsible. To allow developers to be subjected to death threats is uncanny.
There are great developers who flourish in the public eye, like Cliff Bleszinski, but being a public figure is something that has only recently accompanied the developer job description. More people will be brought (or dragged) into the spotlight and while brilliant and creative, they may not be acclimated to the violent response to every little word they say. Fish will not be the last time that a developer gets emotional over criticism and response and if independent gaming is going to continue to grow and flourish it will need a calm and collected face to represent it. Much like baseball, video games needs to move the seats back and prevent the key players from engaging in fights. In the end, there’s no one at fault for the cancellation of Fez II or Fish’s decision to quit. Fans have a right (and a responsibility) to voice their opinion. Fish has a right to comment, decline to comment, whatever he feels like doing. Nowhere does it say the internet has to be a kind and loving place, nowhere does it state that it needs to think before it speak. The internet can turn into a room filled with fighting children, all squabbling and crying. Any parent knows that sometimes when children fight, they need to be separated.
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