To add to this... (Destiny)

by INSANEdrive, ಥ_ಥ | f(ಠ‿↼)z | ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ| ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 22:27 (2012 days ago) @ Cody Miller

We are on our own largely. I don't think you realize the leash around everybody at Bungie now.

When I reached out to Bungie for my book, they didn't just tell me no thanks. They literally said this:

We wouldn't want anyone making any unauthorized statements.

So draconian sounding. This was after making it clear I would have no problem talking to people with a PR person in the room, with the questions and topics of interest given out ahead of time. Of course, this just means the people there who have spoken to me have done so in a completely unauthorized manner.

This isn't just a special case. Many people have told me that the culture at Bungie has shifted. I believe it. Every community interaction is monitored and calculated. There's too much at stake. One slip up telling people they'll throw money at the screen, and the media is all over your shit.

Microsoft 'tolerated' Bungie because they thought they needed them for Halo. Activision has no such hang up. Eric Hirshberg used to be in advertising (he did the famous Who Killed Laura Palmer campaign for Twin Peaks), and there was absolutely tension about how to reach fans for maximum effectiveness. Notice how Bungie never posts here anymore.

Also fun fact: I had a letter to the webmaster published. It's on Archive.org somewhere. Search for 'carefree innocence'.

The above TL;DR is... Shareholders! - F you, I've got mine! Bungie is contractually "part" of Activation, a publicly traded company. Ok-Ok! Not the right words... but the jest is there. It's all connected and it's farly safe to say that no one wants to scare the money. On top of the... the internet of now is not the internet of then. Clearly.

There is nothing more Game Devs would LOVE to do then geek out about what they love, with out question. It's just... the environment often doesn't allow it. The internet has an amplifying effect that can turn anything into a hair trigger. It's a shame. Seeing posts like this, have always been a cool thing.

It's just a shame it's all been made to this.