My favorite Harold Ryan quote from Eurogamer

"But overall, the fan reaction, the reviewer reaction based on how they're playing, is pretty inspiring."

There are so many ways you could interpret the word "inspiring" there.

Oh Bungie, what strange lands you have wandered off to.

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Think about what players have done instead of what they've complained about on forums, namely, played this game a LOT.

A few weeks ago they said people were doing three hour average sessions. Summing each day, that's an average of 21 hours/week. That's like people working an extra half-time job. I think that's completely crazy, and I'm one of the people that probably exceeds that average.

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You nailed it.

All the comments, the complaining, the pointing out flaws (legitimate or otherwise) is just a tiny grain of sand next to the mountain of user data that Bungie has collected.

As Harold says in that same interview, hearing somebody complain about how bad something is when they've spent 120 hours playing it frames the criticism in a certain light.

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Haha, yeah, I'm not sure there's much point in slamming the game if you're going to continue to play the heck out of it.

If you are one of those people, I wonder if you ever stop and examine why you continue to play something you find deeply flawed?

Either way, Bungie seems satisfied with the result of the game, so that tells us something too.

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Haha, yeah, I'm not sure there's much point in slamming the game if you're going to continue to play the heck out of it.

If you are one of those people, I wonder if you ever stop and examine why you continue to play something you find deeply flawed?

Either way, Bungie seems satisfied with the result of the game, so that tells us something too.

If we're too assume that they're valuing play stats only and ignoring negative feedback, it certainly does tell us something about their priorities. Not sure that I like what it suggests. Then again, it probably isn't that simple, and there are certainly more functional reasons for focusing on reliable user data, rather than commentary. It's probably easy, if not necessarily accurate, to use hours played as a metric for 'fun', and the value the user places on the product.

In which case, it's true that the user base needs to express its opinions through their usage and purchases rather than actual feedback, because it tends to be the only way to communicate effectively with large companies.

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FWIW they do seem to be aware of the fact that the storytelling needs to be improved, TBD whether this expansion is successful or not... though honestly the bar for "improvement" is set so low that it could be "improved" and still be dramatically far from good, haha.

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Haha, yeah, I'm not sure there's much point in slamming the game if you're going to continue to play the heck out of it.

If you don't complain then bungie may look at the figures and assume that everything is rosey in Destiny land. They will miss the underlying resentment and give us more of the same.

If you are one of those people, I wonder if you ever stop and examine why you continue to play something you find deeply flawed?

They are asking themselves that question constantly.

The short answer is that you can have fun playing it but the fun is diluted by the grind.

If you honestly think that those who complain have never asked themselves that question then... Well, I dunno, blahhhK!?!?!?!?!?! :-)

Either way, Bungie seems satisfied with the result of the game, so that tells us something too.

That they are unaware of the goodwill that their strategy will cost them?

The game does not suck monkey balls but it is not nearly as much fun as I'd expect from a bungie game. And that sucks monkey balls ;-)

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I do actually wonder if a lot of people take a hard look at why they keep playing despite their evident dissatisfaction with the game. It's pretty easy to glibly wonder "why do I keep doing this?" It's another thing to examine it in depth, or even better still do a little research about the psychology in play regarding games that are full of grind.

So in short, yes I am serious, smiley face winky face thinly veiled condescension.

:-).

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Oh I'm all for constructive criticism. I think it's important to be able to point out what works and what doesn't work.

I was mostly referring to the more extreme vocal reactions like "This game F%*$ing SUCKS!" from players who have been playing it for 20 hours per week since launch :)

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Yes, the stats are interesting indeed. However I'm not sure that that is relevant to the "inspiration" gained from say, the reviewers reaction to the game. Unless, I think, you play around with the different meanings for the word, which I think can lead in a few different directions, which is why I thought it was the most interesting quote.

I do think that both people who enjoy the game and play it a lot, and people who dislike the game and don't play it at all can derive some amusement from the people who claim to dislike the game and complain incessantly, yet continue to play the shit out of it.

Or at least I know it tickles me in a sadistic kind of way.

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To be honest, Destiny doesn't have a whole lot of competition at the moment. A September release was very smart on their part, even if the game could have used a bit more time in development.

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" It's going to feel much more loot driven and story driven in that it's going to feel faster-paced with more action as you go through it, and with exposition."

LOL wut?

Those words, individually, are generally accepted as part of the English language. Together they combine into a bizarre creation of corporate messaging non-speak that is truly wondrous to behold.

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" It's going to feel much more loot driven and story driven in that it's going to feel faster-paced with more action as you go through it, and with exposition."

LOL wut?

Those words, individually, are generally accepted as part of the English language. Together they combine into a bizarre creation of corporate messaging non-speak that is truly wondrous to behold.

That's the same way they've been communicating for most of the ad campaign close to release. Basically, if there is something you like, yes, coincidentally, our game has that.

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Doesn't have to make sense, just has to spread out and fire all the neurons in your brain that you might recognize and like, haha.

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When do we get to the part that's story driven?

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'Inspiring' is a pretty neutral word. Horrible feed back can be as inspiring as wonderful feed back.

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Yeah, that's what makes it so interesting. It's a nebulous response to a hot button topic, I am genuinely curious as to what he meant by inspiring.

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My favorite Harold Ryan quote from Eurogamer (Destiny)