Very well said. (Destiny)

by SonofMacPhisto , Friday, September 16, 2016, 15:40 (2989 days ago) @ Kermit

My preference is to not get carried away with this kind of conclusion-drawing and to try as much as possible to let the game succeed or fail on its own merits. If there’s something rotten in Denmark, exports from Denmark begin to stink. We can sniff the air and be sensitive that, sure, but if we don’t live in Denmark, there’s a limit to what we can say is happening there.

About the quote, I would not be surprised if I guessed who made this statement in three tries or less. I’m saddened to see it shared in this way here. Yes, it’s cool when we the fans get access to devs or former devs and we get to hear these points of view. That window for that continuing to happening closes a bit every time we repeat things out of context. Don’t get me wrong: if a former or current Bungie employee wants to criticize Bungie, that’s absolutely his or her right. If a journalist wants to report on this, that’s a good thing, too, but fairness and objectivity is integral to good journalism. I value balance.

Let us speculate, let us criticize microtransactions or whatever else bugs us, let us state our hopes and fears for Bungie and Destiny, but let’s not pretend that we know the big picture (that’s the problem with this quote like this: it give us false confidence in our opinions). Cody might get closer to giving us the big picture with this book project, if he talks to enough people and stays honest. It’s not like I don’t personally share many of the concerns shared in this thread. This quote, however, is only a perfect summation of one person’s opinion. A person with biases just like the rest of us and a point of view informed by a bad experience.

The reason quotes like this gain so much traction is that game development is treated with such absolute secrecy that any little grain of insight that comes "from inside" is held up on a pedestal as some form of gospel. As you pointed out, this quote is just 1 person's [scare-quotes]valid opinion[/scare quotes], and it gains weight due to the complete lack of any other valid opinions coming from inside Bungie.

I'm not saying that is a good or bad thing (that's an entirely different discussion, I think). I just think it is a predictable price to pay for the gaming industry's level of secrecy.

Don't disagree. I do think it's arguable on which side the problem is, the secrecy or the reactionary culture.

But the resonance of that quote is extraordinary. It just makes sense of so much.