I Shouldn't Have to Write This

So let's take a really short break from all the game design talk. I'm keeping this as short as I'm capable of (read, not very short) because I have a bum finger. Yes, a bum finger. It hurts to type this, but I'm typing anyway, because this is more important than my comfort.

I'm not one to throw myself behind lofty ideals or tell other people how to live their lives. It's your freaking life. You can choose to be anything. Seriously. You want to help out a third world country? Good for you. You want to rake in a whole bunch of money and be a jerk because you can? Go right ahead. You want to make nothing of your life? You don't have to. You don't have to believe like me and you sure as hell probably shouldn't think like me, but stand up for what you believe in.

It seems like it's become the newest trend wave among college age kids to hate on McDonald's because they make money on "making people fat." I'm not even going to countermand that logic, because that's not the point. If you really hate McDonald's, boycott their food. That's right. You don't have to eat it. Enough people do that? And McDonald's will wise up. In fact, they have. Reinventing the look of their restaurants to seem more classy. Still the hate persists. I've seen people hate on McDonald's. That's cool. That's your right, but, if you do, stop eating their food. Many of the people who say this actually do actively boycott their food, but don't say that and then eat it. It boggles the mind. I've seen it before and I was just incredulous.

Now, I don't think McDonald's has done anything wrong. So, I eat there on occasion. What I hate are when people make something in a creative media not because they believe in it, but because they think it will sell. Never seen a Fast and the Furious movie. Never will. Haven't bought a Mario game since Super Mario 64 (which at least had the interesting "theme park" feel of the level design). This has been a more recent revelation and I'm not perfect at it. Sometimes I screw up too (like on most EA games I've ever bought).

For some reason there was and still is this wave of "Modern Warfare-esque" shooters. I already have Modern Warfare... so why do I want your game? Just being honest here, but I'm pretty sick of seeing these games trying to capitalize on someone else's design. They sell however. Which is why they are made. I think people don't like taking chances with their money, but this really has to stop and it'll take savvy consumers to do it.

I recently saw a Gamasutra article which was supposed to be an interview and the very first question was, "It sounds like you made the decision to take inXile in a more triple-A direction with this release." I stopped reading right there. I'm not going to buy their game. Why? This "Triple-A" distinction. Triple-A to me has proven that the game will probably be polished, but not interesting and interesting is what I thrive on. What I live for. It's a silly distinction, but it helps me weed out which games to buy.

I've become disillusioned with the direction gaming has taken and I hope to change it and the first way I'm going to do that is not buying uninteresting games. You can do the same whenever you make a purchasing decision for any art form and I hope you would. There's no excuse anymore for being uninformed.