Respect?

[Drakk]

The lengths Blizzard has gone to to ensure they produce a Diablo 3 that is fun to play while staying true to the franchise have included many reworks of the game. The fact that Blizzard completely scrapped the game and started from scratch in 2003 because it just "wasn't fun" enough, I think we, as fans, can show a little more gratitude towards our favorite game developers.

As I am sure everyone here is aware, shortly after the announcement of Diablo 3 there was a petition to change the art style. This was the first of many gripes Diablo "fans" have had. Rob Pardo, Executive Vice President of Blizzard and executive producer of Diablo 3, has stated that "We've probably gone through atleast three different pretty major art direction shifts" in order to achieve the "gothic, dark feel" while adding color into the game. This dedication to the game and its fans deserves more respect from us, the fans, than it has received.

Now, every time Blizzard tries to release a tidbit of information about the game to reassure or inform the fanbase it is met by intense scrutiny. Then they decide to avoid a whole gripe about an insubstantial part of the game and theres multiple threads complaining of a lack of info released.

Blizzard still, somehow, has the patience to deal with the fanbase and actually takes some of our opinions into concideration because it could make the game better (ie. the length corpses are displayed for). They decide to release a new patch for D2 (for FREE) and actually ask the fans what we want most in the patch (first time I've heard any company doing that) and all I see now are posts on Battle.net complaining that the patch isn't out yet.

After all that this company has done for its fans, I think we could show Blizzard a little more respect.


Edit by Leord:
Art controversy

[Demetrium]

Pretty good post. I think I see what you're getting at.

I think the main problem here is that a lot of the people that drive guys like Bashiok up a wall post criticism without it being constructive, or even legitimate. Sure, I ***** and moan all the time about things like achievements, but I actually try to put some thought behind my argument and get my point across. As long as people list good reasons for scrutinizing something, and perhaps list alternatives, I honestly don't think they will mind too much. In the end, all the hard work and adjustments should result in a gem of a game that will bear it's fruits in terms of copies sold.

On the flip side, they absolutely have to stand firm when they have something good and people try to convince them to change it.

Blizzard is a great company, but I'll be honest with you, after playing WoW (oh my god I brought it up like 3x today), I am somewhat concerned at how they sometimes seem to bend to their players' demands. There were a lot of cases in WoW where the community with the loudest voice got the most attention, and poor decisions were made just because enough people complained. End result? When I left the game it honestly felt like they had created a monster and had no control over their own game. Every patch was a slew of class changes which would then cause prompt for even more changes in the next patch. Its like you're working on a knot and every time you pull a cable you just make the thing twice as bad as it was. Granted WoW has a lot more complexities to it than a game like D3, it still shows they have the potential to conform just to please.

[Edeas_Knight]

I feel the same way. Blizz doesn't have to give us a new patch for DII or even have to host bnet for free. Not many developers will even patch a game 4-5 years after its release date, but Blizz still does this even though DII is a 10 year old game. Be grateful that we are getting a new patch, even though it might take a bit longer than expected, I am sure it will be great.

[Drakk]

I'm glad to see that you guys see the point of my post.. I posted the same thing on bnet and was immediately flamed for it lol no surprise there. Honestly, Blizzard is the most generous and gratious company I have ever seen and I really do respect them for it. They have some of the most needy and complaining fans but they still manage to treat them to info (when it is only helping their competitors to do so) and do what is best for them.

[sbn]

Originally Posted by Edeas_Knight

I feel the same way. Blizz doesn't have to give us a new patch for DII or even have to host bnet for free. Not many developers will even patch a game 4-5 years after its release date, but Blizz still does this even though DII is a 10 year old game. Be grateful that we are getting a new patch, even though it might take a bit longer than expected, I am sure it will be great.

Sorry to sound so rude, but don't you think it is a little naive to say Blizzard's actions are done out of the kindness of their hearts? They patch D2, simply because A. the game still has sales, and B. because what better time to draw attention to the Diablo franchise. Does anyone really think they would do this patch with no D3 on the horizon?

Let us not forget how they completely dropped the ball on announcing the patch could come as by the end of April, and here we are some 7 weeks later and not a single post to even acknowledge the obvious (well aside from that troll Bashioks snarky reply).

This being the same company that does not even seem to have a clue on how to host a forum, much less moderate it. I must say you do see less bile *#&@ posted these days, nevertheless their very own forum is that most useless usage of hard drive space (well not useless if one enjoys flame wars).

And think about the level of communication they give, which is about zero. It is not uncommon these days to see developers interact with their community either via forums or blog.

I also can not say that it is disrespectful to Blizzard when their users voices their opinions.

[Cevilo]

Originally Posted by sbn

Sorry to sound so rude, but don't you think it is a little naive to say Blizzard's actions are done out of the kindness of their hearts? They patch D2, simply because A. the game still has sales, and B. because what better time to draw attention to the Diablo franchise. Does anyone really think they would do this patch with no D3 on the horizon?

well what ever the reason is they are putting the patch out :] idk if d3 has an effect on their decision, but we saw 1.10-1.12 before we knew D3 was even in the making. so it's not to far fetched.

Originally Posted by sbn

Let us not forget how they completely dropped the ball on announcing the patch could come as by the end of April, and here we are some 7 weeks later and not a single post to even acknowledge the obvious (well aside from that troll Bashioks snarky reply).

I think you misread what Bashiok said so I'll put it out in bold

We don’t have a final release date for the patch yet, but we’re providing early warning as a reset could occur as early as the end of April.

I think he was trying to say there was a possibility the patch would be out by the end of April that (obviously) is not the case.

Originally Posted by sbn

This being the same company that does not even seem to have a clue on how to host a forum, much less moderate it. I must say you do see less bile *#&@ posted these days, nevertheless their very own forum is that most useless usage of hard drive space (well not useless if one enjoys flame wars).

Their forum is where this website and every other gets their information for every one to talk about. and I've fully read 2 Threads that were 10+ pages long today and the Flaming on that over the stupidest crap.. its pretty much every where

Originally Posted by sbn

And think about the level of communication they give, which is about zero. It is not uncommon these days to see developers interact with their community either via forums or blog.

because they are busy developing the game it's kind of discouraging when people are being jerks about what ever they release, saying they don't know how to do their job like they know any better or some thing.. Bashiok is keeps the communication between Blizzard and the people but why is he going to deliver the garbage of people saying crap about a game they never played before. It's pretty much a bunch of cry baby bull crap the looks won't matter to much it'll be what they do with the new game play that will make the game. the fact that there is a random rainbow in the back round wont mean crap.

Originally Posted by sbn

I also can not say that it is disrespectful to Blizzard when their users voices their opinions.

strait from Bash to people who want to share their voices

In closing, I'm more than willing to provide reasoning and discuss observations, just don't be a jerk about it.

[5zigen]

Well, in all fairness blizzard can really expect this intense scrutiny with the pace of information release.

Let's say, for example, they were to release all at once the last 2 classes, all the skills, the drop system, the rune system, and the gear equipment and character customizations. Under this scenario, people would probably not subject everything to such intense scrutiny because everyone in the community would be looking at something else, Some people would be looking at specific classes, some would be looking at skills, some would look at mechanics etc. Sure some issues would be scrutinized, but not to the extent that we see stuff like health globes at bosses, polycount of objects, and fallen hairstyles.

The thing is, when you only release 1 tidbit of information every month, every active community member is going to look over it, and with that many eyes it is like you are voluntarily subjecting it to such strict scrutiny. (I know, blizzard couldn't release a ton of information between now and release which is why they are releasing stuff so slowly.)

Aside from that, I am all for giving blizzard the benefit of the doubt, because I'm all for letting the developers make their game (too many cooks spoil the broth) I'm all for giving suggestions but ultimately most of the stuff is their decision.

Aside from that, I think there is room for criticism, particularly on the d2 patch front. When they announced what they announced they killed the season. D2 is SO dead right now, and really it's because of how and when they made the announcement. Plus, they've been silent about it for a long time, and really bashiok has been pretty completely off the D2 forums.

Yeah, they don't need to do anything with D2, but ultimately it's in their best interest and it really preserves their image, particularly when D3 is coming out, people will think back and associate how well they supported it (true or not, but with a recent patch it will be fresh in everyone's mind.)

[Drakk]

I do agree that Blizz dropped the ball on announcing the patch could be released soon when it was obviously far from being done. It's hard to progress your characters when you know that sooner than later you will need to start over to play ladder. That said, I still admire them for trying to provide us with an enjoyable, hopefully bot-free, Diablo 2 until D3's release.

Originally Posted by sbn

This being the same company that does not even seem to have a clue on how to host a forum, much less moderate it.

I think the battle.net forums are absolutely rediculous. They are a complete waste of time to try and have an intelligent conversation on (they seem to bring the worst out in people), but sbn how do you moderate such a circus??

Those people are negatively representing the fanbase. I posted this thread there to try and have a discussion about how the forums have been acting and I got flamed worse than meph by a magicfinding meteorb sorc. Sad to say, I got sucked into the mess and ended up more frustrated than when I started. I think ill just wait to get the Bashiok updates from this site from now on

[Vitamins]

Originally Posted by Drakk

The lengths Blizzard has gone to to ensure they produce a Diablo 3 that is fun to play while staying true to the franchise have included many reworks of the game. The fact that Blizzard completely scrapped the game and started from scratch in 2003 because it just "wasn't fun" enough, I think we, as fans, can show a little more gratitude towards our favorite game developers.

As I am sure everyone here is aware, shortly after the announcement of Diablo 3 there was a petition to change the art style. This was the first of many gripes Diablo "fans" have had. Rob Pardo, Executive Vice President of Blizzard and executive producer of Diablo 3, has stated that "We've probably gone through atleast three different pretty major art direction shifts" in order to achieve the "gothic, dark feel" while adding color into the game. This dedication to the game and its fans deserves more respect from us, the fans, than it has received.

Now, every time Blizzard tries to release a tidbit of information about the game to reassure or inform the fanbase it is met by intense scrutiny. Then they decide to avoid a whole gripe about an insubstantial part of the game and theres multiple threads complaining of a lack of info released.

Blizzard still, somehow, has the patience to deal with the fanbase and actually takes some of our opinions into concideration because it could make the game better (ie. the length corpses are displayed for). They decide to release a new patch for D2 (for FREE) and actually ask the fans what we want most in the patch (first time I've heard any company doing that) and all I see now are posts on Battle.net complaining that the patch isn't out yet.

After all that this company has done for its fans, I think we could show Blizzard a little more respect.


Edit by Leord:
Art controversy

I will show Blizzard gratitude the same way everybody else will when Diablo 3 is released: with money. Blizzard Entertainment is a video game company and we are its consumers, so they would do well to heed our criticism of Diablo 3 and the rest of their products; otherwise, they will quickly go out of business. I respect Blizzard as a company that makes good video games, but that is as far as my respect goes. I will not blindly buy their products, or agree with their decisions simply because I've bought some of their products in the past, or because they've made some good products in the past. I also do not agree that Blizzard is some benevolent company that is out to simply entertain people. After all, if that were the case, then their video games would be free. If anything, Blizzard should be showing those who express their opinions more respect, instead of having their PR agents (Bashiok) meet them with condescension.

[Drakk]

Originally Posted by Vitamins

they would do well to heed our criticism of Diablo 3 and the rest of their products; otherwise, they will quickly go out of business.

I think they have done an extraordinary job of taking the criticism, my point is that its absolutely out of control. I know it happened a while ago but seriously, a petition to change the entire art direction of the game because people actually felt offended by it?? It is this kind of outlandish sense of self entitlement that I am offended by.

Originally Posted by Vitamins

I will not blindly buy their products, or agree with their decisions simply because I've bought some of their products in the past, or because they've made some good products in the past.

I won't blindly buy their products either, but I do use their past games as a great indicator of what type of a game they will release. Their attention to detail is astounding; they implement an idea and if it doesn't work it gets scrapped. Simple as that. They know what works and what doesn't because they are the ones building it and testing it.

Originally Posted by Vitamins

I also do not agree that Blizzard is some benevolent company that is out to simply entertain people. After all, if that were the case, then their video games would be free.

I don't believe I stated that or even made that inclination. Obviously Blizzard is a company conducting business to make money (thats what business is). If this wasn't so, they wouldn't be a company.. Nobody works for free.

Originally Posted by Vitamins

If anything, Blizzard should be showing those who express their opinions with more respect, instead of having their PR agents (Bashiok) meet them with condescension.

More respect? My, oh my, we have differing opinions! I won't quote myself but I think I did a fairly good job at showing multiple examples of how Blizzard has tolerated the continuous landslide of insults and outlandish demands made by its "fans." I don't blame Bashiok in the slightest for having a short fuse with battle.net posters as of late, I actually commend him for it. I definately would not have the composure he has when dealing with the onslaught of attacks from know-it-all wannabe game designers.