GTL: Social Media is Life or Death for Game Developers
By Twin Galaxies Editorial Staff ·
With social media becoming such an integral part of our lives, it is appropriate for game developers to engage in "Twitter Wars", and is the negative feedback from fans getting out of hand?
On this episode of Game Talk Live, host Mandie Roman talks with panellists about the effect that social media is having on game developers and the greater landscape of game development. Joining her in the discussion is Dave Klein, Youtuber and host of Nerdwire, Alissa Barry-Toth, long time video game community manager, and Elyot Grant of Lunarch Studios.
Social media has become a way of life for many people, but is it affecting the games industry in the wrong way? The panellists discuss how a tweet from the president of Hi-Rez studios went viral after tweeting a comparison of upcoming Overwatch character Brigitte to an existing Paladins hero.
The discussion centers on whether certain games are considered to be a “rip-off” of other games, and whether this is a fair assessment. The panel gives insight into how developers may view such controversy, and how this differs from how fans may perceive it. The discussion then moves to how different a new game can really be from those that already exist, and how different games can make sure they are unique.
“There’s definitely new [#game genres you can make, but it’s hard…I majored in #gamedesign in college and a lot of the games that I wanted to make were #Megaman style…99% of the #games we have are based on something else." -@TheDaveKlein
— GameTalkLive (@GameTalkLive) March 5, 2018
Watch Live: https://t.co/a5W2VleUUC pic.twitter.com/cgHIIkAjtq
The panel then talks about how appropriate it is for a game developer to put this kind of thing on social media, before talking about whether employees should be held to a higher standard when it comes to social media image. The panel also talks about whether something that seems “off-the-cuff” really is, or is it all a part of marketing.
The topic then shifts to the effect of having big name developers attached to a project, and whether it is a good thing for companies to have high-profile employees. The panel talks about whether fans can tell when a game is made “in name only”, and whether companies should allow employees to rise to prominence, such as Cliff Bleszinski or Hideo Kojima.
"@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN is @metalgear_en. I literally don’t think you can have a #MetalGear title without him." -@MissMurder
— GameTalkLive (@GameTalkLive) March 5, 2018
Watch Live: https://t.co/a5W2VleUUC #GamersUnite #gamedev #gamersaregood #videogames #geek pic.twitter.com/tNcb1KdtsP
The discussion then moves to talk about the effect that negative social media can have on developers, and why fans feel the need to engage in negative feedback on social media. The panel looks at some of the reasons why fans feel driven to post negative and positive feedback, as well as how such feedback is viewed by the developers themselves.
Finally, the panel talks about the ways in which social media has changed the game industry, and how important social media has become as a marketing tool. The panel talks about how fans can help a game grow, as well as ways fans can help out developers who may find themselves under fire.
Game Talk Live has wrapped up for today, but you can see the episode in its entirety in the video above. Be sure to check out the previous episode, where panellists discuss Industry Issues such as violent video game taxes, loot boxes and net neutrality.