Downward Thrust said:
I do not like the practice of promises and dreams. I like the practice of reality, which is a day 1 quality video game
If that's the case, why is the video about Star Citizen and not No Man's Sky? How about the latest installment of Mass Effect? How about almost every single AAA release in the last 5 years? How did those "day 1 quality video games" work out? How about other games that realize their promises and dreams, but cut the content out at the last minute. Then they place that content behind a second paywall.
The current industry is a F2P, P2W, microtransaction filled, paywall blocked, half finished, early access mess. The exceptions to this are very few (Farcry 5 gives me hope for the future) and far between. When you take the large developer mindset and combine it with the chronic impatience of the gaming majority, it's what you get. It was only ever going to end this way. The gaming community creates the shape of the gaming industry and this is what was molded with our purchases. Hooray for us.
Star Citizen isn't part of that world though. It is a project of passion that is free from the usual constraints. That's the way crowdfunding works. It provides a method in which an artist can create their art. Yes. This includes copious amounts of promises and dreams. However, that's why we all backed this in the first place. We all dream of what this game could be, right along side Chris Roberts. Not only do we dream of a better game, but we are willing to fund it.
That's what it comes down to. We are funding this grand experiment. Nobody coerced us into funding it. Nobody scammed us into it. We all knew exactly what we were spending money on. We are spending money on the chance. We are embracing the opportunity to try for something amazing. We are gladly attempting to prove that the gaming industry isn't just trash and manipulation.
So when someone comes out with a video claiming that Star Citizen is a scam, I get confused. Where they see manipulation and coersion, I see the most transparent development process that I have ever seen. Where they see mishandled money, I wonder how they are able to have that many employees on that LITTLE amount of money. Where they see perpetually failed deadlines, I find myself astounded by the fully fleshed out and constantly updated road map.
So maybe Star Citizen works out, and maybe it fails miserably. I know either is still a real possibility. It could end up the biggest flop in the history of gaming. I knew that was a possibility from day one. However, with that risk in mind, I am fully happy with the funding I have given to date. I would do it all over again. I gladly spent and will continue to spend based on the chance that this works out.
I took Star Citizen as both an opportunity and a critisizm. It is an opportunity to help a dream game in it's creation. However, it is also a flaming "fuck you" to the typical development cycle as it has become. It is the chance to show developers that the current issues don't lay with the gamer's reluctance to spend, but rather that they don't want to spend on the garbage we are handed. There is a better way and this is our chance to prove it.
