Other Software > Developer's Corner
How The Most Expensive Game Jam In History Crashed And Burned In A Single Day
Stoic Joker:
To me, it seemed the devs had won their battle - and had the show people groveling - but then consciously decided to let the whole thing go down in flames to hammer home their point. That seemed excessive to me.-40hz (April 01, 2014, 05:57 PM)
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So a group of people prone to and known for taking pride in their work, decide not to allow it and themselves to become a reality TV circus mockery. I'd say they didn't go far enough. But then again I get furious every time I see yet another pablemic swill of nonsense being foisted on the public in the name of reality TV. I dare say that this idiotic trend of frenzied emotional masturbation has damaged the human race by stilting its emotional development to the point that it will send ripples through generations for the next 300 years.
I think that if the production company responsible had gone bankrupt overnight it would be a fair measure and effective warning to other Reality TV types. That there really are some things in life that just do not need to be liberally seasoned with over the top bullshit drama. So stop treating the population like a bunch of high school level affirmation whores that need constant reassurance - usually by the belittlement of others - to feel O.K..
40hz:
To me, it seemed the devs had won their battle - and had the show people groveling - but then consciously decided to let the whole thing go down in flames to hammer home their point. That seemed excessive to me.-40hz (April 01, 2014, 05:57 PM)
--- End quote ---
So a group of people prone to and known for taking pride in their work, decide not to allow it and themselves to become a reality TV circus mockery. I'd say they didn't go far enough. But then again I get furious every time I see yet another pablemic swill of nonsense being foisted on the public in the name of reality TV. I dare say that this idiotic trend of frenzied emotional masturbation has damaged the human race by stilting its emotional development to the point that it will send ripples through generations for the next 300 years.
I think that if the production company responsible had gone bankrupt overnight it would be a fair measure and effective warning to other Reality TV types. That there really are some things in life that just do not need to be liberally seasoned with over the top bullshit drama. So stop treating the population like a bunch of high school level affirmation whores that need constant reassurance - usually by the belittlement of others - to feel O.K..
-Stoic Joker (April 02, 2014, 11:55 AM)
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I'll agree. But only up to a point.
"In for a penny, in for a pound" as the saying goes. :-\
If you're gonna get into bed with this branch of the "entertainment" industry (and I use the term loosely) thinking that things are going to be different for you because you're: (a) smarter, (b) cooler, (c) nicer, or (d) 'well-respected' in your field - then you're either unbelievably full of yourself - or a lot more naive than I'd have credited anyone being if they ever watched television...
Reality TV is a blight which deserves to die an ignoble death. Hopefully before somebody really does get killed on one of these shows. (Add I'm guessing it's only a matter of time before somebody will.) But until that happens (and maybe not even then) these shows are here to stay. Because the sad truth is that the human appetite for mean kicks is still very much in evidence anywhere you look in our present society. We have our 'shock' comics who's act consists of wall to wall insults, cheap shots, and pointless snark. You have shows like An Idiot Abroad that revel in putting someone into situations ripe with opportunities for physical injury and personal humiliation. You have other shows that consist of nothing more than putting emotionally unstable and incompatible people into close proximity with each other - and then introducing a small irritant to get the ball rolling. Whoever came up with that "concept" probably spent half his childhood standing over anthills with a magnifying glass.
As one TV producer I know explained to me, the industry itself is "content neutral." It's all about eyeballs and 'likes' these days. As he put it (close as I remember), "We don't care what gets broadcast as long as people want and actually do watch it. My industry makes no judgements. Sure, we all prefer to televise good shows. But we'd be just as willing to televise a wall with paint drying on it if it will net us 100,000 regular viewers each week."
So yeah...TV producers probably do deserve whatever they get. >:D
But...
From what I'm reading, the devs also came in with an agenda. They certainly didn't need the money or the prizes. Or the fame since they're rather well known in their industry from what I can tell. They met the idiot in charge. They saw the bullshit contract. Some of them even agreed to non-disparagement clauses and ridiculous "sponsorship" rules.
Why?
To bring the mechanics of game development to a wider audience? There's better venues and shows to do that with. (And FWIW, no matter which art form you pursue, the vast majority of your adoring fans don't care at all how you do your voodoo. They just want your finished product. They applaud and pay you for the two-hour shows you put on. Not the years it took to learn how to play - or the hundreds of hours of practice and rehearsal that led up to it.)
Is it the old "I wanna be a rock star too!" syndrome? Heaven help 'em if they're being lured by that siren....
Seriously...why were they doing this garbage at all?
I don't object to them walking. I would have done the same. Although I wouldn't have needed a 'hot button' issue, like they seemed to need, to justify bailing out. The unbelievable level of discourtesy shown them from minute one would have been more than sufficient for me.*
So to sit back there blogging away like they they're all just sooo surprised and offended about what happened? I dunno...sounds more like some spin and damage control to my ears. They shouldn't have gotten involved at all and now they're trying to distance themselves as much as possible from it.
Maybe I have a lot more respect for these devs than they had for themselves when they let themselves get sucked into this deal.
;)
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* I guess the whole "issue justification" bit is more a generational thing. Especially now that we're no longer allowed to feel angry about anything - only offended by it.
Deozaan:
If you're gonna get into bed with this branch of the "entertainment" industry (and I use the term loosely) thinking that things are going to be different for you because you're: (a) smarter, (b) cooler, (c) nicer, or (d) 'well-respected' in your field - then you're either unbelievably full of yourself - or a lot more naive than I'd have credited anyone being if they ever watched television...
[...]
Seriously...why were they doing this garbage at all?
-40hz (April 02, 2014, 01:42 PM)
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Maybe you're forgetting this part?
That natal idea, and one of the themes central to all 11 developers agreeing to travel to Los Angeles for the shoot, was the production and filming of a game jam for a televised audience (or at least a YouTube audience) with the intent to document the ups and downs of actually developing a game – hopefully sharing that experience with a viewership likely ranging into the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions. More importantly, it would be an opportunity for the group to share the closely-knit spirit of togetherness unique to indie development, presented through the lens of popular YouTube personalities with massive, mostly younger built-in viewerships. A slam dunk, you might say, created in earnest to shine a kind of light into the often misrepresented world of creating… or at least, that's what everyone thought.-http://indiestatik.com/2014/03/31/most-expensive-game-jam/
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That is, it was originally proposed to the developers as a documentary. That's what they agreed to show up for. It wasn't until they actually arrived (or were already pretty invested in it or already agreed to do it) that it changed into the reality TV abomination that it was. Sure, at that point they still could have walked away before signing anything, but most of these people are still relatively young, inexperienced people who were probably somewhat confused and unsure what to do at that point. Just trying to figure out what to make of it all, and if it could be salvaged. And perhaps some of them felt obligated or pressured into it after making a verbal agreement, even though technically at that point they weren't contractually/legally obligated to go through with it.
Just some thought for food. Or something. (c:
superboyac:
:o
Damn 40, you just blew my mind....again!
Well, I just scrapped half my cartoon ideas (they weren't good anyway). But now I have better ideas.
Stoic Joker:
That natal idea, and one of the themes central to all 11 developers agreeing to travel to Los Angeles for the shoot, was the production and filming of a game jam for a televised audience (or at least a YouTube audience) with the intent to document the ups and downs of actually developing a game – hopefully sharing that experience with a viewership likely ranging into the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions. More importantly, it would be an opportunity for the group to share the closely-knit spirit of togetherness unique to indie development, presented through the lens of popular YouTube personalities with massive, mostly younger built-in viewerships. A slam dunk, you might say, created in earnest to shine a kind of light into the often misrepresented world of creating… or at least, that's what everyone thought.-http://indiestatik.com/2014/03/31/most-expensive-game-jam/
--- End quote ---
That is, it was originally proposed to the developers as a documentary. That's what they agreed to show up for. It wasn't until they actually arrived (or were already pretty invested in it or already agreed to do it) that it changed into the reality TV abomination that it was. Sure, at that point they still could have walked away before signing anything, but most of these people are still relatively young, inexperienced people who were probably somewhat confused and unsure what to do at that point. Just trying to figure out what to make of it all, and if it could be salvaged. And perhaps some of them felt obligated or pressured into it after making a verbal agreement, even though technically at that point they weren't contractually/legally obligated to go through with it.-Deozaan (April 02, 2014, 02:43 PM)
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:Thmbsup: As a life lesson, I think this is called the 'Yes it can actually happen to me' factor. Which in fairness probably does fall under 40's use of the word naïve ... but that doesn't quite entirely convey the whole consumed by the machine reality of what happens in the real world's reality. I'm thinking old school carnival midway level pressure here...nobody get's to leave unless they're flat broke.
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