[Gripe] Gamers are really getting spoiled
- Thread starter Darrin Drader
- Start date
I agree with both sides here, and disagree with both marginal extreme positions.
I'm a professional writer -- three short fiction publications, and another one coming from Strange Horizons in February. I am well aware that selling a short story is not going to pay for my month's rent. Selling a short story at a professional level gets you a nice celebratory dinner and a few extra juice smoothies. A few magazines, like Sci-Fiction, pay more, but by and large, we're still at three cents.
So I completely agree with the people who are against niggling attacks on honest mistakes and minor errors.
At the same time, I work darn hard on my stories, and get annoyed when I see a story with an obvious plothole or other non-subjective problems get into print. I can completely agree with the people who are against putting out garbage and then claiming that they don't make enough money to do a good job.
I think that most of us agree that gaming writers don't get paid enough, and that some people are spoiled in terms of their complaints. I think we can also agree that there's some garbage being produced, and the defense only stretches so far.
Heck, I make typos, I make formatting goofs. I'm not going to get less enjoyment out of a book because an NPC's stat block uses dashes instead of colons. I WILL get less enjoyment out of a book if pages 6-17 are missing.
So perhaps rather than attacking each other and staking out extreme opposed viewpoints, we should thank both sides for their posts, acknowledge the truth of both sides, and move on?
-Tacky
I'm a professional writer -- three short fiction publications, and another one coming from Strange Horizons in February. I am well aware that selling a short story is not going to pay for my month's rent. Selling a short story at a professional level gets you a nice celebratory dinner and a few extra juice smoothies. A few magazines, like Sci-Fiction, pay more, but by and large, we're still at three cents.
So I completely agree with the people who are against niggling attacks on honest mistakes and minor errors.
At the same time, I work darn hard on my stories, and get annoyed when I see a story with an obvious plothole or other non-subjective problems get into print. I can completely agree with the people who are against putting out garbage and then claiming that they don't make enough money to do a good job.
I think that most of us agree that gaming writers don't get paid enough, and that some people are spoiled in terms of their complaints. I think we can also agree that there's some garbage being produced, and the defense only stretches so far.
Heck, I make typos, I make formatting goofs. I'm not going to get less enjoyment out of a book because an NPC's stat block uses dashes instead of colons. I WILL get less enjoyment out of a book if pages 6-17 are missing.
So perhaps rather than attacking each other and staking out extreme opposed viewpoints, we should thank both sides for their posts, acknowledge the truth of both sides, and move on?
-Tacky
ColonelHardisson
What? Me Worry?
I believe in voting with one's wallet, but I also think it's worthwhile to let a company know when something displeases you. That is, if it's something that you've liked, and still like for the most part, and something is done that screws up what you like in some way, it doesn't seem unreasonable to say you don't like the new direction. If they choose to ignore your concerns, maybe because not many share them, or because they just don't want to listen, then voting with your wallet is the way to go.
jdavis
First Post
A good company will want feedback, both positive and negative. But even a bad company can be persuaded if enough pressure is applied, with the small size of most gaming companies and the very limited size of the target audience a sizable group of people complaining together about the same subject would have leverage. Its the basis for watchdog groups and consumer protection agencies. One voice may not be heard but a hundred or even a thousand would.
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