Is it possible to copy that Gold Master? My suspicion is that he copied it before he sent it back to Blizzard, as insurance. In case one day he felt like releasing it. Blizzard thanked him in a very mild way, and then started thinking about this. They realized that he might have done this too, and they’d have no way…

This is some serious dedication...

Bethesda has been a trademark troll for awhile now while CDProjekt hasn’t. Considering how they’ve acted so far, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Bethesda however needs to be ripped a new one.

Yeah. By idiots who weren’t able to distinguish between copycats and people experimenting with a good idea.

Thanks, I’m aware of the existence of Wikipedia. I have even donated money to them a few times.

So what? The entire First Person Shooter genre was called “Doom clones” up until Half Life came around and changed up the formula. Culture copies and borrows all the time, and the mixing of different elements is responsible for some of the most beloved works out there (Star Wars).

Eh, I don’t see an issue with it. Maybe it’d turn out to be a blatant rip-off, maybe it’s taking the style and doing something unique.

As someone who values preservation of pre-production material and project files, it would’ve been nice if Blizzard took the disc back, checked the contents, then said “Hey, you guys wanna take a look at the inner workings this nineteen year old game engine?”

Man, Bethesda sure does know how to support their game launches. Launching on a Friday instead of a Tuesday? Not giving anyone advance copies? Going after indie game developers who use a very common word in a very distinctive title in a very different game?

...yeah, no, sorry, fuck you Bethesda.

Sounds like a Bioware game decision that has repercussions for the sequel.

...Sure would be real nice to have that source code, though.

I have a much greater respect for the 100% speedrunners. Or the mad bastards of the endurance run community who try to 100% games like Skyrim in one sitting while keeping the nootropic supplement makers (or their Dexedrine dealer) in business.

This just leaves me unsatisfied in a whiskey-dick sort of way. The…

The thing is though, that YouTube is the one signing the checks, and there isn’t anyone else that is going to pay more. Yes, an upstart could appear and poach a bunch of the top producers, but revenue is going to go down over the next few years no matter what anyone does.

When asked about whether ad-friendly filters can tell the difference between real and video game violence, a YouTube representative referred me to a blog about how YouTube’s having more positive conversations with advertisers.

“Take that audience with them”. Oh man. I don’t think you know how audiences work. You can’t just “take” them places. They are fickle, stubborn little mobs. You don’t know what they’ll do.

It’s a problem for literally all of us, even those of us who traditionally produce family friendly content, ad revenue has just full on plummeted across the board. It’s the first time since I went full time a few years ago that I’ve started to struggle a little bit. Sure it’s worse for people with more mature content…

You know how you can instantly tell a game isn’t for you? I don’t need this kind of anger from video games in my life.

And a small caveat, you don’t “really like girls,” you enjoy oggling at them.

The big difference is, Hideki Kamiya is a fleshy human developer that gets sweaty, while Yoko Taro is an ice cold robot with an artisanally-crafted heart of gold.