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[shuri]

I hope his game gets leaked before release.

People can have their own opinions, and its true that japan has fallen behind, but you don't go around crushing some random guy who asked a polite question in that way. This is way out of line, and completely unprofessional.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

At least they're not dumbing themselves down to reach the CoD market like western games.

Oh yeah. I went there.

To play devil's advocate, they are increasingly trying to appeal to a western audience with often poor results.

 

[bjork]

As the article said, Jonathan Blow also offered criticism of current Japanese game design, but it was "constructive" i.e. not "you suck."

No need to spin this into support for disliking Blow, who has never been anything other than articulate in his opinions as far as I am aware.

I only heard one interview with Blow (I think it was a Bombcast and some Microsoft guy was there too?), and he came across as articulate but also fairly unlikeable. I'd have to go give it another listen, that was a while ago so I can't recall specifics. But he definitely wasn't as blunt as this Fez guy, by any means.

 

[ezekial45]

Interview from 4 years ago. Is it just him making the game? What the hell is taking so long?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te3H6KkYLJo

As the years went by, it seems like he's more well known for attempting to make this game, than the game itself. Will the game even matter once it comes out?

 

[Kyon]

He's speaking on a panel at GDC as a developer and leader of the industry. Not some kid on the internet posting on a discussion board. If you can't tell the difference, well...

Leader? I think you missed the part where it said he is an indie dev and the fact that nobody knows who this is

. Not here for the lessors coming for the big guns. When he makes a game that I can name from the top of my head or even one that is actually good then we can talk. Otherwise I could care less about this unknown dude being pressed. He shall remain irrelevant and hating

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Totally unprofessional. Guy comes across as a complete douchebag.

The point that he most likely embarrassed the poor guy in front of all these people makes me more angry then the comment itself.

 

[benzy]

Attention whore.

 

[Riposte]

Picture of the panel for context. Guess which one is Mr. Fish?:

The one with the punchable face.

 

[jman2050]

Is there a video of the panel? It'd be interesting to hear what the tone of the discussion was before we all jump to conclusions and call him an asshole. Maybe it was supposed to be a funny statement that just completely came out the wrong way.

His twittering seems to indicate that it wasn't a joke.

 

[TheSeks]

It's not like he's one to talk considering how long it took him to make a digital game

But He's Western. His games don't suck. DealwithitdogSmug.gif

Fuck him. He may be (opinionated) "right" but that doesn't mean he needs to dress down a developer like that for them asking a simple "your games were inspired by us, what makes your games so different from ours in modern times" question.

 

[Visualante2]

Guy's a real asshole of late. I unfollowed him on twitter because of some putrid shit he said, bit sick of his unearned position of importance.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Picture of the panel for context. Guess which one is Mr. Fish?:

What damning evidence are we supposed to see here?

 

[ULTROS!]

Japanese devs are lagging behind creatively? I'd argue that Japanese games are still the most creative games out there. Japanese developers were responsible for those "Wii __" titles, and they're by far the most influential games of this generation.

Not to mention a boatload of NDS games (Nintendogs) and the NDS itself.

 

[djplaeskool]

Damn, this whole thing just rubs me the wrong way.
I want to buy a 360 just to snub him and NOT buy the game.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

His statement was unprofessional, untrue, stereotypical, and borderline racist. However, FEZ looks and sounds amazing.

oh god

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Isn't it more that western development gained ground more instead of Japanese development lagging behind?

A good bit of both, yet it's no excuse to do what he did.

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

What damning evidence are we supposed to see here?

hipster glasses I'm guessing.

 

[Durante]

Self-righteous piece of shit. Never giving him any money.

I decided that after his statement on PC gaming.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

What damning evidence are we supposed to see here?

None. It's a picture of the panel participants for added visual context to the OP, originally posted on twitter by one of the panel participants in direct reference to this comment we're discussing.

 

[LiK]

Guy's a real asshole of late. I unfollowed him on twitter because of some putrid shit he said, bit sick of his unearned position of importance.

ditto and no interest in his game anymore.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Is there a video of the panel? It'd be interesting to hear what the tone of the discussion was before we all jump to conclusions and call him an asshole. Maybe it was supposed to be a funny statement that just completely came out the wrong way.

That's what GDC panels are often like, yes.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Hey guys, here's an idea: maybe the GDC organisers should enforce a policy that means you have to have developed a game to be on a fecking GDC panel

Obviously there could be special cases but basically it stops giving people platforms they haven't exactly earned the right to be on yet.

 

[cryptic]

Damn son, most japanese games do suck. Just run the ratio of good Western/European games to Japanese games per year and it's pretty obvious.

 

[shuri]

Just checked his game, it looks like a typical indie mashup of every popular classic, ONCE AGAIN.


Aaahh indie dev..

 

[Sadist]

I feel sorry for the guy asking the question.

What's wrong with suggesting that he might have drawn some inspiration from Japanese games?

 

[i-Lo]

So, indie talk...

Oh that's just disturbing *__*

 

[Barrett2]

Other than Fez, what games has he made?

 

[survivor]

I'm also surprised that some people actually cheered. I guess he wasn't the only asshole there.

Wish I can know who the other developers were so I can stop paying attention to their games.

 

[Htown]

That's right, let's all go the way of western AAA game design - remove everything that would constitute a challenge or complexity that requires thought. Gotta "streamline" everything. That's too much RPG, make it a shooter. Make it harder to die, we gotta make sure everyone gets to see all these assets we made. 10 hours? Too long. Can you bring it down to 5? It's too hard to make people look at health bars, throw some jelly on the screen. What do you mean "balance the encounter?" Just make the health regenerate and make sure to sprinkle some waist-high cover around the room.

Wait, it's time to make a super unique never-been-done-before indie game! 2D platformer with "old-school" pixel art, go!

 

[Mael]

Thanks for confirming that the game development is anything but professional.

 

[LiK]

Other than Fez, what games has he made?

a lot of friends in the industry

 

[Emitan]

Picture of the panel for context. Guess which one is Mr. Fish?:

He's not the woman! What do I win?

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

I only heard one interview with Blow (I think it was a Bombcast and some Microsoft guy was there too?), and he came across as articulate but also fairly unlikeable. I'd have to go give it another listen, that was a while ago so I can't recall specifics. But he definitely wasn't as blunt as this Fez guy, by any means.

He was openly confronting the MS guys with complaints he had about their publishing rules/process. That's unusual to hear on a podcast, so it might stand out and lead you to make inferences about his personality but I found him interesting rather than unlikeable.

None. It's a picture of the panel participants for added visual context to the OP, originally posted on twitter by one of the panel participants in direct reference to this comment we're discussing.

Why the question "guess which one is Fish?" That strongly implies you meant more than to simply show a picture.

 

[Blunt]

You do realize he's criticized the state of the Japanese industry on several occasions, right? Not as harshly as Fish, of course.

Itagaki is not your champion.

Itagaki is the most outspoken Japanese developer I can think of off hand. He may be critical of certain parts of his nations work practices regarding video games and he is correct that certain long held beliefs need a modern shake up.....but I'm still willing to bet after being told all of Japan's games suck that he would be the first to tell this Fish bozo to go take a flying fuck at a rolling donut.

 

[Clear]

What this guy needs to get through his head is that games, like all other popular media, are influenced by fashion, the zeitgeist, popular taste.

Japanese games have gone out of fashion a little (apart of course from Nintendo's massive selling evergreen franchises - but that doesn't fit the "story", so lets pass on it) while certain core Western styles have come in.

The truth of the matter is that there's waaay too much back-slapping going on, way too much nationalistic tub-thumping when the gains made this generation have in truth been fairly slim.

History will show Japan still "won" this console generation by a landslide. The tyranny of numbers will see to that if you're sad enough to be keeping score.

There also have been far too many big western games that have been given a free pass by the reviewing community despite having pretty egregious and obvious issues.

 

[Durante]

I feel sorry for the guy asking the question.

What's wrong with suggesting that he might have drawn some inspiration from Japanese games?

Well, it's obviously true, and he's obviously defensive about it. So instead of answering the question he'd rather turn it into a (stupid) joke.

 

[Kyon]

Just checked his game, it looks like a typical indie mashup of every popular classic, ONCE AGAIN.


Aaahh indie dev..

that's what I said.

 

[Saint of Killers]

Picture of the panel for context. Guess which one is Mr. Fish?:

The one who thinks being a dickhead is cool.

 

[Anteater]

Oh that's just disturbing *__*

Your eyes aren't saying that

 

[Somnid]

Oh dear. That was not the correct answer.

I really don't care about "professionalism." I think people should should say what they need to say even if inflammatory. However, professionalism is typically a guide to prevent you from saying over-generalized, under-thought, and ignorant bullshit. Also, people don't take kindly to assholes.

 

[quinntendopower]

what the fuck is a fez

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

It's not is first comment of the sort and you guys just don't worry, he will NOT give a fuck.

Limbaugh thought he was untouchable too.

 

[Htown]

He was openly confronting the MS guys with complaints he had about their publishing rules/process. That's unusual to hear on a podcast, so it might stand out and lead you to make inferences about his personality but I found him interesting rather than unlikeable.

Also, in that case he was having a discussion with two guys who work at a large game publisher about their policies. In this case, we have a guy crushing an aspiring indie game developer just to be an asshole.

 

[nintendors]

I bet after this thread ,we will have another thread titled "Fez developer says :I was joking and gamers cant take a joke nowadays"

Damage control much ??

 

[mik83kuu]

I agree with him in the sense that Japanese game developement in general isn't exactly up to the standards, but damn if he doesn't have an attitude problem...

 

[RurouniZel]

Damn son, most japanese games do suck. Just run the ratio of good Western/European games to Japanese games per year and it's pretty obvious.

I don't know whether to laugh at this statement's ignorance, cry at it, or both. Both countries produce a few gems and lots of derivative shit.

 

[charlequin]

I actually have a lot of respect for Jonathan Blow's opinion.
Not just cause Braid was a goddamn jewel, but because he always argued about his ideas in a pretty thoughtful (and polite) way.

Yeah, I hope the next time there's a thread about something that Blow did, people can think back on this thread and notice the difference between the two instead of running on about ZOMG PRETENTIOUS.

Isn't it more that western development gained ground more instead of Japanese development lagging behind?

There's a lot of factors that go into this. When people talk about development problems in Japan, what they mean is that Japanese studios making AAA games haven't adopted the development methodologies, technological tools, and organizational structures that are standard practice at Western studios. This is really a direct result of studios trying to take a model that worked (and still works) for small-scale projects and scale it up to a scope it can't handle, while ignoring (purposely or through lack of knowledge) the fact that it's more or less a solved problem.

I definitely think it's a trend that's worthy of discussion, but given that statements about this are often wrapped tight in racist xenophobia and ignore the vast majority of the market (like, say, the incredibly fertile handheld market in which Japanese developers have continued to excel... or the developers like Nintendo and From who have had major Western success... or the publishers like Capcom who have aggressively moved to improve their structure and technological base...) it's very hard to talk about in a sensible way.

 

[thetrin]

Oh dear. That was not the correct answer.

I really don't care about "professionalism." I think people should should say what they need to say even if inflammatory. However, professionalism is typically a guide to prevent you from saying over-generalized, under-thought, and ignorant bullshit. Also, people don't take kindly to assholes.

Professionalism is essential when you're speaking to people you don't know. That's how you prevent yourself from being a monumental asshole.

 

[djplaeskool]

what the fuck is a fez

A hat.
Morocco Mole wears one.

 

[XBOX HIVES]

Eh I personally side with Phil Fish on this one. Japanese devs have really disappointed me this gen.