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[Heebie Jeebies]

If I do continue to work in games it’ll be as an anonymous 1 of 1000 at some shitty corporation

This is unfathomable.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

For the last time, Steam doesn't have a monopoly. They have a large amount of market share in a particular subset of games on a popular (but by no means the most popular) gaming platform that a lot of people on this forum use extensively. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Amazon, Walmart, and Gamestop are just a few of their direct competitors for gaming mindshare, and Valve isn't even close to the top of that list as far as dominance goes. And those are just the really powerful competitors; there are also plenty of merely very powerful competitors like Blizzard, EA, and Riot as well as smaller competitors like GoG.

Yes, if you do something stupid, immoral, and illegal that manages to get Valve to sever all ties with you, it does make it harder to have a successful indie PC game. Harder, but not impossible. And it does not make it impossible to have a successful indie game because the PC platform is only a tiny part of gaming as a whole.

 

[Krejlooc]

For the last time, Steam doesn't have a monopoly. They have a large amount of market share in a particular subset of games on a popular (but by no means the most popular) gaming platform that a lot of people on this forum use extensively. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Amazon, Walmart, and Gamestop are just a few of their direct competitors for gaming mindshare, and Valve isn't even close to the top of that list as far as dominance goes. And those are just the really powerful competitors; there are also plenty of merely very powerful competitors like Blizzard, EA, and Riot as well as smaller competitors like GoG.

Yes, if you do something stupid, immoral, and illegal that manages to get Valve to sever all ties with you, it does make it harder to have a successful indie PC game. Harder, but not impossible. And it does not make it impossible to have a successful indie game because the PC platform is only a tiny part of gaming as a whole.

Valve has a monopoly on my heart <3

Also my wallet

 

[SteveWinwood]

http://codeavarice.com/post/100592709238/mike-is-leaving-code-avarice



Doubt this gets them back on Steam.

outside of a few small things (shitty corporation...) its all in all a decent apology

it sounds sincere and i wouldnt be terribly surprised if it did make it back on steam

i wouldnt be suprised if it wasnt either but hey

 

[nephilimdj]

English definition of Monopoly - The exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service.

Steam

• Commodity / Service - Distribution of PC games
• Exclusive Possession or Control Thereof - No - PC games exist outside of Steam
• Exclusive Supply or Trade - No - See Amazon, GoG, GMG, Origin, Uplay, Desura, Gamersgate, Humble etc // not to mention self operated systems Battlenet, LoL, Minecraft etc etc all not available on Steam

And that's just off the top of my head. Your monopolying wrong. Although, Steam would be very close to being a monopoly if their practices were not so open and accepting of competing services, sales of keys etc or much more controlling of where developers supply their games for distribution

Eh look at global monopolies like coca-cola, small business will go to supermarkets to buy cans because distributor sells them for more then the supermarkets.
Exclusive Supply or Trade and control isn't a defining factor.

 

[BigDes]

Eh look at global monopolies like coca-cola, small business will go to supermarkets to buy cans because distributor sells them for more then the supermarkets.
Exclusive Supply or Trade and control isn't a defining factor.

Coca-Cola isn't a monopoly

 

[Zaku]

I'm sorry, what?

Some some guy overreacting means that an entire team of developers should pay by having their livelyhood taken away from?

What Valve did here is unethical. Simple as that.

But I will ask this: Is that man the president/CEO of CA?
If yes, I can see this as a somewhat deserved punishment.

If not, this IS out of line. One developer does not speak for an entire team, nor should his actions have consequences for everyone else.

This is not unethical or immoral.

Though it looks like it doesn't matter, and we may see Paranautical Activity back on Steam soon. According to the Code Averace website...

Mike is leaving Code Avarice

By Mike

Yesterday, Paranautical Activity released out of steam Early Access, and following some confusion about the state of the game I became frustrated with Steam, and tweeted a series of angry tweets that ended in me sarcastically saying I was going to kill Gabe Newell. A statement I obviously didn&#8217;t mean but was regardless completely unacceptable.

As a result of my actions, Paranautical Activity, a game made by 4 or 5 people depending on who you count as team members, was removed from steam. I feel is it my responsibility to step down from Code Avarice completely so that Steam has no reason to harbor any more ill will towards the company, and maybe even if we can&#8217;t see Paranautical Activity restored, at least future Code Avarice games may be allowed onto the platform.

I&#8217;m really, deeply sorry that my short sighted, hot tempered actions resulted in not only my own dreams and aspirations being destroyed, but those of the entire team I worked with. I&#8217;m sorry that my statements made Valve and/or Gabe uncomfortable and upset (rightfully so).

My temper and tendency to use twitter to vent has been a consistent problem since I entered the games industry, and I just can&#8217;t do it. I don&#8217;t have the willpower necessary to be the &#8220;face&#8221; of a company. If I do continue to work in games it&#8217;ll be as an anonymous 1 of 1000 at some shitty corporation, not the most public figure of a single digit sized team.

I&#8217;ve sold my half of Code Avarice to Travis. Given up all my rights to CA as a company, and all it&#8217;s intellectual properties. I won&#8217;t receive any money from the sale of Paranautical Activity or any future games CA develops, I won&#8217;t be consulted on business decisions, and I won&#8217;t have any hand in development.

I&#8217;m out.

If true, we might see Travis convince Valve to allow it back.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

Eh look at global monopolies like coca-cola, small business will go to supermarkets to buy cans because distributor sells them for more then the supermarkets.
Exclusive Supply or Trade and control isn't a defining factor.

You REALLY don't understand what a monopoly is do you?

 

[jstripes]

http://codeavarice.com/post/100592709238/mike-is-leaving-code-avarice

Doubt this gets them back on Steam.

It might. Valve tends to thrive on good will.

 

[Htown]

"Shitty corporation" yah OK buds good way to get hired.

He literally cannot help himself.

What an idiot.

 

[rac]

How about just delete your twitter and don't issue an apology that includes "shitty corporations".

 

[White Man]

http://codeavarice.com/post/100592709238/mike-is-leaving-code-avarice



Doubt this gets them back on Steam.

I guess that answers my question.

And at least he abstained from saying "some shitty corporation like Valve."

 

[PsySal]

[deleted]

 

[Pokedude1013]

It's a good, humble response though. I hope he gets another chance. Maybe now we can stop with mocking him?

No, we can still continue mocking him. We can also acknowledge that he's finally taken responsibility for his really dumb actions.

In any other situation where an employee makes a really dumb statement against a business partner the employee is let go and relations continue as normal. Obviously this is a different case because the company is so small. Hopefully this allows for Travis to get the game back on steam

 

[TheTux]

I'm glad Steam ceased relations with him.

And I doubt a simple "Early access" text is so important at a game launch... most people wait for daily sales anyway.

It's a good, humble response though. I hope he gets another chance. Maybe now we can stop with mocking him?

Nah... it's really sad to see a grown up man writing all those ignorant tweets. I feel bad for the other developers.

 

[Nzyme32]

Eh look at global monopolies like coca-cola, small business will go to supermarkets to buy cans because distributor sells them for more then the supermarkets.
Exclusive Supply or Trade and control isn't a defining factor.

What the actual fuck. Even with the definition right there, you can't see where you are going wrong?!

 

[RiccochetJ]

http://codeavarice.com/post/100592709238/mike-is-leaving-code-avarice



Doubt this gets them back on Steam.

Good on him for doing that, but he really needs some training or help on his communication skills. Most of the letter/post was fine until he couldn't help but spurt out "shitty corporation."

Anyways, hopefully the other guys can get something figured out with Valve going forward.

 

[Krejlooc]

Coca-Cola isn't a monopoly

Monopoly doesn't mean highly visible corporation with a large marketshare that I don't like??

 

[Dunlop]

http://codeavarice.com/post/100592709238/mike-is-leaving-code-avarice



Doubt this gets them back on Steam.

"it&#8217;ll be as an anonymous 1 of 1000 at some shitty corporation"

this guys just seems to self destruct his own career on purpose

 

[Nairume]

Looking forward to CA hiring "Ralph Riphansen" to develop stuff in the background.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

It's a good, humble response though. I hope he gets another chance. Maybe now we can stop with mocking him?

No, no it wasn't. He just called every game developer in the world that isn't indie and "shitty corporation"

 

[Doomshine]

It's hard to believe he would completely give up any profits from the game considering how much time he spent talking about how his livelihood was ruined because of this.

At least he finally realized a proper apology was necessary.

 

[Sir Abacus]

I'm so tired of this gif being relevant whenever someone almost immediately resorts to death threats as an outlet/outburst. The target of your outrage doesn't know if you're serious or not. It's scary as fucking hell when someone attaches their actual name to it because it immediately becomes credible. Plus if your target thinks you aren't serious and they're wrong it'll be the last mistake they'll ever make. It is not in any way acceptable to play russian roulette with death threats.

 

[Imbarkus]

Sun Tzu advises that we observe our victories as we would observe a funeral. For both are tragic.

And how did that work out for him? If I'm not mistaken the man is DEAD.

Well, if it wasn't Sun Tzu it was Lao Tzu. It was one of the Tzu, anyway.

 

[RiccochetJ]

"it’ll be as an anonymous 1 of 1000 at some shitty corporation"

this guys just seems to self destruct his own career on purpose

At this point he's going to have to legally change his name and get some plastic surgery to even get a whiff of working on games in the future.

 

[Mengy]

http://codeavarice.com/post/100592709238/mike-is-leaving-code-avarice

Doubt this gets them back on Steam.

I have to wonder if someone else wrote that for him? Judging from his tweets and what else I've seen of him it doesn't sound like something Mike would write.

I hope CA can now get the game back on Steam, as they should not be punished for the outlash from one member of the team.

 

[Dolor]

What I would also say is that given the sheer number of releases and the size of my (and everyone's) backlog, I don't begrudge anyone using any mechanism at all to triage or prioritize software purchases, including platform availability. It's a buyer's market.

Exactly, Steam is so dominant because people (like me) want to buy their games on Steam. There is no heavy-handed practices forcing us too, and as many people have already pointed out, there are numerous alternative storefronts - some arguably larger than Steam.

If anything, Valve should be lauded for how above the board they are with their business practices. There are very few companies in other industries that would be so open and accepting of competition.

 

[Zaku]

Hey, so here's a thought inspired by all this.

How popular would a twitter front-end be which automatically screened tweets for offensive language or other user-inputted keywords, then delayed posting them for an hour which you had to reconfirm?

Like if you were to tweet "Fucking Valve, die in a fire!" it'd automatically not post it and come back to you an hour later with "Hey, you're cooled down a bit now. Still wanna post this?"

 

[Dunlop]

It's hard to believe he would completely give up any profits from the game considering how much time he spent talking about how his livelihood was ruined because of this.

Depending if this company was setup up "properly" he might be afraid of litigation from the development team

But given the age and the way they represent themselves, I sincerely doubt it

 

[Rurunaki]

It's hard to believe he would completely give up any profits from the game considering how much time he spent talking about how his livelihood was ruined because of this.

At least he finally realized a proper apology was necessary.

Doubt it. If the game does fet back into Steam (highly unlikely) I'm sure his partner will give him money.

 

[SteveWinwood]

I have to wonder if someone else wrote that for him? Judging from his tweets and what else I've seen of him it doesn't sound like something Mike would write.

I hope CA can now get the game back on Steam, as they should not be punished for the outlash from one member of the team.

maybe he followed my explicit advice and had his mom write it for him

 

[TheTux]

Monopoly doesn't mean highly visible corporation with a large marketshare that I don't like??

Exactly.

"it’ll be as an anonymous 1 of 1000 at some shitty corporation"

this guys just seems to self destruct his own career on purpose

No, no it wasn't. He just called every game developer in the world that isn't indie and "shitty corporation"

Wanted to edit this into my previous post as well. I totally agree.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

It's a good, humble response though. I hope he gets another chance.

It's not a humble response though. He defends his actions several times in his apology:

"I became frustrated with Steam, and tweeted a series of angry tweets that ended in me sarcastically saying"

"A statement I obviously didn’t mean"

"my short sighted, hot tempered actions resulted in not only my own dreams and aspirations being destroyed"

"My temper and tendency to use twitter to vent"

It's an apology, but it's not a truly humble one. He still sees himself as a victim in all this. He's still excusing himself.

 

[Rurunaki]

Hey, so here's a thought inspired by all this.

How popular would a twitter front-end be which automatically screened tweets for offensive language or other user-inputted keywords, then delayed posting them for an hour which you had to reconfirm?

Like if you were to tweet "Fucking Valve, die in a fire!" it'd automatically not post it and come back to you an hour later with "Hey, you're cooled down a bit now. Still wanna post this?"

Too much work. Also Twitter would be less fun.

 

[Nzyme32]

Hey, so here's a thought inspired by all this.

How popular would a twitter front-end be which automatically screened tweets for offensive language or other user-inputted keywords, then delayed posting them for an hour which you had to reconfirm?

Like if you were to tweet "Fucking Valve, die in a fire!" it'd automatically not post it and come back to you an hour later with "Hey, you're cooled down a bit now. Still wanna post this?"

JShackles needs to make "Enhanced Twitter"

 

[Haunted]

Sure.

At McDonalds.

That was so cold, I felt a chill down my spine.

Hey, so here's a thought inspired by all this.

How popular would a twitter front-end be which automatically screened tweets for offensive language or other user-inputted keywords, then delayed posting them for an hour which you had to reconfirm?

Like if you were to tweet "Fucking Valve, die in a fire!" it'd automatically not post it and come back to you an hour later with "Hey, you're cooled down a bit now. Still wanna post this?"

Terrible. It's all about immediacy with Twitter.

edit: this is better

 

[D4Danger]

Hey, so here's a thought inspired by all this.

How popular would a twitter front-end be which automatically screened tweets for offensive language or other user-inputted keywords, then delayed posting them for an hour which you had to reconfirm?

Like if you were to tweet "Fucking Valve, die in a fire!" it'd automatically not post it and come back to you an hour later with "Hey, you're cooled down a bit now. Still wanna post this?"

Gmail did this as an april fools joke I think

edit: maybe I'm thinking of the drunk email blocker - http://gmailblog.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/new-in-labs-stop-sending-mail-you-later.html

 

[BennyBlanco]

Comments section on that apology is ruthless.

 

[Alo81]

Gmail did this as an april fools joke I think

edit: maybe I'm thinking of the drunk email blocker - http://gmailblog.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/new-in-labs-stop-sending-mail-you-later.html

I believe Youtube temporarily had a feature where the text to speech had to read your comment back to you out loud before you could post it, and implementing it cut down on hate speech in a huge way for that time.

 

[outunderthestars]

It's not a humble response though. He defends his actions several times in his apology:

"I became frustrated with Steam, and tweeted a series of angry tweets that ended in me sarcastically saying"

"A statement I obviously didn’t mean"

"my short sighted, hot tempered actions resulted in not only my own dreams and aspirations being destroyed"

"My temper and tendency to use twitter to vent"

It's an apology, but it's not a truly humble one. He still sees himself as a victim in all this. He's still excusing himself.

Well said.

 

[Adnor]

Sure.

At McDonalds.

At least there's no chance of failure there!

 

[CosmicQueso]

"If I do continue to work in games it’ll be as an anonymous 1 of 1000 at some shitty corporation"

No he won't. Not when a simple google search of his name by any recruiter results in this mess.

 

[GuardianE]

That resignation sounds needlessly whiny.

He really should have had someone review it first.

 

[Haunted]

I believe Youtube temporarily had a feature where the text to speech had to read your comment back to you out loud before you could post it, and implementing it cut down on hate speech in a huge way for that time.

wait, they actually had that feature? no way.

 

[SteveWinwood]

It may not be entirely humble, but he's already stepping down and taking this loss. For the sake of everyone else on the team (he says its 4 or 5, when I have only been seeing 2, must be contracted stuff), I think it should probably just be let go with an A for effort. He tried at least. He'll learn later hopefully (he won't but oh well).

Maybe I'm just too forgiving.

 

[Archaix]

It's not a humble response though. He defends his actions several times in his apology:

"I became frustrated with Steam, and tweeted a series of angry tweets that ended in me sarcastically saying"

"A statement I obviously didn&#8217;t mean"

"my short sighted, hot tempered actions resulted in not only my own dreams and aspirations being destroyed"

"My temper and tendency to use twitter to vent"

It's an apology, but it's not a truly humble one. He still sees himself as a victim in all this. He's still excusing himself.

It isn't even an apology. It doesn't even rise to the level of "I'm sorry I got caught."

He takes effectively no blame and admits no fault. That doesn't qualify as an apology on any level. He's giving a justification (or at least what qualifies for one in his mind), not an apology.

edit: Oops, I didn't see his newer blog post, I thought this was his original response because of some similar language in your quotes. Looks like somebody finally talked some sense into him to stop doubling down on how right he was, at least.

 

[Krejlooc]

At least there's no chance of failure there!

these seem like charming dudes

 

[OverturePT]

It's hard to believe he would completely give up any profits from the game considering how much time he spent talking about how his livelihood was ruined because of this.

At least he finally realized a proper apology was necessary.

They probably agreed on giving him a cut anyway if they can get the game back on Steam.

 

[Jørdan]

Too soon?

I am giving away a Steam key. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line from the message below containing the game you want to enter for. Confused? Watch this GIF tutorial or ask for help.

ModBot Basics:
- I really appreciate thank you messages, but please send them to me (Jrdan, not ModBot!) via PM instead of in thread.
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two.

Rules for this Giveaway:
- This giveaway is a LIGHTNING raffle. The winners will be selected by random draw 15 minutes after the draw was created. Any games not claimed after that point will be given away first come first serve.

Paranautical Activity -- MB-CC5AD9BDBD2B2369 - Taken by El Sloth. 12 entrants total.

 

[legacyzero]

I can't believe he's still going all Charlie Sheen over this whole thing. What an idiot.

Too soon?

LOL