The Toxicity in Gaming Communities, according to Fallout creator Tim Cain.
In a recent vlog post, Cain discussed the subject of controversy online in the gaming world. He suggested that the fundamental cause behind toxic behavior is a serious misunderstanding amongst some players the inability to accept that there are different tastes.
Our Tastes are Just Different
Cain pointed out that the gaming audience is huge and very diverse, with people wanting all sorts of different things in a good game. He cited his experience as a developer to prove his point where players often want features he himself dislikes, like romance options.
"So, you're asking me to add something to the game that I don't like. But you refuse to understand that what you personally like may be of no use to anyone, or almost no use to anyone."
Tim Cain, Game Developer
He explained that this could strike a difference in technical areas, such as frame rates. For many gamers, high frame rates are a question of life and death, whereas others may not care so much, so long as it plays above that basic threshold of playability. According to Cain, this inability to see beyond their own preferences generates hostility.
The Outcome of Misinterpretation
This failure to acknowledge differing opinions, Cain argues, leads to aggression against both developers and fellow players. He explained how this "vocal minority" often resorts to insults.
"Gamers call developers like me stupid, lazy, or greedy without a second thought... I haven't seen a single discussion forum where developers haven't been called stupid, lazy, or greedy at some point in the discussion."
Tim Cain, Game Developer
He explained that this toxicity also turns inward to the community. When a game sells and the game community deems it poor, they often dismiss the majority as "stupid" or their opinions as irrelevant.
Cain concluded that this created an "extremely unhealthy environment." He said that many of his friends, who were developers, exited this industry because of the toxicity, all resting on a simple refusal of some to listen and grasp that tastes differ.
