The Tricky Art Of Criticism

Sometimes I feel guilty for criticising others peoples work : after all, computer games are very difficult to make, involving a lot of time, money and hard work. In addition, one of the many things wrong with this world nowadays is that everyone seems to have an opinion about everything , usually derogatory and unfair, even when they don’t possess all the relevant information necessary to make a valid and unbiased point. I personally make my living tearing apart others peoples work and effort, finding faults and being over obsessed with quality issues. In fact, I carry out most of my work alone because its easier for my work to be done without facing hurt egos and pride and without confronting a programmer's personal wrath and anger.

But usually I find my guilt disappears quickly when I think of the poor mother or father who go into a games shop and buy a particular game because their little Johnny has seen it on TV or at the cinema or because its the latest craze / fashion at school. After handing over their hard earned money, they discover its pure rubbish and neither Johnny nor Mum and Dad are remotely happy. Its simply a betrayal of consumer confidence … a rip off frankly .. If you are charging large amounts of money for your product then I believe the customer has a right to a certain level of satisfaction just as you are entitled to be rewarded for making that product.

"Penny Arcade" (you can find their site HERE) make their living publishing fantastic game cartoons on the internet. In addition, they also write a column on the same site containing very critical observations on games and the industry that make them. Recently, however, they decided to change direction and make their very own game. Released last week on Xbox Live Arcade, "Penny Arcade Adventures Epsiode One: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness" is actually a good first time effort containing the excellent artwork and humour for which they are well known. As a game, however, it contains many design weaknesses and falls into the usual traps of game development. Normally, i would just say "Good effort ..good luck with the next one (but dont give up the day job!)". However, they decided to charge double the normal rate to pay to download this game! Charging 1600 MS points means its currently the second most expensive arcade game on the marketplace and this entitles the gamer to expect a certain value for its money. At the end of the day, its simply does not deliver this value at all.

Very harsh and critical perhaps but now I suppose at least they know how it feels like to be on the recieving end of critical opinions...