All of this can be boiled down to the core issue of gaming fandom, the way that the audience is actively making their chosen art form worse, day by day. Everyone is scared of them. Gamers wield so much power over the industry, over people's jobs, over people's personal and professional safety alike, over what new ideas are assimilated and which are discarded. It's not democracy, either, since it's the most powerful voices that drown out all others. Developers are entirely beholden to their audience, foregoing artistic expression in favour of placating fans. Every sequel is a head stroke, a confirmation that you were smart for buying the earlier titles and supporting this endeavour, now don't you deserve to be rewarded? It's understandable. Who wouldn't rather by the super-duper Battlefield action hero, rather than the troubled soldier of Spec-Ops: The Line, a game which openly chastises the player for being violent, yet giving them no other option to advance? You don't get to read critical reviews of titles because PR people try to keep a lid on them. That's because they know if the fans get wind a game isn't all that, word will spread, and the power of their wallets will make the game a failure, and they'll all lose their jobs. Developers literally change games thanks to outcry from fans, like Mass Effect 3. Being a devoted, passionate fan of something is the best thing in the world. What's less inspiring is when that passion means stunting the growth of the thing you love. How are finding the current gaming landscape? Let us know in the comments how much or little you agree!
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
