A Note to Developers

I wanted to take the time to set the record straight about my dealings with certain game developers/PRs. My reputation has obviously been sabotaged, and I feel that the developers/PRs I've worked with in the past think less of me now because of certain comments I've made on Twitter. Recently I did get into a heated conversation with a friend, and a developer over a set of requests that I had made. The fact is that @IndiePub, the developers/PRs behind the recently released "Storm", and "FireBurst" XBLA games had totally ignored my requests prior to the games' release as well as the day of the release. After dealing with similar PR reactions in the past I became a little upset about the matter, and voiced my thoughts on the situation through twitter. As expected @IndiePub finally replied via email on the day of the release (after my tweets) letting me know why they had not contacted me. They claimed to have been out of codes, and that I was, in essence an "unprofessional critic".

They may have been out of codes, or they may not have been. That doesn't really bother me as much as the fact that the called me "unprofessional". I had sent them detailed, and professional requests through their website, and their provided email prior to the game's release date. They basically chose to ignore me, because they likely thought my blog wasn't comparable to sites like IGN. That is the reason I responded so harshly on release day. I'm sick, and tired of PRs, and game developers giving me the run around, or ignoring me entirely. All I ask for is a reply, and nothing more. You can say "Hell No!" as far as I'm concerned, and I'd be content.

As far as the developers who tell me that they intend on letting me review a game, but then never reply when I check back up on the status of my request, you should be ashamed of yourself. I won't go and name names, but you know who you are. I pour my heart into the reviews I do, and the least you could do is show some respect in return. Gaming is my passion. I'm not a gamer looking for freebies. I'm simply looking for a chance to help promote the industry that I've grown up loving. If you're a developer who is so high, and mighty that you could care less what I think about your game then by any means let IGN-like websites tear you a new asshole with their reviews. I can tell you now that most gamers out there could give two shits about what these so called "professional" websites have to say.

Often times you'll find reviews on my blog where I took the time to help developers pinpoint bugs in their game, or even reviews where I offered ideas on how to improve upon a game. Most of those "professional" critics are by-the-book bastards that only offer vividly verbal assaults on games. Their so-called professional reviews basically amount to a metric shit ton of word play. Sure I use "fancy" words to make my reviews sound "professional" from time to time, but I don't pick the hell out of a game in the process just because I can. I will only ever give a game a verbal reaming if it deserves it. Games like the previously reviewed "Skullgirls" are good example of this.

As I mentioned earlier some developers/PRs lack class, and the developer of Skullgirls falls into that particular caetgory. Before Skullgirls was as hyped as it was, before it was even an actual playable game I had contacted the developer of Skullgirls in hopes of securing a code. The developer had actually said that he would include me in his list of journalists to contact about a review, and honestly I was stoked about that reply. The fact is I saw great potential in the game before others did, and even told the developer I thought so. Months went by, and gradually Skullgirls grew a cult following among many fighting game fans. I was sure Mike (the dev) would not let me down when the time came for code releases. When the day of the release finally came though I found out the hard way that Mike had not intended on honoring his word at all. Like other developers he saw that it was best to hand out codes to these "professional" review sites. At this point he could care less about my opinions of the game.

I ended up buying Skullgirls with my own money even though I was bummed about Mike's decision. I still thought the game had great potential, and that it looked great. After I spent some time playing the game though I found some issues that were obviously keeping the game from being as enjoyable as it could be. I will admit that the review that I typed up was harsh, and that it's overall tone was from my butthurt feelings, but every single complaint I had concerning the game was about something true. Me, and Mike exchanged words, and even his little lemming followers added their two cents worth into the fray. You know what though? Whether Mike will ever admit it, or not he took some of my advice, and added it to the patch. It goes to show that I was not talking out my ass, or that my butthurt words were just butthurt words. I wanted Skullgirls to succeed from the beginning. I wanted it to be the most Awesome fighting game I've ever played. Was it that great when it was first released? No.

My point on saying all of this is not to rehash the Skullgirls incident, or to play down on Mike's decision to ignore my request. I'm simply bringing to light the fact that some developers just don't appreciate, or respect us smaller review venues. I'm just as capable of delivering an eye catching/noteworthy review as any of those IGN journalists. I'm not some inexperienced journalist at all. I have spent four years of my life fine tuning my journalism techniques, and have done so on various websites. Before I ever got into online journalism I was brilliant with literature anyways. I've written stories, wrote poems that have been published, and have even spent years of my life enjoying the video game industry. Who could be more capable than that? I may be running a blog here, but take one second  to think on what I have said before you decide to turn on me, and ignore my requests. When I say I'll deliver to you a thorough review, I mean it. When I say that review will be on time, I mean it. When I say that the review will be professional, and will be noticed I mean that as well. I'm more than capable of backing up my words, and more than willing to do so.

I will continue doing what I do with, or without the help of developers, or PRs. I will excel where people think I can't. I'm just that type of guy. I never give up, and any stumbling blocks that may cross my path will not keep me from achieving greatness. If you are a PR, or a developer who is willing to jump on that train of greatness with me then by any means come on aboard. I will not turn away anyone willing to give me the time of day (figuratively speaking of course). If you want to stick with the same mundane asshole reaming "professional" sites then that's your prerogative. All I gotta say is good luck making it anywhere significant in the industry if you choose to do so. I offer you one last word of advice before I go. There are plenty of undiscovered, and highly talented low level journalists out there like myself. You might try giving someone lesser than your so-called "professionals" a chance.

Sincerely,
Brad (OtakuDante)