JULY
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Rage against the machine
As a 19-year-old whose last physical magazine subscription was to Doctor Who Adventures, I am ecstatic to have found Edge. As someone whose concerns shifted to my undergrad and filmmaking, I have been swayed back into the gaming industry. It has been fascinating to read about indie games, industry personalities, and about the dire state of the industry for its hard-working developers. Reading well-written pieces on gaming has been refreshing, especially after the hours spent on clickbait articles and unfounded videos.
Which leads me on to my concern. It seems that so much of the discourse surrounding the gaming industry has morphed into a Pretty Hype Machine. Gaming companies, publications, celebrities and social-media pundits have dedicated themselves to clickbait titles and teasers surrounding new hardware or games. That’s not to say that reviews and honestto-goodness reporting are dead, and there are plenty of Twitter profiles run by indie devs and genuine enthusiasts. But these places pale in comparison to the torrent of speculation surrounding Grand Theft Auto VI or Nintendo’s next console, to name just two. Speculation with the sole purpose to excite us, to the dismay of our bank accounts.
So what’s the problem? People like to get hyped! I remember screaming and falling out of my chair at the reveal for The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom (a reaction that would prove to be justified in the years to come). People have the right to get excited. What’s the issue?
The issue is twofold. This perpetual hype disappoints consumers, and dehumanises the industry. It’s pretty much a rite-ofpassage for anyone who plays videogames to have been disappointed by a big triple-A release. Time and time again, we have been disappointed and left with a hole in our wallets. I remember trying to defend Cyberpunk 2077 at launch because I had just spent so much money on it and I couldn’t accept how disappointed I was. It leaves us feeling stupid and cynical about our own beloved hobby. Worse still, it leaves a minority enraged – so enraged that everyone involved becomes just a username, a target to channel abuse towards.
Personal attacks on developers are completely unwarranted and disgusting, but sadly commonplace. While I am not blaming the industry’s leaders for the actions of individuals, I am blaming them for creating such a tense and stressful climate of hype. A climate that hurts the developers just trying to make a living off their passion. The developers who are subjected to inhumane crunch and burnout. This year, the industry has seen massive redundancies. The people who dedicate so muc
