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GamesIndustry.biz: Ori director criticises developers for overhyping games with "lies and deception"

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Helix

Helix

Mayor of Clown Town
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Jun 8, 2019
23,797
Looks like yesterday's developments made the news

www.gamesindustry.biz

Ori director criticises developers for overhyping games with "lies and deception"

Original story, February 4, 2021: Moon Studios' CEO and Ori game director Thomas Malher called out other studios for mi…
www.gamesindustry.biz www.gamesindustry.biz

In a long Resetera post titled "Why are gamers so eager to trust and even forgive the snake oil salesmen?", Malher particularly targeted industry veteran Peter Molyneux, No Man's Sky developer Sean Murray, and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red.

He accused them of "lies and deception," selling features that don't exist and, by overhyping their games, making fools of players. He also criticised journalists for "happily [playing] along, each and every single time."
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He then attacked Sean Murray, saying that Hello Games' MD seemed to have "learned straight from the Peter Molyneux handbook" and that he "apparently [loved] the spotlight." Malher argued that, at launch, No Man's Sky was "nothing like what Murray hyped it up to be." He also called out his industry peers for forgiving Hello Games after the studio released updates to introduce missing features.
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Some tweets from Game Devs talking about the Toxicity being spewed





 
BadWolf

BadWolf

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,148
Where are the lies? He's right.

Should have also thrown Anthem in there. The reveal trailer was such a lie.
 
Izanagi89

Izanagi89

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,603
I don't think this thread is going to end well. Anyway, Rami's tweet basically sums up why I didn't like Mahler's thread at all. The NMS bit rubbed me the wrong way.
 
Dan Thunder

Dan Thunder

Member
Nov 2, 2017
14,062
Shredderi said:
Inb4 hostility towards member
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K4TgfdT.gif
 
brawndolicious

brawndolicious

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,927
GusZamboni said:
He is not wrong though
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Everything he said was a correct statement to the absolute wrong audience. It looks like other devs that worked with him also find it annoying.

You just have to accept that consumers/colleagues will raise an eyebrow and question your intentions if you talk any shit about your competition. It doesn't matter if you're right.
 
Much

Much

The Gif That Keeps on Giffing
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Feb 24, 2018
6,067
Don't know why people think it's okay to not be respectful to other developers?
 
MatrixMan.exe

MatrixMan.exe

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Oct 25, 2017
9,500
The thread permanently locked, so I don't see this one lasting long. Rami's tweet nails it for me. It also doesn't help that judging from post history, said director has an extremely large chip on his shoulder when it comes to Sean Murray and NMS which makes me further question the validity of his comments. Not everything that was said was untrue, but it was an incredibly clumsy and inflammatory post.

Much said:
Don't know why people think it's okay to not be respectful to other developers?
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Because all the posturing this community likes to do about treating developers with respect is just that, posturing. The toxicity towards developers and people who work in the industry here when we do things gamers don't like is palpable.
 
Prine

Prine

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
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Oct 25, 2017
15,724
Agree with Mahler, especially NMS bit, but he could've worded it so it was a little less incendiary.
 
Bear and bird

Bear and bird

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Oct 27, 2017
4,596
I kind of figured this would happen. Thomas is a big enough name in the industry that it was bound to become a news story eventually.

I didn't agree with his thread in the first place, but even if he is totally in the right he needs to watch his words when he's in his position. Not unlike the very hype men he was criticizing, actually.
 
Dan Thunder

Dan Thunder

Member
Nov 2, 2017
14,062
Even though this will probably be locked it's interesting how much pushback there seems to be from other devs in response to the original post.
 
Syntsui

Syntsui

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Oct 25, 2017
4,875
Fuck this cheap ass corporativism, he is absolutely right to call out all these scammers.

Sean Murray might have redeemed his product but it will never erase the fact he lied about it and fooled literally everyone.
 
Scottoest

Scottoest

Member
Feb 4, 2020
11,357
I mean, he isn't wrong. While I think Hello Games should be praised for the sheer amount of time they've spent supporting NMS for free since launch, I've always found it weird that they were largely just forgiven for the absolute funnel of lies that game's pre-release communication was, and fêted has heroes for finally - months and years later - making the game vaguely like the product they originally hyped and charged $60 for.
 
cw_sasuke

cw_sasuke

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,401
When keeping it real goes wrong.

Even is the core of the message was legit, it doesnt help your case if you come off like a douche.
Already a difficult time for the industry and devs, so having one of them shitting on stuff that happened years ago is kinda...not the wave right now lol.
 
Tortillo VI

Tortillo VI

Member
May 27, 2018
1,954
I agree with this view, and I like Sean Murray for example, but it's true that the hype his game got was unfair given the state in which it launched, be it for one reason or the other. The fact that Ori couldn't get that spotlight because 'the next big indie thing' was NMS is very unfair.
And his comments on CP2077 marketing are absolutely on point.
 
Rosebud

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,599
Syntsui said:
Fuck this cheap ass corporativism, he is absolutely right to call out all these scammers.

Sean Murray might have redeemed his product but it will never erase the fact he lied about it and fooled literally everyone.
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If death threats for years are not enough for a "punishment", what is?
 
IvorB

IvorB

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,995
He's 100% right and the fact that people seem to find any controversy in it just proves the point and shows how messed up the dynamics are in this industry.
 

sheaaaa

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,556
This is the same guy who said on Era or Gaf that if a game doesn't sell, it's because it's not good. His every public statement makes it obvious what kind of character he is.
 
OsramTaleka

OsramTaleka

Member
Nov 25, 2020
440
Weird coincidence that Ori 2 is my prime example for a game being hyped up to me. Some devs overhype their games and other devs have the media and players to do it for them. Bought a xboxone just to play it and sold it after less than 2 days because of how underwhelming it was. Snake oil salesmen, especially in Sean Murray's case is just mean.
 
Kida

Kida

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,899
Syntsui said:
Fuck this cheap ass corporativism, he is absolutely right to call out all these scammers.

Sean Murray might have redeemed his product but it will never erase the fact he lied about it and fooled literally everyone.
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Yeah he should recieve death threats and criticism from his peers for the rest of his life!!
 
C J P

C J P

Member
Jul 28, 2020
1,302
London
That was weird, yeah. I mean, lots of us nurse petty grudges and resentments over a period of years, but that shit shouldn't get out. Let it fester and eat you up inside like a normal person
 
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