One person's trash is another person's treasure.
The game isn't great. It is by most responses and critics, even actively UN-enjoyable at times and commits several major gaming sins, while packaging its gameplay in a very shallow, often broken and buggy shell.
It is not acceptable at launch. It may turn things around, but that day is not this day nor is it next week, and that's the version people are buying right now.
I have gotten enjoyment out of Superman 64 and I promise you that there were people on that project who worked hard and the final product didn't turn out at all what they intended it to be. That doesn't mean the game deserves a pass.
So... criticize the game. Rake it over the coals if you need to. Attack the flaws of the game, but not the people who worked on it. Separate the art from the artist. I don't see Jim singling any of the hard-working people at Bioware out (I think even he knows many of its problems were out of their hands). But just because a creator has good intentions and is a good person who works hard on something doesn't mean that consumers shouldn't voice their opinions on it.
If Jim thinks the game is straight-up garbage, that's his prerogative.
I remember learning game design in school and my instructor looked over my portfolio. We had to present them publicly. He was beyond harsh.
"You have invented a new form of ass. Are you proud of this? Tell me, are you proud of this?"
I was dragged through the mud on it. After the disaster of a portfolio review, he sat me down and told me, "now let's MAKE it something to be proud of."
As a developer and artist, you have to separate the criticism of the work from the person. Get thick-skin. Know that your heart and soul can be poured into something and discarded, destroyed, and insulted. That's just how it goes.
I'm glad I had him as an instructor.
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