Thursday, November 29, 2007

When (Not) To Own Up

Many people, when dealing with their shortcomings or failures, like to point them out and feel like it's not so bad if they make a bigger deal about them than anyone else. Sometime's it works, but this really isn't a good habit. Honesty isn't bad, but sometimes a person can be too honest: such as Havery Smith, Creative Director of Blacksite: Area 51.

He spoke very freely about his mediocre game, saying, "This project was so f***ed up." That is definately an overboard thing to say as Creative Director. You and I could say something similar about the game, but it is irresponsible for him to speak that way about it, especially when there are others who also take credit for it. Common sense would beg to ask, why would anyone want to work with him after this? Sure, he is coming forward about flaws, but he is putting it in such a way that brutalizes the game more than it deserves. It goes without saying that doing so will have consequences for him, as well as even more consequences for the game.

On the other hand you could say that this is exactly what he and all developers should do when they don't produce a great title. I personally disagree with that, but if you're interested in the discussion and the gamespot article it may be found here

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