Metatube
  • 43 minutes ago
Asmongold Reacts to: This game wasn't made for you
by @LegendaryDrops https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVH2yq8LRe0
► Asmongold's Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/zackrawrr
► Asmongold's X: https://x.com/asmongold
► Asmongold's Sub-Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Asmongold
► Asmongold's 2nd YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ZackRawrr

Channel Editors: CatDany & Daily Dose of Asmongold
If you own the copyright of content showed in this video and would like it to be removed:
https://x.com/CatDanyRU
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Transcript
00:00The games were not made for me. Oh boy.
00:03How many times have you guys heard the line,
00:05this game wasn't made for you?
00:06How many times have you seen people running to the defense of a game and saying that,
00:10well, if you don't like it, stop talking about it.
00:12You know, they go and they start posting those memes,
00:15where it's, you know, stop having fun, but they're still sitting on the couch playing the game.
00:19You know, this game is great as long as you don't have anybody screaming in your ear telling you that it's bad.
00:23This is like those subreddits that ban anybody who's critical of the game because they're so coping,
00:29because they spent $60 on a game that's a piece of shit.
00:33This is exactly it.
00:34Stop seeking out negative commentary and criticism on a game if you just want to have your viewpoint reinforced.
00:40Stop hitting yourself.
00:41That's what you're doing at this point.
00:43I recently saw that somebody had posted an entire Reddit thread talking about me in my video on Avowed,
00:49saying that I am the one that's ruining commentary around games.
00:52I am destroying-
00:53This is, he's one of the only ones that provides fair commentary about it.
00:57Like, I've seen a bunch of the other videos about Avowed,
01:00and, like, I'm sorry, but some of these other, you know, again, I don't like using the term,
01:05but some of these other, like, anti-woke YouTubers,
01:07bro, the National Enquirer has more decency than them with thumbnails.
01:14Holy shit!
01:16And you're gonna compare him to those people?
01:18...playing video games, and the video game community.
01:24You guys are helping by watching my videos in the first place.
01:28Shame on you.
01:29The even-handed criticism that I had in my Avowed video,
01:32where I was relatively soft on them in comparison to just about any other game or any other studio,
01:38because there were parts of Avowed that I genuinely liked, and I like Obsidian as a studio.
01:42No, no, no, no, no, no!
01:44I'm the bad guy.
01:45That's right.
01:46Have you ever noticed-
01:47That's the same thing for me.
01:48I was the enemy, and I gave the game a seven.
01:52Just a good game doesn't need anybody to run defense for it.
01:55No.
01:56It just exists.
01:57It's just there.
01:58It speaks for itself.
02:00So it got me thinking,
02:01what are the chances that these communities are the ones that have been ruining games?
02:05I've seen so many games come out to seemingly no audience.
02:09The quest for the mythical modern audience,
02:11where they seem to exist in certain social circles and social media,
02:15but the minute that a game hits the market,
02:17they evaporate.
02:19Where did it go?
02:20They never existed in the first place, and they only put it out there-
02:24There's a lot of people who want to have the right opinions,
02:28but they don't actually care about the video games.
02:31I've noticed this with a lot of games,
02:33is that people will say that they're fans of a game.
02:36I noticed this with Metaphor Rephantasio.
02:39There were four or five people that I talked to about the game,
02:42and they were like,
02:43yeah, I really liked it.
02:44I'm like, how far did you get?
02:45They said, I played the demo.
02:48I'm like, okay.
02:50Got it.
02:52It's one of those.
02:54Yeah, I never played it.
02:58So it got me thinking.
03:00Who are these games made for?
03:09Yep.
03:10Yep.
03:13Made for.
03:14Why are they making them for them?
03:16And why aren't they buying them?
03:18Maybe it's not me ruining gaming.
03:21Maybe it's you.
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04:29I can't be the only one who thinks that it's weird
04:31that while, yes, in some circles,
04:33some of the avowed criticism can be classified as reaching,
04:35the vast majority of it
04:37is relatively fair and observable in-game.
04:40I mean, that Oblivion video had me fucked up.
04:43I'm gonna be honest.
04:44Like, I watched that video
04:46and that shit was stressing me out just looking at it.
04:48It's been an unbelievable amount of white knighting
04:52and running defense in the face of criticism
04:54and poor sales on Steam.
04:55Avowed is incredible,
04:56especially when you don't have a YouTuber lying to you.
04:58If you hate Avowed, you probably didn't play it.
05:00Stop comparing it to Skyrim.
05:02But if the game is so incredible,
05:04then why does it need this much defense?
05:06The same trend then plays out in Avowed Steam reviews.
05:08Plenty of positive ratings,
05:09yet their words say they're underwhelmed.
05:12Game is okay.
05:13It's objectively mid.
05:14Wish there was a way to rate games
05:16I don't recommend or condemn.
05:18Some even go out of their way
05:19to tell you not to compare it to other games.
05:21This isn't Skyrim.
05:22Don't compare it to Baldur's Gate 3
05:23or Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
05:25It's this weird mix of gatekeeping
05:26and defensive posturing
05:27as if people aren't allowed to be critical of something
05:29without being treated like enemies.
05:31Nobody is-
05:32I think it's also people that don't like the game
05:35or maybe they didn't enjoy it a lot,
05:37but there's a form of buyer's remorse
05:41where, like, now that I've bought the game,
05:43I can't think-
05:44I- I killed her, by the way, in the story.
05:47Um, uh, I-
05:49Like, after I bought the game,
05:50now I don't want to acknowledge
05:51that I made a bad purchase decision,
05:53so I have to defend myself.
05:56Saying that you can't enjoy Avowed if you do,
05:58that's great,
05:59but if somebody points out that they didn't,
06:01that's not an attack.
06:02It's called having an opinion.
06:03Suddenly, I start hearing that Avowed isn't made for me,
06:06that somehow I should have known not to buy it.
06:08Like, there was some secret label that was warning me,
06:11but I had missed it.
06:12Well, there was a label.
06:13It's the fact that it had pronouns in the game.
06:16This time, I checked.
06:17Well, open-world fantasy action RPGs
06:19are exactly what I play.
06:21That's my genre.
06:22That's what I love,
06:22but apparently there was some secret subsection
06:25of that genre that I don't fit into.
06:27How does that make sense?
06:29Oblivion is one of my most favorite games of all time.
06:31I just finished Kingdom Come Deliverance,
06:33and now I'm playing the sequel.
06:34I still haven't finished that.
06:34I have hundreds of hours in Skyrim and Fallout.
06:36I love The Witcher 3,
06:38so how am I not the target audience for this?
06:41Maybe the problem isn't that Avowed wasn't made for me.
06:43Maybe the problem is it was made for no one,
06:45because I've seen a lot of people arguing
06:47that games don't need interactivity,
06:49that realism isn't necessary,
06:50and that games like Avowed
06:52don't need to have those kind of features
06:54just for the sake of having them.
06:55All right, that's fine.
06:57Explain this.
06:58How does removing basic interactivity
07:00from a first-person RPG make it better?
07:02Please.
07:03It doesn't.
07:04And the story was shit.
07:06Like, there were so many things about this game
07:09that were just kind of very mid.
07:11And, like, as somebody, like, again,
07:14I was in the cave.
07:15I had never seen the light.
07:17So even a flicker in the darkness
07:20was as bright as the sun.
07:23That's why I rated this game a seven.
07:26I didn't even realize Oblivion
07:27blew this out of the water in 2005.
07:31I had no idea.
07:34That was tough, bro.
07:35It was!
07:37I couldn't believe it.
07:39Take the time to explain that to me.
07:41How does it enhance the experience
07:43when you can't pick up objects,
07:44when you can't touch the world,
07:45when you can't interact with doors,
07:47when people don't move around towns?
07:49It doesn't.
07:50Oblivion and Skyrim are decade-old games
07:52within the same genre,
07:53using many of the same systems,
07:55yet they feel light-years ahead in interactivity.
07:58And somehow, we're not allowed to compare them.
08:01And why is that?
08:02Because it makes Avowed look bad?
08:03Yes.
08:03That's the entire point.
08:04If a game-
08:05That's the entire reason why they don't compare this
08:07to the other game that's better,
08:09because then that will make this game look bad.
08:12That's exactly right.
08:14Came out in 2025,
08:15is getting obliterated by a game made in 2006 and 2011,
08:19then maybe the problem isn't the comparison.
08:21Maybe the problem is the game itself.
08:23Imagine that.
08:23Look at the lengths that they have to go to.
08:25Yesterday, I saw a Reddit thread pop up
08:27that was talking about me and my video on Avowed.
08:29And it was titled,
08:30the hate for Avowed has made me realize something.
08:33I just fucking hate gaming discourse right now.
08:35No, you hate being disagreed with,
08:37and you hate your opinion not being the majority opinion.
08:41You don't, like, it's not gaming discourse.
08:44It's the fact that they're not agreeing with you.
08:47It's that simple.
08:48I just got done with a video reviewing the cope of a game
08:51and saying they should expect more from themselves.
08:53Honestly, why?
08:55Why does it have to be the best game ever?
08:57Why can't it be a good romp?
08:58People fucking suck, and I'm sad, and I'm over it, man.
09:01The top comment read,
09:03I played this game.
09:04I beat the game.
09:05I had fun.
09:06Like, why can't you just have fun?
09:08Why does everybody need to tell you that you had fun?
09:12Why can't you just decide that for yourself?
09:16These are people like,
09:17nobody's telling me.
09:19Everybody's saying I'm having fun the wrong way.
09:21This isn't fair.
09:23Honestly, I think it's helpful to remember
09:25that none of this is about-
09:25These people require social approval?
09:27They do.
09:29They do.
09:30And that's why they're the same group of people
09:32that are the virtue signalers.
09:34This is what I said.
09:35If you want to get rid of the virtue signalers
09:37and the people that are trying to put this stuff in games,
09:40take away their approval.
09:42Because everything is about the approval.
09:45They don't care about anything other than optics.
09:47And this is what matters to them.
09:49If everybody thought this game would be fun,
09:51they'd be happy.
09:52But they can't be happy playing it.
09:54Yeah, their validation addiction.
09:55Exactly.
09:56It's narcissism.
09:56It's annoying.
09:58Gaming, and it has nothing to do with the games in question.
10:01What we're seeing is a global level slide
10:02into extreme partisan rhetoric
10:04fueled by both organic and inorganic media algorithms.
10:07The same mechanisms accelerating divisive politics
10:10that are bleeding into every aspect of life.
10:13I love how you can say that on a Reddit
10:15that bans people for certain types of dissent.
10:18Don't you realize you're a fish complaining about water?
10:23You're sitting there on a Reddit,
10:26and this Reddit is banning people
10:29for having disagreements
10:30because this disagreement,
10:32this isn't the correct way that you can disagree.
10:35Reddit's the most inorganic place ever.
10:37Yes, exactly.
10:40Like, I had fun.
10:41I played the game.
10:44What's wrong with you?
10:45Why can't you just do that?
10:49Keywords, trending rhetoric, and viral talking points.
10:52You can find them, or some variation thereof,
10:54in every form of online discourse.
10:56I'm not arguing any vast conspiracies,
10:58only saying it's an evolving consequence
10:59of destabilizing global socioeconomics
11:02combined with-
11:09The game wasn't that good.
11:13It wasn't that good.
11:14Like, I mean, you don't need to-
11:15This isn't-
11:18Just stop it.
11:19Like, this isn't-
11:21This isn't community college.
11:22You don't need to do this.
11:26You don't need to do this anymore.
11:28Stop it.
11:30Why would Donald Trump do this?
11:31New technology that has allowed propaganda and echo chambers
11:34to spread like wildfire.
11:35To clarify further, I'm not saying that all criticism of this game
11:38or others is invalid.
11:40Actual criticism has always existed
11:42and is absolutely legitimate.
11:43It's only the hyperbolic hatred using all the same keywords
11:46that is nothing but a byproduct of a larger dynamic.
11:49There are many vested interests in the world
11:51who trade on, monetize, and utilize
11:53humans' capacity for hatred and fear.
11:56They've always been commodities,
11:57and now they've become one of the most powerful products
11:59in the global market.
12:00Has it ever occurred to you that maybe people just don't like
12:03the thing that you're doing?
12:06Maybe this isn't some global conspiracy,
12:08but there's just a lot of people that disagree with you?
12:11I mean, I don't know.
12:12Maybe that's just me.
12:17Blinding this-
12:18Bro.
12:19Nomad.
12:19Big words for a small idea.
12:27God, I couldn't have said it better myself.
12:29Holy fuck, there it is, isn't it?
12:31Yeah.
12:33Well put.
12:35Because it needs to be called out.
12:36This is the exact kind of caustic, self-defeating discourse
12:39that is poisoning gaming culture and the industry.
12:42Someone reads a title, listens to one minute of a video,
12:44and goes crying into an echo chamber
12:46because they're afraid they have the wrong opinion.
12:48Nothing in this entire thread disproves anything that I said.
12:52Not one point.
12:53Instead of actually addressing any of my arguments,
12:55they go straight to political straw men,
12:57painting me as a grifter, right-wing agitator, anti-woke.
13:01Every time, bro.
13:02Every time.
13:05This is like whenever-
13:06These are like people that play online shooter games,
13:09and every time they lose,
13:10it's because they were playing against an aimbotter.
13:13Oh, he had a map hack.
13:16Yeah, of course.
13:17I can comfortably dismiss my opinion
13:19without actually having to engage with it.
13:21Because if you don't slap a label on me first,
13:23then you might actually have to consider
13:25that I, like many others, just didn't enjoy the game.
13:28Yeah, imagine that.
13:28Here's the thing.
13:29I don't talk about politics.
13:30I don't care about identity wars.
13:32I don't make videos talking about DEI,
13:34and that's one of the reasons why people like
13:36watching my videos in the first place.
13:38The only anti-thing I am is anti-bad games,
13:41and that video that I had made was about Avowed,
13:43a game that felt lifeless, that lacked interactivity,
13:46and it was a game that failed to meet my expectations
13:48as a fan of this genre.
13:49But these people can't process that.
13:51They can't seem to accept that somebody
13:53might just not like the game,
13:54so they have to invent some entirely different narrative,
13:56one where they are noble warriors defending
13:58against some political invasion.
14:00This is exactly right.
14:02It's the Reddit...
14:04Like, you're fighting against fascism
14:09by tweeting about it.
14:11It's so exhausting.
14:13It's so just unbelievably exhausting.
14:17Chibi, thanks for the 10 subs, man.
14:19I appreciate it.
14:20I hope the legal thing is going well for you.
14:23I saw there were some posts.
14:24I'm glad to see people defending you
14:26and, you know, calling out the bullshit.
14:30Tell themselves that any criticism of a game
14:33is part of some orchestrated culture war,
14:35as if it couldn't possibly be
14:37that somebody just has independent thoughts about a game.
14:39This is the exact same kind of mindset
14:41that is hurting game development today.
14:43Instead of confronting valid criticism head-on,
14:45developers and their most vocal supporters
14:47are retreating into defensive narratives,
14:49dismissing critics as toxic, politically motivated,
14:52or somehow disingenuous.
14:53They are unwilling to listen to...
14:55It's all a conspiracy.
14:57...to actual feedback that could actually help them improve.
15:00So instead, they settle for reinforcing
15:02the same echo chambers that got them
15:04where they are in the first place.
15:06The only way that these people can survive
15:08is in their own little protected reservations
15:10where anybody who comes in who's like a...
15:15You know, it's like a little protected space,
15:17like an endangered species.
15:19No one forced any of these people to watch my critique.
15:22They sought it out themselves,
15:23and they got angry when it didn't reinforce
15:25their own opinions.
15:27Nothing in that Reddit thread
15:28disproved any point that I made.
15:30Not a single commenter,
15:31not one of them offered a counter-argument
15:33explaining why About's design decisions were good.
15:36Not one justified why basic interactivity
15:39had been stripped from a game in 2025
15:41and how that was acceptable.
15:43Instead, they made a conversation
15:44about me and content creators
15:46because it's easier to attack the messenger
15:49than to face the uncomfortable truth.
15:51When criticism...
15:52It's easier to talk about a person
15:53than to talk about an idea.
15:55And that's really what it comes down to,
15:58I think, more than anything.
16:01...cannot be engaged with honestly.
16:02When people go out of their way
16:03to label or dismiss anybody
16:05who disagrees with them,
16:06all they are doing is insulating...
16:08Just a minute.
16:08Somebody said Asmon is biased
16:10towards Eastern games.
16:12How is he defending Monster Hunter Wilds?
16:13It's a piece of nothing.
16:18Listen, if you want to play
16:20Dragon Age The Veil Guard, that's fine.
16:22But don't make me have to do it.
16:23I don't want to have to do it.
16:26Yeah, you're wrong.
16:27Like, your opinion's just wrong.
16:29Like, I'm sorry.
16:30Wrong opinion.
16:33You're dumb.
16:34Yep, just...
16:35Nope.
16:36Ban a person from reality.
16:38This isn't just bad for discourse,
16:39it's actively sabotaging
16:40the future of game design.
16:42If anybody, if nobody,
16:44is allowed to point out
16:45what doesn't work,
16:46how are things ever supposed
16:47to get better?
16:48This kind of defensive discourse
16:49sends mixed signals to the developers,
16:51and it creates an environment
16:52where studios have no idea
16:53who their audience is.
16:55Because when people just defend a game
16:57for the sake of defending it,
16:58when they attack criticism
17:00just to be a contrarian,
17:01they aren't helping a game,
17:02they're destroying it.
17:04This is exactly how we get games
17:05that are made for no one.
17:06Developers start chasing...
17:07I think that also another big problem
17:09is that people are really outspoken
17:10about supporting games that,
17:12you know, have certain types of,
17:14like, culture ideologies in them,
17:16but they don't actually...
17:18When the game actually goes on sale,
17:21not on sale,
17:23but when the game is now being sold,
17:25well, they never had the money
17:26to buy the game in the first place.
17:28So they can virtue signal
17:30about how much they like this game
17:31and how good this game is,
17:32but they never played it in the first place
17:34and they never had any intention to.
17:36They're fake gamers, yeah.
17:37Ultimately, there's people
17:39that talk about how good this is,
17:40but they're not actually buying the games.
17:42Ghosts, they start building games
17:43for an imaginary audience
17:44that doesn't exist outside
17:45of social media echo chambers.
17:47Instead of focusing on
17:48what makes a game great,
17:49they're wasting resources
17:50trying to appease an undefined,
17:52ever-shifting set of expectations
17:53from a transient group
17:55looking for validation.
17:56It's how we ended up with games like...
17:57Yeah, and they're not even part of the...
17:59They're not even part of your audience
18:00in the first place.
18:03They're not even part of it anyway.
18:05So true, yeah.
18:07Lost records?
18:08Yeah, exactly.
18:09Lost sales.
18:11Concord for Spoken,
18:12Dragon Age,
18:12Soon to be Lost Studios.
18:13Games made for Twitter discourse,
18:15not players.
18:15Lost jobs.
18:16Games that weren't fun,
18:16but were constantly propped up by people
18:18that needed them to succeed
18:19for personal reasons.
18:20Look at the ridiculous priorities
18:22that make it into modern games today.
18:23Games designed around
18:24whether or not you can pet a dog
18:26rather than whether or not
18:27it actually plays well.
18:28This is why Ubisoft thinks...
18:29Bro, millennial game design.
18:33You can't break a barrel,
18:34but you can pet a dog.
18:37Oh, fuck.
18:40Please shut it down.
18:43It's worth bragging about
18:44how many cats you can have
18:45in your village
18:46at Assassin's Creed Shadows.
18:48That's why developers
18:49are spending time
18:50designing pointless meme bait mechanics
18:52instead of actually
18:53refining their gameplay.
18:54Look at some of the most common demands
18:56that we've seen
18:56over the last couple of years.
18:57Does the game let me pet the dog?
18:59Why are female characters so sexualized?
19:01Baldur's Gate 3 would have done better
19:03if it was an action RPG.
19:05Elden Ring needs a difficulty slider
19:07and it has an accessibility problem.
19:09These aren't real design critiques.
19:10These are discourse points.
19:11These are demands from people
19:13that engage with gaming
19:14as a conversation piece,
19:15not as a hobby.
19:16Developers keep bragging.
19:17Yeah, they just talk about it.
19:18Yeah, they're not even playing the game.
19:20He's right.
19:21Yeah, absolutely.
19:23Advertising the wrong things,
19:24chasing an audience
19:25that only exists on Twitter and Reddit.
19:27When a character is sexualized,
19:28it means they're not fat and ugly.
19:31Sit back and wonder
19:32why their games don't sell.
19:34Criticism is necessary.
19:35It's how this industry improves.
19:36It's how bad design gets corrected
19:38and good design evolves.
19:39But the second you start insulating
19:41a game from criticism,
19:42the second you start to punish people
19:44for legitimate complaints,
19:45you aren't protecting the game.
19:47You're ensuring that the next one
19:48is going to be even worse.
19:49You know, not too long ago,
19:50I was bringing up how people
19:51are so afraid of criticism today.
19:53So many people are afraid
19:54of any type of negative discourse whatsoever
19:57that oftentimes you'll see
19:58somebody over on Twitter
19:59put out their opinion
20:00and if it gets rejected
20:01or criticized in any way,
20:02they'll go protect it
20:03or they'll delete their account.
20:06This is so funny to me.
20:10It's like people that like,
20:12they're like,
20:12all right, I'm turning off replies
20:14because all the Nazis found my post.
20:17And like, what was your original post?
20:19I hate white people.
20:20Okay.
20:24For sure, yeah.
20:26God, you really got the Nazis
20:28riled up with this one, didn't you?
20:32That writer that everybody likes to hate,
20:34Alyssa Mercante,
20:35she posted talking about how
20:37anybody that was criticizing about
20:38or some of the people
20:39they're criticizing about
20:40aren't adding anything meaningful
20:42to the industry.
20:43I commented back simply saying
20:44that that's funny
20:45because they're actually
20:46contributing with their money,
20:47which is likely the most important
20:50contribution of all and protected.
20:52These are the kind of opinions
20:53that are shaping games.
20:54Game developers will always lean
20:56towards their fans
20:57because they're most likely
20:59the people that will buy
20:59the game in the future
21:00or their next game
21:01or whatever it might be.
21:02But the problem is,
21:03is that if you're not
21:04listening to those that are-
21:05Well, what's happened is that
21:07these people have done a very good job
21:09and, you know,
21:10the facade is beginning.
21:12It's completely cracked.
21:13It's done, right?
21:14It's over at this point.
21:16But for a long time,
21:18these people actively misrepresented
21:20what the fan base was.
21:23And they actively tried to
21:24gaslight developers and studios
21:27and publishers into thinking that
21:28actually, if you want to make
21:30a really popular game,
21:31you have to make it for this,
21:33you know, like wide audience of people
21:34that doesn't play video games
21:36without ever thinking
21:37why don't they play video games
21:39and where is your mainstream audience?
21:42Criticizing your games,
21:43if you're being protected-
21:44They succeeded for a while.
21:46Yeah, they are trying to
21:47criticize your games.
21:48Well, then your audience
21:49is going to get smaller
21:50and smaller each passing year.
21:52They do.
21:52If you're down to the point
21:54where you have to have
21:55your fan base out there
21:56telling people not to compare
21:58a $70 AAA full priced game
22:02to games made over a decade ago,
22:04you're in a real bad place.
22:06Yeah, you're in a very,
22:07very bad place.
22:08Please, guys, don't look
22:10at the 17-year-old.
22:11No, no, no, no.
22:13This isn't-
22:13The comparison's not fair.
22:15You see back then and the engine,
22:18no, it's not the same.
22:21This is why we get tone deaf games.
22:23They are making games
22:24for their protectors.
22:26And these folks are contrarians.
22:27They see people that are out there-
22:29It's like a steakhouse letting a vegan-
22:31Yeah, it's a vegan
22:33reviewing steakhouses.
22:34Exactly, yeah.
22:35This wasn't for you in the first place.
22:38...themselves as white knights
22:39and they have to defend the game
22:40that they like because, well,
22:42they can't have a wrong opinion.
22:43And the only way to not
22:44have a wrong opinion
22:45is to go after those people.
22:47Anytime they see negative comments,
22:49it sends their blood pressure up over 140.
22:51They're pulling their blinds down
22:53and checking out the window
22:55to look outside.
22:59Negative discourse can't exist.
23:01And because of that,
23:02it's painting an incomplete picture
23:04for some of these games
23:05for what a general audience
23:07actually looks like.
23:08And that's why they're not
23:09finding an audience
23:10that resonates with some of these-
23:11This is like that one,
23:12that guy at Ubisoft.
23:13It's like,
23:13how are our games failing?
23:15The critical reviewers gave it an eight.
23:20Yeah, the gaming critics
23:21said it was really good.
23:23Yeah, all the users said it sucked,
23:25but look at the review.
23:27The review said it was good.
23:32And now while all the players
23:34are definitely making their contribution
23:36to muddying the water
23:37and making it difficult
23:38for some of these studios
23:39to nail down who their audience is,
23:41it doesn't help that these developers
23:43are looking in all the wrong places as well.
23:45I saw a tweet the other day
23:46from Michael Dow,
23:46Slaren Studios head of publishing,
23:48and it really hit the nail on the head
23:49because he was talking about how
23:50so many of these big budget games
23:52don't actually tell players
23:53what they are before launch,
23:54nor do they understand
23:55who that audience is before they launch.
23:57They rely on billboards,
23:59hype and broad marketing campaigns,
24:00but they failed to build
24:01any real relevance or resonance
24:03before they release.
24:04It's a completely avoidable disaster,
24:06but it keeps happening
24:07because these games are assuming
24:08that they have an audience
24:09before actually trying to earn one.
24:11And that's where this industry
24:12keeps going wrong
24:13because for years now,
24:14publishers have still been
24:15relying on outdated methods
24:17to try to figure out what players want.
24:19Metrics, surveys, focus groups
24:20and curated fan feedback
24:22that's painting a imaginary picture
24:24of what that audience
24:25actually looks like.
24:26Now, what makes matters even worse
24:27is today's modern Internet culture
24:29where people don't actually
24:30say what they think.
24:31They say what they think
24:32they're supposed to say.
24:34Exactly.
24:34Yeah.
24:35Everybody has opinions
24:36that are based off of
24:38like basically saying the thing
24:40that you're supposed to say.
24:42Having the opinion
24:43that you're supposed to have.
24:45You're not going to go off of that
24:48like off of that narrow road.
24:51That's it.
24:52Yeah, yeah.
24:52Their opinions are given to them.
24:55Because of the virtue of what's everybody.
24:57I think a lot of the people that are in.
25:00So basically a good example of this
25:02is that if you look at any form of media,
25:05no form of traditional published media
25:09criticizes any element of DEI
25:13and it unilaterally supports it
25:16with no critical evaluation whatsoever.
25:21And you can very clearly see
25:23this is not.
25:26This is not what
25:28this is not what average people think.
25:30It's not.
25:31And why is that?
25:33Why is that happening?
25:36No, they perform for social approval.
25:38And if you're a game developer
25:39that's listening to that,
25:40well, you're going to get
25:41wildly inaccurate data
25:42on what players actually want.
25:44That's how we end up with insane takes
25:45like PC gamers.
25:46Recent article claiming
25:47that today's teens and young adults
25:49aren't interested in romance
25:50and video games.
25:51Really?
25:52The same teenagers and young adults
25:54that are obsessing and shipping
25:55Genshin Impact and Honkai
25:56Star Rail characters.
25:58The same would be fair.
25:59The ones that are doing that
26:00are actually 30 year old
26:01bald men.
26:02But yeah.
26:03It's fueling the insane success
26:05of visual novels and dating Sims.
26:07They don't want romance.
26:08Interesting.
26:09But because a survey told them
26:10otherwise, now developers
26:12are going to run with that
26:13and take it seriously
26:13and start making games
26:15under the assumption
26:16that this is what people want.
26:17This is what happens
26:18when you rely on performative data
26:19rather than actual engagement.
26:21If today's teens and young adults
26:22common sense.
26:25You really think that teenagers
26:26don't want to have
26:27the ability to romance
26:29like a teenage guy
26:31doesn't want to have
26:32the ability to romance
26:33the girl in the game with big boobs.
26:37Do you really like?
26:38I mean, let's just
26:39take a step back here.
26:40Do you really think
26:41that they don't want that?
26:44Because if you if you really think
26:46they don't want that.
26:48You are a retard.
26:50You're an idiot.
26:52Don't care about romance.
26:53Explain why Baldur's Gate 3
26:54blew up over its character.
26:56Explain why love in deep space
26:58pulled nearly half
26:59a billion dollars in revenue.
27:01Because here's the thing.
27:02Surveys, focus groups
27:03and social media feedback
27:04today aren't about truth.
27:06It's about posturing.
27:07We live in a world
27:08where people unironically
27:09call a 21 year old,
27:10a former teen in a protected class
27:12or any Roman minor, bro.
27:14Oh my God.
27:16And some media is scrutinized
27:17under a moral microscope
27:19where people are constantly worried
27:21about how their opinions
27:22will be perceived.
27:23And when that's the environment
27:24in which you're conducting surveys,
27:25you are never going
27:26to get honest answers.
27:27That's why the best way
27:28for you to be able to understand
27:29what players want isn't to ask them.
27:31It's actually just to go
27:32watch what they're playing.
27:33Look at the games that have
27:34stood the test of time.
27:35Dark Souls didn't need to pander
27:37to younger audiences
27:38to be loved by younger players.
27:39Elden Ring didn't need focus groups
27:41to figure out whether or not
27:42it was a worthwhile investment.
27:44Baldur's Gate 3 didn't need to be
27:45rewritten for modern sensibilities
27:47to be the biggest RPG in years.
27:49Marvel Rivals doesn't need
27:50to have socially safe designs
27:52to be popular.
27:53The most successful games
27:54across multiple generations
27:55are the ones that focus
27:56on simply being great games.
27:57They weren't built
27:58for a specific demographic.
27:59And they're not built
28:00for an identity group either.
28:02I think that if like, again,
28:05all of this like counter stuff
28:06of like, you know,
28:07oh, we think characters
28:08should be made this way,
28:09or we think this should be
28:10included in your game.
28:12You have to keep in mind
28:13that the reason why these people exist
28:16is because they weren't
28:18they weren't being represented
28:19in the first place.
28:20And maybe the reason
28:21why they weren't being represented
28:23is because they don't exist
28:24in that space.
28:27Like it's the same
28:27as Kingdom Come Deliverance
28:29or a game like this.
28:30Like these are games made for guys.
28:31These are guy games.
28:33And you're going to make
28:34the game for guys.
28:35And if you do that,
28:36they're going to be happy.
28:37This is the same reason
28:38why manga is completely
28:40outperforming comics in America
28:42is that comic books in America
28:44don't know what their audience is.
28:45Manga is defined by its audience.
28:49Shonens are for young men.
28:52That's basically the fucking
28:54that's the word.
28:55They know what they are.
28:58Designed to be socially approved.
29:00And that's what made them timeless.
29:01But in time,
29:02I think the biggest mistake
29:03that these developers are making
29:04isn't just using bad data.
29:05It's that they're trying
29:06to forcefully blend audiences
29:08that don't need to be blended.
29:09Instead of committing to a clear vision,
29:11they're trying to make a game
29:12that appeals to both youth
29:13and adults at the same time.
29:15And in the process,
29:16they're making games
29:16that don't resonate with anyone.
29:18I can't be the only one
29:19that's noticing how many mature rated games
29:21are suffering from an identity crisis.
29:22They want to tackle mature topics
29:25but they refuse to actually
29:26write or present them maturely.
29:28That's because the people
29:29that write them are stupid.
29:31And they don't
29:32they're not good writers.
29:37That's the reason why.
29:38So why are they not able
29:40to approach mature topics
29:42in a mature way?
29:44It's because they're bad writers
29:45and they're immature personally.
29:49Metaphor had no problem doing that.
29:50Final Fantasy 16
29:52had no problem doing that.
29:53Disco Elysium,
29:55as far as I know,
29:55has no problem doing that.
29:57I didn't play enough of it to really know.
29:59Cyberpunk has no problem doing that.
30:01So no, it's just that
30:03they're bad at their job.
30:05They're bad.
30:05Like, it's just that simple.
30:10The language sanitized the characters
30:12and dulled the edges of their stories,
30:13leaving players with something
30:15that feels completely disconnected
30:16from its own themes.
30:17The reality is mature games
30:19or any game for that matter
30:20really doesn't need to be designed
30:21for a specific age group.
30:23Great games are ageless.
30:24Everyone appreciates a great game,
30:26regardless of their age.
30:27And the moment that you start
30:28tweaking the language tone
30:30and the content to be able to pander
30:31to a specific demographic
30:33is the minute that you're going to lose
30:34the entire audience altogether.
30:36This is why, from my perspective,
30:38I don't think it's really
30:39when that demographic
30:40isn't your native demographic.
30:41I think pandering to your like,
30:43you know, stellar blade, right?
30:44And having like the character
30:46and like all of the ash shots
30:47and stellar blade.
30:48Yeah, they're pandering.
30:49That's absolutely pandering.
30:51But it's pandering to the audience
30:52that it's made for.
30:54With while to target age demographics
30:56specifically in video games,
30:57unless you're actually making a game
30:59specifically for children
31:00or specifically for adults.
31:01Yeah, it really isn't any reason
31:03to design a game around
31:04who it should be for.
31:05Instead, you should be focusing on
31:07what makes that game engaging.
31:08Look at the games
31:09that have stood the test of time.
31:10Halo, Dark Souls, Final Fantasy,
31:12The Elder Scrolls, Zelda, Super Mario.
31:14People who grew up playing these games
31:16didn't stop loving them
31:17when they turned 30.
31:18And guess what?
31:18Teens and young adults
31:20that are still playing those games today
31:21love those games for the same reasons.
31:23The things we love
31:24when we were younger
31:25shaped our preferences
31:25when we got older.
31:26How many people still listen
31:27to the same music
31:28that they loved in high school?
31:29How many games do we still play
31:31that defined our childhood or games?
31:33See, this is wow players.
31:34Think about that.
31:35Yeah, wow, players still playing.
31:37Wow, absolutely.
31:39That are like them,
31:40the core of what we find cool,
31:42exciting or engaging
31:43is remarkably consistent
31:44throughout our entire life.
31:46That's why games don't really need
31:47to fit a tailored specific demographic.
31:49It just needs to tap
31:50into the fundamental love of excitement,
31:53challenge and immersion.
31:54For some odd reason,
31:55modern game developers,
31:56specifically in the US,
31:57more than other places,
31:58don't seem to really understand this.
31:59Instead of making a great game,
32:01they're obsessing over trying to appeal
32:02to two different audiences
32:04at the exact same time.
32:05Adults because they have the money
32:06and teenagers because they think
32:08that's the best way
32:08for them to stay relevant.
32:10And as a result,
32:10we start seeing these games
32:11that are these Frankenstein monstrosities
32:13that are trying to be
32:14everything for everyone,
32:15but end up resonating with no one.
32:17Look at Veilguard.
32:18I keep coming back to this game,
32:19but it really is
32:20the perfect onion of poor game design
32:22and audience recognition.
32:23The more you peel back,
32:25the more misguided you find it is.
32:27I mean, think about it.
32:27The characters in the game,
32:28androgynous and sterile.
32:30Yet for some odd reason,
32:31they include romance.
32:32Why would you put romance into a game
32:33that you can't actually
32:34be attracted to the characters
32:36that are in the game?
32:36In the first place,
32:37the writing was overexplained
32:39and finalized.
32:39That's a really good point.
32:41Why would you want to have romance
32:43in a game with ugly characters?
32:44Yeah.
32:47That's a great point.
32:50Completely disconnected
32:51from the game's supposed mature themes.
32:53The core fan base,
32:54likely in their 30s,
32:55get treated like children.
32:57This is why so many modern games
32:58end up feeling soulless
32:59because they aren't being designed
33:00with a strong creative vision.
33:01They aren't being designed
33:02for a real audience.
33:03They're being designed
33:04to pass through multiple layers
33:05of corporate approval,
33:06sensitivity checks,
33:07and marketing analysis,
33:09stripping away anything
33:10that's not a part of the game.
33:11It's not a part of the game.
33:12It's a part of the game.
33:13Stripping away anything
33:14that makes them feel personal,
33:15passionate, or bold.
33:17Instead of creating something great
33:18and letting it find its audience,
33:19they're trying to chase
33:20some imaginary audience
33:21that doesn't actually exist.
33:22The best games don't need to be
33:23age-restricted to find success.
33:25They just need to be authentic.
33:26That's why games like Elden Ring
33:27and Monster Hunter
33:28pull players from across
33:29multiple generations
33:30because they focus on gameplay first,
33:32and that's the most important thing.
33:34They don't compromise
33:35to fit some imagined modern sensibility.
33:37They don't try to be everything
33:38for everyone.
33:39I get that, Mike.
33:40That's exactly right.
33:41He's completely right.
33:42And also, a game like Elden Ring
33:44does actually increase
33:45its level of accessibility
33:46because it's open world,
33:47so you can choose the path
33:49that's best for you.
33:50It's the same as Dark Souls.
33:52I think that actually,
33:53in a lot of cases,
33:54some of the best video games
33:55are very accessible,
33:57but that accessibility
33:58isn't a toggle on a menu.
34:00It's a gameplay style
34:02or a way that it's functioned,
34:04or the way it functions.
34:06I think that's right.
34:07I mean, it doesn't...
34:08Is the meanest barrier to entry?
34:09Yeah, exactly.
34:11Skyrim?
34:12I didn't play Skyrim,
34:13so I'm not sure.
34:13Can you romance in Elden Ring?
34:16I don't know.
34:18Maybe.
34:18Criticism in language
34:19depends on what you mean by that.
34:20Colorful.
34:21But that's because it's authentic.
34:23That's because I'm saying
34:24what I mean.
34:24Fia gives you a hug.
34:25What I say, in my opinions,
34:26I'm expressing them openly,
34:28and I'm going to get
34:29some critical feedback out of it.
34:30I'm going to get some people
34:31that are critical of me.
34:33And guess what?
34:33I listen to that stuff
34:34because that's how you get better.
34:36You need that to be able to improve.
34:38But when you have audiences
34:39that are out there
34:40that are trying to shield games
34:41from criticism,
34:42shield these developers
34:43from the people
34:44that don't like their games,
34:45well, they're doing far more harm
34:47than they actually know.
34:48They are.
34:49And also, it's just rat behavior,
34:51and it deserves to be called out.
34:52It is. It's so embarrassing.
34:54You know, these companies
34:55have to adjust and adapt.
34:57Their methods are outdated.
34:58The internet is often inauthentic.
35:01And because of that...
35:02Yeah, you cannot listen to
35:05or look at what feedback is online.
35:09You have to have
35:10your own...
35:12You have to be like your own North Star.
35:14And it's such a weird thing
35:16where it's like,
35:17you need to listen to feedback.
35:20You need to hear feedback,
35:22but you don't always need
35:23to listen to it.
35:25And I think that a lot of developers,
35:28they don't do either
35:30or they do too much of both.
35:34Because, for example,
35:35I hear feedback for people that give me,
35:37but in some of it,
35:38I take into account.
35:39Some of it, I don't.
35:41I think that's very fair.
35:43Have misled creatives
35:45that are using performative developers
35:47to make performative games
35:49for performative audiences.
35:51A whole lot of pretending,
35:53a whole lot of bad data,
35:55and a whole lot of games
35:56without any audience.
35:57Yep.
35:57You need observable data.
35:59This industry is evolving to the point
36:00where it's becoming much more scientific.
36:02You need to actually observe your subject,
36:05see what they want,
36:05see what they're doing.
36:07I don't even think it's scientific.
36:08I think it's just common fucking sense.
36:14Don't make annoying characters
36:16in the video games.
36:18Every single moment of seriousness
36:21doesn't need to be offset
36:25by a Marvel movie line,
36:29some little funny joke.
36:31Not everything has to happen like that.
36:34It's, again, it is, in my opinion,
36:37shitty millennial writing.
36:39That's what it is.
36:40And that's all it is.
36:43And then iterate on that.
36:44Yep.
36:45You know, I've talked about this before,
36:46but I was in on Baldur's Gate 3's early access.
36:49Incredible journey.
36:50Developer notes were really detailed.
36:52The feedback that we would get,
36:54the panels from hell,
36:55the updates that they would do.
36:57The entire time,
36:58while they were collecting data,
36:59they were doing polls
37:00and stuff like that as well.
37:01But for the most part,
37:02they just sat back
37:03and watched how people interacted with the game.
37:06What did people try to do the most?
37:08What did they, you know,
37:09what spells did they use?
37:10What classes did they pick?
37:12What choices did they make?
37:13They took-
37:14Are all theater kids bad?
37:18No, but all the people that are bad
37:20are theater kids.
37:23That data and then iterated on it
37:24and they just acted as a tailor,
37:26fitting it like a glove to the player.
37:28And that's how you get great games.
37:30That's what you have to do nowadays.
37:32You can't come up with
37:32some pre-designed audience anymore.
37:35That doesn't work.
37:35You can't go and read social media.
37:37You can't watch,
37:38you know, you can't listen to
37:39like things that are set on Twitter
37:41or on Reddit
37:41because oftentimes people
37:43aren't really saying what they mean.
37:44They're just saying whatever they can
37:46to get the most people to agree with them
37:48because they need that interaction.
37:49They need to be accepted, baby.
37:52Right here.
37:52Get that validation right into my vein.
37:56Yeah, I've got to say the thing
37:57to make sure that everybody
37:58that I'm friends with
37:59knows that I'm on their side
38:00and I agree with them.
38:02Yep.
38:02But that's what you have to do.
38:04You have to ignore that kind of stuff.
38:06You have to be dynamic.
38:07And I think a lot of these companies
38:08are still stuck in their ways.
38:09And because of that,
38:11it's leading to a lot of these games
38:12failing to find an audience.
38:14You know, I love topics like this.
38:15You guys got to keep in mind.
38:17I was a, I am a marketing major
38:20that got into construction.
38:22I have a degree that I never got to use.
38:24It's the whole reason I made
38:25a YouTube channel to begin with
38:26was because I wanted to understand
38:29what players needs were.
38:30I wanted to understand
38:31how these games were finding an audience
38:33or how they were failing
38:34to find an audience.
38:35And I wanted to be somebody
38:36that could advocate for games
38:37to be able to reach audiences better.
38:40I think that once I get
38:41a little bit more comfortable with YouTube
38:43and I feel a little bit more
38:44stable on the platform,
38:46I'll probably start to try to get into
38:48at least consulting with marketing
38:50and customer outreach
38:52and stuff like that,
38:53because I think that personally,
38:54I think I could do a lot of help.
38:56I don't know.
38:57There's probably plenty of people
38:58that are out there,
38:59especially on Reddit,
39:00apparently that wouldn't want me
39:01to do anything of the sort.
39:03Yeah, I've offered the same thing.
39:04I mean, a lot of game developers,
39:06like if you if somebody's making a game
39:08and, you know, like they want help,
39:11like, for example,
39:12like a lot of sponsors that I do.
39:15They don't want to hear it, bro.
39:16Yeah, they do actually.
39:18Like a lot of sponsors
39:19that I've done before.
39:20I'm just like, yeah,
39:21I'm not going to do it your way.
39:22I'm going to do it my way
39:23and let's just see how the numbers are.
39:25And then we do it my way.
39:26The numbers are really good
39:28and I never hear a problem again.
39:31Nothing goes wrong.
39:33So I don't know.
39:34We'll see.
39:35Yep.
39:35But anyway,
39:37hope you guys enjoyed the video.
39:39If you guys did well,
39:41like the video,
39:42share with your friends,
39:42follow me on Twitch,
39:44follow me on Twitter.
39:45People have been enjoying me over there.
39:46If you didn't like the video,
39:47well, I guess I'll see
39:48another post on Reddit.
39:49Oh boy.
39:50But that my friends stay cool,
39:51stay righteous, stay safe.
39:53I'll see you in the next one.
39:55Yeah, I think he cooked with this one,
39:56man, I really do.
39:58Like it's almost like
39:59I didn't even really have a lot
40:00to add with this
40:01because I just feel like
40:02you pretty much said
40:03what you needed to say.
40:03Like, I mean,
40:04that's the same thing
40:04that I would say, honestly.
40:06It's like,
40:07if you want to make a game
40:07that's not made for you,
40:08you tell that to enough people
40:10and then you're just going to have a game
40:11that's made for no one, right?
40:12I mean, that's basically what happens.
40:14Look, I like it.
40:15Yeah, there's the video.
40:16Give it a like.
40:16I watched a lot of
40:17the legendary drops videos.
40:18I think that they're really, really good.