Tim Cain, the designer who created the original Fallout concept and led development on the first game, says there is “so much arguing” about games today that some people are walking away from the hobby and the industry.
In a YouTube video Cain says many debates come from players arguing for different priorities and insisting everyone else agree. “As a developer, I always try to make games with the features I want,” he says, “but then I have people who get mad at me and argue that I should be adding other features, too, that I do not like.” He uses romance options as an example of a feature he dislikes but others demand.
Cain points out that disagreements extend into technical expectations. Frame rate debates, he says, often miss that players of precision shooters and fans of large open worlds want different things. “Sometimes those gamers deny the other groups even exist,” he adds. “When I see them argue online, they’ll say things like, ‘Tim, no one’s asking for a low frame rate.’ I agree. But there are a lot of people who are not asking for a high frame rate.”
He warns the arguing has consequences beyond heated threads. “Some people are leaving gaming altogether. I know gamers who’ve gone off and found new hobbies,” Cain says. He also notes developers leave the industry for related fields, where programmers in particular can earn better pay.
Cain’s practical advice is blunt: “Buy the games you want to see more of.” He acknowledges the common pushback that individual purchases feel small, but he argues purchases still matter for solo and indie titles. “If you see a game selling a lot, then that means there are gamers who like that game. And sequels happen for games that sell a lot. Not games you like – games that sold.”
Cain closes by telling viewers to spend time and money on what they enjoy instead of shouting about what they hate. “It’s the only way forward through this I can see,” he says.
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