The developers of the game Terraria, available on steam for a very worthy $10, announced today that their game will be arriving on the Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network. This is something you don't see every day, that being a very popular, very affordable PC game taking big steps. However, many gamers are angry at this prospect, specifically PC gamers, who in their supposedly all-knowing and "master race" stances, believe that they have been left behind and have been forgotten, and they will now jump ship and cleanse themselves of all things vile, i.e. anything having to do with Terraria and Re-Logic software. WHAT A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE, RIGHT?
This is why sometimes I despise my own kind. We overreact to the most simple things and it extends the life of the most common stereotypes about us, such as being short-tempered basement dwellers that don't know how to properly interact with people. Why must we not think before we speak?
To be fair, I already have a PC copy of Terraria myself, and I love it. Console gamers will enjoy this just the same I feel, and while the advertised "extra content" does sound nice, it seems that is one of the primary reasons that people are angry. I propose to anyone reading this the following extremely simple, logical thoughts:
First of all, Re-Logic isn't a big large corporate giant like EA or Activision. For the love of all that is good, they are selling you their game, which contains hours upon hours of play time, for $10! Being such an independent developer, and a popular one at that, you'd think they wouldn't favor one audience over the other, especially with the well-known conflicting views between hardcore console and PC gamers. Giving one extra content and leaving the other out to dry would be a monumentally huge dick move on their part, and I'm fairly certain that they would not only not want the negative PR, but seeing as how they seemingly care so much for their game and their fans, it would be a huge 180 degree turnaround.
Think about this: You're an indie developer, and in today's world, your game must stand out like nothing else in order for people to notice it. In a world where AAA titles reign supreme on the price charts and many other indie games are set at lower prices. Aside from the lower price, the number one thing that people will notice is how you treat your game and the community that surrounds it. Re-logic has released several updates for Terraria that have added an awesome amount of content to an already vast and time-consuming game, and if they didn't care about their players, then they wouldn't be working on their game anymore, let alone working on a console version.
Anybody who is a passionate gamer with a broad horizon knows about the kinds of issues that happen with big companies and their games, and even though fans often voice their feedback, we don't always see a lot done about them (case-in-point: EA). Indie developers have always been those teams in my eyes that want to change the gaming world from what it is right now, which is a fat, lumbering giant of corporate semi-corruption that spits out sequels and rehashes like there's no tomorrow. Terraria is a game that clearly doesn't embody this, and because of how it's been cared for, it gives me faith in the developer that they will deliver for PC gamers as well.
I fail to understand why some people (not only gamers) cannot think this kind of stuff through. I believe firmly that they're just complaining for no reason. Save the protesting for the time when they announce that the content is console-exclusive (knock on wood of course), and don't be a stupid dick about it. Treating people like this is just wrong, and I don't know why people constantly forget that mutual respect is supposed to be common courtesy.
I'm not saying I'm perfect myself, but I've got the mind to know all of this, and you should too.
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