Why do people hate Denis Dyack?

Post by **Mozgus** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:40 pm

I've been trying to get a real answer on this one. Denis Dyack of Silicon Knights is just getting slammed by all the blog networks. Why? Just because an overhyped game from his company didn't meet people's expectations? I have virtually zero interest in Too Human, but I did like Eternal Darkness, and I've been watching a lot of video interviews and heard him on Evil Avatar radio, and I feel sorry for this guy. He's clearly talented, intelligent, well spoken, and has a lot of interesting thoughts on the industry and how it's evolving that I agree with. I just don't know why he's become such a punching bag for the internet. Most of the hype that Too Human collected came from the fans who assume that development time equals product quality, which isn't necessarily true. Yes, he has been out there trying to praise his project, but that's kind of his job. And every time some asshole puts a mic on his face and asks why his game sucks, he handles the insult with a much more polite and patient attitude than I could ever conjure.

This whole situation also reminds me of how David Jaffe gets treated; another development lead who doesn't seem to have done anything really awful. Twisted Metal and God of War are good series. Whats with all the fucking hatred?

So who knows something I don't?

Post by **racketboy** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:58 pm

I've kinda wondered this too, but I don't know a lot about him.
David Jaffe, however seems a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, his stuff is usually pretty good, but not to the point of deserving near-superstar status like he has. I guess since he's outspoken, the media focuses on him more -- I dunno.

Post by **Mozgus** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:03 pm

racketboy wrote:I've kinda wondered this too, but I don't know a lot about him.
David Jaffe, however seems a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, his stuff is usually pretty good, but not to the point of deserving near-superstar status like he has. I guess since he's outspoken, the media focuses on him more -- I dunno.

I think the industry WANTS to turn developers into celebrities, but then when they realize most of these people aren't made for the camera, they just scrutinize them.

Post by **Gamerforlife** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:42 pm

I remember David Jaffe being upset about some article or review or something someone had made about something he had or was working on. He went off on some angry rant on his blog I think, swearing up a storm and I think that gave everyone the impression that he was a bit immature and unprofessional, which is no surprise.

Now I don't know anything about Denis Dyack other than what I've read here. However, in my opinion, if your game sucks, you have to deal with the consequences. Everyone is telling him his game sucks, because it does suck. It's the truth, and I see nothing wrong with that. I knew it sucked when I played the demo, before any of the reviews came out. I will say though, that he does not deserve any PERSONAL attacks as in people calling him an a**hole or anything like that. That's a bit childish. I will say that he still some of my respect for being involved with Eternal Darkness and the original Legacy of Kain, which didn't impress me much, but it did pave the way for the awesome Legacy of Kain:Soul Reaver.

He botched one game, not the end of the world, but he has to deal with the consequences. Your game should have been better, man up and deal with it. From what Mozgus has said, he's handling it very maturely. So kudos to him for that. David Jaffe could learn a thing or two from him

Post by **Mozgus** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:21 pm

Gamerforlife wrote:He botched one game, not the end of the world, but he has to deal with the consequences. Your game should have been better, man up and deal with it. From what Mozgus has said, he's handling it very maturely. So kudos to him for that. David Jaffe could learn a thing or two from him

From everything I've seen, he's handling it as best as any human could. Apparently he got banned from a forum called Neogaf, but I cant find any direct quotes from his posts that caused such action.

Post by **Gamerforlife** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:25 pm

Mozgus wrote:
Gamerforlife wrote:He botched one game, not the end of the world, but he has to deal with the consequences. Your game should have been better, man up and deal with it. From what Mozgus has said, he's handling it very maturely. So kudos to him for that. David Jaffe could learn a thing or two from him
From everything I've seen, he's handling it as best as any human could. Apparently he got banned from a forum called Neogaf, but I cant find any direct quotes from his posts that caused such action.

That's sounds uncalled for.

Post by **Flak Beard** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:24 pm

If you have a chance, listen to this podcast (towards the end)...

http://download.gamevideos.com/Podcasts/070308.mp3

Dyack challenged the whole industry's way of doing things, especially in the way games are scored and how the message board communities view them. I guess he feels the NeoGAF community is harmful to the industry.

Anyway, he makes a lot of good points and I think people hate him because there's a few ounces of truth to what he has to say. It's funny how someone like Dyack get bashed for his beliefs, but someone like Miyamoto is praised in his senility. Perhaps all this backlash just proved his point even more.

My hats off to Dyack. I'll get Too Human one of these days as well. It doesn't look that shabby to me personally.

Post by **RackGaki** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:28 pm

Just realize that most personalities in gaming media are as negative and sarcastic as the Comic Book Guy.

That pretty much explains everything.

Post by **Droid party** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:38 pm

Flak Beard wrote:My hats off to Dyack. I'll get Too Human one of these days as well. It doesn't look that shabby to me personally.

It looks cool, but have you played the demo?

Post by **racketboy** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:00 pm

Flak Beard wrote:If you have a chance, listen to this podcast (towards the end)...

http://download.gamevideos.com/Podcasts/070308.mp3

Dyack challenged the whole industry's way of doing things, especially in the way games are scored and how the message board communities view them. I guess he feels the NeoGAF community is harmful to the industry.

Anyway, he makes a lot of good points and I think people hate him because there's a few ounces of truth to what he has to say. It's funny how someone like Dyack get bashed for his beliefs, but someone like Miyamoto is praised in his senility. Perhaps all this backlash just proved his point even more.

My hats off to Dyack. I'll get Too Human one of these days as well. It doesn't look that shabby to me personally.

Well at least Miyamoto has a LOT more under his belt than just about anyone else in the industry and has had very few failures.
I can't think of any other game creator still in the business that deserves such high praise.
And this is coming from a former Sega fanboy.