The Games Industry Elephant

[@laurafryer6321]

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the darkest day of the year, the beginning of the return of the light. It's a good time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. Thank you all for your support! I wish you the best in the New Year, and a brighter year for games!

[@_george84]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@breakingbrad2129]

I honestly forgot that fact and was having a bad day as I suffer from SAD. That message perked me up and was badly needed, things will literally get brighter! Thank you for reminding me and for the amazing content. Hope Christmas/the new year are great for you too :)

[@aquilliusranger2137]

Thank you Laura, your insight was super important during my darkest time introspecting my perspective on my own story idea, which is very much a cross between Mass Effect’s focus on squadmates…but a much sinister other game besides it that I won’t spoil.

[@VampireNoblesse]

thank you for calling out the problem "culture war" in gaming..., the extreme left have gone too far..

[@CanalTremocos]

Winter is upon us. Time for a cup of hot cocoa and an evening playing Crimson Skies.

[@SideScrollersPodcast]

You’re a legend and put this issue wonderfully.

[@EastyyBlogspot]

Hopefully she goes on your podcast at some point

[@NervousNoodles]

Big ups @SideScrollersPodcast. Good to see you around here!

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you! I appreciate your continued support!

[@MarvinPowell1]

@SideScrollersPodcast It's all about the friends we've made along the way.

[@gobblegobble7]

Stuttering Craig outta nowhere

[@ambds1975]

In my pvp squad, I always say; 'Morale is the 8th stat.' Killing morale is active sabotage.

[@laurafryer6321]

I love it! Thank you for sharing!

[@longtsun8286]

I served in the US Army- more than once, under non-commissioned officers (NCOs) whose idea of "boosting morale," SABOTAGED it instead. What we see in the "current year" video game industry, is the same kind of TOXIC leaders who make their subordinates want to do You Know What to them.

[@richardrahl2685]

I'm gonna share this with my pvp guild! ❤🫡

[@wombat7961]

That's real

[@alexfrost2799]

This is what games like Total War and Dawn of War get. Morale systems are in both games and they significantly affect a unit's overall performance. They're incredibly realistic in that sense.

[@takeoffeveryzig]

The industry has been working hard on replacing consumer protections with influencers and commercials.

[@avalonjustin]

Also replacing developers with activists.

[@bolm1]

social media profiles and real personalities are merging

[@agibitable]

I love your content - Finally someone sees the forest for the trees. Your own personal opinion on the "elephant" doesn't actually matter so you didn't indulge anyone with the drama they wanted from this video. Instead you focused on the actual problem of games studios with giant budgets trying to make games for the niche audience of their production leads and expecting to make profits. That's really all it boils down to and I'm happy someone is making videos talking about this problem from a business perspective rather than from their own camp in the culture war.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for your thoughtful comment! I'm glad you are enjoying my content!

[@OmegaPaladin144]

A game with exactly the same plot as Veilguard might well have succeeded on an Indie budget. Chris Gore likes to make this point on movies - mass market media needs mass appeal, niche media should keep to a reasonable budget.

[@YuYuYuna_]

Games nowadays try too hard to please as many people as possible instead of aiming for a certain flavor and really perfecting it and growing an audience that way. The result of the former is you get watered down generic trash that leaves you wanting a more captivating immersive experience.

[@basedshaman6183]

Problem with modern developers is their entire life experience is social media. No one wants to hear your social media spats in their games, we just dont care. Its boring. Its cringe. And most of all, social media does not reflect the world as a whole. There is no nuance in social media, and its starting to reflect onto game dialogue and story plots.

[@smelltheglove2038]

It's given fringe idealistic people the impression that their worldview was mainstream. It's why they keep doubling down. The reality is something like 1% of the population is on Twitter, only 10% regularly check their Facebook. Despite seeming universal the vast majority of people aren't online and think they've jumped off the deep end. It's only taken 15 years for this to play out but I think the veil has been lifted.

[@EastyyBlogspot]

You are right it's the vocal minority that make the loudest noise and the problem is many work on the games, and then they wonder why the games do not sell as the writing etc was made for them

[@basedshaman6183]

​​​​@@EastyyBlogspotReality is always stranger than fiction, and social media is a fiction. Social media is just a reflection of everyone's head canon on how the world ought to be, but never will.

[@sailorsue7375]

Another very hidden problem is all the people that meddle these days in game development areas that they have no authority and experience to meddle in. Producers and other higher ups getting involved into creative (art direction, writing, sound etc.) thinking their „ideas“ are brilliant. The Dunning Kruger is real. And a lot of the times, artists experiences and knowledge are disregarded and ignored.

[@lackofavailablenames]

Is this not social media? Cringe.

[@SpookittyCat]

You're the only creator I don't skip ads for because you relay issues concisely. I'm a Filipino female nurse in her 30s who works for 12 hours, but I still love to play games; I feel like it keeps me young, coordinated, and creative, but I don't have a lot of time... so it saddens and annoys me if I play a bad game after being mislead by biased gaming journalism, I feel like it's a betrayal of my money and my time. Along with the "narrative consultants" that sanitize and homogenize (and bloats the budget) the stories of games, recycling the same themes that also echoes in tv shows and movies nowadays... all at the same time! There is fatigue among the broader audience and it really breaks my heart a little bit when I'm being shamed, ridiculed for loving my hobby by the very developers that made these games. Developers and gaming journalists were like rockstars to me when I was younger, and even if I chose a different profession, I still kept my hobby alive. I would often buy games I watched from streams even if I'm too tired to play them myself, just to support the studios-that's how much I love this industry. I want it to live, to thrive. I got a little teary eyed when you've sympathized with the "broader" audience, and not the "modern" one... it felt like oxygen after suffocating for so long. I could lose a handful of terminally ill patients in a day that does affects my overall mental health-but with a controller in my hand, I was able to save everyone in this universe. So no, I don't like studios closing or talents being laid off-but I hope they listen and understand that a universal theme is the best approach. Again, I'm Filipino-we have NEVER been represented in games 🤣 but I still fell in love and continue to love gaming. I never needed to see myself, because the idealized character on screen WAS ME. I BECAME Mario. I BECAME Solid Snake. I BECAME Tidus. I BECAME Geralt. I BECAME Lara Croft. I BECAME Crash Bandicoot. I BECAME Samus Aran. If the Game Over screen popped up, I would say *I* died, not [character] died, because that character was a BETTER ME. *Sigh.* Sorry. I just have a lot of emotions about this. If you read this far, thank you very much. ❤

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for sharing your story! It's wonderful that gaming can provide you with an escape from the losses you experience as a nurse. My Nana was a nurse and used to share stories..you have my respect. I agree with your point regarding characters as I feel the same way!

[@nazgulsenpai]

This is a fantastic post and perspective. The great news is even though there's this stupid culture war and self righteous AAA game devs, the indie-AA industry is better than its ever been. Sure, there's still some titles with cringe and message pushing, but even on those cases at least it feels more sincere. I personally think western AAA is ead and can't be saved but there is a whole world of games out there falling over themselves to please their players. Let the dinosaurs make themselves extinct.

[@Walamonga1313]

This comment should be seen by everyone. I am a mexican guy who has only ever seen the most cringe representations in media. I don't relate to those characters, but not because they're cringe. I don't because I don't care if a character is my nationality or randomly speaks my languge in between sentences (I hate this btw, they include 1 spanish word in a sentence and it sounds so dumb). My favorite characters and the ones I relate to are the ones who share my values, my sense of humor, my morals. It's nothing to do with ethnicity or nationality, those are just shallow and ironically modern media keeps pushing for just that. It's not real inclusivity if they're just caricatures, forced into a setting that makes no sense. Like you said, I sympathize with the characters from the games because they're inspiring, they're idealized versions of who I'd like to be, not because they "look like me".

[@pR1sooeem]

Excellent Take on the current state of the Industry, feel and agree with you Filipino nurse :)

[@Strangely_Sexy]

as a fellow female gamer, you hit the nail right on the head. i become dante i become chris redfield i become bayonetta i become travis touchdown

[@fattiger6957]

It feels like there is an ego problem and lack of professionalism in video game devs in this social media age. Maybe the video game industry has always had those problems, but in the past not every developer was able to communicate with potential customers. I feel like devs should be more professional now because they have a direct line to their customers. One dev running their mouth can tank a whole marketing campaign.

[@laurafryer6321]

I agree! At Microsoft we used to gather the team together before E3 to remind them that they were representing the company and their actions reflected on the entire company not just Xbox.

[@fattiger6957]

@@laurafryer6321 Exactly! I think many people, even in high positions, don't seem to understand that their behaviour on social media reflects on their whole studio. I believe people have the right to be private, but also express their opinions. But if they put in their bio that they are in a powerful position at a studio, then they have become a representative of that studio.

[@JohnDoe-vm5rb]

I remember working somewhere that gave the staff goodies with the logo on because it was.cold.outside and sometimes you had to work outside. I remember the manager not handing it over until he looked me dead in the eye and said if I wear this, I represent the company: if he found out I got drunk and in a fight during a night out on the pub, he would treat it like I got drunk and in a fight during a shift. Probably not legal, sure, but he made his point.

[@cattrucker8257]

It also feels like those problems used to be mitigated or addressed in the past, via healthier communication and people dealing with one another better. With time, it feels like issues were allowed to fester via a culture of not offending feelings and letting things slide instead of resolving them, further amplified when social media rose and provided echo chambers and fertilizer for people's issues to fester. Instead of people learning to overcome and solve their issues, work together for common goals and be comradely to one another, it's become a cloud of floating egoes reacting violently to collisions or obstructions. Not just in games industry, but in many other industries besides.

[@fattiger6957]

@@cattrucker8257 That also goes back to the toxic positivity issues in studios. People get better in their chosen field when they are open to (constructive) criticism. That goes doubly for creative field where there isn't really hard rules.

[@blackcat7k]

I don't know how these teams can spend this much money and time and then let *_one_* person burn everything because they can't control their posting habits.

[@PMMagro]

I don't work with gaming but at my job (music industry) that person has a skull next to their name everywhere. I might hate a certain song or artist but do I go out in public saying bad things about this artist and hence the people working with that (like me)? If it matters THAT MUCH to me I quit then I am free to take the public piss on the song/artist/brand/image... It whoudl still be unprofessional but as my life now evolves around Xs is no good maybe being professional is no priority of mine.

[@DogeickBateman]

Because they agree.

[@rahmathadi855]

@@DogeickBateman At the very least, they should pretend to not hate their potential customer. Normally, company will make a PR statement that they're sorry and plan to fix that behavior just to mitigate the backlash and not losing potential customer even though behind the scene, they might not do anything. At the end of the day they still need the customer to buy their game and letting this happen is just extremely stupid

[@Brownies9000]

The leadership anecdotes are truly appreciated.

[@vvsotnikov]

I’m deeply impressed by how calm and thoughtful Laura’s videos are given the divisiveness of the topic. Thank you!

[@cascadesequence7307]

It has been (and still is) an odd era in gaming, to say the least. Movies with a budget of $100m+ are made to entertain, and be hits, and the process is usually handled in a professional manner, with the desired outcome being achieved. Games with a $100m+ budget are frequently mired in all sorts of childish controversy and casual experimentation. It's like giving an eccentric arthouse director $150m to play with, then being surprised when hardly anyone goes to see the movie on the opening weekend. I imagine that the larger studios will eventually revert towards making games that intend to satisfy the most people possible, but it's quite comical and tragic that it requires scores of expensive failures and studio closures to reach such an obvious conclusion.

[@fredfuchs5600]

@@cascadesequence7307 I still consider the LotR trilogy the height of cinema. Big budget, big names, big heart, big success. Edit: Its a big topic, but console/PC gamers stuck on a 40 billion market. Same sized audience, these companies want more, here comes the modern audience. They take risks, but the wrong kind of risks.

[@johnspartan12]

I found your channel two weeks ago and binged everything in a few days. Love to hear the opinions and insight from someone with so much experience in the industry. Thank you for your work!

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy my content!

[@PXAbstraction]

Social media is one of humanity's worst modern inventions. Outrage has become a business model.

[@Kamawan0]

Seems like two entirely unrelated thoughts.

[@mc_sim]

bad approach. splitting an atom created a bad thing and a good thing. it's up to you on how to use it.

[@PXAbstraction]

@@Kamawan0 Not really. One led to the other.

[@PXAbstraction]

@@mc_sim The bad has far outweighed the good.

[@Kamawan0]

@@PXAbstraction I don't see the business model you are talking about. Social media did not lead to outrage. People had emotions before it's inception.

[@danielvandusen5724]

Holy Jesus, you were a part of Crimson Skies? You have my eternal respect. If you have the opportunity, play some of the games this lady worked on.

[@artificer111]

Crimson Skies is a core childhood memory, inspired doing game programming for past 7 years. It’s great to hear devs from teams you look up to have such professional manner even in these more chaotic times.

[@disky01]

I wish more people understood how to manage their emotions the way you did after you received that email. It's the sign of a good manager, but it's something that really needs to be understood and applied by more people in any social situation.

[@fernandosanchezm]

Thanks for having this conversation this way!

[@laurafryer6321]

You're welcome! Thank you for watching!

[@psynque]

That Interplay intro sure takes me back.

[@mc_sim]

yeah. it's for very old people.

[@fattiger6957]

I didn't play a lot of PC games as a kid, but I do remember my brother playing the Space Quest games back in the day. So I know that intro, but with the Space Quest theme playing over it.

[@wrathfirex]

​@@mc_simwe aren't old. We are ancient

[@negirno]

I prefer the one which is shown in _Cyberia_

[@Chumpskey]

Such an underrated channel - great vid laura !

[@humrH2360]

What happened with Avowed is why you need people who aren't swayed by emotions and are willing to take one in the chin and shrug it off. That one guy compromised any potential success for his game all for the sake of "owning the chuds" - a quintessential example of wanting to win the battle, but lose the war.

[@RobertFromEarth]

One guy going berserk won't kill the game if Obsidian take action. But they didn't. No apology, no disciplinary action. That's the main reason why Obsidian is on my "no buy list".

[@aarons3014]

@@RobertFromEarth Eh, Obsidian is in a bind. If they discipline him for speaking as a private individual, they could be looking at years of lawsuits. The internet moves on quickly. They're probably waiting a few months, and then will launch some positive marketing campaign closer to launch.

[@BronzeAgePepper]

​@@RobertFromEarth they all agree with the guy's childish tweet about earning the disapproval of Elon Musk because they are all stunted adult children with stunted minds. there's no other way to describe unanimously deciding to put pronouns in your fantasy game.

[@AD-pf2ku]

denying someone a career opportunity based on their skin color isn't owning the chuds, it's illegally violating someone's human rights.

[@GermanSurname]

It's baffling how many people haven't realized that even with a "win/lose" mindset, humility is an instant win.

[@ElonsMusk123]

This channel needs to stop going unnoticed and blow up (in popularity) already

[@cattrucker8257]

It's always cool how you have stories from your career that help demonstrate the issues you bring up, it gives it a proper sense of personal experience with the matter at hand, a been-there-seen/done-that angle that helps frame the subject of the video as something a normal person (you) dealt with, as opposed to a hypothetical theory. Also gotta say that you have a great tone of delivery, it always sounds like your voice would make for a perfect game lore codex voiceover or game announcer lines. A good thing to have in leadership positions, feels like it helps explanations for team members go down faster and easier if delivered like you do it.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for your kind comments! I'm glad you are enjoying the stories!

[@dansalinas]

Never stop making videos. You’re the voice of reason the video game industry needs to hear.

[@EastyyBlogspot]

One of my fav games ever was Godhand...and the way the world is there is very little chance that game would be remade or remastered

[@MarvinPowell1]

I tried working on my own fan-made successor to God Hand like ten years ago, but gave up on it. I can't believe no one else has ever tried to make another God Hand.

[@InkyMuste]

Funnily enough, now that Kamiya kicked off his new studio, Clovers, that's actually more likely to happen than ever before.

[@EastyyBlogspot]

@@InkyMuste yeah true, being Japanese developer they are not as affected by what is happening as much as western developers, but still If it did happen I suspect publishers would want changes made

[@reydavid12fh]

Maybe if you found a crimson Behilt...

[@Walamonga1313]

Who knows, if Lollipop Chainsaw got a remaster there's a chance

[@electrikjohn8954]

I’m a simple man. I see a High Sage Laura Fryer video, I click like. Merry Christmas Laura!

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you! Merry Christmas!

[@TheDdvd1]

Thanks for your videos Laura, your perspective has really pulled me out of my cynicism in relating to the Industry as a whole. Great to see things from your "Behind the curtains" perspective.

[@laurafryer6321]

I'm glad to hear that! Thank you for your support!

[@Scowleasy]

All her perspective is from decades ago. I’m not sure how much of it applies to modern companies.

[@TheDdvd1]

@Scowleasy it's ok bud ... it is relevant, so all good.

[@The_Taken_Names]

You're easily my favorite content creator in this space. It's so refreshing to have someone not saying what side of the divisiveness they think is the problem. The problem is it existing and game studios not taking steps to mitigate the divisiveness, or worse actively choosing to engage in it. You're covering the issue in a way where I truly don't know how you feel about the culture war, which is what game studios should be striving for as well. All while pulling from past experiences to give a realistic look at the problem, in a way that's not vilifying either side.

[@inxe8]

Wonderfully put. I find it quite alarming the way I'm reading about certain devs laying the blame for lack of success at the feet of certain contingents within the audience, when the obvious reason for their failure is that the product failed to resonate with the majority! Its this strange "this product was not meant for you" line of argumentation, which is fine provided you have targeted and budgeted for that specific demographic alone. But strangely there seems to be an implicit assumption that if x group is catered toward, then the rest of the market will follow? This is nonsense, especially in the present cultural climate.

[@avalonjustin]

Unfortunately their beliefs are more important to them than making money.

[@GardinerAlan]

Fair point, but the argument frequently being made about games going 'woke' for having female protagonists (especially if they 'aren't pretty enough'), queer storylines, focus on accessibility, etc is by people that seem to believe all games should have straight white cis male protagonists. So, even though, that demographic do still seem to be the biggest (for western devs), is the argument that games should all be like that to make the most money and cause the least online backlash'? Should the majority never be exposed to minorities, different/opposing views? The best, most interesting art is almost always counter-cultural (i.e. rebelling against the orthodox, the traditional, the establishment or at least poking fun at it) and its what pushes culture forward. I don't think any dev should literally say 'this product was not meant for you' but just having a game where the characters don't look like or act you would doesn't mean the games not for you or you won't learn/gain something from it. It's a fine balancing act but I'm not totally on board with Laura's apparent opinion that you should never try to rock the boat - doing things that way can easily end up with toxic positivity, stagnation and conservative decision-making - which ends up with you being behind the curve, reacting too late and bringing out uninspired games in saturated markets (Concord, Avengers, etc)

[@avalonjustin]

@@GardinerAlan I understand that marginalized groups and minorities want to represented in media, and understandably so. The key here is in the terminology. "Marginalized". "Minorities". The majority of gamers are not these people and will not purchase it. You will notice that media that promotes such representation usually under perform financially, followed by the Left Wing developers getting furious, insulting critics on social media, then blaming them for the game's failure. I can see from your comment that you are an advocate for minorities and counter-culture, and somehow attribute positivity and virtue to promoting such things to the majority. I'd like for you to understand that we Conservative gamers are well aware of the opposing views and opinions of Liberals. We simply don't agree with all their beliefs. We should not be pressured to change what we like, or insulted by Liberal developers for not buying it. You are welcome to believe in whatever you want and purchase media that appeals to you, and so are we.

[@JaeLee83]

@@avalonjustinso sad

[@GardinerAlan]

@@avalonjustin I think your first point is an oversimplification/stereotype that only really holds up in the most extreme circumstance (like this avowed dev - who was way too brash). Most games that challenge the status quo (in whatever way) succeed pretty well and even when they don't, most devs don't go into big social rants to throw blame around. Occasionally a dev might call out when their game has been piled on and review-bombed unfairly (merely for who the characters are in the game) but not in such a brash way - and sometimes it's complicated by actual gameplay issues, bugs, busy release windows, etc so it's hard to tell what caused the lower sales. But do you not find it sad that though that you're saying that you and other conservative gamers 'won't buy' a game because the main character doesn't look like you? - unless its something divorced from reality like fantasy characters, mechs or animals. Minorities have bought and played games with protagonists that don't look or act like them for decades so saying you outright won't buy the games merely for what/who the main character is, seems close-minded tbh. I'd argue the 'pressure' being put on in almost all cases is from people pressuring the devs to change their plans for their games - for whatever reason, not just this subject As you say, players can buy or not buy, so just because a game exists with a non-traditional protagonist doesn't pressure conservative gamers. Yet some will claim, even before the game is out, that it's 'diversity being shoved down their throat'. Not saying that's you but it definitely is something often said by self-identifying conservative gamers. Re your point about different types of games for different audiences - that's fine, I just think there's space for both. It's a shame not everyone can at least agree on that point alone.

[@easportssucks4347]

We've gone from trying to not offend people with different beliefs and perspectives, to going out of our way to do so. We're a society of trolls and I honestly blame social media almost exclusively. A few thousand likes and shares from within your online echo chamber should not be used as validation in a world of 8 billion people.

[@LansaDiag]

I like your way of phrasing this.

[@RealSurfacing]

I'm left leaning, but the whole 'we at Obsidian don't want to hire white guys' fiasco soured my view of the company. Luckily, there's plenty out there to play, read, and watch. There's no shortage of entertainment options at my disposal, and my time is finite.

[@gregarious-z7o]

A voice of reason on the internet? In 2024? I'll subscribe.

[@Healthyjet]

My God, you don’t know how refreshing it is to hear a professional’s unbiased view on the current state of the gaming industry. This culture war is killing video games. On one hand you have people desperately trying to put their own political agendas and ideologies in games, to appease “modern audiences”However, on the other hand you also have people that claim everything that they don’t like to be “woke” or political propaganda and go out of their way to make absurd claims and hope for the game’s failure. There is a middle ground between forced inclusivity and downright bigotry, but a lot of people don’t seem to realize that…

[@cmdrreggit]

In the context of video games - "woke" in the modern lexicon, just means people desperately trying to put their own political agendas and ideologies into games, to appease modern audiences. It's just shorthand to avoid having to constantly type out - people desperately trying to put their own political agendas and ideologies into games, to appease modern audiences. In my experience, "forced inclusivity" _actually_ means forced *exclusivity* - an excuse to ignore all criticism... And the biggest bigots of all, are those in the industry who label potential *paying customers* with all kinds of nasty buzzwords - again, in an attempt to deflect valid criticism. Of course you are right that there are some bad actors on both sides - but I believe they are a tiny minority.

[@Ketooey]

Ironically, appealing to a larger audience can help to create a more nuanced depiction of heavy topics. In every day life, very few people will be out and out racist, sexist, ageist, etc. They aren't out and out because most people are smart enough to know that it'll damage their reputation. People are usually more nuanced when they make biased remarks, it's either unintentional, or they feel safe enough to make an off color joke. Depicting these sorts of situations, rather than an in your face depiction of bigotry, can help these sorts of topics appeal to a wider audience, if that's something your game wants to touch to begin with. And the point made about having the humility to admit your game isn't the right one to broach a difficult topic, is an excellent one. Veilguard wasn't prepared to explore it's topics, it had far too much expectation and established storylines to then try and take the franchise in a new direction.

[@atomicgandhi8718]

Eg elf/human racism in dragon age 1, or The Witcher. There is a degree of separation from reality, so it isn’t in your face.

[@Archgamer]

3:58 New Zealand isn't even real. That's why it's omitted from many maps.

[@wrathfirex]

I don't know whether this is sarcasm or

[@c0ldc0ne]

@@wrathfirex If it's not sarcasm then

[@abejack7764]

Australia is real either. Can't believe it keeps getting put on maps.

[@CareyEvans]

As a New Zealander, I can confirm this. Nobody even knows where Path of Exile came from.

[@monstergelo1072]

Atlas of world is real 😮​@@CareyEvans

[@giandomenicomartorelli8069]

This woman is a treasure in these times. Thank you Laura!

[@AsimovBR]

A truly passionate soul who lives and breathes games. Thank you, Laura Fryer! Keep shining as a beacon of hope in these challenging times for the gaming world.

[@MsNellyuan]

Happy Holidays, Laura! I've been sharing your videos everywhere and sincerely hope more people in the industry resonate with your insights. You're a hidden gem in the gaming industry, and many of us wouldn't have discovered you if you hadn't started creating videos. Your experience and perspectives are truly invaluable.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you! I appreciate your support and I hope you have wonderful holidays!

[@playcast7959]

It was only a typo which was meant to say "LAURA ROCKS!!!". Love your content - I keep rewatching them and somehow it helps me get my thoughts and emotions at work in check. Thank you, Laura.

[@vulgaritar48]

Thank you. Your insider insights really help contextualized the shift in philosophy we longtime players have seen and been baffled by. Seems like games just aren't allowed to be fun anymore, and often times if you ARE having fun, it's despite the game's writing or design rather than because of it.

[@elementsurprise7147]

Thank you for releasing a new video before Christmas, Laura!

[@the8u9]

Oh my god... I didn't think I'd hear the phrase "disagree and commit" outside of my office. I guess this phrase is not a new one, figures haha. Thank you as always for the amazing learnings from your experience and insights :)

[@drshemp1]

Thank you for years of hard work and shedding some light on these issues. Have a great day!

[@theantonlulz]

I'm just a lowly junior dev outside the gaming industry, but this channel is hands down the best one I've come across in a long while. I really appreciate the insight into the gaming industry and just business decision in general, it's something that I personally have no hand in so it's nice to get perspective of things.

[@wesss9353]

She's great! Tim Cain has a ton of informational videos as well

[@lucasfarted]

Hey Laura, your insight and eloquence makes watching your videos easy and informative! Loving this channel

[@IcyBloodFyre]

All the best in the New Year as well! Congratulations on this new video, I hope you're experiencing that same pinball effect from these KZbin videos to keep you motivated to shower us with quality content, as they've all been great hits!

[@laurafryer6321]

I definitely enjoy hearing everyone's feedback! Thank you!

[@AMSTAS]

That Interplay logo still gives me a nice warm feeling.

[@dansilvers8052]

100% spot-on as always. It's sad to see so many in the industry take such a bitter approach to the art and the audience. Seeing Astro Bot win GOTY was a huge relief (though I was personally rooting for Balatro) since it fit exactly what Swen Vincke was talking about: a game made with heart, by devs who care about players, for players who care about games.

[@boruta1034]

One thing that I just don't get about the gaming industry is the lack of respect towards your customers. The common sense to me is that if you're selling a product, you must get a potential customer to like you and avoid any controversies. If I was selling tools, I wouldn't insult the people using other brands, instead I would try to attract them. Meanwhile, a loud minority of game devs do exactly the opposite, where we have a clear division of 'acceptable' fans and persona non grata, so if you dislike the X thing about the game then you are kindly asked to GTFO. It all reminds me of the photo one man on scene, with the text behind him saying "Turn consumers into fanatics. Products into obsessions. Employees into ambassadors and brands into religions".

[@Svikter]

Love the improved Thumbnail Laura, keep up the great work, super interesting topics!

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you! Thumbnails are an interesting challenge for me!

[@wehfv]

I really appreciate your level headed approach. It’s refreshing 😊

[@el_arte]

Minimizing risks, combined with enormous budgets, is exactly what got us here. If you spend more than $50M making a game, the suits come in and ask the team to minimize risks by making a game that is as plain as possible.

[@zenoking5958]

Gosh, Interplay, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a very long time.

[@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102]

The past few month mirrored the demise of Interplay on an industry wide scale. A number of bad decisions leading to years of underperforming to disastrous releases.

[@MarvinPowell1]

Interplay; the most 2000-2002 game company ever. Between Midway in the late 90s and THQ in the late 2000s.

[@AlexM18723]

I love these videos Laura. Happy Christmas and New Year!

[@DannyAtari]

You provide good coverage of the industry's ongoing trends. However, I disagree with your conclusions. The issue is less a culture war leading to bad game sales and more an issue of corporatism, mismanagement, and the executives' and shareholders' heavy profit-driven and short-sighted decision-making. The culture war is merely a side effect of the industry's ongoing global economic issues. Real solutions are less cultural but more economic. The current model of how things are structured doesn't work anymore, allowing out-of-touch leadership to have their way.

[@JaeLee83]

Yep, I’m shocked that she missed this !

[@SuperCrazf]

While I do enjoy her content I do feel that she doesn’t have the full perspective at times and makes her content rather incomplete. I do hope she takes this criticism at heart.

[@over9000andback]

⁠@@SuperCrazf Opinions can’t be incomplete. You can disagree with it, sure, but you can’t criticize an opinion that was never advertised as fact.

[@theorixlux]

​@@over9000andback you very much can criticize an incomplete opinion. That's kinda why there are thousands of religions, of politics, and philosophies with opposing talking points. The only thing you need to criticize something is a larger or different POV that the original opinion may have missed, ignored, or undervalued.

[@jerrodshack7610]

​@@over9000andback Kind of needlessly pedantic, don't you think? The commenter thinks she is not accounting for the full breadth of the issue. Therefore, her perspective/opinion/whatever is incomplete in that sense in the commenter's opinion.

[@jordy835]

You're so special , Laura. I appreciate each minute you've taken to share your insight and experiences within the game industry.

[@jjforcebreaker]

Thank you, Mrs Fryer, for all your insightful and entertaining commentaries and opinions, all the best in the upcoming Christmas-New Year festive period, and of course prosperous next year for this channel! Fingers crossed for it to finally blow up in popularity. Long overdue. For people interested in the medium and industry on a level deeper than the flavour of the week drama/gossip, it's a no-brainer to recommend to follow.

[@dustinfandy8438]

Hey laura, very insightful and quality content as always, thank you for making these videos. I hope you have a merry christmas and happy new year!

[@michaelduan5592]

Thank you for posting this video Laura. I have experienced this a lot as a newcomer to the industry (28 years old), especially childish behavior like that invisible notepad text. Growing up, I always imagined the video games industry to have more individuals like you who are all about seriously making fun games but it seems I'm chasing an environment that no longer exists. From these videos, it seems that times have simply just changed and that I'll need to build this serious game dev environment instead of hoping for it to arrive.

[@DeformedLunchbox]

Incredible insight and perspective. I won't skip a single video on this channel.

[@MrMattThor]

I love your stories. Its fascinating to get insight into the industry.

[@UmJammaLamma]

I don't have strong feelings about pronouns in games, I guess the one thing I question is why they are particularly relevant in a single player game when all of the NPCs inherently know your gender anyway? The purpose of a pronoun is to accurately address someone's gender, but is it necessary in a game where 99% of characters refer to you as "you"? To me the inclusion of pronouns seems to be a purely political signal from the devs, rather than something that actively serves the gameplay or story. I might be missing something with Avowed (and other games that have pronouns), so I'd be interested to hear what others think it contributes to games. Also Crimson Skies was one of my favorites on the OG xbox, thanks for helping deliver it to us!

[@Scowleasy]

Sounds like you do have strong feelings on it but want to pretend you don’t

[@OmegaPaladin144]

Great video! Also, seeing Hellbender & Deadly Tide brought back so many good memories. I still listen to the soundtracks from those games. Thank you for so many hours of fun!

[@METT-TC]

I can tell right away that you are an incredible leader, and a credit to any organization that you worked for. Servant-leader mentalities like yours are rare and so often get crushed. You're an inspiration.

[@courtneywilliams6376]

10k views in 5 hours, I'm glad your channel is getting the recognition it deserves. Also, GEARS is the GOAT.

[@Hamiltron_]

You display characteristics of a natural leader. Love to see it.

[@barfuss5025]

always a pleasure to see you in a new video.thanks

[@OneWingedRose]

I'm so glad I don't partake in social media (outside of youtube comments lol), I had no clue this Avowed thing was going on and if there's actually an army against them brewing over this of all things that's pretty depressing :/ Interesting video as always though, I can't imagine how it feels to be a dev on a game and then near the end of all the hard work some colleague you may not have even interacted with much says something controversial on the internet and now your work's at risk, that must suck. I hope the game still is fun and does well!

[@leandromafe]

social media, specially twitter and twitter clones, have been a terrible influence on public discourse and interpersonal relationships. I avoid all but youtube since 2021 and it feels great. I hope other people start to realise that as well.

[@laurafryer6321]

Exactly right! Working hard for years on a game and then having it at risk is painful. Thank you for your comment!

[@Draxlar]

Then maybe they should speak up and address the issue? If they don't, they are compliant and deserve no sympathy from gamers. I won't support people who hate me.

[@Kamawan0]

Avowed's art director being openly racist isn't helping them, either. He really dug them into a trench.

[@arkgaharandan5881]

wait till you see the guy cdprojeket red hired, insane person.

[@Spiderwolfer]

Amazing video! I feel the exact same way about being hopeful for the future. I think there are only a few very unhappy people with very loud voices online. I truly believe most people just want to have fun with games and have fun with each other.

[@laurafryer6321]

Exactly! Let's focus on making games better! Thank you for watching!

[@JaeLee83]

There are so many bad faith actors and grifters now, nothing is safe!

[@leonardonatanbergamini4971]

Great to hear your professional criticism with a rare optimism for the future of video games. This is definitely something we are missing a lot these days with commentators and influencers on social media and youtube.

[@CarrollLiddell]

I really love hearing your work insights, your takes are such a cool look into the games industry.

[@KalopsiaLoveless]

Thank you I wish more people were as level headed and clear on approaching this matter!

[@1957DLT]

I haven't been a subscriber here for very long, but I have binged pretty much everything you've posted. Lately the gamer/games/dev divisiveness has been off the charts online. I have unsubbed from content creators that were perfectly reasonable a week before. I have systematically blocked or refused channels that are clearly stoking the fire. It is exhausting. Your vids are one of a handful anymore that my entire brain and body can relax with a rl "Oh good, Laura has uploaded something new". No flash, no trashing, just solid insight in a spectacularly sensical delivery. Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for 2025, Laura!

[@not2not2]

one advice I got that I appreciate more than anything is, when you feel emotional ( which in a complex corpo env. making a multi-year digital product with bunch of random people and shifting goals is not a rare ocasion ), just open a notepad and type what you want to say in most brutal and honest way that you can.. then get off the computer and the table, take a walk, have a meal and when the heat is gone read to yourself what you wrote.. if that is the way and language that you want to represent yourself and your case to others, sure.. send that message.. but 99.9999999% that is not what you really wanted to say

[@laurafryer6321]

Excellent advice! Getting your thoughts out on paper and then spending some time reflecting until as you say the "heat is gone" gives you time. You don't have to respond to everything instantly, most things can wait. Thank you for your thoughtful comment!

[@johndavis29209]

You always pump me up before I work on my software homework.

[@AaronRose2421]

Youre channel is an amazing find. You provide unique, well researched and insightful takes and wish you all the success coming your way.

[@cmdrreggit]

As Oscar Wilde said - "Art has no moral responsibility. Art should strive only to be a beautiful object entirely separate from its creator." The ego and unprofessionalism of directors in todays gaming industry has reached truly astounding levels - But I think Laura is correct, it is the actions of a minority that have made it this way. Ultimately it is a 'self-healing' situation (I just wish it would hurry up!)

[@KedarPatel91]

Thanks for leaving in the astro bot win 😊, seems you know someone on the team?

[@laurafryer6321]

I do! Kenny is the best! Thank you for watching!

[@pferreira1983]

Really good points. People working at companies are so eager to divide and get one over people they don't care about making gamers happy.

[@TheWosniakGambit]

Insightful and intelligent as always. Thank you

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you! I appreciate you watching!

[@rattoppatamatryoshka]

Great video as always! It’s so interesting that you talk about how leadership in games used to avoid causing controversy. At this point, I’m so used to a loud minority trying their hardest to piss people off. It must be maddening to be a normal person working on those games, having years of work screwed over by one big mouthed coworker. -__-

[@Holammer]

So, in the Team Fortress 2 universe New Zealand sunk under the waves like Atlantis. I wonder if this bit of lore was inspired by the Deadly Tide dev's goof?

[@laurafryer6321]

LOL! That's a good question. Thank you for watching!

[@xPXGx]

You would think that with so much at stake, so much experience and credentials, that people would at least act more professionally. That email with the hidden text is so obnoxiously petty. Someone so insecure and passive aggressive shouldn't be in a position to be leading people in the first place. Thank you again for another insightful video.

[@carlasoriani924]

Laura, keep with the great work! Love your videos and how you share the background of decisions making. I'm not part of the game industry but I work on the "creative industry" and things are not much different there. Every time I see a game being hated for any reason what so ever I feel sad because most of the time the hate is to the wrong people, we are always working behind schedule because someone with the money changed its mind or something like that. It's very hard to work under pressure to deliver, I have only admiration for everything that gets shipped even if not "good enough", wish more companies would learn instead taking the easy road of dismantling teams. But like you, I have faith in people, and that the majority are not like the negative it gets shared on twitter. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! ❤🎉

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! Working in creative industries is difficult even in the best of times..hard work as you say. I hope you have a Merry Christmas as well!!!

[@ChicanerDiMarty]

With all the videos talking about the turmoil in the games industry, it has been really tiring to get all these videos that don't say anything meaningful, but I am so glad that I clicked on this one though. Instantly subbed and watched more videos.

[@rogercastilho19]

Great to see your perspective. You expose the issue and comment on it very clearly.

[@samuraichicken2315]

I’m also hopeful. It’s good seeing companies like Larian get their due after so many years.

[@RecenzjeHorrorowPrzemcio]

No, you didn't make me replay Fallout 2, at all... so here we go again xD Great video as always! I love how you calmly referencing recent industry "dramas". I'd also love to see some longer, even more in-depth video, I feel like you have many, many more points to discuss and expand. Keep up good work!

[@AkaiS1100]

Thanks for taking the time to make so thoughtful videos. Not a huge gamer - but love your content.

[@MisterMonsterMan]

Fantastic video essay. We need more like yourself in positions of power in the industry.

[@DanteKG.]

Another great upload, thank you Laura!!

[@AllHailKingGila]

Really love this channel. Thank you.

[@mudbaconvideos]

Insightful as always Laura :)

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you!

[@jabarrex]

Fantastic, informative content from an obviously talented professional with real life experience in the gaming industry. Laura's content is criminally underrated gold!! I'm entertained and feel like I learn something from each vid. Great stuff!!

[@nonamedoe9264]

Another amazing video, you always have great insight into what’s going on in the industry.

[@rpg_haven]

Another banger from you

[@aquapendulum]

I remember an era of the industry where a marketing message like "John Romero's about to make you his bitch" caused Daikatana to flop hard. It's like the industry has learned nothing 2 decades later. Being flippant toward the customers is bad for business.

[@MarvinPowell1]

I remember that ad in Game Informer. The game didn't flop because of an edgy ad campaign, which was common in the 90s and early 2000s. It flopped because the game sucked and was super outdated by the time it was released.

[@psynque]

I don't think Daikatana failed because it was outdated. I mean Deus Ex is just as clunky yet it's one of the greatest games ever. The problem with Daikatana was that it was a buggy mess and the Quake II crowd really wasn't after what the game was. If anything the game was ruined by John Romero thinking he can write compelling characters or a good narrative.

[@mondodimotori]

LOL, that's not why Daikatana flopped hard! Doom difficulty levels where trying as hard as possible to pass that message, and the game is a milestone!

[@kamurotetsu4860]

Quite the contrary, that statement made the game far, far more popular.

[@RobertFromEarth]

Thank you Laura for sharing your amazing experience in the gaming industry. I'm hooked 🙂

[@vrubayka]

I used to be jealous of gamedevs because i always pictures working on games as the best career ever. It almost seemed like they live in a world very different from my own, where i chose a much less exciting career path. But seeing how people who get to make the best type of art in the world spend their free time arguing with strangers online, i feel much better. They aren't different or any better than me, they're just as preoccupied with BS as i am, often times far worse.

[@RipAndCompromise]

I love how insightful you are Laura, keep it up

[@MsNobody1337]

What a well written, and well edited video! You earned my subscription :)

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for watching and for the sub!