Evidently, Brian Greenstone of Pangea Software doesn't appreciate the value of word of mouth, goodwill, or anything else that might help promote their product. I asked a simple question regarding their new iPhone game called Billy Frontier and was basically given the finger. Whatever! A simple Yes or No would have been sufficient.If he wants to treat potential customers as worthless crap then that is his prerogative just as much as it is mine to blog about it.
All I can say is, "Good luck Brian!"
Here is the very brief exchange:
Initial Message:
Can the blood/gore be turned off in this game? It looked interesting and the price was right but if it has the blood and gore, I won't be buying it.
Reply from Brian Greenstone:
You're joking, right?
My Reply:
Never mind. I was going to buy Enigmo and Billy Frontier for the iPhone and had contemplated purchasing Enigmo for the Mac but your snide remark fixed that.
Reply from Brian Greenstone:
You're joking, right?
I won't even get into the whole issue about blood and gore in video games except to say that this is basically a carnival shooting game. A switch to turn off the unnecessary blood and gore would have been nice. Of course, I'm assuming this game does have the blood and gore but only from the descriptions I've seen and a screenshot. It would be funny if it didn't even have it at all.
The only reason I wanted to turn it off is I have young ones in the house who like to pick up my iPhone and play it and I'd rather not have them have the blood and gore if they inadvertently make their way into this game. (yeah, I could lock the phone but I don't feel like hassling with it)
5 comments:
I'm sorry that happened but, generally, Brian is a great guy. He has been a Mac developer forever. Even when no one on Earth was making Mac games, Brian still was.
He also has an open license for schools which is the most generous and kind thing I've ever seen from a software developer.
If you buy *one* copy of any of Pangeasoft's games, you have an unlimited license to install it on as many workstations as you want to within a school.
Not that the kids spend a lot of time playing them, but they are a great treat for a kid who has done well or a class that has a earned a few minutes of fun at the end of a class.
Maybe you just caught him on a bad day or possibly he misread the tone of your question.
The funny thing is, for someone who is so generous to a school, you'd think he would be open to how parents respond to his software.
Why ISN'T a "no gore" setting included on every game? It would be simple enough to do, at the code level. Just make all the blood transparent instead of red if the button is clicked.
This fascination of watching all of the bad guys drown in tomato soup in every game is disturbing. I likes me a bloodbath from time to time, but does it need to be EVERY time? And what does it even say about us that it's so common in so many games and that the idea of looking to avoid it is literally considered a joke?
Matt: I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and sent him a follow-up message to that effect.
Skudge: Unfortunately, blood and gore continue to rule the day in games. Even if I don't care one way or the other, my wife does and I like to keep her happy when possible. (Always a good idea.)
I know when I got hooked on the earlier Tony Hawk games, it was disappointing to see that you couldn't turn off the blood. I wouldn't let the kids play it because of that and it was a shame since it was a blast.
We'll see what comes back from Brian I guess.
I should clarify, I personally don't mind playing a game (sometimes) that has blood and gore but I don't generally want my kids playing it. I realized that one sentence earlier was a little vague.
I got a reply back from Brian. I can't say what he did was the smartest thing in the world but we all make mistakes.
In the interest of being fair, here is the rest of the conversation:
My Reply:
I'm told by someone who "knows" you or at least has been a patron of yours for many years that I should give you the benefit of the doubt and that perhaps you were just having a bad day.
Is this true or did you really find my original question too offensive or ridiculous to take it seriously?
Brian Greenstone:
Well, to be honest I get so many boring emails that when a funny one like that comes thru I often feel obliged to play with the author a bit. No offense, but that email was the subject of much humor here for the last few days. I mean really, what red-blooded American male asks for "less" blood and gore in a game? It just doesn't happen, so it made the email rather unusual and humorous. I was about 50% sure you must have been just joking with me, but I guess not.
My Reply:
Sometimes blood and gore can be fine but, in most instances, it is taken way to far and used far to often without adding to the game play. Also, I have a wife who does care about the blood and gore and a bunch of little kids who like to steal away with my iPhone to play games once in a while so games with blood and gore are generally off the list unless there is a way to turn it off.
Granted, the whole idea of shooting a bunch of alien creatures is probably not such a good idea either but since the game appears to be nothing more than an elaborate carnival shooting game when boiled down to the basics (I know there are other things too but the shooting seems to be where the blood is) you can make excuses for the shooting so I don't feel like I have a double standard here but some might disagree.
No matter how one feels though, from a business standpoint, it boils down to simple economics. If you want to maximize your sales, why not appeal to the broadest base of potential customers you can and simply have a switch to turn off the blood and gore. I didn't write the code so I have no idea how hard that would be but I fail to see why many developers put forth tremendous effort in producing what is basically a good game and then cross off potential customers because of something that could be fixed through a simple switch in an option screen.
I had this issue with the Tony Hawk games. Right or wrong, my wife didn't want our kids playing it because you left a trail of virtual blood if you fell. Realistic, perhaps (most didn't have helmets though which is unrealistic in my house), but had there been a simple switch to turn that off, it would have been on our playlist.
However you feel, as someone who has a generous license for schools (I'm told by a long standing customer), he and I both felt it was an issue that you'd appreciate so were shocked by the response. I was very offended by it but after a talk with my friend, realized that everyone deserves a second chance.
I'd just be careful in the future though. Usually it is better to er' on the side of caution.
Brian Greenstone:
Yeah, some games certainly go too far, but Billy Frontier is not really one of them. Despite the fact that the entire premise of the game is shooting and killing things, the amount of blood is pretty tame, but without the blood the game wouldn't make much sense since it's kinda the whole premise.
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