Two perspectives on sales and luck

Jake Birkett, as is his way, posted a tweet that prompted some reflection. Here it is: https://twitter.com/GreyAlien/status/1600913617372811276?s=20&t=SmvkeShC7Ziacz6o2DqHiw He may be responding to this thread by Momiji studios, though if he intended to make the association he would have done so. I am sympathetic to some parts of the thread, particularly the idea that data on …

The Ultimate Guide to Steam Wishlists in 2023

Steam wishlists are a leading indicator of a game's success and a significant area of focus for developers. They are used to forecast a game's sales and to break into the coveted Steam front page. Despite the significant attention they recieve, there are a lot of mysteries as to how wishlists work. The number requried …

We should probably chill out about spoilers

The idea of a spoiler is more of a drag than the reality of one. Such a view is heresy and will only serve to provoke a stream of anecdotes about how an individual story was ruined by a spoiler and what a terrible shame it was that the purity of the first experience was …

Whiplash doesn’t have a problem with jazz

Spoiler warning: This article contains a discussion of most of the plot of Whiplash and a suggestive reference to the end of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Richard Brody wrote an uncharitable review of the movie Whiplash, originally titled “’Whiplash’ Gets Jazz All Wrong” but later titled “Getting Jazz Right in the Movies”. The article offers little in …

The Wages of Cheap

Unity's CEO, John Riccitiello has some ideas about what it takes to succeed in games and chose to express them in a really careless way. General sentiment towards Unity was falling at least among some developers due to shifting priorities, and a recent round of layoffs. The latest outrage came not so much from an …

Bringing Your Whole Self to Patch Notes

On March 8th the developer of Domina (bignic) decided to moonlight as a health authority/life coach and suffered backlash as a result. The opinion expressed is stupid and uninteresting, but for reference, the note that sparked the response was: TAKE OFF THE FCKN MASKS - Next time you're at the grocery store, try showing a …

Why do I need to know which Activision Blizzard executives worked in the Trump administration?

Activision Blizzard's executives have been criticized for a series of progressively tone deaf responses to the lawsuit brought by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the resulting labour action. The company has done nothing to earn any sympathy, and the most charitable reading of the executive response would be 'failed to rise …

Is the Man in the Arena stupid? (after reading two essays)

A senior manager at work recommended The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity by Carlo Cipolla (economic historian at Berkley). Anyone familiar with a certain type of office already knows the punchline: the higher the position, the more likely the book is misconstrued as an instruction manual. Cipolla's essay is amusing and there is some benefit …

Did you hear about that dumb Kotaku article?

Did you hear about that dumb Kotaku article that made a bunch of people mad? How about this instead: Did you know that one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was an occultist who ecstatically recited Crowley's "Hymn to Pan" during rocket tests and befriended L. Ron Hubbard? Interesting huh? No really, the …

Happy “y no international mens day?” Day

I've posted variations of this on Twitter or in private messages before, but given that today is International Women's Day, I thought I would enshrine the comments in a blog post. The original analysis was lighthearted, and I'm probably not the best one to speak substantively on International Women's Day, but I've also tried to …