Paul Barnett: Anti-Hero of the People

Personally, I didn't mind one bit what he did. Paul is a loose cannon, no doubt, but instead of Paul, would you rather have the faceless Kalgan? If game designers can't take criticism, they can get out of the business. Paul railing against this whole thing was a refreshing read. Lum can shove it. He is a commentator, not a designer. Sure, he briefly worked in the MMO field, but until I'm playing a game that Lum actually made, he will always be just another critic to me. At least Paul is out there, doing it.

Hiryu02
GnM

 

"Paul is a loose cannon, no doubt, but instead of Paul, would you rather have the faceless Kalgan?"

Do you know what Blizzard did?  Jeff Kaplan got up in fornt of everyone and said this is what we did wrong, and admitted that he messed up the Stranglethorn quest line.  Blizzard is more than willing to admit when they made a mistake.

"Paul railing against this whole thing was a refreshing read."

If you own a wolf shirt and think it's cool to rail against corporate suits for no good reason, sure it was refreshing.

"He is a commentator, not a designer. Sure, he briefly worked in the MMO field, but until I'm playing a game that Lum actually made, he will always be just another critic to me. At least Paul is out there, doing it."

Do you know who Lum is?  Did you ever hear of Dark Age of Camelot?  Did you know his project at NCSoft was cancelled?  To those of us who actually have a clue, Lum has more than enough experience in game design and development than Paul coudl ever hope to have.

"It has got to suck so hard working for a company like EA. I do not begrudge Mythic the selling of their souls at all. Poor Paul"

Awesome, another clueless person!  Go ask Sanya Weathers, former CM for Mythic.  According to her, if giving people a comfortable working environment or freedom to develop their own game is wrong, she doesn't want to right ever.  The only thing that EA did was put their foot down and demand Mythic release the game, after it had been delayed twice.  All of WAR's failings are due to Mythic itself.  Not EA. 

 

So Kaplan apologizing 4 years after the fact makes it all okay? And yes, I know exactly who Lum the Mad is and who he worked for. Guess what? He can still shove it. His main contribution to Daoc was the Camelot Herald. He was a database programmer. I still don't care. His work at NCsoft never made it. I'm playing a game Paul helped design, not Scott.

If you disagree with me, that's fine. But cut the superior attitude about "clues" and "wolf shirts". We don't know each other, but we can disagree in a civilized manner.

 

Lol one would have to be blind to not notice that Blizzard purposely:

A) Messes up balance so there will always be balance to be had, giving each class a time to shine over and over and over again
B) Makes everything incredibly easy and simple so that the 4 year olds that play WoW will always be able to progress. Throw in grinds and more grinds which are even easier than the content themsleves.

Voila, that's where the game is going and has been going ever since BC came out. Blizzard will never admit to these things (much less even make word of them), however Paul will. That's the difference.

 

It has got to suck so hard working for a company like EA. I do not begrudge Mythic the selling of their souls at all. Poor Paul

 

I agree it's almost not WAR news, because despite being a designer for Mythic, much of what comes out of Paul Barnett's mouth isn't related to the game. Unfortunately, that's even true when he's talking about the game.

His rant was more relevant pointing at himself more than any other game designer. Seriously, apply what he ranted about in this speech and look at what he's said and done over the past year.

He's got personality, an odd sort of charisma, but he's burned through most of his credit. I know people who've refused to try WAR just because of the nonsense he spews. I hesitate to character roast someone until they go over the top, but then it's free game, so Barnett has been a free-range blowhard target for awhile.

Can we just get over this guy? He's just not very relevant-- to anything.