So am I just supposed to hate the game?

So I've been playing this game on and off since June of 2004. Why? Because I enjoy it. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't be here, and if the game didn't continue to evolve in ways I enjoyed, I wouldn't keep playing. But there's a disturbing trend I've noticed over the last couple of years, in which many long term players have violently turned on the game, picking out each and every flaw they can find, all while acting like they're acting in the game's best interests by acting hyper-critical towards it. I'm not saying that criticism of any kind is bad, and a real fan should never point out flaws, but I've begun to feel like the City of Heroes community has fallen into that paradigm of cynicism=intelligence that plagues so many other fandoms.

But at the end of the day, I still find myself really enjoying this game! I like the community, I like the story, I like the design. Could they all be better? Yes, but I've never felt like ignoring the good parts of the game could improve my overall experience in any way. Granted, the increased criticism towards this game has caused me to notice some of the weaker parts of this game and become more critical, but I feel like I'm expected to play this game almost maliciously, looking for flaws at every turn.

So what I guess I'm trying to ask here is, would I really be doing anyone a favor by hating this game? Because I can't really see any benefit of continuing to play a game I hate.

I don't think it's much more pronounced now than it ever was. People were as nasty to one another and to the devs on the forums starting from launch at least. It does make you wonder about specific people whose every single post is about how they hate whatever new thing has come along, doesn't it? But they don't seem more numerous now than in the past, to me.

I really liked the original "Star Trek" TV show.

I also thought that "Journey to Eden" and "Spock's Brain" were abominably stupid episodes as they were written.

That does not mean that I hate "Star Trek." It means that those episodes were stupid in my view. It is not Feast or Famine regarding the overall show if I like or dislike a particular bit of it.

There is one other facet, Mr. Squid. The Devs do follow the Forums overall. If a particular complaint is addressed reasonably, and the feedback is strong enough, they very, very often respond. That does not mean each player will get what they want any time they say anything, but it does mean that the Forums are a useful feedback tool.

It's a game. Play and have fun, and don't give a damn what grumpy people on the forums have to say.

I find that quite a few of these hate threads that start up are due to one thing and one thing only.


The Big Green Eyed Monster