@masterdrat WHOOPS! The last comment I wrote to you was supposed to be directed at zinbarr. Please ignore it. @zinbarr Please read the last comment I wrote to masterdrat, as I meant to address YOU with it. DOH! (facepalm)

@Renunciation Yeah you see, I don't understand why gamers get so upset over a game being bad when there are so many options available to them to deal with a bad game. You can rent it ahead of time, you can try the demo, you can wait for a price drop...yet for some reason most either think these options aren't acceptable enough or they're just stupid enough to go buy them full price when they come out anyway. Why? NOBODY makes us buy these things. When I hear arguments like those, I immediately think of the word "addiction." What I think is that many gamers have gotten to a point where games aren't a luxury anymore: they're a necessity. Like clothing, food, and a home. But of course they AREN'T, so complaining endlessly as though it's bad for your well-being when a game doesn't live up to your expectations speaks more to a psychological problem on the part of gamers than to "laziness" on the part of developers. If you don't like what's being served, either eat somewhere else or find something else to do. Why's that so hard? :)

@rasputin177 I'm sorry I just realized you're actually the first person who wrote a response to me. If the last comment I wrote offended you I apologize. I was honestly curious about the context of the comment "How can we expect games to be recognized as art when we won't even recognize them ourselves?" and for some reason felt it might be equated with Jennifer Hepler being wrong, but I now realize that it was probably just a completely different discussion altogether. So please ignore my last reply. :)

@End_this_day WHOA! Wait a second. Yeah, I dislike the attitudes of gamers, but I'm not so sure it's any better to call them "The worst kind of human being." There are certainly worse people out there. Many of them ARE overdemanding, entitled brats though. :)

@masterdrat I agree that Aaryn Flynn's outburst was unprofessional, but I also think it was justified--or at least somewhat excusable--given the giant wall of pure, blind, deaf hatred he's dealing with from these jerks. At some point he SHOULD probably apologize for the outburst, but not yet; not until the flaming has ended. You might say--as many have--"Does it make sense to fight fire with fire?" I've personally been told that myself. My response is this: "Does it make sense to fight an army carrying submachine guns with a bunch of water pistols?" If the battlefield is going to be completely decimated anyway, there's little reason not to bring out the heavy artillery to keep yourself safe. Call it a strange analogy if you want, but it's what I personally believe. :)

@masterdrat Do you KNOW that they're kids? Does ANYBODY know that for sure? You make a good point that it doesn't exactly ring practical to suggest suing someone for this, but if the company bans these people from the forums where they post, I pretty much say "Good riddance." It's funny because I've been arguing for years that the right way to improve games and please customers is NOT to listen to them all the time, and it seems gamers are determined to turn a blind eye to instances in which their demands have led to games getting screwed up. Truth be told, if most gamers were truly in charge of everything that got made, I'm pretty sure our industry would be long past dead due to a lack of innovation. (No offense to gamers that fit that description.) Anyway, thanks for the reply. :)

@rasputin177 Out of curiousity, why does the rest of the world NEED to recognize video games as art? And how does that justify the insults Jennifer Hepler had to deal with? (Maybe I'm unfamiliar with the context of your statement. I apologize if I am.)

Apparently this has to be spelled out, so here are some examples: CONSTRUCTIVE: The graphics are not that great. They definitely could have used some more work before release. Pop-in is prevalent and the textures are kind of ugly. NOT CONSTRUCTIVE: Whoever designed these graphics should be ashamed of themselves! They obviously have no taste for what actually looks good! They should be fired! CONSTRUCTIVE: The gameplay is simply not fun. It really would have been better if they'd provided further customization options and bigger worlds to explore. NOT CONSTRUCTIVE: Who the hell decided that it was okay to lock players in a small corridor for the entire game without even providing a semblance of player choice? I'd like their heads! Because only an utter moron could possibly think this kind of gameplay is fun. (This effectively insults not just the developers but anyone who happens to enjoy this type of game. Yes, they DO exist!) In short, being constructive actually demands a certain level of respect from both parties. You can't just insult people and excuse it as "constructive criticism." And I will repeat that most of the people dishing this **** out to Bioware wouldn't be able to handle someone saying their hair looks a little messy without throwing a huge tantrum.

@PlatinumPaladin Why can't more people think the way you do? I've been screaming that sentiment for YEARS now. And I want everyone to listen VERY carefully: there is a BIG difference between "constructive criticism" and "being a dick." To stand there and even begin to suggest that a woman should be able to put up with "constructive criticism" when you call her names instead of--god forbid--actually addressing what bothers you so much...that's totally immature and will do you no good at all. It'd be like me calling someone a Nazi and then responding to their obvious anger at the accusation by saying, "What? Why can't you just take a little criticism?" Because it's NOT criticism when it's a personal attack!

@Batezu I understand your point and respect where some of these gamers who criticize her are coming from, but given how often gamers--the same ones pissing and moaning at her comments, I might add--complain about "unfair difficulty" in games, a claim that has led many to revert to making games easier in recent years, I wouldn't be surprised if sooner or later that's EXACTLY what gamers wanted. And the thing is, while it IS called a game, Bioware is not in the business of making movies or writing books. (To the best of my knowledge.) I made this same argument when people complained about all the cutscenes in FFX. The gameplay may be limited, but you're still not going to experience anything like it anywhere, whether you call it a game, a book, a movie, or a cow. Regardless, this is completely unacceptable behavior for anybody who wants to call themselves a "fan" of Bioware, and I fully agree with Laura Parker on every point.