I grew up in the 90s, just inside the border of DC. I had a friend whose older brother worked at Bethesda, and I became a fan early, around the release of Daggerfall. This is long before all the glitz and glamor and money that now surround the gaming industry, just after a CD-ROM drive was impressive, and when a modem was still a luxury. Every summer, I went to TIC camp (on the Georgetown Visitation campus in those days) to take classes in computer programming and animation, and it was the most inspiring thing to me that just across the Maryland border, the team at Bethesda Softworks was doing the same thing, but with such skill and innovation. I had taught myself to program in BASIC on an Apple II clone when I was 5 or 6, and I remembered the frustration of finding the right words to speak with a computer, and to ask it to do what you wanted. Knowing they were just miles away, I grew up in awe of the software engineers at Bethesda.
Over the years, I've been glad for your company's success. I myself left my childhood behind, got my degrees, started a life in a new city, and very much in the same way, Bethesda has matured, made a respectable name for itself with a long string of excellent games, and grown into a powerhouse of the industry. I am impressed, so congratulations.
However, when I heard you were suing Notch for using the name "Scrolls," I had a physically sickening reaction to the news. I idolized your company when you were small and just starting out, when the quality of your products and the originality of your vision distinguished you from the rest, much as Notch has done with his own work. Will you really, Bethesda Softworks, publisher of the "game of the year" Fallout 3, take an indie developer to court? Have you really forgotten where you yourselves started as a company? And, from a legal perspective, do you really believe that a single strategy game from an emerging publisher poses ANY threat whatsoever to Skyrim?
I can't tell you how disappointed I am, in all of you. I really mean it that your company, along with Cyan and LucasArts, were idols to me when I was young. And why "Scrolls"? Was that a lawyer's suggestion, so you could make a few bucks? Why not sue J.K. Rowling, for including "The Elder Wand" in her stories? Surely that's even closer.
Beyond your treatment of Notch and implied contempt for those who are only now entering the business, there is a close second thing that upsets me. I'm sure that, at this point, you have a team of robots scanning the emails mindlessly, deleting this and that, and I know that I'll never get a response. In the old days, I would have just asked my friend Lucas to ask his older brother, and I would have had almost direct interaction with the company I respected so much. But now it doesn't matter. It's not about the fans anymore. And so even if I refuse to buy a copy of Skyrim, it will sell millions of units, and someone will make a lot of money, and no one will really care one way or another what I think.
I hadn't realized until now that this is what success has done to your company, and now that I know, I resent it. But to everyone who founded Bethesda Softworks, and to everyone who trudged through the early years, who earned the studio's deserved success, I salute you, as I have always saluted you, since hardly anyone knew who you were. I promise to keep those memories, long after you have forgotten.
this will happen to any big company, which is why we should only have lots of smaller companies. i mean, look what happened to CoD, each new game is a $5 change sold for $60, aka a money machine.
So? That doesn't change the fact that their games are good, and Mojang's games are good.
I couldn't care less about what they're legal department is doing, as long as their designers and developers are doing great.
Many lawyers suck, or are dishonest. And that's coming from me, and my mother is a layer. Some lawyers, including my mom, are honest. But just because the legal department at Bethesda pulls a bad move, doesn't mean the company sucks.
Amazing. Since this whole thing started I've felt the same way. The Elder Scrolls started my love for RPGs. Thank you for saying what we all our thinking! Let me know if you manage to get a response.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"So that was my net profit from the operation: 50 chests full of rocks, a big ****ed up hole and some slightly tasteless evening wear" - Ben 'Yahtzee' Crenshaw
Uh, thanks to those who understand what I'm saying. For those who think it's just fine that Bethesda is suing Notch, lemme just put it in terms you can understand. Notch proposed that they resolve the issue by a competitive Quake match between the two studios. Bethesda's team of lawyers took him to court.
That's the essence of these two companies right now.
Uh, thanks to those who understand what I'm saying. For those who think it's just fine that Bethesda is suing Notch, lemme just put it in terms you can understand. Notch proposed that they resolve the issue by a competitive Quake match between the two studios. Bethesda's team of lawyers took him to court.
That's the essence of these two companies right now.
Because a few people within a large group doing something stupid/different automatically makes the whole group stupid.
Again, the lawyers aren't the designers or the developers. They aren't Bethesda, the lawyers are the lawyers.
Because a few people within a large group doing something stupid/different automatically makes the whole group stupid.
Again, the lawyers aren't the designers or the developers. They aren't Bethesda, the lawyers are the lawyers.
I understand your point, but isn't there a certain point at which the lawyers become the company, instead of the programmers? I just think the leadership of the company are those who are doing the creative work. The lawyers should defend them if they need it. Not go off on their own to screw other people.
Is that fair, or am I out of line? Maybe I'm just too idealistic on my idea of creativity.
I understand your point, but isn't there a certain point at which the lawyers become the company, instead of the programmers? I just think the leadership of the company are those who are doing the creative work. The lawyers should defend them if they need it. Not go off on their own to screw other people.
Is that fair, or am I out of line? Maybe I'm just too idealistic on my idea of creativity.
E.
I'm just saying, that because the lawyers are suing somebody, doesn't mean the company has fallen.
The devs and designers still make great games, and the company is thriving. Now, when it's thriving, they have more employees. Which means a higher chance of there being pricks in the company. Just because there are pricks in the company, does NOT mean the company is corrupt or bad.
There are jack-asses, jerks, bullies, thieves, scoundrels, and evil people in every group. That doesn't make the rest of the group evil.
I'm just saying, that because the lawyers are suing somebody, doesn't mean the company has fallen.
The devs and designers still make great games, and the company is thriving. Now, when it's thriving, they have more employees. Which means a higher chance of there being pricks in the company. Just because there are pricks in the company, does NOT mean the company is corrupt or bad.
There are jack-asses, jerks, bullies, thieves, scoundrels, and evil people in every group. That doesn't make the rest of the group evil.
Okay, then. In a rare instance of internet civility... :smile.gif:
I concede your point that there are still wonderful people at Bethesda, who make wonderful games, and I respect that completely.
My point is only this: It seems to me there's a difference between the people who've always appreciated innovation, and those who stifle innovation in order to make money. I think Mojang does the former. I think Bethesda, sadly, at this point does both.
Can I respect the people at Bethesda who design all those tree branches and stone houses and immersive worlds, without accepting those who think that brilliance is a basis for screwing someone else? I hope I can. Because I do.
I simply don't think Notch, a year, maybe a year and a half, into realizing his own brilliance should ever have to give up his own success to a company that is already successful, based not only on worth, but also on expense and a name.
Is that fair? I really would like to be receptive to any response. The Minecraft players I've met are some of the most gifted and creative people I've known. So on the point of creativity, I defer to them.
Okay, then. In a rare instance of internet civility... :smile.gif:
I concede your point that there are still wonderful people at Bethesda, who make wonderful games, and I respect that completely.
My point is only this: It seems to me there's a difference between the people who've always appreciated innovation, and those who stifle innovation in order to make money. I think Mojang does the former. I think Bethesda, sadly, at this point does both.
Can I respect the people at Bethesda who design all those tree branches and stone houses and immersive worlds, without accepting those who think that brilliance is a basis for screwing someone else? I hope I can. Because I do.
I simply don't think Notch, a year, maybe a year and a half, into realizing his own brilliance should ever have to give up his own success to a company that is already successful, based not only on worth, but also on expense and a name.
Is that fair? I really would like to be receptive to any response. The Minecraft players I've met are some of the most gifted and creative people I've known. So on the point of creativity, I defer to them.
E.
That's what I'm saying, actually.
There are people in nearly every group that are malicious. That doesn't mean the group is bad. Bethesda and Mojang are both very good developers, but Bethesda is much larger, and thus is more likely to have jerks in it's ranks.
We can agree that Bethesda suing Mojang is stupid. However, Bethesda is still a great company, regardless of their legal department's actions. The people actually performing the main job of the company are still among the best. And I know this even without playing Skyrim because of how Todd Howard and all the other employees talk about, and how Todd looks like he hasn't slept in a month.
They even said themselves: "They're making a game THEY would want to play." They're not making a steaming turd like the CoD franchise. They're making a game that they would still enjoy playing after they hand-crafted the entire freaking game.
There are people in nearly every group that are malicious. That doesn't mean the group is bad. Bethesda and Mojang are both very good developers, but Bethesda is much larger, and thus is more likely to have jerks in it's ranks.
We can agree that Bethesda suing Mojang is stupid. However, Bethesda is still a great company, regardless of their legal department's actions. The people actually performing the main job of the company are still among the best. And I know this even without playing Skyrim because of how Todd Howard and all the other employees talk about, and how Todd looks like he hasn't slept in a month.
They even said themselves: "They're making a game THEY would want to play." They're not making a steaming turd like the CoD franchise. They're making a game that they would still enjoy playing after they hand-crafted the entire freaking game.
Ok, point taken. I'm just saying it's different from the mom-and-pop game studio I knew when I was younger. And maybe Notch has been extremely successful with MC, but I still don't view him the same way.
I will completely agree with you that every game, including Skyrim, is a labor of love and a work of art for the employees of Bethesda. I shouldn't shrug that off. I would just hate to see their company hijacked by some group of lawyers who start beef between the two companies, given that they both make great games. To think that one, as a corporate entity and not just the developers, was taking advantage of the other, makes me really really angry. And I do, honestly, remember when Bethesda was no bigger than Mojang. I still feel like--- even if it's just the lawyers they employ--- one has grown into a different company than they used to be.
But I understand you post, so I won't blame the designers or programmers. I still love their games, and I think they're some of the best around. It just bums me out to see this kind of petty legal bull____ going on between companies whose programmers are commendable, and one whose legal staff are jeopardizing that greatness.
I hope that makes sense... Thanks for your post, either way.
Eliot.
I grew up in the 90s, just inside the border of DC. I had a friend whose older brother worked at Bethesda, and I became a fan early, around the release of Daggerfall. This is long before all the glitz and glamor and money that now surround the gaming industry, just after a CD-ROM drive was impressive, and when a modem was still a luxury. Every summer, I went to TIC camp (on the Georgetown Visitation campus in those days) to take classes in computer programming and animation, and it was the most inspiring thing to me that just across the Maryland border, the team at Bethesda Softworks was doing the same thing, but with such skill and innovation. I had taught myself to program in BASIC on an Apple II clone when I was 5 or 6, and I remembered the frustration of finding the right words to speak with a computer, and to ask it to do what you wanted. Knowing they were just miles away, I grew up in awe of the software engineers at Bethesda.
Over the years, I've been glad for your company's success. I myself left my childhood behind, got my degrees, started a life in a new city, and very much in the same way, Bethesda has matured, made a respectable name for itself with a long string of excellent games, and grown into a powerhouse of the industry. I am impressed, so congratulations.
However, when I heard you were suing Notch for using the name "Scrolls," I had a physically sickening reaction to the news. I idolized your company when you were small and just starting out, when the quality of your products and the originality of your vision distinguished you from the rest, much as Notch has done with his own work. Will you really, Bethesda Softworks, publisher of the "game of the year" Fallout 3, take an indie developer to court? Have you really forgotten where you yourselves started as a company? And, from a legal perspective, do you really believe that a single strategy game from an emerging publisher poses ANY threat whatsoever to Skyrim?
I can't tell you how disappointed I am, in all of you. I really mean it that your company, along with Cyan and LucasArts, were idols to me when I was young. And why "Scrolls"? Was that a lawyer's suggestion, so you could make a few bucks? Why not sue J.K. Rowling, for including "The Elder Wand" in her stories? Surely that's even closer.
Beyond your treatment of Notch and implied contempt for those who are only now entering the business, there is a close second thing that upsets me. I'm sure that, at this point, you have a team of robots scanning the emails mindlessly, deleting this and that, and I know that I'll never get a response. In the old days, I would have just asked my friend Lucas to ask his older brother, and I would have had almost direct interaction with the company I respected so much. But now it doesn't matter. It's not about the fans anymore. And so even if I refuse to buy a copy of Skyrim, it will sell millions of units, and someone will make a lot of money, and no one will really care one way or another what I think.
I hadn't realized until now that this is what success has done to your company, and now that I know, I resent it. But to everyone who founded Bethesda Softworks, and to everyone who trudged through the early years, who earned the studio's deserved success, I salute you, as I have always saluted you, since hardly anyone knew who you were. I promise to keep those memories, long after you have forgotten.
Eliot.
I would like to see this! ^^
If you're a small map maker, send me a PM and if it's good enough I'll advertise it in my sig.
I couldn't care less about what they're legal department is doing, as long as their designers and developers are doing great.
Many lawyers suck, or are dishonest. And that's coming from me, and my mother is a layer. Some lawyers, including my mom, are honest. But just because the legal department at Bethesda pulls a bad move, doesn't mean the company sucks.
Amazing. Since this whole thing started I've felt the same way. The Elder Scrolls started my love for RPGs. Thank you for saying what we all our thinking! Let me know if you manage to get a response.
That's the essence of these two companies right now.
Because a few people within a large group doing something stupid/different automatically makes the whole group stupid.
Again, the lawyers aren't the designers or the developers. They aren't Bethesda, the lawyers are the lawyers.
I understand your point, but isn't there a certain point at which the lawyers become the company, instead of the programmers? I just think the leadership of the company are those who are doing the creative work. The lawyers should defend them if they need it. Not go off on their own to screw other people.
Is that fair, or am I out of line? Maybe I'm just too idealistic on my idea of creativity.
E.
I'm just saying, that because the lawyers are suing somebody, doesn't mean the company has fallen.
The devs and designers still make great games, and the company is thriving. Now, when it's thriving, they have more employees. Which means a higher chance of there being pricks in the company. Just because there are pricks in the company, does NOT mean the company is corrupt or bad.
There are jack-asses, jerks, bullies, thieves, scoundrels, and evil people in every group. That doesn't make the rest of the group evil.
Okay, then. In a rare instance of internet civility... :smile.gif:
I concede your point that there are still wonderful people at Bethesda, who make wonderful games, and I respect that completely.
My point is only this: It seems to me there's a difference between the people who've always appreciated innovation, and those who stifle innovation in order to make money. I think Mojang does the former. I think Bethesda, sadly, at this point does both.
Can I respect the people at Bethesda who design all those tree branches and stone houses and immersive worlds, without accepting those who think that brilliance is a basis for screwing someone else? I hope I can. Because I do.
I simply don't think Notch, a year, maybe a year and a half, into realizing his own brilliance should ever have to give up his own success to a company that is already successful, based not only on worth, but also on expense and a name.
Is that fair? I really would like to be receptive to any response. The Minecraft players I've met are some of the most gifted and creative people I've known. So on the point of creativity, I defer to them.
E.
That's what I'm saying, actually.
There are people in nearly every group that are malicious. That doesn't mean the group is bad. Bethesda and Mojang are both very good developers, but Bethesda is much larger, and thus is more likely to have jerks in it's ranks.
We can agree that Bethesda suing Mojang is stupid. However, Bethesda is still a great company, regardless of their legal department's actions. The people actually performing the main job of the company are still among the best. And I know this even without playing Skyrim because of how Todd Howard and all the other employees talk about, and how Todd looks like he hasn't slept in a month.
They even said themselves: "They're making a game THEY would want to play." They're not making a steaming turd like the CoD franchise. They're making a game that they would still enjoy playing after they hand-crafted the entire freaking game.
Ok, point taken. I'm just saying it's different from the mom-and-pop game studio I knew when I was younger. And maybe Notch has been extremely successful with MC, but I still don't view him the same way.
I will completely agree with you that every game, including Skyrim, is a labor of love and a work of art for the employees of Bethesda. I shouldn't shrug that off. I would just hate to see their company hijacked by some group of lawyers who start beef between the two companies, given that they both make great games. To think that one, as a corporate entity and not just the developers, was taking advantage of the other, makes me really really angry. And I do, honestly, remember when Bethesda was no bigger than Mojang. I still feel like--- even if it's just the lawyers they employ--- one has grown into a different company than they used to be.
But I understand you post, so I won't blame the designers or programmers. I still love their games, and I think they're some of the best around. It just bums me out to see this kind of petty legal bull____ going on between companies whose programmers are commendable, and one whose legal staff are jeopardizing that greatness.
I hope that makes sense... Thanks for your post, either way.
Eliot.