I think some people worship the devs in an attempt to gain favor or special privilege from them. Maybe if they kiss enough butt they to can have exclusive access to testing cool new features before everyone else, or have a special forum where only a handful of players get access to and feel as though THEY are directly influencing the game. For the really devout worshipers, they get to have their dev-god post snarky and condescending replies to the uneducated heathens who disagree with their god and his followers on the forums. I'm sure nothing confirms their faith more than seeing their forum enemies being struck down by their almighty dev-god.
And then there's others who simply think the devs are just a bunch of people who are doing a job. Sometimes they do something really impressive, other times they TRIBBLE up badly. And truth be told, anyone could be a dev if they just take the time to learn the necessary skills. It's not magic... it's science!
Okay, some Devs are leaving. Some Devs communicate regularly to players and answer questions on the forums and in chat channels. Some Devs do a lot of hard work and put out great content.
But I see the players being too much fans (=fanatics) when it comes to the Devs, almost to the point of excessive worship and a Cult of Personality.
So what happens? The players get extremely upset and disappointed if a beloved Dev departs from Cryptic or from Star Trek Online. Such players also spell doom and gloom for the future of Star Trek Online.
That is unhealthy and unrealistic. The Devs are people (strange, but true!), with their own lives and plans for their future. Eventually, they unchain themselves from their workstations, and either go home to family and a life outside of STO, or go on to new projects and employment outside of STO.
The players should, as Shatner said on Saturday Night Live, "get a life". Stop thinking that STO is doomed because one or more Devs leave. Sure, be a bit disappointed.
But play the game, enjoy the game. And remember, it's only a game!
I know some people go too far (DOOM) with their posts, but I can understand people being truely upset with someone leaving, especially a dev who you know created something in game you absolutely love (DOFF system!). Also, when you see several quality devs leaving Cryptic, it's not unreasonable to wonder if it's because PW is changing the corporate "atmosphere" negatively.
I see nothing wrong with wondering, worrying, and even voicing that in the forums, but I'm not about to declare STO dead because of it. I just hope it's not because of negative changes and then we see even more of the original team leave.
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And then there's others who simply think the devs are just a bunch of people who are doing a job. Sometimes they do something really impressive, other times they TRIBBLE up badly. And truth be told, anyone could be a dev if they just take the time to learn the necessary skills. It's not magic... it's science!
Captain Ariel Trueheart Department of Temporal Investigations
U.S.S. Valkyrie - NCC 991701
=/\= ================================= =/\=
I know some people go too far (DOOM) with their posts, but I can understand people being truely upset with someone leaving, especially a dev who you know created something in game you absolutely love (DOFF system!). Also, when you see several quality devs leaving Cryptic, it's not unreasonable to wonder if it's because PW is changing the corporate "atmosphere" negatively.
I see nothing wrong with wondering, worrying, and even voicing that in the forums, but I'm not about to declare STO dead because of it. I just hope it's not because of negative changes and then we see even more of the original team leave.