Facepunch Studios co-founder Garry Newman (also the man behind Garry’s mod) was active on the Rust subreddit yesterday, bemoaning the “ping pong loop” of updates and community feedback experienced by many developers of live games.
We think that the project which made his name, Garry’s Mod, is one of the best sandbox games on PC.
“I’m noticing a pattern, and we need to address it,” Newman wrote. “We’re stuck in ping pong loop. We release an update, you love it for a month, you get bored, blame the system, bitch for a few months, then we release another update – and the same thing happens. My worry is that this is going to be a constant thing. We’re not going to hit a point where you go – yep – don’t change anything – keep it like it is.”
With characteristic directness, Newman’s suggestion for breaking the loop was to invite those without constructive feedback to go away please.
“If you’re bored of the game then just stop playing it. But before you get angry about it consider whether we have given you enough entertainment over the last 3 years to justify pocketing your $20. I know this probably sounds pretty dismissive, but that’s not how I want it to be. I’m trying to be pragmatic. If you’re interested in the game, if you play regularly and still get enjoyment when you play – we’re definitely interested to hear what you think. We especially love hearing your stories, watching your videos, seeing your screenshots and paintings – all things that this subreddit has been very low on.”
Newman is clearly acting in good faith and trying to separate the useful comments from the overly critical. Yet the first and one of the highest-voted replies argues boredom isn’t why some in the community are frustrated, saying complaints are consistently about the game’s many recent changes and their fundamental impact on gameplay:
“You guys have taken this crazy home invasion simulator that rewarded creativity and ingenuity and turned it into a gathering simulator with guns. Creativity and ingenuity are being snuffed out, grind is being increased, rewards are being reduced.”