The DeanBeat: Be nice. Be kind.

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"Be nice to him, Dean." Someone told me this in a meeting this week. Something about my demeanor suggested that maybe I wasn't being nice all the time, so it was a good reminder to be careful what I say because words matter. I need these reminders from time to time, so I pass them on to the players.

Be nice. Be nice.

"The joy of sharing has been driven away from me." These are the words of Ron Gilbert, the director of the new game Return to Monkey Island, a title that fans have been waiting for for decades. Gilbert said in a personal blog (since closed) that he would no longer post about the game due to online abuse.

Echoing what my colleague Rachel Kaser said: this is why we can't have nice things. I don't know why abusers feel so empowered that they had to harangue a hard-working game developer to revive a game series that hasn't had new content since 2009. Other developers like Neil Druckmann of Naughty Dog and Cory Barlog showed sympathy for Gilbert. They've had their share of abuse too.

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Barlog was on the defensive after the God of War: Ragnarok release date was announced.

Message from Sony on reducing toxicity.

"Dear All," Barlog said in a tweet, "if it was up to me, I'll share all the info as soon as I get it." informed. But it's not up to me. So please be patient. I promise things will be shared as soon as possible. We create games for you. It's thanks to you that we can create games."

Barlog also had to remind gamers that it was not acceptable to send "dick pics" to one of Sony's game developers in hopes of getting release date information. of the game. Lo and behold, the rumors of Ragnarok being delayed have proven false as Sony announced that it would debut on November 13th.

Journalists are often the targets of these abuses these days. A Twitch streamer felt it was over...