Morgan, thank you for the article.
I wish you had rounded out your article with some personal stories/feedback regarding the type of fans/gamers you might have met personally at events, especially smaller events where the audience might come due to wanting to get to know the devs.
I don’t think it’s fair to compare your experiences with your fathers, when the market you serve, as well as the communication channels they use are so very different. Everything from online anonymity to the massive market you are dipping into is completely different.
I find it hard to believe that you would find this sort of abuse if you focused on only players that you met face to face, especially in the course of just doing your business (eg. at a nearby cafe, meetup, etc..), instead of when you are advertising (E3 or whatever it might be). In fact, those sorts of fans are the ones most likely to have the ability to eventually become friends similar to your father’s experience, especially considering the common geo-locality (they might be living nearby?).
Anyways, I agree with the overall gist of your article that developers get way too much abuse, death threats, etc… in the modern world of being a game dev. However, I would have liked for you to balance that strong opinion with more down to earth experiences in person with the fans.
Thanks again m8.