I’m Kinda Over The Minecraft And Dota Hate.

It seems like every other article I read or video I watch from the traditional games press that mentions a survival/crafting game or MOBA can’t help but also include a slight jab. It’s usually not anything dramatic, but it’s almost like the entire industry just collectively sighs at the mention of them. Yea, these genres are oversaturated, but that doesn’t make good games any less good.

Minecraft, Terraria, Rust, Dota2, League of Legends, etc, are some of the most popular games in the world but somehow manage to be drastically under-represented on larger gaming news sites. I think there’s something fairly unique at play here and it’s probably related to the idea that typically, the people who enjoy these sorts of games almost exclusively play them.

A game journalist who only plays and reports on one game would be a hard sell, so that leads to the current situation we find ourselves in; journalists with a good understanding of the general games industry attempting to step into an incredibly deep, rich, and highly specific community that surrounds fairly complex games. We end up with people who are confused, overwhelmed, and sometimes misinformed on what they find. Most of them simply don’t have the time to devote to a single game. I think this is what leads to the scoffing and almost palpable distaste for these types of games throughout the media.

I just wish it was a bit easier for people to separate the subjective from the objective I guess. Games can be great without the need for you to personally like, or “get” them. It’s a sad affair, and I’m not really sure if there’s even a good solution. As long as people like Mike Fahey, Brad Shoemaker, and Patricia Hernandez exist, there’s still hope.