A note on 'ideas'

"Guns don't kill people robbers do". It is a phrase that has unwittingly evolved into a modern cliché and one that reflects the ethos of many employers. I've come here today to rant. Here's why.

If you look closely, Activision spells Massive dickheads backwards.

It is painful to admit but undeniably true, Call of Duty is the hottest game on the market to date. Why? Because of an idea, because some smartass decided it would appeal to the American psyche if a game exploited real-life, savage, blood-spilling world events. Converting grave conflicts into a crude, arcade-like experience, with a title as savagely insensitive as 'Modern Warfare'. A game where explosions and bodies are thrown around like coins in Super Mario, where you're awarded points for ending the lives of opposing soldiers and where American soldiers yell 'fuck yeah' as enemy villages explode in an orgasm of napalm and human ashes. And yet, only a collective group of obnoxious individuals such as those at Activision who would green light such a concept, would be stupid enough to fire the people who thought of it. As tasteless as the franchise is, Call of Duty 4 was a well-made title. It was an idea. A fresh, innovative, horrible idea. And it seems within Activision that an idea is worth more than an idealist because now due to the lack of pay, the original developers have split and left.

Blizzard entertainment, at it from day 1.

Let's imagine someone famous, oh let's say Heath Ledger, was still alive. A talented actor, few would deny. Do we believe his final role would have been his best? Some do. But the point here is, if you can create brilliance once, you can do it again. Heath Ledger was fantastic as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' but had he survived the ordeal, I believe he would have continued to create brilliance again and again. He should be noted for his acting ability, not his ability within one role. Just as the designers of Cod4 should be valued for their ability to create ideas and not perceived as having outlived their use. In the case of video games, one idea lasts a short time creating loads of money. An idealist lasts until death, creating even more. Example? Blizzard entertainment. Consistently excellent and continuously feeding the nerd community wonderfully addictive games. Starcraft has all but evolved into a national sport within Korea, World of Warcraft is real-life in the eyes of twelve million subscribers and Diablo is a critics favourite. Blizzard are more valuable as people then WoW is as a franchise, there's a scary thought consumers. Have a think about that little mind-fuck on the way to work tomorrow.