I launched the game Devil Engine for the first time in some time today, and had an unpleasant surprise: now, after the intro plays, and after a fraction of a second passes from the main menu appearing, the game changes the screen to display this message:
I really don't get this developer.
He has a business dispute with the publisher of the game. Fine. The place to settle things is in a court.
Instead, he resorts to insults or attacking people, and trying to pressure others to harass their publisher, mob style.
When news came out about his disagreements with Dangen, people immediately took his side.
But, there's plenty of things that have really rubbed me the wrong way in all of this, from his side.
Starting when, after this "scandal" broke, in a reply Dangen mentioned communications problems with him, including "toxic" behaviour against several members of the staff. He didn't deny his behaviour. His defence was that he has autism.
Then, there's his constant attacks on twitter. That's a really professional way of handling things: on social media.
And then, when I happen to check the forums for updates, what I usually get is posts like:
Devil Engine - StoryA last ditch effort to destroy what was once to be our savior. A final mission to eliminate a disastrous future. A single ship against Earth’s entire military. The Andraste is the only hope to defeat...the Devil Engine.GameplayDevil Engine is a high octane, classic styled...
steamcommunity.com
To quote him:
«Stay away from Dangen, Hitcents, Black Shell Media, Nicalis, Chucklefish, Yacht Club, and probably a few other usual suspects I'm forgetting. »
So yeah, his problem isn't only with Dangen. A lot of other indies, like Yacht Club (yeah, the guys from Shovel Knight) are also a target for his comments, for whatever reason.
And now, this crap?
I mean, I bought the game at launch, and because several months later he has a disagreement with the publisher, he updates the game, so it stops and displays that message every time I want to play it?
Is this a reasonable way to handle things?
I highly regret buying this game.
Not because of the lack of quality of the game. The game is quite fun, and one of my favourite among "new" shmups.
But, knowing I supported a shitty publisher, and a shitty developer, who decides I should no longer be able to keep experiencing the game without pointing me to his childish "crusade", makes this a bad purchase indeed.
Mark my words: if this guy releases another game in the future, be prepared for similar complaints, and drama.
That is, if he can find a publisher for his game, after essentially attacking almost every publisher of indie games around.