Jaffe swears off blogging ... was it something we said?

Dear David (can we call you David? We hope so ...),

We could be very wrong, of course, but we're pretty sure the "unnamed" website that drove you to swear off blogging was (the potentially French) Joystiq, and we think we know why.

First, a discussion on the simile which we presume set you off: "Like a little girl struggling to keep her favorite doll out of the garage sale bin ..." Obviously, neither you nor we have ever been a little girl, but we imagine that it's pretty tough to part with something so dear. A garage sale bin -- though we can see the implications to a "bargain" bin -- is just the most likely way said little girl would be forced to give her precious friend away. Perhaps a better simile would have been, "Like an overprotective mother carting her still-suckling toddler to kindergarten for the first time," ... actually, you know what? Let's just forget about the similes for now and concentrate on what else we wrote.

Before we scribble out "game journalist" from our photocopied business cards, we would like to note that we did read your post on NeoGAF and linked it. Twice. In fact, our entire post was written in response to yours, mentioning the rationale for postponing the game in the very first sentence: "to make some fixes and revise some of the criticisms." The entire second paragraph addresses those bug fixes, quotes your post on NeoGAF (see, told you we read it!) and then closes with a hopeful comment on the delay's reception (much like your post does).

Now, we could take umbrage with your misreading of our post; we could point out the irony of you criticizing our lack of reading and research; we could even point out the irony of you misinterpreting our "little girl" simile and acting out like ... well, let's just forget about all that. We don't want to keep fighting! We just want to tell you that we like your candor, always have. In fact, in looking back at all that we've said about you and your projects, we found it to be overwhelmingly positive (shared with you below). In short, don't give up blogging. And definitely don't give up blogging over a simple misunderstanding! The industry needs more candid developers eager to address their fans and critics alike, not one less.

Love,

The #!*?tards Your pals at Joystiq


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If you haven't already, read Mr. Jaffe's comment (helpfully Shaq-Fu'd out by Cheap Ass Gamer). And then, a trip down memory lane:

-- "We do hope CAC comes out better after getting the nip and tuck that Jaffe thinks it needs."
-- "Go ahead Dave, wear that heart on your sleeve, we still think you're a maverick. ... A maverick of caring."
-- "Actually, we were looking forward to it, anxious to spend some serious time with another e-distributed title."
-- "We only wish there was another equally coveted, but less family-obligated designer to take his place [in developing a game similar to Heartland]."
-- "In typical Jaffe fashion, the post explodes, in ALL CAPS, into an excited ramble, envisioning the future of games as 'SHORTER, LESS EXPENSIVE' projects, akin to the churn'em-out-style of old Warner Bros. cartoons. ... You have our attention. Now please deliver."
-- [Concerning the last time he quit blogging] "That's a right bummer, too, because he was an entertaining read."
-- Headline: "Jaffe's Criminal Crackdown could be a hit for PS3 download service"
-- "One voice that certainly isn't afraid of biting the hand that feeds him is David Jaffe ... "
-- "David Jaffe is a fiery voice who's not afraid to speak his mind."
-- " ... outspoken developer David Jaffe (Twisted Metal, God of War) gave GameTrailers one of the most entertaining interviews we've seen in awhile."
-- " ... but aspiring game developers could learn a lot from this manic entry."
-- "After the success of God of War, creator David Jaffe did not take path most traveled with developers and get to work right away on God of War 2."