open letter
Latest
Apple employees criticize work-from-home policy in open letter
Apple employees have written an open letter to the company's executive team complaining about its new policy that only allows two days of working from home.
T-Mobile will throttle users exploiting tethering workarounds
Under the leadership of its always-entertaining CEO John Legere, T-Mobile has undercut its competitors, rebranded as an "Uncarrier," and generally painted itself as a champion of the people. Not so today. Legere has penned an open letter highlighting users that are getting around the company's tethering limits. Apparently, this "small group" of customers use "as much as two terabytes of data per month," and this makes John Legere very sad.
Thousands of game devs sign open letter against harassment
"We believe that everyone, no matter what gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability has the right to play games, criticize games and make games without getting harassed or threatened." It may seem like an obvious statement, but it's one with particular relevance to the gaming industry at the moment. The past few weeks have been colored by vicious online harassment of notable women involved in gaming, including developer Zoe Quinn and critic Anita Sarkeesian. Sarkeesian, who launched a new video in her Tropes vs Women in Video Games series last week, was forced out of her home after receiving threats against her and her family. She also posted a sample of some of the scariest messages that get thrown her way (trigger warning). This week, Spaces of Play developer Andreas Zecher posted an open letter to the gaming community, calling for an end to harassment and hate speech. It's now been signed by more than 2,000 developers and professionals in the industry, including people from BioWare, Nexon, Ubisoft, Riot, Epic Games, EA, King, Double Fine, Sony, Blizzard and Telltale.
Tamriel Infinium: An open letter to the creators of Elder Scrolls Online
Dear ZeniMax, I understand that you are a new studio, but you stem from a studio with a long history of making good games. I understand that no game has ever been 100% bug free. I also understand that you are extraordinarily excited about bringing your game to the public. And I wanted to see Elder Scrolls Online as much as anyone. You're also a young studio, and I understand the feeling wanting to do things your own way. You want to make your individual mark on the world, but doing that at the expense of wisdom... well, I hope you can see where I'm going with this. On Thursday, I spoke to many people about the console delay. I mentioned to most of them that my last Tamriel Infinium about the PC gamers actually being console beta testers was meant to be hyperbole. Although it was based on truth, I extended my logic beyond what I thought a studio would actually do. I didn't think that you were actually using the PC version that people are playing and paying for as a beta test. Clearly, that's the case since you will not release ESO in its current state to consoles. I don't think all is lost. I believe you might be able to turn some things around. So here's my armchair developer's advice.
Papo & Yo dev replies to fan's 'moving letter'
Let it never be said that the developers at Minority Media - the team behind Papo & Yo and a studio you should get to know - are out of touch with their fans. After receiving a handwritten, 5-page letter sent in by an anonymous fan, Community Manager Rommel Romero posted an open letter response. The text is heartwarming and thoughtful, and shows a kind of thinking it would be nice to see more of. It reads, in part: "I read your moving letter the moment it got to our studio and felt that the team would love to know about you. So, we called a meeting and I read them your gripping story out loud. I had to stop every other paragraph to regain my composure; your story is an overwhelming one and your courage is inspiring. Being a small company, our path is filled with many challenges and the energy we get from our community of fans helps us push forward. When I was finished reading your letter to the team and I looked back at them, I saw in their faces that you had given them strength." The original letter isn't posted anywhere, but it's clear that it touched on some very deep and personal issues. "In your letter, you spoke of your father and about how he tells you that your thoughts are worthless," Romero wrote. "I am writing you to tell you that we disagree: your thoughts are powerful. I will pin your letter on a board in everyone's view, so that you may constantly remind us why we do what we do."
The Soapbox: Own your game's mistakes
To the developers of the MMO industry, I say this to you: Your game has some pretty big issues. No, stop. Don't go consult the PR team. Don't talk with the community managers. Don't spend time explaining why those issues aren't really issues. Just say it with me. Your game has some pretty big issues. I don't care what game you call your own; it's still replete with issues, including ones that by all rights should have been fixed months ago. Just say that with me, and then possibly follow it with a "sorry." There. That wasn't so bad, was it? Kind of liberating, actually. There's a lot to be said for owning up to the failures of your game and admitting that some things are just plain wrong. I can think of great reasons to just take a deep breath, eat crow, and just say that part of your game is a mess.
HTC CEO issues rallying call to staff, tells them to 'kill bureaucracy'
HTC's Peter Chou is having his own "burning platform" moment after sending a company-wide email, leaked to Bloomberg, entitled "We are coming back." The CEO, shocked at recent sales dips has talked of a company lacking "decision, strategic direction or [a] sense of urgency" and requested that employees should "kill bureaucracy." He praised the success of the well-lauded One X, but said that the company's own "processes, rules and norms" could be stumbling blocks, instead urging employees to "follow rules and criteria, but don't let small things kill the major goals." The missive has already been confirmed as real by an HTC spokesperson, who probably promptly burned a stack of TPS reports to demonstrate their commitment.
Larry Page looks back at a year of leading Google, promises velocity, execution and focus in the future
A year and a day after taking over the reins at Mountain View, Google co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Larry Page has plenty to say about where the company has been recently, and where it's going. While there aren't any Project Glass bombs dropped, in this open letter he's promising a Google that will achieve even more, and faster, as it goes forward. First, a spoiler alert: he really likes Google's products. From Google+, to tighter integration with results for things like weather and airfare to that little Android side project there's plenty of praise to go around. One of the longest segments is dedicated to the "love and trust" Google desires to deserve from its users, mentioning that creating "a much better, more intuitive experience across Google" is a focus for 2012. Hit the source link to have your own look at the Google boss' innermost thoughts -- do you think he's on the right track?
GamersFirst welcomes World of Warcraft to 'the free-to-play revolution'
Sarcastic, genuine, or merely self-promoting? An open letter from GamersFirst's Joshua Hong to Activision-Blizzard's Bobby Kotick following World of Warcraft's surprise move to an indefinite free trial could be all three. "I wanted to congratulate you on taking your first big step to join the Free2Play® revolution," Hong writes. He certainly isn't shy in expressing what he sees as GamersFirst's great accomplishments in the market: "Having created this market in the western hemisphere, it's very encouraging for us to see the last bastion of the subscription-only online gaming business joining the Free2Play movement... Given our recent success in reviving APB Reloaded, which launched as a subscription-based game we transitioned to Free2Play, we know that the first steps are often the hardest. But the proof is in the metrics, as APB now has more than three times the active player base than when it initially launched as a subscription product. We also plan to repeat this success with Fallen Earth." Hong continues the letter by "extending [his] friendship and support" to Blizzard, inviting Kotick to the free-to-play party at Gamescom, and hoping that the company's entire library will be made free in the future.
Former LEGO Universe dev: 'I have decided to get out of the MMO game'
We're all familiar with that guy who gets burned out on his game and makes a very public and lengthy rant as to why he's quitting on the official forums. But what happens when a developer does the same thing to a larger audience? Today we found out, as former LEGO Universe dev Ryan Seabury wrote an open letter saying why he left NetDevil -- and why he'll never work on MMOs again. Seabury cites four reasons: that the "MMO" label has lost its meaning, it takes too long and is too stressful to develop new games, it's difficult to play around with creative concepts, and the market is trending toward indie titles anyway. He left to start up END Games Entertainment so that he and others of a similar mind could indulge in "a ridiculous variety of game ideas" instead of treading the waters of the status quo. His letter is largely upbeat as he focuses on the joys of game development and play, and he thinks that it's high past time studios break out of old mindsets to embrace the new: "We have come to a point where the game concept trumps such insignificant bullet points, and global social connectivity is a given. From a creative standpoint, this is fantastic. Ideas are king once again; the industry feels as vibrant to me as the golden nostalgia years I experienced as a kid growing up through the coin-op and early console eras, except we've finally ditched the nerd-in-basement stigma." You can read Seabury's full letter over at Kotaku.
Aion producer letter talks account security, transfers
Aion's been getting a decent amount of press this fall, first for September's Assault on Balaurea expansion and lately due to the uproar surrounding the 2.1 patch. Among other things, 2.1 substantially increased the game's loot drop rates, leading to huzzahs on one side of the aisle and raised eyebrows on the other. Not to be outdone, NCsoft producer Chris Hager recently posted an open letter on the official Aion website, summarizing both the aforementioned changes and hinting at a few things to come for the world of Atreia. Hager gives a heads up regarding the final day for the free character transfers that have been ongoing since the summer. January 5th is last call, so make sure you've got your Elyos or Asmo where you want him. Hager also mentions the fact that NCsoft is taking steps to increase account security, an issue that has plagued Aion since its launch in 2009. "We are stepping up our efforts and introducing a new secondary PIN system to Aion that will provide an additional layer of security to our players. This service will go live on December 1, 2010, and we will post a full FAQ in the coming days explaining exactly how it will work," he writes.
Chuck Schumer writes open letter to Steve Jobs
Just in case you missed it yesterday, US Senator Chuck Schumer wrote an open letter to Steve Jobs asking him to deal with the ongoing iPhone 4 reception issues. "To address this concern," Schumer wrote, "I ask that Apple provide iPhone 4 customers with a clearly written explanation of the cause of the reception problem and make a public commitment to remedy it free-of-charge." Schumer cites the Consumer Reports posts about reception issues, and suggests that Apple both provide free software updates to make sure bars correctly reflect signal reception (which it did yesterday), and provide the actual formula it uses for bar strength (which it probably won't do). Politics aside (and please don't argue politics on our Apple blog, thank you -- if the comments get out of hand on this one, we'll just close them), I can't see how this is much more than Schumer jumping in on a cause that's already rolling along fine without him. Even before his letter went out, today's press conference had been scheduled, and the issues were well documented. I guess we appreciate the sentiment and all (we do want these issues fixed), but Jobs was probably going to do today whatever he was going to do without hearing from a New York Senator. Thanks anyway, Chuck. Probably time to leave the iPhone 4 issues to Apple and its customers, and get on back to, you know, governing the country.
New Alganon producer letter looks forward and asks for patience
Alganon may have launched a little early to implement all of its promised features, which is never a good thing for a game in a competitive market. A month out from launch, it's still working on playing the catch-up game and getting itself to where the developers want it to be. However, that doesn't mean the game is already dying -- truth be told, as the latest producer letter from David Allen states, they're looking to the future. There are many things planned for the game, starting with plans for the game's first large content update, "The Dawning." While details on exactly what content will be added with the update are sparse, it promises to add new instances as well as expanded lore options for players to gain a deeper understanding of the world. The team also plans to expand the tutorial and introductory areas, as well as details on the upcoming Library Scrying feature that allows players to cooperatively develop knowledge of the game world and receive credit for their accomplishments. While the game can be a bit rough around the edges at the present, Alganon has a dedicated team working hard to make it the best it can be, and the letter's promises for the future certainly sound appealing.
NCsoft's open letter to the Aion community targets all players of NCsoft games
It's not everyday that we find a letter addressed to an entire company's audience when it's posted on a specific game site, but that's what NCsoft West's executive producer, Lance Stites has done with his recent letter to the Aion community.To sum up his letter, it's been a busy series of restructuring the company and preparing for their next big release: Aion. While much of the focusing has been on Aion, the company isn't looking away from Lineage, Lineage II or Exteel. Those are still high on the company's priority list, according to Stites.But things are going along smoothly for Aion, as more voice overs are currently being recorded, the localization is continuing smoothly, and tutorial videos are in production. It sounds like Aion really is the golden game of the studio, but it's also nice to hear about all of the staffing changes going on with the other games.For the full letter and all of the nitty gritty of what's going on with the studio, head on over to Aion's website and check out Stites's report.
Jeff Hickman open letter highlights Mythic's top 5 priorities for WAR
Those of you stalwart enough to bore through Jeff Hickman's most recent Executive Producer's letter, which incidentally reads like a list of 1.3 patch notes conjured by the PR department, may have picked up on the mention that Mythic is assembling focus groups to determine the current concerns and issues with Warhammer Online.I can actually confirm this for you since I'm a card-carrying focus group member. The below list of top priorities is entirely accurate based on what I've been hearing as part of this group and in conversation with many current and ex-WAR fanatics. Addressing concerns related to Crowd Control and Area of Effect abilities. Continuing to improve client and server stability and performance. Strengthening and improving the Tier 4 experience. Improving server population distribution – both in terms of overall population and realm balance. Improving itemization and the overall distribution of "carrots" (rewards) throughout the game. It's easy point out that many members of the WAR community have been vocal about these "Top 5" issues since release. We can only hope that the time and resources freed up by the launch of Land of the Dead will finally erase them from the game. Erasing them from memory may prove slightly more difficult.
N2 recall leaves Neonode reeling, pleading for patience
From the outside, it has been easy to assume that everything was humming along nicely at Neonode's California / Sweden-based offices. Based on a recent open letter issued by the interim CEO and chairman Per Bystedt (not to mention the earnings report), that is indeed not at all the case. Neonode has failed at meeting guidance and anticipated sales for this year, with a number of things partially to blame. For starters, it admittedly tried to enter "too many markets, too fast," and a recall of the N2 surrounding "reception issues" didn't make things any better. Bystedt confessed to having just south of $3 million of his own money invested in the outfit, while he asked for other shareholders to be patient as he attempted to right the ship. Best of luck to ya -- we hear it's a pretty tough sector. [Warning: PDF read link][Via RCRWireless]
Open Letter: Resident festival instead of Linden festival
Shoshana Epsilon has published an open letter to Linden Lab (which apparently has already been received enthusiastically by Everett Linden). The letter basically calls for the creation of a Second Life Fringe Festival to run at the time of the next Second Life anniversary in 2009. Essentially the resident-run, inclusive festival that this year's Fifth Anniversary was originally intended to be. That said, the Fringe Festival will not be seeking sponsorship, land donations or input from Linden Lab next year. Presumably, Linden Lab would be free to organize their own events, displays and activities for an anniversary next year, if they choose.
Jeff Bezos posts Kindle apology on Amazon's front page
Sure, Philippe Starck may not care for the Kindle, but an open letter posted on Amazon's front page suggests he's in the minority. We already knew that the company was having a difficult time filling orders, but we had no idea the wait for buyers would warrant what amounts to a public apology from Jeff Bezos. Apparently, the online superstore is drawing heat for six-week delays on delivery for some customers, and is scrambling to get itself into an "order today, ship today" scheme. The original release of the device sold out in just 5 1/2 hours says the letter, which might explain why no one is hacking it -- no one has it.[Thanks, Michael]
Blizzard outlines 'acceptable use' for machinima
One of the things that I learned last weekend at Dragon*Con was a great deal more about machinima than I'd ever really known before. Sure, I've got FRAPS, and I've tried to make cool music videos too. Then I realized that I'd need something more interesting than my Tauren Druid running around to my favorite Rush song. So my dreams of making machinima went by the wayside, best left to the machinimators with that little thing called "talent." One of the things that I always wondered about was just precisely what you could and couldn't get away with in regards to making films using World of Warcraft. After all, the characters on my account are Blizzard's IP. I could argue about not being paid for it, but I've always been curious about the larger legal issues involved. Blizzard has finally put out what they consider to be their acceptable use policies in regards to machinima created using Blizzard's IP. After listening to the talk that Matt Kelland and Clint Hackleman gave during the Machinima 101 panel at Dragon*Con, I'm pretty happy to see that Blizzard has taken such a step to reach out to the community. This open letter lets artists know they have the potential ability to get licenses to show their work, and just how much commercial "sponsorship" is acceptable. It also defines where many of the boundaries are (for example their edict that movie/video content remain consistent with World of Warcraft's "T" rating) that I feel will hopefully help to clear some things up on where the artists stand in all of this legally.For those of you who are budding machinimators, check out Blizzard's open letter. It's fairly straightforward reading, and they've gone so far as to put a contact email address in for specific concerns not outlined in their letter. With these guidelines in hand, hopefully artists will feel free to go in even more creative directions in the future.[via Hugh "Nomad" Hancock, author of Machinima for Dummies]
Palm's Ed Colligan responds to our open letter!
Ok, so we totally weren't expecting this one, but Palm's CEO Ed Colligan publicly responded to our open letter to Palm. He's brief, but he cuts to the quick: "I forwarded it to our entire executive staff and many others at Palm have read it. ...We are attacking almost every challenge you noted, so stay tuned." Wow, um, alright, we'll do just that. Granted, we'd prefer it if Ed would engage us in a chat about the future of Palm -- you name the time and place, Ed, we're totally there! (It's probably worth noting that he's turned down multiple interview requests with us in the past, so you'll all know right quick if that whole transparency thing changes any.)Read - Our open letter to PalmRead - Ed Colligan's response
