Former Dragon Age Producer Urges Gamers to Avoid Cruel Criticism of Developers

Mark Darrah, the former producer of BioWare and key figure behind the Dragon Age series, recently shared his thoughts on the growing toxic criticism that often targets game developers. He believes that in many cases, these criticisms are cruel and not constructive at all.

Darrah, who left BioWare four years ago but remains close to the team as a consultant, was especially affected by the recent backlash aimed at Dragon Age: The Veilguard. In a video, he called for players to reconsider how they express their opinions.

Darrah’s Appeal to Players

First, Darrah emphasized that players have every right to criticize games and development teams. After all, they pay a significant amount of money for video games, so it’s understandable that they want to voice their discontent. However, he pointed out that these criticisms should be constructive, not personal attacks on the developers.

Darrah also noted that many of these attacks end up being cruel and ultimately unproductive. These negative responses harm not only the developers but the entire gaming industry, especially during challenging times, like the current crisis leading to studio closures and layoffs.

The Negative Impact of Cruel Criticism

He gave an example: “If you’re upset with a Ubisoft game, get angry with Ubisoft.” He stressed that it’s fine to express frustration with the studio, but “it crosses the line when it becomes cruel.” Darrah believes there’s no need to harm people over a video game. For instance, celebrating the closure of a studio because the game players didn’t like failed is cruel, and people should show more respect for others.

Additionally, Darrah pointed out that players often don’t know the full story behind certain decisions and might not fully understand who to blame. Many of the things that anger players are the result of complex behind-the-scenes processes in game production.

“This doesn’t mean it’s not okay to have opinions and dislike certain things,” Darrah explained in his video. “But targeting specific people and attacking them is often a misunderstanding that leads to misplaced hate.” He emphasized that these arguments often “miss the target” and can hurt more than necessary.