Industry must "stand together" on social games issues
Brenda Brathwaite believes that 'great games' are possible on social network platforms
Industry veteran Brenda Brathwaite has issued a call to action during GDC's annual rant panel, with the co-founder of social game developer Loot Drop looking for unity among developers during the expansion of the social gaming market.
Brathwaite recounted previous scandals in videogames, from Satanic influences in Wizardry (to which she was a key contributor) to the Mass Effect "Sex-Box" scandal.
To each example she reminded listeners that, particularly at GDC itself, developers had remained united in combating the various controversies. "We stood together, you and me, because we loved games," was her constant mantra.
"And then we came to Facebook," she said. "I know that things are upsetting to you, and I can assure you that they are also upsetting to me. I have seen the strip miners make their entry into games.
"I have seen them exploit technology and new platforms. Not for the purpose of crafting beautiful creative works but for the purpose of taking the audience for all they can get. They are not one of us, nor are they from us. Rather they are from another space.
"These people do not care about gameplay, they do not care about games, they do not care about players. They do not care about fun.
"The game developers on this stage are not like those people. They do not come from their world. Like you we want good play, we want compelling experiences we want casual and we want hardcore.
"We are absolutely not the ones making what some of you call 'evil games'. We are the first wave - the marines storming the beach to take our culture and our medium back. As you look upon these games you will see on the very same horizon a great space of possibility. I hope that you will someday be the occupying force."
The speech follows Wednesday's keynote by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, in which he expressed concerns about the rise in mobile and social network games and their potential effect on the high value segment of the industry.
A full transcript of Braithwaite's session is provided by GamesIndustry.biz, with other key contributions due to be published shortly.