It seems to me to be classic “tough guy on the internet” syndrome. I know quite a few people who are very polite and cordial in person, but lash out and alpha male up when protected by the internet barrier.
Many of those people are prone to wig out on occassion in person given the right circumstances. One of the guys is pretty funny… he comes over to play boardgames every once in a while. If he feels like he’s wronged at all, he’ll go completely nuts and start screaming at people. Like hardcore red-face screaming. It’s crazy because he’s the nicest guy otherwise.
I find that, in general, “TGOTI” syndrome is a good watermark of what people’s true personalities are.
There were some issues with at least one of Derek’s publishers in which Derek was very likely on the right side of the dispute (e.g. them wanting to release it while it was still unfinished, a la the Strategic First fiasco when they released Strike Fighters while it still had placeholder markers in the place of some graphics, etc.)
Derek is a good guy in person and in personal email exchanges. And he knows that sometimes - maybe even often - he should just hold his tongue, but he has a really hard time doing that. What I do like about Derek is that he has a vision, and whether you like what he’s been able to do with it, he’s stuck to it.
Meet the guy in real life, shake his hands, get goose bumps from his charming personality and suddenly he’s beyond reproach. I make one post using the Taco Commander moniker and suddenly I’m Bill Huffman. Please
Heaven forbid we don’t bash other developers around here and if you have a join date of 2002 and write for some gaming magazine you’re off the hook when it comes to “elementary schoolyard” topics. Would it make you old time QT3 elite hypocrites happy if I go kick a PS3 instead?
Seriously, yes. First off, the claims about the instability of his games (from Battlecruiser Millenium on, anyway) are way overblown. Second, I was able to get help on his support forums. Yes, I agree with Derek’s critics that his “read through every goddamn thread before you ask a question that’s been asked before” policy is irritating and too heavy-handed, but it’s not something I lose a lot of sleep over.
Yes I agree, he has come a long way stability wize with his so called franchise but ultimately they are not good games PERIOD.
I guess what people are saying to you is why all the hate? What’s the point? if his games suck so bad, why do you care about them at all and why are you expending fevered energy to tell people how this game you never played and he just announced has to suck too?
I don’t care how many people in the industry vouch for him, as long as he feels the need to insult casual gamers who don’t “get” his games (aka me), I won’t be buying anything with his name on it.
The point? It’s funny. It’s not about the games, it’s about his personality. I rather enjoy revisiting the good doctor every year or two, see what he’s up to, who he’s threatening to sue this year, and so on. Derek is one of the original true blue net.crazies and even after a decade of his wacky antics he’s still entertaining in sufficiently small doses.
The name calling wasn’t really what I was thinking, although it is along the same lines. In fact, there was a thread a while back in which I asked JMR how that name came to be. Nor was I talking about bashing his games, which Tom has said we are free and clear to do for any games.
These are the post (portions) to which I was actually referring.
If they were good I’d be inclined to agree with you and maybe even forget about that whole PhD thing.
Hey at the next E3 go ahead and ask Derek about his PhD
Note how they are the same topic that Huffman was always on about. And twice in one thread!
When he used to frequent these boards, I didn’t think he was that bad of a guy actually. But in almost every thread he posted in, someone would come in and just prod him, often for no reason at all. Derek was passionate about his games, and he defended them to the end (often recklessly so). He’s just a sensitive guy, perhaps a bit insecure. I just don’t remember thinking he was mean.
Actually, the last time he posted here, he was going on and on about the amazing virtues of Starforce protection. He then went on to accuse anyone who had their computers effected by Starforce of being liars. Then he accused them of being pirates who just hated Starforce and made up all these problems because it made it hard for them to pirate games.
Then he went on to “out” an especially anti-Starforce poster as being the notorious pirate “The Ice King” or some such nonesense. It was extremely annoying, but funny nonetheless. The guy is seriously delusional.
EDIT: Whoops, it wasn’t on here. It was on the Starforce boards.
It’s a clear cut case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Either you guys are completely minimzing his past behavior behavior on usenet or you’re totally unaware of how far he went. Oh I get it, he was just channeling Andy Kaufman and the joke is on us HA HA HA.
Goggle Derek Smart on comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.space-sim and read up on your BC300 history.
You are impugning our good name and for this I will not stand!
Derek was passionate about his games, and he defended them to the end (often recklessly so). He’s just a sensitive guy, perhaps a bit insecure. I just don’t remember thinking he was mean.
Maybe not mean, but when and Huffman were both on the board it was like that running dream fight from the end of “Being John Malkovich”. It just kept crashing from topic to topic.
I agree. I’ve met Derek in person and I like him quite a bit. He was at one of the Qt3 parties at E3 a few years back and was very fun.
On-line personas are so difficult to manage. I mean, I know I come across pretty awfully on-line quite regularly. I mean, how many times have I threatened violence to people here? Even now, I’m stalking Backov! ;)
Simple misunderstandings caused by lack of context in a text medium are common and understandable. You forget a smileyface, or your sarcasm is taken literally, stuff like that.
Derek consistently acted like an asshole for over fifteen years. That can’t be explained by a momentary lapse in communication, it isn’t “he’s really a sweetheart, but you can’t tell in emails”. He’s a real tough guy on the internet but a pussycat in person? Sure, I believe it.
Is he really a nice guy, deep inside? Well, he threatened to sue me ten years ago or so for nothing in particular, and I assure you that I’m not alone, probably not even on this messageboard. He’s threatened to sue hundreds of people, and he’s never sued anybody! Nice? Well, he’s literally pathological. He exhibits abnormal, self-destructive behavior.
This behavior just happens to be awfully entertaining.
