"It's the most alien thing in the world to me. When they do, lots of people notice because, in this microcosm of gaming, they are famous. Of course, developers are as prone as the rest of us to saying something regrettable or downright stupid. When he, or Fish, says something controversial online, lots of people respond, some of whom choose to be unpleasant. McMillen isn't bothered much in supermarkets or in the street, but lots of people on Reddit and Twitter and NeoGAF know exactly who he is. Game developer fame is a quirky new form of quasi-celebrity, at its most pressured in the online digital world. Polygon spoke to leading developers about the perils of public recognition, including Edmund McMillen, Ron Carmel, George Broussard, Zoe Quinn, David Jaffe and Dean Hall. There is a big difference between being an individual who gets into a flame war, and being an online celebrity who does the same thing. Last weekend's Phil Fish episode, in which the Fez developer argued on Twitter with video presenter Marcus Beer and then furiously quit game development, has spent these few days of news-cycle intensity being portrayed as yet another example of online rage, trolls and baiting.īut after talking to developers behind games such as God of War, The Binding of Isaac, DayZ, Duke Nukem, Depression Quest and World of Goo, it's clear that this is also a story about people who have found public recognition without always being prepared for its consequences. "Yeah," replied McMillen, somewhat embarrassed.
"This guy's famous," said the dude, explaining that McMillen had been featured in a hit documentary about game developers. "What's this all about?" asked the woman behind the checkout, curious about the exchange.
The guy behind him said, "Hey, aren't you the Super Meat Boy guy?" They enjoyed a pleasant chat while they waited their turn.
Edmund McMillen was standing in the checkout line at Whole Foods a few days ago.
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