Criticism is essential to the growth of any artistic medium, it allows creators to reflect on their work, to learn from mistakes and grow, to improve their work and strive to reach their potential. Without criticism, whether from observers or from creators themselves art in all it’s myriad forms would have long ago been doomed to stagnation. Thinking critically about our creations and those of others inspires us to think outside the box, to consider what we may otherwise not have, to wonder what different stories we might tell, what new worlds we may craft. All of this feels as though it should be common knowledge, and yet there has been a troubling trend of late, a continuing aversion to and push back against criticism, primarily centered around video games. A great deal of this highly vocal opposition seems to be coming from people pushing the idea that those who are critical of the medium are outsiders “not true gamers” and are trying to change gaming into something else “destroy it”. To me, this highlights a serious misunderstanding a great many people have about our relationships to the things we love.

To love something is to desire to see it grow, to be the best it can possibly be, to acknowledge it’s flaws and want for it to shed them and live up to it’s full potential. However, we can often be too close to our own works to clearly see their flaws ourselves and so outside perspectives become important, perspectives from those immersed in the medium, but removed enough from our own work to be able to see it more clearly. To refuse such perspectives, to believe that in order to enjoy our work it must be accepted wholly without comment is to doom ourselves and our work to stagnation. My challenge to those who claim to love gaming is this. If you truly love this medium then you should be welcoming criticism from as diverse an array of voices as possible, not stifling it. You should be willing to acknowledge the flaws holding the medium back, not closing your eyes and shouting down anybody who does. Without a healthy dose of criticism, the medium you claim to love will die long before it can aver reach it’s true potential.