From time to time, Jim Sterling feels that an immediately relevant topic deserves his attention before Monday, Jimquisition‘s normal weekly release day. The weekend debacle with Phil Fish, which eventually ended in the cancellation of Fez 2 and Fish’s flight from the industry, was one of those times.

However, unlike the majority of the sentiments expressed toward Phil Fish after his leaving –that he should have had thicker skin, that he was just an ass anyway, that sort of thing– Jim Sterling shows true sympathy for Phil Fish, even going so far as to relate it to some of his own earlier experiences as a game journalist. The episode claims that Phil Fish did in fact show that he had “thick skin” because he was even able to take the amount of constant criticism which was leveled at him on a daily basis.

Personally, I agree with Sterling. Sure, Phil Fish blew up every once in a while and made himself look like a real jerk, but do any of us really know what it’s like to get the kind of hatred just hurled at you from all corners of the internet? Maybe we get provoked by some toxic forum user every once in a while and have no problem just forgetting about it, but imagine if that was just an everyday reality for you. Imagine if your entire life was just filled with those toxic jerks. And keep in mind, Fish is an indie; he has no official “team” to hide behind or a publisher to scape goat. It’s just him taking all this crap. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s perfectly understandable why someone in that situation is going to lash out every once in a while. I do sincerely respect Phil Fish, and I hope he comes back.

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Barry Herbers
I write editorials here at Gamnesia and occasionally some news (though far less often than I used to). Here's some of my work, long-form game essays, if you have any interest in that sort of stuff: The Amount of Content in a Game Has Nothing to do with its Price A Game's Atmosphere is Defined by its Mechanics, Not its Aesthetic The Witcher 3's Introduction is Terribly Paced and Too Restrictive of its Players I'm looking forward to The Last Guardian (had it pre-ordered since 2010), Rime, Night in the Woods, and Vane. If I had a niche, it would probably be the somewhat higher fidelity indie games, as take up most of the spots on that list. I'm also developing a no-budget video game with a friend, and you can follow me on Twitter (@TheVioletBarry) to hear about that and anything else I feel like saying. Film, games, it's that sort of stuff.

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