Yesterday, I unsubscribed from the only game design blog I’ve been reading for a while. Mostly because I thought the author was coming off as a bit smug and condescending and it was making me cranky.

I feel kind of bad about this.

Sure, I disagreed with most of what the author had to say, but I frequently enjoy and learn a lot, reading things I disagree with—as long as I think the author isn’t being pushy about their opinions. We all think this industry can be better. We all have different strategies for doing that. But to me, it’s all about exploring possibilities. As soon as someone says anything about how games should be made, or worse, played, I’m gonna tune them out completely.

But there were some good thoughts in this blog, and like I said, I feel kinda bad for bailing. Like I should just put up with the annoyance and bear it for the sake of being exposed to ideas different than my own. Like it makes me a more narrow-minded person for doing this. I know this author doesn’t mean to come off as a jerk. I’ve seen him actively seek out advice for how to sound less jerky.

Then again, who means to come off as a condescending douche? Who wakes up in the morning and decides to write like that? There are lots of bloggers out there, and I don’t see too much nobility in being patient with those who haven’t figured out how to sound approachable yet. I haven’t actually tried very hard to look for warm, friendly game design blogs, but I’m sure they exist. It’s not a blog per se, but Extra Credits is quite good.

I’d love to see more things like that.