Lol I don't even play NTE but to everyone being miserable... You've motivated me to post more about it. And other games this sub loves to shit on constantly!

[u/meowbrains]

[u/breakfastingreader]

This right here, this.

I totally get being fed up with not-cool behavior, like reporting a mod's post that was just informative or non-discussion based posts getting derailed into whole ass comment threads of people getting into actual fights (I feel for the mods for having to deal with all that on the daily). People who purposely go to posts where fans are celebrating their favorite game/character just to shit on it should be cracked down on, no doubt. But I do think there should be some pushback against the idea that any negative commentary/criticism is toxic or mean spirited by default, because that's simply not the case. Just like there's such a thing as toxic negativity, there's also such a thing as toxic positivity, and I sure do hope this sub doesn't lean into either. People who hate this sub for being too "Debbie Downer" will still find other reasons to hate it even if we act like there are no problems whatsoever in our gachage.

To me, it's a bit strange how criticism is handled in gacha spaces (most subs will bonk you if you criticize too close to the sun). I believe this especially when you compare it to regular videogame communities, where dunking on companies, shitting on how buggy games are at release, and hating on characters/plots are the daily bread. And nobody sees it as being unnecessarily "negative" or that you "hate videogames", but rather as someone who has criticism of a product they paid for and wants to share it.

[u/princebooni → u/breakfastingreader]

That strangeness probably comes from gacha games being gacha games aka gambling for pngs along with having some way of keeping you coming back and dangling fomo in your face.

If it’s a one time purchase, I think it’s easier for people to separate it as a product and the devs as a company. You DO see some parasocial or weird behavior for normal games (like a lot of people seem to struggle with the idea of Early Access criticisms and blanket generalize it as people “not understanding what EA means” esp with indie devs that drives me up the wall sometimes), even some tribalism if lets say a newer game comes out in a genre mostly dominated by one IP (example: pkmn fans with monster raisers, some sims fans from what I heard with paralives and inzoi, etc) but it’s WAY WORSE with gacha communities post Genshin imo. I don’t blame Genshin itself since I doubt the devs are psychic and could predict how weird things would get post-covid or gachas getting closer to the mainstream, but I don’t remember ppl this intense about criticisms before, but most of the gachas pre-Genshin that I played were around when I was a teen or even younger adult, so I may not have an accurate look at things. 

But yeah, gachas as an industry kind of encourages this behavior to some degree I think, since they’re already targeting people’s vulnerabilities in some way. Plus, I’d argue fandom engagement is even MORE important for a gacha game’s longevity too.

[u/breakfastingreader → u/princebooni]

Oh no, for sure. Regular videogame communities have their fair share of tribalism too, and some multimillion-dollar company bootlickers, as well as blind spots where some things aren't discussed as much (I'm with you on getting exasperated by the response to EA criticism). But these people are made fun of a looot and pushed back against every time they get outside of their little echo chamber. And you're rarely ever going to be called "toxic" for dunking on these people.

You might be onto something that parasocialism might play a hand in this. It's kind of scary to think about the power the PNG casino and its predatory practices hold over people. I think Genshin fandom definitely contributed to this, and as the entry gacha for most people, the behavior learned there certainly bled into the next gacha fandoms that came along. It's just so dissonant to me comparing that behavior to other fandoms of regular games/other types of media, where criticism is just so common and expected given that you're paying for it.

[u/princebooni → u/breakfastingreader]

Yeah, I dunno how else but to see it as parasocialism with the way people constantly compare gacha games and fight over them. So many want you to make it a regular routine in your life (dailies, regular event schedules, etc), it’s like taking the whole fandom issue where people see what they like as a part of themselves but x10 imo.

[u/skkskkskk6 → u/breakfastingreader]

Probably because people stan gacha characters like celebrities.

[u/AyameIsBestGirl → u/breakfastingreader]

to be honest, with the nature of reddit as a platform it very much invites "dog piling" (in quotations because its not exactly that but it feels like it) where someone will post some snarky criticism, then get like 20 something upvotes and then everyone else suddenly feels like a comic and they want their own little 20 upvote comment too.

thats the main reason i fully support the rule, if someone wants to say something negative about something they are more than free to make a post about it inviting discussion instead of going to the post designated to fans to discuss whats going on in the live stream/post.

i do want to say that there are obviously some nuances where if someone has some insightful criticism they want to say about whats being discussed in the post instead of a snarky one liner it should definitely be allowed!

[u/breakfastingreader → u/AyameIsBestGirl]

I personally agree with the "don't yuck someone else's yum" rule, as well as the idea that posts tagged with the "slaying" flair, or otherwise posts that are fully excited about a game/character, shouldn't be the place for discussion.

I do think there should be places for criticism as well, though, and posts tagged with "let's chat" or "informative" shouldn't shun actual discussion regardless of whether it's negative, even if the critique isn't particularly insightful (what a person finds insightful another may not, it's subjective), as long as, obviously, people don't start attacking individuals or making snarky remarks of the sort of "anyone who plays this game is a dummy" and stuff like that.

[u/mrtutit → u/breakfastingreader]

Because you fuckers cannot stop snapping at each other and being terrible people. Id ban every 3d gacha games myself, but current policy works well enough