Talk:Game designer

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[edit] scope

I was referred to this page by the article about board game designer Klaus Teuber. This page has very little to say about board games. The disparity should be addressed; either add some material about board game design or rename this article. 165.91.64.108 (talk)RKH —Preceding comment was added at 04:41, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

This was discussed before, in a discussion that's been archived. Content for this site is submitted by users. If no one is willing to submit material on board game design, there's really nothing we can do about it. It's not like anyone makes money submitting content to the site. So, someday someone may add material about board game design. But for now, all we can do is shrug our shoulders. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 17:44, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Notable video and computer game designers"

Look, I've been watching this page for months. There have been dozens upon dozens of times when someone's added a designer, only to have it reverted. The distinction of what's "notable" is unclear and if it's in here, it'll just be perpetually being added and reverted. Who's to say what designer is notable or not notable? So, I just put a link to the list of video game designers.

Don't revert the edit. Choosing about a dozen designers at random as being "notable" was just stupid. Kevin (talk) 22:02, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Well, I think it made sense at the time. But you're suggestion to remove it now is a good one. I'll go ahead and do it. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 12:59, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
I removed both lists and moved over any entries to the other lists. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 13:16, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
All that the new entries needed was a consensus on the talk page. I rv your edits because you need a consensus to do such a significant change too.
If you have new suggestions for the list, go ahead and propose them.--Svetovid (talk) 19:48, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
That's the whole problem: no one agrees on what constitutes "notable". I say Will Wright deserves to be on the list because of his enormously successful games, but another editor says he doesn't because all he really created were "digital toys", not games. And fanboy editor demands that Phred ObscureGenre has to be on the list because he created the first game to have a llama as the hero. The debates just go on and on. It's just better to link to all the lists. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 20:09, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
I'm actually for removing the lists entirely. A list of notable designers can easily be created using categories, as designers that are truly notable should be able to have their own articles. For this article, though, it's really only appropriate to point out a few examples, and even that's not truly necessary. What the lists do is distract editors from working on what should be the core of the article. Just look at the edit history. Basic things like citing sources or improving flow are are generally neglected, with most edits essentially squabbling over who's worthy to be mentioned on some Wikipedia "short list" of designers. The list isn't even that short, anymore. Dancter (talk) 20:15, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
I support the removal. Without definite conditions to determine who is notable, an editor would be tempted to put in designers who has only a single hit game (which might even be a flash in the pan). We could:
  • Establish a list of conditions. The problem is we are not qualified to judge. However, whatever we state as qualities for "notable game designer" would be original research.
  • Change the notable list to "Examples of notable game designers". Explicitly state the list is only a few examples (one or two). The examples would be selected from the West and the East by category, or generation of video games. We would still get into "Hasashi is more notable than Miyagi / Eckleland made the bong physics, Dugger only created its basics" sort of arguments.
  • Restrict the list to designers who have received notable awards from the entertainment industry (change the title to "Award winning video game designers" as well). Much more restrictive, and would be harder to dig up from. There would be arguments award winning does not constitute notability, but that is why we would change the list title.
At the end of it, putting a "notable" list does seem to be more trouble than it's worth. Jappalang (talk) 22:14, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
So, that's four editors (me, Jappalang, Dancter and Kevin) who are in favor of removing it? Is that enough to remove them or do we need more? — Frecklefσσt | Talk 12:31, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
We need to address this soon as it's getting out of hand. I see Michel Ancel has been back and just re-added his name to the notable list. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 12:49, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
I myself am not going to do anything at this point, but one of the best ways to test an apparent consensus for a change is to make it. There's really no magic number when it comes to this sort of thing. "BRD" is a good principle to apply, here. If there is still disagreement, you will likely see it through reverts or new talk page input. Dancter (talk) 17:00, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
Yes, well I tried that and my change was quickly reverted. I'd like some consensus before I attempt it again. Thanks for the input. I'll do it again soon if someone doesn't beat me to it. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 17:45, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
Okay, I removed it again per apparent consensus. If someone has a problem with that, let's discuss it here. I don't want to get in an edit war. Thanks. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 13:11, 26 March 2008 (UTC)