(I urge that you read this to the end, as I know some of you will take pieces of what is said here and use it as ammunition for more drama. I can't really do tl;dr because i feel like it would ruin a lot of my points)
I don't usually like to deal with drama or discourse in general leaves a bad but I feel like this needs to be said.
This discourse is stupid, a lot of different points on either side due to several reasons at least in my opinion.
Ive seen many people who were against palworld use claims for stolen designs, mentions of AI art as well as lots of people either acting in defense of game freak/TPC/Nintendo as well as some acting in defense of artistic integrity.
I've seen the people who were for the game act in one singular way while just trying to have fun with it(which i cannot deny, it looks fun as fuck).
This being them claiming that they are just kissing the boots of Nintendo, though i don't think its quite fair to put them in the same category.
Just have fun with the game, no need to engage with the hate if you don't want to(even though i know it's difficult, especially when it's staring you in the face).
For those who are for, I only have a couple things to say.
Companies are not faceless entities, I know that this sounds like basic knowledge but I've noticed that's not something people usually mention.
Not everyone who attacks this game, cares for pokemon. Im gonna go in more depth when i get to them, but i feel like this needs be said.
While there are many good things on the internet, the internet as a whole, especially nowadays, is chaos and pain.
So many different opinions, leading to low self-esteem and rage.
You just want to have fun, you probably don't like pokemon, or if you do, you probably don't like what they've been doing with it.
You've seen the early trailers and had a laugh, found out this year that it came out, sought it out be cause hey, could be a bit of a meme.
But soon you start to actually have fun with it and hope it succeeds, despite some of the designs not being totally original, and you don't care.
But soon, like usual, you find that there are people who dislike the game.
In the real world, it doesn't matter to you, it rolls off you like nothing, because you don't know them, maybe you get into a heated argument with a friend.
But as soon as you hit the internet, you feel as though people are personally attacking something you like, (emotions are hard to convey through text) so you defend.
Not really caring about how it sounds to those you desperately fight against.
But in the end that's just adding fuel to the flame.
(though I can say that this discourse is great publicity for the game, good or bad it still lets people know that it exists.)
So just have fun with it.
(Unless dealing with discourse like this is fun for you idk)
For those who are against,
I am first going to speak to those who seem to want to defend Game Freak/TPC/Nintendo and those who speak for artistic integrity.
Why do any of your thoughts matter when it comes to a company.
as I had stated earlier, people usually associate companies and conglomerates as faceless entities.
They don't see them like systems, heavily broken systems, like if a beehive were born from an unloving tyrannical queen.
The ones at the top exist to fill their pockets while those at the bottom suffer for it.
I bet around half of the people speaking of artistic integrity don't really know the names of the designers of each pokemon(and to those who do, I'm glad, cause then I know you know what you're talking about.)
I feel as though speaking of artistic integrity only works when you're talking about an individual.
Which means, by extension, that a company like Nintendo, or the other two companies that own or work on the ip, those that see only the product and the work.
To them, artistic integrity is dead.
Why else would the shoot down fan works so heavily?
To keep their product close to the chest.
But what about the claims that they stole from fakemon artists?
To my knowledge, (please let me know if im wrong) there has only been one claim of such a thing, and it was soon taken back as they soon found out that the palworld model was older than their's.
Which im pretty sure proves that claim false.
And to the people who are against AI art, don't get me wrong, I hate the idea as much as you do.
But AI image generation like many things is a tool.
And if used properly, tools can be useful.
like say for example, you have an idea you want to draw, but you can't fully figure it out in your head.
There are no pictures that fully convey what ur thinking in the depth you want for a reference, you could use an image generator for reference.
Add to an image in your own way, while removing the parts that were taken by the algorithm.
Be creative.
When tools are used properly, they can do a lot of good things.
The reason people hate AI art, is because people are being stupid and lazy with it.
Hell, i think pocketpair realized their mistake a long time ago as not only has that game been absolutely shat on in the steam reviews, but you cant even find it on their website, or at least i haven't.
Lastly, I'm gonna show you a trailer for a game pocketpair is also making, it should be coming put Q1 this year.
A game I have not heard mentioned this whole discourse.
As an honest question, what part of this looks AI generated to you?
Its a 2D sidescrolling platformer, said to be a mix of a metroidvania and a roguelite, also with base building elements since that seems to be a commonality for them.
The only things i could see that were taken or inspired by are the backgrounds, which feel very hollow knight, and the main mechanic being a possession mechanic which loosely reminded me of super mario Odyssey.
I've seen AI 2D animation, and it's usually pretty jarring due to how quickly everything warps and changes as things move.
I don't see that in this.
Nor do i recognize any of the monster or character designs.
I could be wrong and both palworld and never grave could be scams, seeing as both are in early access.
And if or when i am, then that's egg on my face.
Those that were all happy to play a new and exciting game, will seeth and mald.
And you can live happily, i guess.
But it at least shows they know some integrity.
I mean, as long as they make any of the new pals that come out more original than the 111 that they have now, we should be fine.
The only time we should be outraged, is if there is sort of harm coming to the workers, and I don't think I've heard any news on that.
If it bothers you that much, make your own game.
Actively do something about it rather than complain on the internet.
Like, I can't even imagine how difficult that is.
Especially for a smaller company.
Pokemon has it easy, It doesn't need defense.
Defend it from itself before defending it from others.
Stop paying for shit that doesn't work out the gate.
Do something to force the people making the bad game to do better.
And stop trying to shit on the little guy for your own ideals.
Criticism is fine, yelling over a game on the internet is not.
Not by a long shot.
But hey I don't think anyone is gonna read this.
Much less to the end.
Because I've scrolled passed shorter posts for less.
