The internet has been up in arms over the recent accusations against Majestic Studios, developers of Limbo of the Lost. When I went to post this article, I did not think it would receive such an overwhelming and quick response from Bethesda, TriSynergy, and the gaming community as a whole. There is not a comment or forum that I have not read the response to about this situation. After looking back at the past two days, I have begun to wonder exactly how often this has been repeated.

Before I get into what I have to say about all of this, everyone needs to know that there is not an indie developer GamePlasma or I will not support. Since the site’s inception in 2003, GamePlasma has always supported developers big and small. This tradition will continue and hopefully this entire situation will not scare them from putting their heart into their titles. These are the types of games that need to be given a full and unbiased chance. They may not have the latest graphics or technology, but I will be damned if they do not bring a level of ingenuity (sometimes) to a market that can be saturated in unoriginal titles. 

With this most recent scandal behind us, it is my hope that the gaming community as a whole pays closer attention to the misdeeds of developers and gaming press websites both big and small. The video game industry is one that can lose its sense of direction at times and run into pitfalls. This can be seen most recently with the use of watermarked images from IGN on the Okami box, the Kane and Lynch controversy with GameSpot, and the Limbo of the Lost debacle. There are even allegations against IGN of accepting an exclusive look at Grand Theft Auto IV, if they give it a higher score. If this is going to be an industry that is to survive and gain the respect of those outside of it, we as a community must be more objective to the creations within the industry. This includes not only video games themselves, but the sites that review them. 

What has happened to journalistic integrity? What has happened to “just the facts” and objectivity toward the video game industry?  There was a time when a gamer could pick up a video game magazine and trust the opinion of the writer. Those days are drawing to a close with some of the recent scandals and accusations that have been occurring. This is one aspect of the industry that is in dire need of change. The gaming community as a whole must continue with unscrupulous and meticulous analysis of everything within the industry. 

Imagine if every game was analyzed the same way Limbo of the Lost was in just the past two days. What else could we find? It is my opinion that we may find evidence of other “borrowing” of assets from game to game. This situation is exactly why we need to pick through this industry with a fine comb and ensure nothing like this gets past us again. 

If the allegations prove to be true against Majestic Studios, this could quite possibly be the biggest insult against us in the history of our community. Never again should we be taken for granted or thought of as a quick way to make cash. We need to ensure that this never happens again.