Schadenfreude, a word many of us learned from The Simpsons, is a term meaning “shameful joy” that refers to feeling good about something you know you really shouldn’t. Case in point: Objectively, it’s probably not a good thing that Valve’s Artifact has now moved from “abject failure” to “pretend it’s not there altogether,” all things considered. But I still feel a sense of schadenfreude watching it, due in no small part to the fact that a huge company had tons of signs this was a bad idea and access to an excellent designer and just… ignored all of that and released a complete bomb.
I don’t think I’m necessarily alone in this, as I’ve watched other people display degrees of that same glee watching WildStar implode, or LawBreakers fizzle, or even seeing companies get taken to task for long-standing unpleasant business practices. And I realize that, say, Valve’s refusal to treat Steam with the moderation it needs has nothing to do with Artifact, but the shameful joy is still there. So what about you, dear readers? Have you ever felt schadenfreude from an MMO’s collapse?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
