Brad Wardell: "I’m too old and too rich for this shit”

[Gragt]

Hello, Brad, and welcome to the prestigious RPG Codex magazine. I am glad to see you decided to join and secretly hope that you will get along with Cleveland Mark Blakemore, and maybe help him finish and distribute Grimoire.

 

[skyway]

Brad's life philosophy, for what it's worth
Posted May 14, 2008 22:14:05

About once a month someone, somewhere, (signifies unimportant) will comment on something I've written saying how "A CEO shouldn't act so unprofessionally in public". Over the years, I've gotten that message hundreds of times (i am sick of this faggots)along with predictions of demise for my company due to my "public" behavior. (haha you were wrong idiots)

Obviously, the company's continued survival tends to imply (what a subtle expression to tell "haha you were wrong idiots")that the fact that I look at customer / developer relationships as a partnership of equals rather than one of master / slave (i hope they wont find out that there are other game companies and i am selling my shit as competition to them) as some "customers" online seem to think is not too damaging.

And even if it were damaging, I would still do what I do no matter what. (except when elemental flops, rpg flops, pirates wont remove whole inventories! and i am broke than its of into fps land!) That is my primary motivation for having a company: To do what I want. ( stfu bitch, I AM THE CEO OF A 20+ MIO COMPANY!)

My personal and professional objectives have always been the same: I want to do what I want to do.

That is my top priority. Freedom. (ARRRR!)

Freedom has consequences. I am certain, beyond a doubt, that my public postings on various topics over the years has alienated some percentage of users (small percentage i dont give a shit about) who have encountered what I written to the point that they have decided to not purchase products and services from my company. I'm okay with it. It's a price I'm willing to pay to be able to do what I want. (only if its those 4 hippie dudes who were retarded enough to read what i write for my endless need for admiration)

Now, users on our sites who read my posts know how I "treat" people. It's not that I treat people badly.(lying is good) I simply don't subscribe to the belief that because someone buys a product that they get a license to behave terribly. (those dumbfucks insulted me =( ) I particularly have little patience for people whose idea of "free speech" is to flame some person, product, or company (why am i posting here? ah right, its a bot) and then be taken aback when that person or representative of that product or company defends themselves.

Stardock isn't a public company. It's not investor run. It doesn't even have investors. It's my company. (HELL YEAH!) It's a company with around 50 people these days that I can proudly say has virtually no voluntary turn over. How many other software or game companies of that size can make that claim? (I ROCK!) And the reason for that is that my public attitude is my private attitude too ( I I I AM THE GREATEST! ) -- we're going to do what we want to do. Not just me but the people there too. (my psychologist said, i gotta get more humble)

Sure, there's a cost to doing what you want to do. I have gotten plenty of ribbing that we're making a TURN-BASED fantasy strategy game instead of making it an RTS. (can I get some sympathy?) But I want to make a turn-based fantasy strategy game. It won't sell as well as an RTS (like demigod hahahhaha) would but so what? What good is more money if you can't do what you want to do?

I'm 36. (but I look like 23) I've got a beautiful wife. (russian brides, best service ever) 3 wonderful children.(they are beautiful too) Plus I've got the toys. The Porsche 911 Turbo, the boat, the lake cottage, the big house, etc. And I get to work every day with people who I really like. Not just professionally but on a personal level. So I tend to think I'm probably doing something right. But more to the point, I'm way past the point where I have to do anything I don't want to do. So I'm not inclined to put up with crap. ( a whole paragraph about me, awesome!)

Every day at Stardock is FUN. Even during crunch-time it's FUN. And why is it fun? Because every day we do what we want to do. (FUN FUNF UFN, riding the elevator - FUN, chores FUN , crunch time FUN, I AM PROBABLY THE MOST FUN PERSON ON THE WHOLE FUCKING PLANET!!11 FUN NONSTOP, dont do drugs kids)

And part of doing what you want to do is being able to show some obnoxious customer the door or making clear that we don't want or need jerks using our stuff. (pr said, jerks is ok)

But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether I'm justified or not because I'm going to do what I want to do. And so far, it's worked out pretty well for both me, my family, my coworkers, and our customers.(FUCK YOU NIGGERS!)

 

[bat_boro]

Now this is the skyway we both know and love

 

[crufty]

fwiw, the only person who wants to hear a ceo speak is the ceo in question.

 

[1eyedking]

Brad who?

 

[Hory]

Mr. Wardell, what is your comment with regards to this issue?

 

[Seboss]

Am I the only one to find the obsession of Mr Wardel about wealth and Porsches and how it makes him right a little... unhealthy?

 

[crufty]

Where's Derek Smart.

NOW THAT IS HOW YOU SPEAK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS.

DrCrypt,

just to show you how much power and control I have over your emotions, time, effort, energy, self-esteem and hard-on; I only read the first two lines of your post and stopped reading.

Those first two lines tell me that you don't have the wherewithall, not the mental capacity to engage me in a flamewar. So, you resort to tired old material, drummed up by the same idiots who declared open season on me and painted a glow-in-the-dark bullseye on my ass.

It also shows that you are 1 of a small group of people, who don't already realize that, not only is that whole racist email business a blatant fabrication with absolutely ZERO facts and evidence about me forging it, but it also shows that you have NO material with with to engage me.

And to prove that you're just regurgitating rubbish fed to you by some jackass (who looked just like you), IF you were even part of the Usenet discussion when that occured, you would KNOW that that Trainman DID admit to sending me a threat via email, but DENIED the racist line. Of course, he was on the side of the detractors, not only did he DISAPPEAR since that day, UNABLE to provide *his* ORIGINAL of the email which would have proved beyond a reasonable doubt (you DO know what that is, right? Maybe not), his friends, the detractors, decided to twist it around, and take HIS word for it. Forgeting the fact that he DID in fact, communicate a threat to me, which I then reported to the local police AND the FBI. Hence his DISAPPEARANCE. The whole premise about me forging the email was to alleviate the fact that he DID communicate a threat to me AND my family. His friends felt that by TRYING to say that HE was right and I am wrong (in that, he didn't write the racist part), that the entire email could be called to question and he could ALSO deny ever communicating the thread. It backfired because not only (a) could it NOT be proven that I doctored the email (b) he could NOT deny ever sending me the email. And even if the racist portion were thrown own, there WAS a clear and present threat communicated - something he can't wiggle away from since he would have NO other reason to send ME email.

Get it now, fool?

And for as many times as I've shut down Bill Huffman's site, that racist email he claims that I have forged, is going to be the ONE bane that causes his sites to be shutdown for good (he keeps moving it each time I have them shutdown) once I *really* take court action. Something I can't do at the moment, due to the time, effort and costs involved (I'm in Florida. He's in California) seeing that I'm working on shipping my game.

DrCrypt, my name is Derek Smart, Game Developer. Game industry contributor. You, as you very well know, are nobody. Here, let me emphasis that. ***YOU ARE NOBODY***. Just an idiot perprating tomfoolery from behind the safe confines of an internet alias. Coward.

Next time you want to engage the likes of me in a flame war (I'm so out of your league, you should get that ego checked), be sure to bring sufficient ammo and an ample supply of bubblegum jackass. Because using material that isn't even worth debating, is the mark of a loser clutching at straws and relying on falacies to give an edge.

You sir, are NO match for me.

With that, I'll just go back to lurking. I'll let you have the last word. You need it more than I do. I'll still wake up tomorrow as Derek Smart. You'll just going on being, John Doe, jackass extraordinaire. You wear it well.

Best regards and while you're at, go fuck yourself.

UPDATE: The fact that some idiot from CNM Networks with the number 516-246-5266 and 561-961-4266 (the joys of call tracing) just called me to insult me on the phone, I can only say that I must have ruined your day or your friend's.

 

[PrzeSzkoda]

Don't tame the devs, men (and trannies). That Derek Smart outburst is certainly charming, and the Wardell stuff is okay, too. You already got Vault Dweller to become an uncivilized gentelmanish flop who's trying to be polite.

When you want to engage rabid developers on the loose, at least do it with STYLE. SKYWAY-style.

Also, this is epic. Especially the Russian brides bit:

I'm 36. (but I look like 23) I've got a beautiful wife. (russian brides, best service ever) 3 wonderful children.(they are beautiful too) Plus I've got the toys.

 

[crufty]

I don't know how many of you have started your own business but even if you haven't, if you were to do so, would you try to do things differently than what other companies do? Things that you think are better in the bigger scheme of things.

For one thing, I've always had a pet peeve about the lack of direct communication between the leaders of a company to individual customers. Customers are the ones who pay the bills. So when users have a problem, I'll happily step in and try to help.

Far bet it for me, of all codexians, to say how you should run your company. I tend to think most ceos are ass ugly and have way to high an opinion of themselves. A ceo's job is to fund his employees / financiers. Anything that pay is good, anything that costs is bad. Obviously there is nothing wrong with direct customer interaction, that is how business is done.

The flip side, is there are reasons why marketeers and PR people exist, its because the CEO who is great with moneymen, employees, and major customers might piss off small, but loyal customer bases unwittingly. Its not that the PR people speak in place of the CEO, but they groom the message so that the CEO can articulate their needs / desires in ways that don't deprive their company of more money, which is, afterall, why the CEO exists.

But like PrzeSzkoda says, carry on! We wouldn't have it any other way hur hur hur

 

[shihonage]

In the road of life, there are drivers, and there are mangled corpses of people who jumped in front of your car.

 

[SlyDrak]

--

 

[DefJam101]

I like how engaging in diplomacy in Sins of a Solar Empire actually hurts your empire. Your allies do shit to coordinate with you, give you impossible missions which results in them hating you, and turn every single other empire on the map against you, all at the same time.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

I like to think that actually is Brad Wardell, because that would mean he not only checks out who is linking to his posts, he goes there to see what they're saying about him.

Since it looks like his rant is gone now, it actually might be him.

 

[Shannow]

Now this is the skyway we both know and love

Nah, that's the skyway trying too hard.
Sometimes less is more. /NN

 

[Talby]

Only wussies avoid a product based on their emotional impressions of its creators. Probably the same kind of losers that appreciate art based primarily on how much effort the author put into it. Who cares about the men behind the work, as long as they're not using your money for some evil purposes. Should Fallout be avoided if it was discovered that Tim Cain is a rapist? Only the work counts. Go watch soap operas if you're so interested in other people's character. On the other hand, Demigod is technically a super-shitty game and Galactic Civilizations are overrated.

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, HE HURT MY FEELINGS.

 

[SlyDrak]

--

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

about sums it up, yes. "users get something they couldn’t do before" is about as goofy a quote as the Nintendo guy saying books and music don't get sold used.

 

[Seboss]

Oh? Is there some way to resell digitally distributed games I was not aware of?

 

[Elwro]

Can't you just sell your serial number for any of the thousands of games that demand it on installation? Or is this illegal?

 

[Seboss]

I don't know about serial numbers, but I'm fairly sure distribution platforms like Steam or Gamersgate and such prohibit reselling games.
Regarding Steam, I'm not sure that's even possible except by reselling your whole Steam account.

 

[SlyDrak]

--

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

:idea:

 

[skyway]

TPB - cd free edition

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk ... hp?t=56048

More Brad Wardell dumbfuck pretty princessery. Game sold on Impulse doesn't work, Brad says people who say that are lying liars who lie, hilarity ensues.