Some takes don’t age: Back in 2009, a creative director warned about the risks of ‘obsessively self-referencing’ existing hit games
Paul Barnett, the creative director behind the beloved MMO Warhammer Online and current chief creative officer at Wargaming, offered a notably prescient warning back in 2009 about problematic trends in game design. In a Q&A session that opened with Barnett candidly declaring he was “in a bad mood,” he cautioned against the risks of games “obsessively self-referencing” existing hit titles. The article’s framing—“Some takes don’t age”—underscores that Barnett’s commentary has proven remarkably relevant to the modern gaming landscape, suggesting that the design patterns he warned against have either persisted or intensified in the years since. His perspective carries considerable weight given his extensive experience developing and leading major MMO projects. The piece appears to reflect on how prescient industry veterans’ warnings about creative stagnation have become increasingly vindicated as the gaming industry grapples with questions about innovation versus reliance on established formulas.