David Jaffe, apparently tired of machine gunning ice cream trucks for the time being, uploaded a video in which he takes a few minutes to discuss some problems Twisted Metal players have been having with the online multiplayer portions of the game. This is an interesting move, as most developers are content to issue statements solely through press releases and the like, but Jaffe is nothing if not a character.

Jaffe is candid throughout the video; he discusses some behind the scenes aspects of online gaming  such as how delays in experience points are related to server issues, and admits that "It's terrible, you guys... People have written me [like] 'I'm taking my game back,' and I'm like 'dude, I don't f---in' blame you...' [But] people spent their money on it, and we owe it to them to fix it."

Jaffe lays out the team's priorities when it comes to debugging the game -- major network problems and system crashing bugs come first, then fine tuning the gameplay.  He allows that "there's a lot of stuff we're gonna be looking into," but the fact that he personally owns up to the game's shortcomings and maintains his faith in the heart of the project displays a good measure of integrity.

Whether Jaffe and Sony will manage to turn things around for the struggling game remains to be seen, but it looks as though they're facing the problem with the right attitude.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/ROTxQ3qp8IM