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Darling Brothers, UK Indie Game Devs, Upgraded to CBE
scriptedfun writes "The BBC reports that David and Richard Darling, the brother tandem who founded Codemasters back in the mid-'80s from their bedroom, were recently made Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for their 'services to the computer games industry.' Their story is definitely inspiring for modern-day independent game developers." Naming such honorees annually is one of the perks of being Queen.
No, I don't get it, what could possibly be more pathetic than looking up to an "honour" from a hereditary monarch? While I'd take the Lords over the Commons any day in the past decade as protector of my rights, this whole "give the usual privileges to the usually privileged plus a pat on the back to the occasional commoner to keep them feeling like they have a chance at glory too" is cringeworthy.
We are more than ever living in a world where we are able to be observed and judged by others and feel we must live up to the expectations of others, rather than setting goals for ourselves and being content with our own advance. Culture has been so homogenised (in the direction of what is perceived as "American" values, though contemporary American values are alas far removed from what they were in late C18) that what have been considered the greatest breakthroughs in the past couple of decades are usually tweaks of detail. Big picture thinkers have gone from being condemned to being summarily ignored, because they veer off the One True Way.