The WiiU's dates and prices have been announced for Japan, and will be announced for the U.S. later this morning. The main non-pricing/tech related news is that it looks like the flagship launch titles will be New Super Mario Bros. WiiU and Nintendo Land.
I haven't seen much of "Nintendo Land," but I dig the "symbolism" of its existance: It's a Wii Sports/Play/Resort installment, but this time set in a virtual Nintendo-themed amusement park. I like the optimisitc (on Nintendo's side) vision of what that represents: that the "Casual-core" Wii newcomers of seven years ago are now part of the broader Nintendo fan-culture (we'll find out if that's precisely TRUE soon enough.)
Moreover, though, much as I'm supposed to roll my eyes at the "regressiveness" of the New Super Mario Bros. juggernaut... and while, yes, I'd RATHER be playing a successor to Galaxy or something truly new... damn it, y'all KNOW me. The first console of the Eighth Generation is launching... with a 2D Super Mario Bros. side-scroller. That's kind of awesome.
Thứ Năm, 31 tháng 10, 2013
U Mad?
In case you hadn't heard, the WiiU has an unexpected third-party (second-party, actually - Nintendo published!) exclusive. Some people are... less than thrilled about this.
The poor darlings.
The poor darlings.
EPISODE 75: "Easy Does It"
Our newest episode is now showing for all audiences on ScrewAttack!
In this episode, we examine the modern controversy over "Easy Modes": do they really - as the lead designer of "Assassin's Creed III" recently claimed - "ruin games," or is there a vital place for them? In addition, we proudly announce that the next episode will be "Ask Ivan!" - wherein Ivan the Intern will answer questions to posted to the comments sections under the video itself or to this blog post (see episode for details, no anonymous questions please.)
ALSO! You'll see The OverThinker's favorite watering hole, discover the history of The OmegaThinker, witness the shocking origin of RoboThinker, learn something new about Ivan the Intern and watch ME gradually figure out how to properly use my new green-screen! (in all sincerity, I know some folks run hot or cold on the skits, but I'm pretty psyched with how the "ending" bookend for this one turned out tone, FX and timing-wise.)
Embedded episode and spoiler-y discussion after the jump!
Yeah, I'm proud of this one. The Hutchinson quote kind of fell into my lap as a perfect sort of topic-starter for my little niche here, and it gave me some room to A.) flesh out exactly what it is Ivan is supposed to be doing most of the time and B.) bring RetroThinker back into the picture and try out what might become his new status-quo as "resident old-timey expert guy." He's a fun "voice" to write for, and his "costume" isn't as cumbersome as some others...
As to RoboThinker's origin? I really like how it came out, overall, but it was a winding road to get here.
When I sat down during the "planning stages" for the revamped show as the AntiThinker business was coming to an end, a robot villain named "RoboThinker" was the very first thing I wrote down after deciding to continue the "____Thinker" naming-scheme schtick, but for the longest time that was all I had for him. (FYI, you have been spared the appearance of non-starter ideas like an enviro-terrorist called "Eco-Thinker," a white or yellow ninja tagged as "ElectroThinker" and a flatulence-powered one-off villain named "OverStinker.")
Believe it or not, for a long time my plan was for him to either resemble Robocop or The Borg - which would've been highly unfortunate since this is hitting so soon after "To Boldly Flee." Ultimately, I wanted him to look like a less specific parody, and the final concept ("Super-Sentai Terminator," basically) turned out to be best within my budget/abilities AND to fit best with OmegaThinker's DBZ/Trunks angle (that being DBZ's "Terminator" spoof and all.)
In any case, I hope everyone enjoys this one; and I'm already enjoying seeing people getting into the spirit of "Ask Ivan." If all goes well, you'll get those answers, an explanation of WHY OmegaThinker doesn't want OverThinker doing the fighting and your first taste of RoboThinker's voice and personality next time. Until then, let's hear those questions for Ivan!
In this episode, we examine the modern controversy over "Easy Modes": do they really - as the lead designer of "Assassin's Creed III" recently claimed - "ruin games," or is there a vital place for them? In addition, we proudly announce that the next episode will be "Ask Ivan!" - wherein Ivan the Intern will answer questions to posted to the comments sections under the video itself or to this blog post (see episode for details, no anonymous questions please.)
ALSO! You'll see The OverThinker's favorite watering hole, discover the history of The OmegaThinker, witness the shocking origin of RoboThinker, learn something new about Ivan the Intern and watch ME gradually figure out how to properly use my new green-screen! (in all sincerity, I know some folks run hot or cold on the skits, but I'm pretty psyched with how the "ending" bookend for this one turned out tone, FX and timing-wise.)
Embedded episode and spoiler-y discussion after the jump!
Yeah, I'm proud of this one. The Hutchinson quote kind of fell into my lap as a perfect sort of topic-starter for my little niche here, and it gave me some room to A.) flesh out exactly what it is Ivan is supposed to be doing most of the time and B.) bring RetroThinker back into the picture and try out what might become his new status-quo as "resident old-timey expert guy." He's a fun "voice" to write for, and his "costume" isn't as cumbersome as some others...
As to RoboThinker's origin? I really like how it came out, overall, but it was a winding road to get here.
When I sat down during the "planning stages" for the revamped show as the AntiThinker business was coming to an end, a robot villain named "RoboThinker" was the very first thing I wrote down after deciding to continue the "____Thinker" naming-scheme schtick, but for the longest time that was all I had for him. (FYI, you have been spared the appearance of non-starter ideas like an enviro-terrorist called "Eco-Thinker," a white or yellow ninja tagged as "ElectroThinker" and a flatulence-powered one-off villain named "OverStinker.")
Believe it or not, for a long time my plan was for him to either resemble Robocop or The Borg - which would've been highly unfortunate since this is hitting so soon after "To Boldly Flee." Ultimately, I wanted him to look like a less specific parody, and the final concept ("Super-Sentai Terminator," basically) turned out to be best within my budget/abilities AND to fit best with OmegaThinker's DBZ/Trunks angle (that being DBZ's "Terminator" spoof and all.)
In any case, I hope everyone enjoys this one; and I'm already enjoying seeing people getting into the spirit of "Ask Ivan." If all goes well, you'll get those answers, an explanation of WHY OmegaThinker doesn't want OverThinker doing the fighting and your first taste of RoboThinker's voice and personality next time. Until then, let's hear those questions for Ivan!
EPISODE 75 ANNOUNCEMENT!
Episode 75: "Easy Does It" will debut next Wednesday September 19th at 11:00pm CST right here on ScrewAttack. As ever, Advantage Members can watch it starting now.
ALSO: As announced in the episode-proper, Episode 76 will be our first ever "ASK IVAN" installment, wherein fan and viewer mail will be answered by Ivan the Intern. You can ask your question in the ScrewAttack comments page or the comments here (leave some form of name, anonymous questions will not be answered) concerning games, pop culture or anything else you'd want to Ask Ivan about.
Stay tuned for the episode for more details.
ALSO: As announced in the episode-proper, Episode 76 will be our first ever "ASK IVAN" installment, wherein fan and viewer mail will be answered by Ivan the Intern. You can ask your question in the ScrewAttack comments page or the comments here (leave some form of name, anonymous questions will not be answered) concerning games, pop culture or anything else you'd want to Ask Ivan about.
Stay tuned for the episode for more details.
Off To Work
I'll be getting on an airplane for The Escapist Expo very soon, which means updates to this blog may be a bit on the sporadic/late side from now until Monday. Stay tuned.
Thứ Tư, 30 tháng 10, 2013
My Video Hell
I am right now (in between other, more decisively-deadlined jobs) hard at work on the next episode of "The Game OverThinker." It MIGHT take a little longer than I wanted it to take, read below to learn why...
Every episode of "Game OverThinker" from the beginning until right now have been made entirely using two programs - one for manipulating images, one for arranging and editing video files - made by the same Very Famous Software Company. I won't use their name here because it's still slightly plausible that the problem might be my doing (not looking likely), but let's just say they are Very Famous and are named after a type of building material.
ANYWAY!
I've spent about a full week (in total hours) shooting footage and building FX for the ending sequence of this next TGO episode (the middle part I'm doing last so everyone can get their "Ask Ivan" questions in) and have managed to finally this afternoon cut it together into proper format. It's a complicated sequence - one actor playing about a dozen characters via greenscreen with a lot of effects and sound elements - but also a short one, not even five minutes in length.
The "Media Encoder" that Very Famous Software Company's video-editing software allows as it's SOLE option for exporting those elements as one solid video file refuses to complete that task - constantly crashing a few seconds through the timeline with no available description of what's causing the crash or what can be done to fix it. My assumption is "too many elements," but A.) I cannot be certain because this is apparently 1983 where it's still "okay" for software to give error messages with no troubleshooting and B.) for the amount of fucking money these programs cost (seriously, figure out who I'm talking about and look up how much they ask for their products) this should NOT be an issue... especially for less than five minutes of footage not even in HD.
Now, normally, this is something you'd fix by calling a customer service person. Oh! But, you see, Very Famous Software Company doesn't have reps available "overnight" (because, as we all know, if people with jobs that involve the use of high-end video-editing software are known for anything it's for keeping reliable 9 to 5 business hours) ...or even in the evening. Or even on weekends. Apparently I can order a Domino's pizza at 2am but I can't get service for a product I'm paying... egh. You get the idea.
SO! After many hours of self-research (because, y'know, no customer service whatsoever) it seems that a seperate "effects specific" product ALSO made by Very Famous Software Company might handle this sort of project better AND I can just pop the "raw" timeline from it's current place into THAT with little difficult. Okay, cool... granted, it's another HUGE chunk of change and there's no garauntee this is going to fix the problem (sure would be nice to talk to a fucking customer service person about that, huh!?,) but it's something...
Wait! Wait! Very Famous Software Company knows their products are expensive, so they graciously offer downloads for FREE TRIALS on their website! Well, that's good news! So I go to download it, and instead of just downloading immediately via that little "do you want to download ______?" window like every other website on the fucking planet it instead asks me to install Very Famous Software Company's PROPRIETARY downloading service (which requires a login ID) onto my system. Of course it does, it's Very Famous Software Company. So I download the proprietary service that I need to download the free trial... and it won't work. Error message after error message. There is nothing wrong with my internet service. More error messages.
I have other priorities to get to at that point, so I set about those while periodically trying to make this proprietary downloading service work. Several hours later, my work is done and the download service still doesn't work.
But wait! There's another option! Very Famous Software Company offers a "Cloud" service whereby you pay a monthly fee and get to use various versions of their products... which includes the trial you've been trying to download! Hurray! And there's even a free trial of the "Cloud" service itself - double hurray!
...except once I've signed up for the "Cloud" trial, I don't see the option on it's "Apps Menu" for the product I signed up to gain access to. It turns out that the "free" trial of the product I signed up for is ONLY available through the paid version of the "Cloud" service. Of course it is. It's Very Famous Software Company.
I'm angry at this point. Like, Incredible Hulk angry. My Twitter looks like the private diary of an intern for the Romney campaign. Just burning up with hatred for Very Famous Software Company, their products, my inarguable professional need to keep using their products and most of all for the fact that once again something I was actually really enjoying doing (I honestly love doing what I do on this show, and this sequence was coming together spectacularly) has now been drained of it's joy and may even need to be scrapped altogether because of all this. I work hard on this stuff, and the parts of it that are fun are often the ONLY fun I really get for days on end.
So... fine, fuck it. It's only money. I sign up for a month's worth of paid "Cloud" service. The level I paid at lets me have full access to ONE product. I pick the one I came looking for a 4th of a DAY ago. They process the transaction. It goes through. The "order summary" pops up with a big button for "DOWNLOAD." I click it...
..."DOWNLOAD" takes me back to that same useless "Apps" menu on the "Cloud" service. The option that I'm looking for, that've now paid them to let me use for a MONTH... is not there. I sign out. I refresh. I sign back in. Try again. No change. My account, billing summary, email reciepts, etc show that I paid to be able to download this and it's not letting me download it.
And there's NOTHING I can do about that tonight. Or tomorrow. Or until Monday. Even though that means two days out of 30 that I've paid for will now be wasted.
Because I can't call their service line and ask why I am not able to access and use this product because Very Famous Software Company cannot be bothered to have a customer service line available on evenings or weekends.
Because, apparently, it is acceptable for a software company that operates a Cloud-based download management service that caters specifically to people who need constant, ready access to products and material to run their customer service on fucking BANKER'S HOURS. ...Oh! Except that term is no longer accurate, because I can call my bank 24 hours a FUCKING day.
The sun is about to come up here, and I'm fucking done for the night. The lone "upside" to this nightmare is that this is, fortunately, NOT happening to a show/project with a contractual deadline - if it was, I'd be losing my mind for real right now.
I'm telling myself it might just be some kind of service delay and I'll be able to access it tomorrow, but I know that's bullshit. I know I'm going to spend monday morning/afternoon on the phone with Very Famous Software Company working this out, either getting the trial that I paid for actually downloaded or at least getting my money back... money which will then go into the fund for the many, many hundreds of dollars I'll be spending to buy either a better computer (who knows, maybe this heap just isn't "strong enough" to render that biiiiiig scaaaaaary 4 1/2 minutes of video!) or to buy the full version of this Very Famous Software Company's "Effects" program because apparently it'll help and I'll be damned if all this work I've already done go to waste.
Every episode of "Game OverThinker" from the beginning until right now have been made entirely using two programs - one for manipulating images, one for arranging and editing video files - made by the same Very Famous Software Company. I won't use their name here because it's still slightly plausible that the problem might be my doing (not looking likely), but let's just say they are Very Famous and are named after a type of building material.
ANYWAY!
I've spent about a full week (in total hours) shooting footage and building FX for the ending sequence of this next TGO episode (the middle part I'm doing last so everyone can get their "Ask Ivan" questions in) and have managed to finally this afternoon cut it together into proper format. It's a complicated sequence - one actor playing about a dozen characters via greenscreen with a lot of effects and sound elements - but also a short one, not even five minutes in length.
The "Media Encoder" that Very Famous Software Company's video-editing software allows as it's SOLE option for exporting those elements as one solid video file refuses to complete that task - constantly crashing a few seconds through the timeline with no available description of what's causing the crash or what can be done to fix it. My assumption is "too many elements," but A.) I cannot be certain because this is apparently 1983 where it's still "okay" for software to give error messages with no troubleshooting and B.) for the amount of fucking money these programs cost (seriously, figure out who I'm talking about and look up how much they ask for their products) this should NOT be an issue... especially for less than five minutes of footage not even in HD.
Now, normally, this is something you'd fix by calling a customer service person. Oh! But, you see, Very Famous Software Company doesn't have reps available "overnight" (because, as we all know, if people with jobs that involve the use of high-end video-editing software are known for anything it's for keeping reliable 9 to 5 business hours) ...or even in the evening. Or even on weekends. Apparently I can order a Domino's pizza at 2am but I can't get service for a product I'm paying... egh. You get the idea.
SO! After many hours of self-research (because, y'know, no customer service whatsoever) it seems that a seperate "effects specific" product ALSO made by Very Famous Software Company might handle this sort of project better AND I can just pop the "raw" timeline from it's current place into THAT with little difficult. Okay, cool... granted, it's another HUGE chunk of change and there's no garauntee this is going to fix the problem (sure would be nice to talk to a fucking customer service person about that, huh!?,) but it's something...
Wait! Wait! Very Famous Software Company knows their products are expensive, so they graciously offer downloads for FREE TRIALS on their website! Well, that's good news! So I go to download it, and instead of just downloading immediately via that little "do you want to download ______?" window like every other website on the fucking planet it instead asks me to install Very Famous Software Company's PROPRIETARY downloading service (which requires a login ID) onto my system. Of course it does, it's Very Famous Software Company. So I download the proprietary service that I need to download the free trial... and it won't work. Error message after error message. There is nothing wrong with my internet service. More error messages.
I have other priorities to get to at that point, so I set about those while periodically trying to make this proprietary downloading service work. Several hours later, my work is done and the download service still doesn't work.
But wait! There's another option! Very Famous Software Company offers a "Cloud" service whereby you pay a monthly fee and get to use various versions of their products... which includes the trial you've been trying to download! Hurray! And there's even a free trial of the "Cloud" service itself - double hurray!
...except once I've signed up for the "Cloud" trial, I don't see the option on it's "Apps Menu" for the product I signed up to gain access to. It turns out that the "free" trial of the product I signed up for is ONLY available through the paid version of the "Cloud" service. Of course it is. It's Very Famous Software Company.
I'm angry at this point. Like, Incredible Hulk angry. My Twitter looks like the private diary of an intern for the Romney campaign. Just burning up with hatred for Very Famous Software Company, their products, my inarguable professional need to keep using their products and most of all for the fact that once again something I was actually really enjoying doing (I honestly love doing what I do on this show, and this sequence was coming together spectacularly) has now been drained of it's joy and may even need to be scrapped altogether because of all this. I work hard on this stuff, and the parts of it that are fun are often the ONLY fun I really get for days on end.
So... fine, fuck it. It's only money. I sign up for a month's worth of paid "Cloud" service. The level I paid at lets me have full access to ONE product. I pick the one I came looking for a 4th of a DAY ago. They process the transaction. It goes through. The "order summary" pops up with a big button for "DOWNLOAD." I click it...
..."DOWNLOAD" takes me back to that same useless "Apps" menu on the "Cloud" service. The option that I'm looking for, that've now paid them to let me use for a MONTH... is not there. I sign out. I refresh. I sign back in. Try again. No change. My account, billing summary, email reciepts, etc show that I paid to be able to download this and it's not letting me download it.
And there's NOTHING I can do about that tonight. Or tomorrow. Or until Monday. Even though that means two days out of 30 that I've paid for will now be wasted.
Because I can't call their service line and ask why I am not able to access and use this product because Very Famous Software Company cannot be bothered to have a customer service line available on evenings or weekends.
Because, apparently, it is acceptable for a software company that operates a Cloud-based download management service that caters specifically to people who need constant, ready access to products and material to run their customer service on fucking BANKER'S HOURS. ...Oh! Except that term is no longer accurate, because I can call my bank 24 hours a FUCKING day.
The sun is about to come up here, and I'm fucking done for the night. The lone "upside" to this nightmare is that this is, fortunately, NOT happening to a show/project with a contractual deadline - if it was, I'd be losing my mind for real right now.
I'm telling myself it might just be some kind of service delay and I'll be able to access it tomorrow, but I know that's bullshit. I know I'm going to spend monday morning/afternoon on the phone with Very Famous Software Company working this out, either getting the trial that I paid for actually downloaded or at least getting my money back... money which will then go into the fund for the many, many hundreds of dollars I'll be spending to buy either a better computer (who knows, maybe this heap just isn't "strong enough" to render that biiiiiig scaaaaaary 4 1/2 minutes of video!) or to buy the full version of this Very Famous Software Company's "Effects" program because apparently it'll help and I'll be damned if all this work I've already done go to waste.
Mario Warfare
Have you see enough "What if ______ was crossed with _______??" gags on youtube, webcomics, etc. to last a lifetime? You probably have, but check out this video anyway because it looks pretty awesome regardless.
If nothing else, I'm glad to see "Equilibrium" popping back up as the fan-film point-of-reference du-jour...
If nothing else, I'm glad to see "Equilibrium" popping back up as the fan-film point-of-reference du-jour...
LAST CALL FOR "ASK IVAN!"
ANNOUNCEMENT! As of Midnight this Wednesday (October 3rd) I'll no longer be taking questions for next episode's big "Ask Ivan!" event. If you still haven't asked yours, ask it here or ask it on ScrewAttack. Remember to leave a name or a handle, no anonymous queries will be answered.
The actual airdate(s) of the episode itself will follow, stay tuned for further details.
The actual airdate(s) of the episode itself will follow, stay tuned for further details.
Cloudberry Kingdom is a WiiU Launch Title
Not-bad writeup on Kotaku yesterday evening putting a spotlight on the WiiU's surprising strength as an indie-friendly console given the strong lineup of downloadable games among it's launch titles. One of the standouts looks like Pwnee Studios' "Cloudberry Kingdom," which resembles nothing so much as "New Super Mario Bros." with a sadistic difficulty curve:
Mega Man Is Over
Double-meaning, y'see.
Ever since Keiji Inafune up and quit the company awhile back, Capcom has seemed bound and determined to turn his most well-known creation into mulch: Cancelling a slew of well-into-development Mega Man titles, making his appearance in "Street Fight X Tekken" a self-parody, etc.
The latest seeming insult: The Blue Bomber's promised 25th Anniversary game (keep in mind, we're talking about a Mario/Zelda/Kirby-level Golden Age icon here), billed as a crossover wherein a "new" MM battles a cosortium of foes from all the different subseries, has been revealed as... an iPhone social game; fittingly titled "Mega Man X Over."
Over, indeed. If nothing else, at least Sonic can have some company on the "you used to be good" pile.
Ever since Keiji Inafune up and quit the company awhile back, Capcom has seemed bound and determined to turn his most well-known creation into mulch: Cancelling a slew of well-into-development Mega Man titles, making his appearance in "Street Fight X Tekken" a self-parody, etc.
The latest seeming insult: The Blue Bomber's promised 25th Anniversary game (keep in mind, we're talking about a Mario/Zelda/Kirby-level Golden Age icon here), billed as a crossover wherein a "new" MM battles a cosortium of foes from all the different subseries, has been revealed as... an iPhone social game; fittingly titled "Mega Man X Over."
Over, indeed. If nothing else, at least Sonic can have some company on the "you used to be good" pile.
Thứ Ba, 29 tháng 10, 2013
"Retro City Rampage" Looks Pretty Sweet
I admit, upfront, that I am a "mark" for so-called "retro-style" games. Yes, it's comfort in the familiar - this is gaming as I knew it when I loved it best and so forth - but it's also just a stylistic thing: I'm a fan of "handicapped art - i.e. art made under some kind of imposed technical restrictions - and as such I'm fascinated to see the way talented digital artists use the restricted medium of pixels to create visuals or the limited sound-range of "chiptunes" to create musical compositions.
But I'm also willing to admit that the "retro" aesthetic has also become an easy way for lackluster games to pitch themselves as a quick nostalgia fix or, more commonly, a medium awash in overly reference-heavy games that "work" as nostalgia-fixes but don't hold up as games in their own right. "Retro City Rampage," on the other hand, looks to be doing the genre right - mixing up the usual set of go-to visual cues with a solid gameplay hook (pre-III "Grand Theft Auto" with a gonzo aesthetic and an NES gloss) that looks like a lot of real fun even for folks who don't immediately get a laugh out of a Bionic Commando gag:
But I'm also willing to admit that the "retro" aesthetic has also become an easy way for lackluster games to pitch themselves as a quick nostalgia fix or, more commonly, a medium awash in overly reference-heavy games that "work" as nostalgia-fixes but don't hold up as games in their own right. "Retro City Rampage," on the other hand, looks to be doing the genre right - mixing up the usual set of go-to visual cues with a solid gameplay hook (pre-III "Grand Theft Auto" with a gonzo aesthetic and an NES gloss) that looks like a lot of real fun even for folks who don't immediately get a laugh out of a Bionic Commando gag:
EPISODE 76 ANNOUNCEMEN (UPDATE!)
UPDATE II: The issue with the earlier upload seems to have been resolved, and the episode is now viewable for ALL AUDIENCES at this new link: http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-overthinker/game-overthinker-episode-76-ask-ivan-0 (full embed post soon.) Apologies for the issues.
UPDATE: I am aware that there is some kind of issue with the video which is causing it to display as "locked" even for Advantage users. While I have no direct control over that myself, the people who do have been made aware of it and I am informed that it's being worked on.
ORIGINAL POST: "Game OverThinker - Episode 76: Ask Ivan" will debut for all audiences on Wednesday, October 17th at 11:00pm CST. As ever, ScrewAttack Advantage members can get an early look right here right now.
UPDATE: I am aware that there is some kind of issue with the video which is causing it to display as "locked" even for Advantage users. While I have no direct control over that myself, the people who do have been made aware of it and I am informed that it's being worked on.
ORIGINAL POST: "Game OverThinker - Episode 76: Ask Ivan" will debut for all audiences on Wednesday, October 17th at 11:00pm CST. As ever, ScrewAttack Advantage members can get an early look right here right now.
Coolest Thing of The Week
Courtesy the Ohio State University Marching Band, the coolest video-game related thing you will see this week (also, ridiculously impressive technical achievement even if you, like me, don't know shit about how a Marching Band works...)
EPISODE 76: "Ask Ivan"
As a result of working out some bugs with the video, "Ask Ivan" is now live! Really, really proud of how this one came out (I think its the best mailbag to date, honestly) and I hope you'll check it out RIGHT HERE. (There's no embedding option for this blog just yet, working on that..)
And for those wondering, yes - that big action sequence at the end is the "nightmare" editing project that had been giving me so much trouble. So, just for my own edification... it'd be super-awesome if even people who don't "care" about the sketch-segments at least gave it a watch ;)
WATCH IT ON SCREWATTACK NOW!
And for those wondering, yes - that big action sequence at the end is the "nightmare" editing project that had been giving me so much trouble. So, just for my own edification... it'd be super-awesome if even people who don't "care" about the sketch-segments at least gave it a watch ;)
WATCH IT ON SCREWATTACK NOW!
And This Week's Overblown Gamer Freakout Will Be...
After recieving complaints from "Call of Duty" players of Islamic backgrounds that they were offended by a bit of background decoration in the "Favelas" multiplayer map in "Modern Warfare 2" (the offending detail: A piece of wall art including the word "Allah" was hung above a toilet stall;) Activision and Infinity Ward temporarily removed the map from availability last night (presumably the offending image will be patched out of existance.)
Hoo-boy.
After the jump, sarcasm:
There's a lot of interesting levels to be discussed here: Artistic boundaries, levels of offense, cultural sensitivities, freedom of expression, etc. And it'll be nice to HAVE those discussions - mature, dignified and reasonable versions of which I can assume will begin almost immediately! I mean, what else could happen, right?
Man, sure is a good thing this didn't happen with a game whose audience and "community" are already demonstrably predisposed to furious, paranoid hatred for minorities and/or other cultures... OR a game that doesn't already have a strong to the point of virulent strain of xenophobia in general and Islamophobia in particular running through it. I mean, can you IMAGINE what the reaction to THAT would look like?
Boy howdy, I sure am glad that this will all be self-contained in the restrained, thoughtful forum of ideas that is online gaming culture; and that I WON'T have to sit through days upon days of self-righteous twits raging through incomprehensible talking points about "P.C. FASCISM!!!," "REVERSE RACISM!!!," "FREE-SPEECH!!!," "CENSORSHIP!!!," "SHARIA LAW!!!," "DOUBLE STANDARDS!!!" or any other such nonsense.
...I mean, wouldn't that just be awful?
Hoo-boy.
After the jump, sarcasm:
There's a lot of interesting levels to be discussed here: Artistic boundaries, levels of offense, cultural sensitivities, freedom of expression, etc. And it'll be nice to HAVE those discussions - mature, dignified and reasonable versions of which I can assume will begin almost immediately! I mean, what else could happen, right?
Man, sure is a good thing this didn't happen with a game whose audience and "community" are already demonstrably predisposed to furious, paranoid hatred for minorities and/or other cultures... OR a game that doesn't already have a strong to the point of virulent strain of xenophobia in general and Islamophobia in particular running through it. I mean, can you IMAGINE what the reaction to THAT would look like?
Boy howdy, I sure am glad that this will all be self-contained in the restrained, thoughtful forum of ideas that is online gaming culture; and that I WON'T have to sit through days upon days of self-righteous twits raging through incomprehensible talking points about "P.C. FASCISM!!!," "REVERSE RACISM!!!," "FREE-SPEECH!!!," "CENSORSHIP!!!," "SHARIA LAW!!!," "DOUBLE STANDARDS!!!" or any other such nonsense.
...I mean, wouldn't that just be awful?
Thứ Hai, 28 tháng 10, 2013
OVERBYTES Debut!
The first episode of our new series for ScrewAttack, "OverBytes," is now available for all audiences. It's my understanding that after this, future episodes will go back to the familiar Advantage Users first, all-audiences about one week later schedule. Check it out!
Placeholder
So... Blip said "yes" to hosting the "Adventures of The Game OverThinker," (aka "the old show with a new-ish name.") Obviously, there isn't a new episode YET, but when they do begin they'll be arriving at http://blip.tv/gameoverthinker, so bookmark that link (or however people save links today.)
So far as I know, the plan is for "OverBytes" to occupy the same space at ScrewAttack TGO did, but I'll let you know if anything changes on that front (I don't expect it to.)
So far as I know, the plan is for "OverBytes" to occupy the same space at ScrewAttack TGO did, but I'll let you know if anything changes on that front (I don't expect it to.)
EPISODE 77: "I'm Not A Gamer"
Now up on ScrewAttack, with a special message about The Future after the credits. FYI, I am aware of visual glitching during the scene with RetroThinker - not sure where that came from, also not 100% sure how/when it can be corrected as things are ever so slightly busy here as you'll soon understand:
Yup, this is happening. Hit the jump to learn more...
NOW IT CAN BE TOLD!
Okay, I just want to get one thing out of the way nice and clear RIGHT NOW: This has nothing to do with ratings, this has nothing to do with "bad blood" with employers, and this especially has nothing to do with fan complaints (or fan encouragement, really.) This was an in-house decision that has been, frankly, a long time in coming and made with the full enthusiasm and support of ScrewAttack.
Here's the long and short of it: The Game OverThinker, as it stands now, is the show I want it to be (conceptually, if not always in execution) and the show I think is a solid model for success long-term. However, being that it's a longform series (even without the sketches) it's just not BEST suited, in my opinion, for hosting on a site like the new/improved ScrewAttack which organizes it's new content in newfeed format - it strikes me that one could be watching THIS show on a busy day, and by the time their done some other stories or shows that might've also interested them might've already cycled by; and on the flip side I didn't necessarily love the idea that an episode I was putting weeks of work into might cycle by within less than a day on it's own. Finally, I had grown tired of not being able to do as many "topical" episodes because production took so long (again, because the episodes are set up to be so long, not because of the live-action material which is typically made in-advance) that news became old by the time I could go at it. So... I had to shake things up.
Incidentally, I came to this conclusion entirely on my own - no one from ScrewAttack has EVER tried to alter, censor or demand a change to the running of this series... which is precisely why I so desperately wanted to keep doing work for them even as it became clear that the "New" Game OverThinker just wasn't a good fit right now. I brought my concerns to ScrewAttack, along with a rough solution I'd worked out, and they agreed to it wholeheartedly.
So, here's where we are moving forward, in list form:
1.) The Game OverThinker's "slot" at ScrewAttack (and within the Advantage program) will be filled by a "spinoff" series that I'm hoping to call "TGO: OVERBYTES." This will be a shorter, more up-tempo show focuses exclusively on game culture commentary and, when possible, topical news. It will update more frequently than the "original" series but be very much of the same tone and tenor. I'm very excited about this, and so is the site.
2.) The original series will continue as it has save for one main change: The onscreen title will change from "The New Game OverThinker" to "The Adventures of The Game OverThinker." There will also be a more "consistent" theme to the subject-matter of the central commentary/"lecture" material - whereas "OverBytes" will be a show about topical/newsworthy subjects and "y'know what I think?"/"did you ever wonder?" thought pieces; the longer show will be about "evergreen" Big Issue topics: Industry politics, sexism, bigotry, existential questions, that sort of thing. Basically, "OverBytes" is where you'll get stuff like "why hasn't there been a new 'Bonk' game?," while "TGO" is where you'll get "We really need to talk about XBL harassment" plus the further adventures of our cast of similar-looking superpowered doofuses.
3.) Right now, it's looking pretty good that Blip will wind up being the new home of "TGO" at least in terms of hosting. The details of whether or not this or that show can or will be cross-posted aside the other will require some hammering out, but they will BOTH continue to be embeded, posted and promoted on this blog. So if you haven't made this your "regular" first-stop in checking for news about this show now is the time to start.
4.) Obviously, all of this is still very much in motion and fluid, so some or all details could change. Trying to work out a "branding" that covers multiple series hosted in multiple places means juggling not only my own concerns but the concerns of related parties, and sometimes this or that thing has to "give." As ever, I just want to 1.) make good content and 2.) make money doing it - I don't involve myself in intra-website, intra-company, "this site rules!," "this site sucks!" bullshit unless someone comes at ME or I see something truly, heinously unfair happening.
5.) That said, I have no issue with PRAISING websites and webmasters who do good, and I need to once more reinforce what absolute CHAMPS and good eggs ScrewAttack has been about this: They've backed the show from the start, encouraged and supported it's continuing evolution, and they're being INCREDIBLY gracious and helpful with this new transition. I honestly thought this would be a VERY tricky, difficult back-and-forth process... and instead it's been some of the smoothest "business" I've conducted on the web thus far. So, hat's off to those guys.
As ever, stay tuned to THIS blog for further updates.
Yup, this is happening. Hit the jump to learn more...
NOW IT CAN BE TOLD!
Okay, I just want to get one thing out of the way nice and clear RIGHT NOW: This has nothing to do with ratings, this has nothing to do with "bad blood" with employers, and this especially has nothing to do with fan complaints (or fan encouragement, really.) This was an in-house decision that has been, frankly, a long time in coming and made with the full enthusiasm and support of ScrewAttack.
Here's the long and short of it: The Game OverThinker, as it stands now, is the show I want it to be (conceptually, if not always in execution) and the show I think is a solid model for success long-term. However, being that it's a longform series (even without the sketches) it's just not BEST suited, in my opinion, for hosting on a site like the new/improved ScrewAttack which organizes it's new content in newfeed format - it strikes me that one could be watching THIS show on a busy day, and by the time their done some other stories or shows that might've also interested them might've already cycled by; and on the flip side I didn't necessarily love the idea that an episode I was putting weeks of work into might cycle by within less than a day on it's own. Finally, I had grown tired of not being able to do as many "topical" episodes because production took so long (again, because the episodes are set up to be so long, not because of the live-action material which is typically made in-advance) that news became old by the time I could go at it. So... I had to shake things up.
Incidentally, I came to this conclusion entirely on my own - no one from ScrewAttack has EVER tried to alter, censor or demand a change to the running of this series... which is precisely why I so desperately wanted to keep doing work for them even as it became clear that the "New" Game OverThinker just wasn't a good fit right now. I brought my concerns to ScrewAttack, along with a rough solution I'd worked out, and they agreed to it wholeheartedly.
So, here's where we are moving forward, in list form:
1.) The Game OverThinker's "slot" at ScrewAttack (and within the Advantage program) will be filled by a "spinoff" series that I'm hoping to call "TGO: OVERBYTES." This will be a shorter, more up-tempo show focuses exclusively on game culture commentary and, when possible, topical news. It will update more frequently than the "original" series but be very much of the same tone and tenor. I'm very excited about this, and so is the site.
2.) The original series will continue as it has save for one main change: The onscreen title will change from "The New Game OverThinker" to "The Adventures of The Game OverThinker." There will also be a more "consistent" theme to the subject-matter of the central commentary/"lecture" material - whereas "OverBytes" will be a show about topical/newsworthy subjects and "y'know what I think?"/"did you ever wonder?" thought pieces; the longer show will be about "evergreen" Big Issue topics: Industry politics, sexism, bigotry, existential questions, that sort of thing. Basically, "OverBytes" is where you'll get stuff like "why hasn't there been a new 'Bonk' game?," while "TGO" is where you'll get "We really need to talk about XBL harassment" plus the further adventures of our cast of similar-looking superpowered doofuses.
3.) Right now, it's looking pretty good that Blip will wind up being the new home of "TGO" at least in terms of hosting. The details of whether or not this or that show can or will be cross-posted aside the other will require some hammering out, but they will BOTH continue to be embeded, posted and promoted on this blog. So if you haven't made this your "regular" first-stop in checking for news about this show now is the time to start.
4.) Obviously, all of this is still very much in motion and fluid, so some or all details could change. Trying to work out a "branding" that covers multiple series hosted in multiple places means juggling not only my own concerns but the concerns of related parties, and sometimes this or that thing has to "give." As ever, I just want to 1.) make good content and 2.) make money doing it - I don't involve myself in intra-website, intra-company, "this site rules!," "this site sucks!" bullshit unless someone comes at ME or I see something truly, heinously unfair happening.
5.) That said, I have no issue with PRAISING websites and webmasters who do good, and I need to once more reinforce what absolute CHAMPS and good eggs ScrewAttack has been about this: They've backed the show from the start, encouraged and supported it's continuing evolution, and they're being INCREDIBLY gracious and helpful with this new transition. I honestly thought this would be a VERY tricky, difficult back-and-forth process... and instead it's been some of the smoothest "business" I've conducted on the web thus far. So, hat's off to those guys.
As ever, stay tuned to THIS blog for further updates.
Stay Tuned
So... not to be too much of a Teasy McTeaserton, but big announcements about the future of The Game OverThinker are coming in the near future. I'm excited about them, I hope you will be too. Stay tuned to this blog and my Twitter for more details as I get them.
"I'm Not A Gamer"
Okay, so... apparently this caused a big shitstorm two weeks ago when it first happened, so call me "late" if you like but... here we are.
So! Nintendo's new ad campaign for the 3DS is based around having celebrities tell you what they use the device for, capped off by the tagline "I'm not a gamer, I'm a ______." The first (so far) is Diana Agron using an art app ("I'm not a gamer, I'm an artist;") but the second has Gabrielle Douglas playing NSMB2: "I'm not a gamer, I'm a coin-collecting champ."
There's no implicit "but" there - the idea behind the campaign isn't "I'm not a gamer but even I like this game!;" but rather "I'm not a gamer" as an affirmative statement in and of itself: "I'm not a gamer" translating to "playing this doesn't MAKE me a gamer," which in turn is reassuring prospective consumers that "playing this won't make YOU a gamer, either."
Eyebrow-raising, to be sure. But thinking on it, I like this campaign and think that it's necessary.... I just HATE that it's necessary.
The thing is, gamers have pretty-much allowed "gamer" to become a set of images in the popular culture - the rage-fueled hateful XBox Live brat, the trolling shut-in sleaze - that pretty much no one not already in "the culture" would want to be associated with; so it makes sense that someone was going to mount a campaign aimed at broader audiences based around telling them that they are "allowed" to enjoy their products without fear of being tainted with that label. I hate that it's come to this, but I can't deny that it's probably a worthwhile move.
After all, when Nintendo's pitch for the original DS and then The Wii started off by inviting "non-traditional" gamers into the fold, "gamer culture" threw a giant reactionary crying fit trying to draw a clear distinction between "REAL gamers" and the pretenders who weren't interested in AAA multiplayer action titles, or didn't grow up with an NES controller glued to their hands, or whatever the "qualifications" for being "real" were that week. So it's both fitting and entirely appropriate that they be the ones to finally be explicit about this.
So! Nintendo's new ad campaign for the 3DS is based around having celebrities tell you what they use the device for, capped off by the tagline "I'm not a gamer, I'm a ______." The first (so far) is Diana Agron using an art app ("I'm not a gamer, I'm an artist;") but the second has Gabrielle Douglas playing NSMB2: "I'm not a gamer, I'm a coin-collecting champ."
There's no implicit "but" there - the idea behind the campaign isn't "I'm not a gamer but even I like this game!;" but rather "I'm not a gamer" as an affirmative statement in and of itself: "I'm not a gamer" translating to "playing this doesn't MAKE me a gamer," which in turn is reassuring prospective consumers that "playing this won't make YOU a gamer, either."
Eyebrow-raising, to be sure. But thinking on it, I like this campaign and think that it's necessary.... I just HATE that it's necessary.
The thing is, gamers have pretty-much allowed "gamer" to become a set of images in the popular culture - the rage-fueled hateful XBox Live brat, the trolling shut-in sleaze - that pretty much no one not already in "the culture" would want to be associated with; so it makes sense that someone was going to mount a campaign aimed at broader audiences based around telling them that they are "allowed" to enjoy their products without fear of being tainted with that label. I hate that it's come to this, but I can't deny that it's probably a worthwhile move.
After all, when Nintendo's pitch for the original DS and then The Wii started off by inviting "non-traditional" gamers into the fold, "gamer culture" threw a giant reactionary crying fit trying to draw a clear distinction between "REAL gamers" and the pretenders who weren't interested in AAA multiplayer action titles, or didn't grow up with an NES controller glued to their hands, or whatever the "qualifications" for being "real" were that week. So it's both fitting and entirely appropriate that they be the ones to finally be explicit about this.
Chủ Nhật, 27 tháng 10, 2013
Check Your WiiU
UPDATE: My WiiU is still not working, and Nintendo tech support doesn't open for several hours and I need to sleep. All information below is as up to date as I could gather as of 7:45am ET. All I can be sure of is that my WiiU is afflicted with some kind of malfunction that multiple other people's have been, and that said malfunction is not in evidence until you try to hook it up. I am NOT claiming that this is a "widespread" or even serious issue, but it's clearly effected a few people so it's probably a good idea for multiple people to check on consoles they might've bought to "hold" for gift-giving time.
ORIGINAL POST AS FOLLOWS:
So. I bought my WiiU (Basic model) on Launch Day yesterday. Didn't get a chance to try hooking it up until well after midnight, because of work and other engagements. System appeared to be in good working order, but would not connect to my TV in a way that was "recognized." Not via it's own included HDMI cable. Not in other ports. Not with other cables. Not even via the (compatible) Wii standard cables.
As you can imagine, I was not happy.
Since it's A.) a brand-new machine and B.) around 3am at the time, not much info was available. However, I did take notice that the system's blue "power-on" light was flashing on and off and that this wasn't typically how such lights work. Checking up on that yielding depressing information via an active thread over at GameFAQs: Apparently, other people are having the same problem and, evidently, the detail of "blue flashing light" leads Nintendo to immediate send them a shipping lable so they can send it out for repairs.
If this is true - if Nintendo now has it's own "Red Ring of Death" problem - it could stand to be a pretty dicey affair: Setting aside how annoyed I am right now, the family audience the Wii brand has such penetration with is not as "used to" dealing with issues like this as gamers tend to be from prior experience; and that would translate to a really bad situation for Nintendo this holiday.
Right now, though - if you bought a WiiU and are maybe saving it to give as a gift, you MIGHT maybe want to take it out and inspect it, just in case. If these things are rare now, they'll be really rare then. Either way, fingers crossed this isn't widespread.
I STRESS: AT THIS POINT, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THIS ISSUE IS WIDESPREAD TO ANY DEGREE. THIS POST IS NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN AS TECHNICAL SUPPORT ADVICE, A "WARNING" OR AN "OFFICIAL" NOTICE OF ANY KIND. I AM NOT A TECH SUPPORT WORKER, NOR AM I AFFILIATED WITH NINTENDO IN ANY WAY. I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY WiiU, OTHERS SEEM TO HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, I FIGURED THE INFORMATION OUGHT TO BE KNOWN.
ORIGINAL POST AS FOLLOWS:
So. I bought my WiiU (Basic model) on Launch Day yesterday. Didn't get a chance to try hooking it up until well after midnight, because of work and other engagements. System appeared to be in good working order, but would not connect to my TV in a way that was "recognized." Not via it's own included HDMI cable. Not in other ports. Not with other cables. Not even via the (compatible) Wii standard cables.
As you can imagine, I was not happy.
Since it's A.) a brand-new machine and B.) around 3am at the time, not much info was available. However, I did take notice that the system's blue "power-on" light was flashing on and off and that this wasn't typically how such lights work. Checking up on that yielding depressing information via an active thread over at GameFAQs: Apparently, other people are having the same problem and, evidently, the detail of "blue flashing light" leads Nintendo to immediate send them a shipping lable so they can send it out for repairs.
If this is true - if Nintendo now has it's own "Red Ring of Death" problem - it could stand to be a pretty dicey affair: Setting aside how annoyed I am right now, the family audience the Wii brand has such penetration with is not as "used to" dealing with issues like this as gamers tend to be from prior experience; and that would translate to a really bad situation for Nintendo this holiday.
Right now, though - if you bought a WiiU and are maybe saving it to give as a gift, you MIGHT maybe want to take it out and inspect it, just in case. If these things are rare now, they'll be really rare then. Either way, fingers crossed this isn't widespread.
I STRESS: AT THIS POINT, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THIS ISSUE IS WIDESPREAD TO ANY DEGREE. THIS POST IS NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN AS TECHNICAL SUPPORT ADVICE, A "WARNING" OR AN "OFFICIAL" NOTICE OF ANY KIND. I AM NOT A TECH SUPPORT WORKER, NOR AM I AFFILIATED WITH NINTENDO IN ANY WAY. I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY WiiU, OTHERS SEEM TO HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, I FIGURED THE INFORMATION OUGHT TO BE KNOWN.
TGO Blip Debut Trailer!
UPDATE: Video removed and re-uploaded to correct a glitch, should be visible shortly at THIS link:
And don't forget, we're also still very much a part of ScrewAttack with OVERBYTES!
And don't forget, we're also still very much a part of ScrewAttack with OVERBYTES!
OVERBYTES Episode 2
Took longer to get this second one up (on my end) than I wanted it to - that won't be the case going forward. Anyway, here's the episode:
EPISODE 78: "Press Played"
IT'S HERE! "The Adventures of The Game OverThinker" makes it's big debut on Blip, as The OverThinker takes on "Dorito-Gate," introduces new viewers to his world... and meets a mysterious new character!
Incidentally, for those who were wondering: I went with Blip partially because the monetization options are better and it's a more "prestigious" venue (they have to "accept" a show - you can't just put up anything and use their bandwith); but primarily it came down to YouTube being INCREDIBLY difficult to deal with re: fair use claims and flaggingm which makes a commenting-on-entertainment-products show difficult to do there.
Incidentally, for those who were wondering: I went with Blip partially because the monetization options are better and it's a more "prestigious" venue (they have to "accept" a show - you can't just put up anything and use their bandwith); but primarily it came down to YouTube being INCREDIBLY difficult to deal with re: fair use claims and flaggingm which makes a commenting-on-entertainment-products show difficult to do there.
Thứ Bảy, 26 tháng 10, 2013
MAGFest
Head's up! "The Game OverThinker" will have it's first independent panel at this year's MAGFest on January 5th at 10:00am. This is my first one of these, so it's going to be straight Q&A format. I'll be out and about at the con itself otherwise from about Friday to Sunday afternoon, in addition. Look forward to seeing any fans there!
NRA Boss: Guns Don't Kill People, Video-Games Kill People!
Something I wish the media would remind people of more often: The National Rifle Association isn't a sportsmen's club anymore, or even a citizen's rights group for gun owners. They're a corporate lobbying group for the gun manufacturing industry. Understanding that is the key to understanding why they do things like insisting more guns - not fewer - are the key to safety, or spurring the stockpiling of weapons with the "gun-ban" boogeyman: They aren't looking to help gun owners, they're looking to increase sales. (See also: "Armed guards at schools are the answer! And we're MORE than willing to help set that up!")
But even understanding that couldn't have prepared me to see the NRA's hilariously faux-macho bossman Wayne LaPierre get in front of cameras today for what was ostensibly supposed to be their response to the Sandy Hook massacre and essentially declare, at the 8:25 mark of this video: Guns don't kill people, video games kill people!
The depressing amusement of the head of The NRA calling anything else a "shadow industry" aside, I'm actually grateful for this kind of public insanity. One thing Mr. LaPierre and I have in common is that we're both fans of clarity - he likes to talk about "good guys with guns" vs "bad guys with guns;" and I like seeing him (a bad guy with guns) come out so strongly in favor of game/movie/etc censorship, because it helps unmuddy the waters: Weak-willed so-called "progressives" who might otherwise have been willing to give ground on "violent" media (instead of keeping the debate laser-focused on the gun lobby, where it belongs) will hopefully be less so when they see it means agreeing with the distraction-tactics of LaPierre and his ilk.
So, this is to be a (political) fight, then. Games, films, entertainers, artists and the people who value them... versus The Right-Wing Gun Lobby. Good. Let's have it, then.
But even understanding that couldn't have prepared me to see the NRA's hilariously faux-macho bossman Wayne LaPierre get in front of cameras today for what was ostensibly supposed to be their response to the Sandy Hook massacre and essentially declare, at the 8:25 mark of this video: Guns don't kill people, video games kill people!
The depressing amusement of the head of The NRA calling anything else a "shadow industry" aside, I'm actually grateful for this kind of public insanity. One thing Mr. LaPierre and I have in common is that we're both fans of clarity - he likes to talk about "good guys with guns" vs "bad guys with guns;" and I like seeing him (a bad guy with guns) come out so strongly in favor of game/movie/etc censorship, because it helps unmuddy the waters: Weak-willed so-called "progressives" who might otherwise have been willing to give ground on "violent" media (instead of keeping the debate laser-focused on the gun lobby, where it belongs) will hopefully be less so when they see it means agreeing with the distraction-tactics of LaPierre and his ilk.
So, this is to be a (political) fight, then. Games, films, entertainers, artists and the people who value them... versus The Right-Wing Gun Lobby. Good. Let's have it, then.
EPISODE 79: "In Praise of Clones"
Now showing on BLIP! The OverThinker asks if modern gaming has too narrow a definition of "originality."
ALSO: Learn the identity of the mysterious Red Guy, and witness a shocking surprise twist!
ALSO: Learn the identity of the mysterious Red Guy, and witness a shocking surprise twist!
OVERBYTES Episode 3
NOTE: This blog, like the other, is now using the superior Intense Debate commenting system instead of the blogger default model. Users can sign-in using Twitter and a few other services, or by getting a (free) Intense Debate ID.
ANYWAY! Here's a new "OverBytes" for y'all, addressing - perhaps innevitably - the reactivated "blame violent games" controversy. Please note, the episode was actually recorded and finished before the now-infamous NRA press conference, which is why there's no explicit mention of it or the organization itself here; though the overall theme and final point would not have changed either way. Enjoy!
ANYWAY! Here's a new "OverBytes" for y'all, addressing - perhaps innevitably - the reactivated "blame violent games" controversy. Please note, the episode was actually recorded and finished before the now-infamous NRA press conference, which is why there's no explicit mention of it or the organization itself here; though the overall theme and final point would not have changed either way. Enjoy!
Thứ Sáu, 25 tháng 10, 2013
Brownshirts (Update)
(Re-post to correct coding error in original post)
hat-tip: POLYGON.
This is how it begins...
I "get" that grief is a powerful emotion that can override common sense and reason, even in the best of us. I understand that, therefore, we are expected to be deferential and sympathetic to even the most awkward, outlandish or uncomfortable expressions of grief: "Oh, it's alright. They're just upset. Let them vent." I get that... but there's a limit to everything. So, I have ZERO problem saying that the folks in Southington, Connecticut who've more-or-less decided to hold a mass-burning of "violent" video games (music and movies, too) as some kind of reaction to the tragedy in nearby Newtown are, whateve their intent, essentially painting themselves as a pack of ignorant, knuckle-dragging, reactionary cretins; and that they deserve to be called-out and shamed for what is - regardless of scale, circumstance or intent - a crime against art, culture and an affront to civilized modernity.
Southington SOS, which purports to be a charitable organization comprised of local business and community leaders set up in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre (which, just to reiterate, took place in a different community in CT) are the force behind this gesture. They put out a press release announcing it, which includes contact information for a local YMCA chairman who is apparently a spokesman for the group (I've contacted him for some clarification, awaiting response.)
Said press-release claims that it isn't trying to suggest that games are "to blame" for the shooting and that it's more interested in getting parents and their kids to "have the conversation;" though it goes to claim that "ample evidence" exists for violent media contributing to aggression, "desensitization" and the usual malarkey... without, of course, providing a source of said "ample evidence" (spoiler: that's because there isn't any.) They'll be rewarding "donations" with $25 dollar giftcards, which seems a little rotten to me since I'm more than certain the victimized town they're supposedly supporting could probably use that money... That the "returned" offending materials will be destroyed and "likely" incinerated was revealed by the Southington School Superintendent, Joe Erardi.
Like I said, these are the sorts of things that happen when people's emotions - especially grief and the impotent rage that comes with it - override common sense, and it only gets worse when it grips a community and becomes a kind of mass-pathology (see: Salem, 1692-1693). Often, the only "cure" for such circumstances is for non (or, at least, less) irrational people to hold up the mirror and point out the absurdity and wrongness of what said community is doing - sunlight, as ever, is the ultimate disinfectant. Which is why I think it's proper to publicize this event and respond (civily!) to Southington SOS; if only to let them know how much damage they're doing, image-wise, to themselves and their purported cause by engaging in such vile and wrongheaded behavior.
Note: If and when the representative I mentioned responds to my call, I will post any details/clarifications he wishes to make at my earliest ability.
hat-tip: POLYGON.
This is how it begins...
I "get" that grief is a powerful emotion that can override common sense and reason, even in the best of us. I understand that, therefore, we are expected to be deferential and sympathetic to even the most awkward, outlandish or uncomfortable expressions of grief: "Oh, it's alright. They're just upset. Let them vent." I get that... but there's a limit to everything. So, I have ZERO problem saying that the folks in Southington, Connecticut who've more-or-less decided to hold a mass-burning of "violent" video games (music and movies, too) as some kind of reaction to the tragedy in nearby Newtown are, whateve their intent, essentially painting themselves as a pack of ignorant, knuckle-dragging, reactionary cretins; and that they deserve to be called-out and shamed for what is - regardless of scale, circumstance or intent - a crime against art, culture and an affront to civilized modernity.
Southington SOS, which purports to be a charitable organization comprised of local business and community leaders set up in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre (which, just to reiterate, took place in a different community in CT) are the force behind this gesture. They put out a press release announcing it, which includes contact information for a local YMCA chairman who is apparently a spokesman for the group (I've contacted him for some clarification, awaiting response.)
Said press-release claims that it isn't trying to suggest that games are "to blame" for the shooting and that it's more interested in getting parents and their kids to "have the conversation;" though it goes to claim that "ample evidence" exists for violent media contributing to aggression, "desensitization" and the usual malarkey... without, of course, providing a source of said "ample evidence" (spoiler: that's because there isn't any.) They'll be rewarding "donations" with $25 dollar giftcards, which seems a little rotten to me since I'm more than certain the victimized town they're supposedly supporting could probably use that money... That the "returned" offending materials will be destroyed and "likely" incinerated was revealed by the Southington School Superintendent, Joe Erardi.
Like I said, these are the sorts of things that happen when people's emotions - especially grief and the impotent rage that comes with it - override common sense, and it only gets worse when it grips a community and becomes a kind of mass-pathology (see: Salem, 1692-1693). Often, the only "cure" for such circumstances is for non (or, at least, less) irrational people to hold up the mirror and point out the absurdity and wrongness of what said community is doing - sunlight, as ever, is the ultimate disinfectant. Which is why I think it's proper to publicize this event and respond (civily!) to Southington SOS; if only to let them know how much damage they're doing, image-wise, to themselves and their purported cause by engaging in such vile and wrongheaded behavior.
Note: If and when the representative I mentioned responds to my call, I will post any details/clarifications he wishes to make at my earliest ability.
EPISODE 80: "Collect Calling"
The new episode is now up on Blip! The OverThinker counts off five "classic games" compilations that need to get made already.
REMEMBER: The OverThinker's panel at this weekend's MAGFest is Saturday at 10:00am!
REMEMBER: The OverThinker's panel at this weekend's MAGFest is Saturday at 10:00am!
Everybody Watch Jimquisition Now
I Don't Want To Game On This Planet Anymore
Y'know, it's funny. When I created The AntiThinker, he was supposed to embody an exaggeration of the absolute worst in gamer culture. Turns out, I didn't exaggerate enough...
Patricia Hernandez over at Kotaku points the way to a new candidate for gaming's worst human: A (popular, of course) YouTuber who puts up "how-to" videos instructing his followers on how to harrass female gamers for the crime of playing video games while female - "justified," of course, by the idea that these women are only gaming as a way to "con" poor, helpless men out of their money with sex appeal.
I'm not going to link directly to his stuff, but you can get the gist of it and watch (if you want to) from Hernandez piece HERE.
The whole thing is nothing short of revolting, top to bottom, particularly the sociopathic glee that the guy takes is carrying out and encouraging what's basically a keyboard and a mouse away from what'd be (verbal) sexual assault in the real world. But I'm particularly fascinated/repelled by the argument of him, his fans and too many of the Kotaku commenterati that somehow this is tit-for-tat "payback" because some of the women MAY be using their sex-appeal for attention or even monetary gain - essentially "they're WHORES, so they had it coming."
First off, the thing is... I don't give a shit. Setting aside that I have no real moral objection to (ethical) sex workers in the real world, I see absolutely NOTHING wrong the flirting-for-attention/cash "camgirl" phenomenon in gamer culture or otherwise on the net. People pay ME because they think I'm funny/insightful/whatever, I don't see how paying someone for being pretty/flirty is any different or deserving of "punishment." If you get "conned" out of kicking some paypal credits to this or that person online because she batted her eyes or flashed some cleavage and you felt like a schmuck later... that's on YOU, pal.
Secondly, what experience in real life tells you that this would be "okay" even in a virtual space. Do you imagine that punishing women for being sexy for attention or some other gain is a thing that happens? Do you know what would happen to anyone who walked into, say, most non-shithole strip clubs and spoke/acted towards the dancers the way this kid does to "virtual" women? A trip to the parking lot and a new set of finger-splints.
Patricia Hernandez over at Kotaku points the way to a new candidate for gaming's worst human: A (popular, of course) YouTuber who puts up "how-to" videos instructing his followers on how to harrass female gamers for the crime of playing video games while female - "justified," of course, by the idea that these women are only gaming as a way to "con" poor, helpless men out of their money with sex appeal.
I'm not going to link directly to his stuff, but you can get the gist of it and watch (if you want to) from Hernandez piece HERE.
The whole thing is nothing short of revolting, top to bottom, particularly the sociopathic glee that the guy takes is carrying out and encouraging what's basically a keyboard and a mouse away from what'd be (verbal) sexual assault in the real world. But I'm particularly fascinated/repelled by the argument of him, his fans and too many of the Kotaku commenterati that somehow this is tit-for-tat "payback" because some of the women MAY be using their sex-appeal for attention or even monetary gain - essentially "they're WHORES, so they had it coming."
First off, the thing is... I don't give a shit. Setting aside that I have no real moral objection to (ethical) sex workers in the real world, I see absolutely NOTHING wrong the flirting-for-attention/cash "camgirl" phenomenon in gamer culture or otherwise on the net. People pay ME because they think I'm funny/insightful/whatever, I don't see how paying someone for being pretty/flirty is any different or deserving of "punishment." If you get "conned" out of kicking some paypal credits to this or that person online because she batted her eyes or flashed some cleavage and you felt like a schmuck later... that's on YOU, pal.
Secondly, what experience in real life tells you that this would be "okay" even in a virtual space. Do you imagine that punishing women for being sexy for attention or some other gain is a thing that happens? Do you know what would happen to anyone who walked into, say, most non-shithole strip clubs and spoke/acted towards the dancers the way this kid does to "virtual" women? A trip to the parking lot and a new set of finger-splints.
Thứ Năm, 24 tháng 10, 2013
Brownshirts in my backyard
The town of Melrose, Massachusetts has become the latest gang of idiots to start-up a "violent games buy-back" program... though, at least they aren't also burning them, so there's that.
Funny thing about these "buybacks..." they were both sponsored by local-business people, and instead of CASH (like the police give for guns in the actual gun-buyback programs these ones are partially intended to belittle) for turning in your property you already bought you get... gift-certificates for local business, which in turn funnel any extra money/time you spend while going to redeem said certificates BACK to the very people propping up the bans. Huh. Funny how that works out, eh?
Meanwhile, the State overall has decided to pull arcade games that use toy guns from state-operated rest stops, replacing them with more "passive" titles (because what public arcade areas need right now is to suck MORE, right?) after some suburban asshole saw one and decided a Sandy Hook relative (which he is not nor does he have any discernable connection to) could concievably walk by it and be disturbed. I especially like that they're making their kid appear in the accompanying photo with them, an action I'm sure will have absolutely no negative effect on his social life whatsoever...
Funny thing about these "buybacks..." they were both sponsored by local-business people, and instead of CASH (like the police give for guns in the actual gun-buyback programs these ones are partially intended to belittle) for turning in your property you already bought you get... gift-certificates for local business, which in turn funnel any extra money/time you spend while going to redeem said certificates BACK to the very people propping up the bans. Huh. Funny how that works out, eh?
Meanwhile, the State overall has decided to pull arcade games that use toy guns from state-operated rest stops, replacing them with more "passive" titles (because what public arcade areas need right now is to suck MORE, right?) after some suburban asshole saw one and decided a Sandy Hook relative (which he is not nor does he have any discernable connection to) could concievably walk by it and be disturbed. I especially like that they're making their kid appear in the accompanying photo with them, an action I'm sure will have absolutely no negative effect on his social life whatsoever...
Brownshirts Back Down
Polygon reports that the small town of Southington, CT has abandoned it's internationally-reported - and widely-derrided - plans for a mass-burning of "violent" video-games.
Officially, the business/community-leader group that had backed the plan is saying that since the announcement itself succeeded in "promoting discussion" and "creating strong awareness," there was no longer any reason to actually go through with the event.
Unofficially? Call this another win for New Media, is my feeling. Public-shaming has always been one of the ultimate curatives for bullies and petty-fascists, and The Internet is the most powerful tool to inflict such ever devised.
The fight now moves to politics, with gaming and Hollywood "leaders" scheduled to be part of the "comprehensive talks" with the Obama Administration this week and next. The fact that they're there doesn't particularly worry me - this administration is smart enough to know that the idea of a direct causal-relationship between "violent" media and real gun violence is soundly-discredited, unscientific horseshit - the "comprehensive talks" are a smokescreen, "cover" for the administration so that they can avoid looking like they're focused on "going after" the gun lobby when that's in fact what they ARE and should be focused on.
My only "worry" is with just how committed they are to said smokescreen. Obama etc aren't "anti-gaming," but they have shown a political willingness to throw this or that "under the bus" in order to affect the image of bipartisanship - I can easily imagine them "bending" on censorship in order to be able to say "See? We aren't just after your guns. Your turn to give something, NRA."
To my mind, that would be both disasterous in general and an utterly useless gesture on the administration's part; and not just because it would damage the invaluable clout Obama and Democrats in general currently have with the youth vote. Mr. President... in case you haven't noticed, these people already attacked you as an "anti-gun" zealot during the four years when Washington did/said jack shit about the issue. You will never win these people over - to them, you're just a guy with the wrong politics, the wrong name and the wrong skin - forget winning The NRA and it's ilk over, focus on winning over them.
Officially, the business/community-leader group that had backed the plan is saying that since the announcement itself succeeded in "promoting discussion" and "creating strong awareness," there was no longer any reason to actually go through with the event.
Unofficially? Call this another win for New Media, is my feeling. Public-shaming has always been one of the ultimate curatives for bullies and petty-fascists, and The Internet is the most powerful tool to inflict such ever devised.
The fight now moves to politics, with gaming and Hollywood "leaders" scheduled to be part of the "comprehensive talks" with the Obama Administration this week and next. The fact that they're there doesn't particularly worry me - this administration is smart enough to know that the idea of a direct causal-relationship between "violent" media and real gun violence is soundly-discredited, unscientific horseshit - the "comprehensive talks" are a smokescreen, "cover" for the administration so that they can avoid looking like they're focused on "going after" the gun lobby when that's in fact what they ARE and should be focused on.
My only "worry" is with just how committed they are to said smokescreen. Obama etc aren't "anti-gaming," but they have shown a political willingness to throw this or that "under the bus" in order to affect the image of bipartisanship - I can easily imagine them "bending" on censorship in order to be able to say "See? We aren't just after your guns. Your turn to give something, NRA."
To my mind, that would be both disasterous in general and an utterly useless gesture on the administration's part; and not just because it would damage the invaluable clout Obama and Democrats in general currently have with the youth vote. Mr. President... in case you haven't noticed, these people already attacked you as an "anti-gun" zealot during the four years when Washington did/said jack shit about the issue. You will never win these people over - to them, you're just a guy with the wrong politics, the wrong name and the wrong skin - forget winning The NRA and it's ilk over, focus on winning over them.
No Fear
I'd like to spend all day engaging people about this, but the fact is I have a shit-ton of deadline-driven work to do that's only going to get done if I got media-dark for a few hours. So this will have to be all from me about the big Obama gun laws speech today.
I imagine the number-one thing anyone wants to hear from me is how I feel about the President calling for "more research into violent video-games" as part of his big set of plans/proposals. Honestly? I hated hearing it. It cuts me to the bone when otherwise intelligent, reasonable people I happen to support have to jump and join that particular political dance; especially when I strongly suspect that they're better than that. I would prefer that the President had said "some have called for more attention paid to a link between violent games or movies and gun deaths, but the fact is that research has already been done a hundred times over and the link quite simply does not exist and continuing to call for it distracts from the real issue; which is guns and the obscene power of the Gun Lobby."
I'd have liked to see that, and maybe someday I will, but it wasn't going to be today.
The fact is, enough of my fellow Americans are paranoid enough (either through their own deficiencies or because they lack the necessary clarity and intellectual confidence to not be swayed by the propaganda of the NRA and their ilk) to give real traction to the meme of Obama/democrats "coming to take all the guns!!!;" one that only gets stronger if said propagandists can claim that they and their issue is being "singled out." That they and their issue should be singled out is beside the point - "singling out" sounds bad.
Thus was Joe Biden obliged to invite representatives of the movie and game industry (Why not books? Oh, right - older/out-of-touch people aren't scared/confused by books) to his various summitts - even though he's smart enough to know that the "link" doesn't exist - in order to affect the image that guns and gun-rights weren't "alone" in being called to the principal's office. And thus is Obama obliged to namecheck some illusory need for violent games "research" even though he's also smart enough to know better and saavy enough to know that even if he did buy into (for example) the "desensitization" fallacy, actually making any moves that even smelled of censorship would lose he and his party their crucial support among GenX/Y voters.
But here's the rub: "Calling for more research," in Washington-speak, translates to "we pretty-much garauntee nothing will come of this." It is, quite simply, a smoke-screen - a way for the President and his allies to appear to take the "broader solution" nonsense seriously while they get about the real business of breaking the back of the Gun Lobby in order to make U.S. gun laws slightly more sane.
Would I prefer that this hadn't been part of the speech, even as I recognize it as little more than rhetorical sleight of hand? Of course I would. I also wish he didn't have slip into maudlin reassurances about "Our Creator" at the end, or that he didn't need to feign four years worth of "evolution" on his support for gay marriage. I welcome the day, soon to come, when we look back on today's notions of "violent" movies and games causing real violence with the same "this was actually a THING??" horror and sadness with which we react to Calvin Candie's phrenology speech in "Django Unchained."
But that's not realistically going to happen today, and progressives, young people and especially gamers among them need to recognize that before they think about dismissing and turning their backs on an administration that - where and when it actually counts - has been (and is likely to continue to be) largely on their side. The perfect mustn't be the enemy of the good.
I imagine the number-one thing anyone wants to hear from me is how I feel about the President calling for "more research into violent video-games" as part of his big set of plans/proposals. Honestly? I hated hearing it. It cuts me to the bone when otherwise intelligent, reasonable people I happen to support have to jump and join that particular political dance; especially when I strongly suspect that they're better than that. I would prefer that the President had said "some have called for more attention paid to a link between violent games or movies and gun deaths, but the fact is that research has already been done a hundred times over and the link quite simply does not exist and continuing to call for it distracts from the real issue; which is guns and the obscene power of the Gun Lobby."
I'd have liked to see that, and maybe someday I will, but it wasn't going to be today.
The fact is, enough of my fellow Americans are paranoid enough (either through their own deficiencies or because they lack the necessary clarity and intellectual confidence to not be swayed by the propaganda of the NRA and their ilk) to give real traction to the meme of Obama/democrats "coming to take all the guns!!!;" one that only gets stronger if said propagandists can claim that they and their issue is being "singled out." That they and their issue should be singled out is beside the point - "singling out" sounds bad.
Thus was Joe Biden obliged to invite representatives of the movie and game industry (Why not books? Oh, right - older/out-of-touch people aren't scared/confused by books) to his various summitts - even though he's smart enough to know that the "link" doesn't exist - in order to affect the image that guns and gun-rights weren't "alone" in being called to the principal's office. And thus is Obama obliged to namecheck some illusory need for violent games "research" even though he's also smart enough to know better and saavy enough to know that even if he did buy into (for example) the "desensitization" fallacy, actually making any moves that even smelled of censorship would lose he and his party their crucial support among GenX/Y voters.
But here's the rub: "Calling for more research," in Washington-speak, translates to "we pretty-much garauntee nothing will come of this." It is, quite simply, a smoke-screen - a way for the President and his allies to appear to take the "broader solution" nonsense seriously while they get about the real business of breaking the back of the Gun Lobby in order to make U.S. gun laws slightly more sane.
Would I prefer that this hadn't been part of the speech, even as I recognize it as little more than rhetorical sleight of hand? Of course I would. I also wish he didn't have slip into maudlin reassurances about "Our Creator" at the end, or that he didn't need to feign four years worth of "evolution" on his support for gay marriage. I welcome the day, soon to come, when we look back on today's notions of "violent" movies and games causing real violence with the same "this was actually a THING??" horror and sadness with which we react to Calvin Candie's phrenology speech in "Django Unchained."
But that's not realistically going to happen today, and progressives, young people and especially gamers among them need to recognize that before they think about dismissing and turning their backs on an administration that - where and when it actually counts - has been (and is likely to continue to be) largely on their side. The perfect mustn't be the enemy of the good.
MAGFest Panels
Thứ Tư, 23 tháng 10, 2013
Wonderful 101
Well! "Wonderful 101" is undoubtedly the most "video-game-ish" looking video-game I've seen in quite sometime. I run hot or cold on strategy games, but I'm damn inclined to pick this up...
ALSO: Brand-new episode went up today, so go watch!
This was announced at today's "Nintendo Direct" briefing, which also included the unsurprising (but never the less welcome) news of a new 3D Mario, Mario Kart and Smash Bros. to be shown off at E3 in June. Also shown off: Another "Epic Yarn" installment, this time starring Yoshi, an HD remake of "Wind Waker" and "Mother 2" coming to the (Japanese) WiiU Virtual Console.
ALSO: Brand-new episode went up today, so go watch!
This was announced at today's "Nintendo Direct" briefing, which also included the unsurprising (but never the less welcome) news of a new 3D Mario, Mario Kart and Smash Bros. to be shown off at E3 in June. Also shown off: Another "Epic Yarn" installment, this time starring Yoshi, an HD remake of "Wind Waker" and "Mother 2" coming to the (Japanese) WiiU Virtual Console.
A Humble Hope For Help
So... I generally avoid using the Blog(s) for things like this, but wide nets need to be wide.
I'm looking to get in touch with people in the book-publishing business, specifically video-gaming related stuff but really at this level any inroad would be a good inroad; but there's a pretty wide disconnect between the digital press world and the print world, so... don't really have any idea how to do that.
BUT I'm betting I've got at least a few friends/followers/fans/colleagues reading these things who might have some tidbit of advice/direction/access to offer; so if that describes you please feel free to pop said info into the comments here (or, if you prefer, a way in which I could contact you to get it.) Any little bit helps, honestly :)
Thanks you.
I'm looking to get in touch with people in the book-publishing business, specifically video-gaming related stuff but really at this level any inroad would be a good inroad; but there's a pretty wide disconnect between the digital press world and the print world, so... don't really have any idea how to do that.
BUT I'm betting I've got at least a few friends/followers/fans/colleagues reading these things who might have some tidbit of advice/direction/access to offer; so if that describes you please feel free to pop said info into the comments here (or, if you prefer, a way in which I could contact you to get it.) Any little bit helps, honestly :)
Thanks you.
EPISODE 81: "Let This Be The End"
New episode, now available on Blip:
Our subject this week (inspired in part by Mr. Croshaw) is whether or not we really, really need yet another generation of new individual consoles...
Our subject this week (inspired in part by Mr. Croshaw) is whether or not we really, really need yet another generation of new individual consoles...
Your Daily Reminder That Ralph Nader Is a Terrible Human Being
BTW, have you watched our New Episode yet?
Anyway... Ralph Nader - the man who helped give you 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency - has declared "violent" video-game producers to be "Electronic child molesters."
Screw you very much, Ralph.
Anyway... Ralph Nader - the man who helped give you 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency - has declared "violent" video-game producers to be "Electronic child molesters."
Screw you very much, Ralph.
Enemy
hat-tip: Polygon
Below, video of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee. Mr. Alexander's stated position therein: "I think video games is (sic) a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people." Alexander is known as a "moderate" and "bipartisan" within the Republican Party - which frankly says more about the Party (i.e. you can be this backward and still not be backward enough) than it does about him.
This would be the honorable Senator's website, while this would be the section for contacting his political operation. In case any fellow Americans would like to (respectfully and non-abusively) offer him their thoughts on the matter.
Oh, and Tennessee-based readers? He has to run for re-election next year. His recently-announced likely opponent is named Larry Crim, whose website can be found HERE. Just sayin'.
Below, video of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee. Mr. Alexander's stated position therein: "I think video games is (sic) a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people." Alexander is known as a "moderate" and "bipartisan" within the Republican Party - which frankly says more about the Party (i.e. you can be this backward and still not be backward enough) than it does about him.
This would be the honorable Senator's website, while this would be the section for contacting his political operation. In case any fellow Americans would like to (respectfully and non-abusively) offer him their thoughts on the matter.
Oh, and Tennessee-based readers? He has to run for re-election next year. His recently-announced likely opponent is named Larry Crim, whose website can be found HERE. Just sayin'.
Thứ Ba, 22 tháng 10, 2013
Nintenception
It sounds like a backhanded compliment, but really the "Mario & Luigi" RPG series (Superstar Saga, Partners in Time and Bowser's Inside Story, thus far) for portables have probably been the story/humor highpoint for Nintendo franchises for the better part of the last decade. Sharp, funny, self-aware, perfectly balancing sincere "quiet awe," unobtrusive fanservice and a knowing self-awareness. The first 3DS installment has now been announced as "Mario & Luigi: Dream Team," with the now-standard alt-dimension storyline taking place partially in the realm of Luigi's dream...
Dream-world, eh? Hm...
Nintendo? I don't ask for much - which is good, since you're kind of the opposite of generous when it comes to this stuf... But if Wart (the dream-world heavy from the U.S. SMB2) turned up here in some capacity it would make me just about the happiest boy in the world. Bonus points if he brings Mouser, Triclyde, Fryguy, Clawgrip or any combination thereof with him.
Dream-world, eh? Hm...
Nintendo? I don't ask for much - which is good, since you're kind of the opposite of generous when it comes to this stuf... But if Wart (the dream-world heavy from the U.S. SMB2) turned up here in some capacity it would make me just about the happiest boy in the world. Bonus points if he brings Mouser, Triclyde, Fryguy, Clawgrip or any combination thereof with him.
Glenn Beck: Video-Games Responsible For Sandy Hook Massacre
(Hey, while you're hear, have you watched our new episode yet?)
So when I saw things like Ollie North pimping "Call of Duty," my worry was: "Oh great, they've figured it out. They'll never regain footing in the rest of the entertainment industry; but gaming having any kind of ideological bent is such a nascent thing that they could easily slip in and claim this medium for their own without much resistance - and the only thing worse than the bro-gamers dominating the market would bro-gamers as a voting bloc."
Fortunately, The Right has demonstrated rather completely that they prize the short-term financial and electoral gains they get from being the obedient lapdogs of the gun industry FAR more than they do their long-term relevance as a political force; and so they've enthusiastically jumped onto the "Guns Don't Kill People, Violent Video-Games Kill People!" bandwagon - anything to prevent gun manufacturers' from losing business. In the latest salvo: Glenn Beck, preaching the "medical facts" of the Great Desensitization Lie:
Well, that was unpleasant. Hey, why not watch some Shameless Self-Promotion to wash your brain out?
EPISODE 82: "Never Grow Old"
The recent East Coast blizzard slowed production a little bit, but the show must go on! Here, The OverThinker responds to Warren Spector and David Cage's controversial DICE lectures:
Thứ Hai, 21 tháng 10, 2013
Tropes vs. Women launches first episode (UPDATED!)
Oh hey, remember that kickstarted webseries that people freaked out about because a woman was talking out of turn about man things, then decided it was actually a "scam" that would never actually come out when that didn't convince people that she was the antichrist?
Well, it came out. Here's a link. I'll chime back in later with what I actually thought of it.
UPDATE II: The newest episode of "OverBytes" is a thorough "review" of the show. All audiences can watch it right now.
UPDATE I: At the suggestion of user "Nixou," I'm re-posting (with corrections) my response to one of the more consistent issues people seem to have re: the cost of producing a show like this (aka "how does THIS cost $150,000??) as follows:
Here's the thing: I (and I'm speaking strictly of my self-produced/funded stuff like TGO and American Bob here, not the Escapist gigs) and others working on the YouTube/Blip series side of this medium are generally A.) Making this stuff FOR the amateur/indie circuit and B.) using primarily materials we already have or can be "donated" either by ourselves or aquaintances. In my specific case, I'm not outputting OR shooting in HD, the shows themselves are not of "broadcast caliber" and I don't pay professional wages to the people who help out. If I did, the INCREDIBLY low-ball $6,000 pricetag she originally set (don't forget: the donations were so HUGE because people kept donating as a "screw you" to her detractors) would MAYBE cover 2 - 3 average-scale TGO episodes, tops.
I've noticed that people in general have a skewed view of what independent video/film production actually costs because a lot of guys on the indie/fanfilm scene (no, I won't be naming names) like to brag about how low their production budget is - the problem being that A LOT of the time these are guys who have "day jobs" in the professional film/video business and thus access to equipment and facilities that they would otherwise be paying substantial sums to rent or lease; or they don't include what they would normally charge a client for their services in their own productions, OR they have friends in similar circumstances who are "donating" their time/services and not listing what that would cost on a real job. For example: If "Game OverThinker" had the EXACT same schedule and final-quality but I was paying real industry-standard fees and wages for locations, facilities and crew; $10,000 would be a low-ball estimate for every episode.
Having watched the video itself: She's shooting and outputting in HD/broadcast-quality (this has clearly been designed for classroom/seminar presentation moreso than the web video) and most the MASSIVE amount of game footage looks to have been captured from either original sources (I'm assuming MAME or download-service copies for the retro stuff) - which requires both expensive equipment and the expense of the systems and games themselves. Also, I don't know if she does her own graphics and animation, but her transitions all look like original work; and even if she did do them herself the "going rate" for that kind of work can get pretty damn high especially if you plan to buy or license it in perpuity.
ALSO: I don't know what else she does for a regular living, but I DO know the relative man-hours of putting a project like this together and they are substantial - thusly, if the ONLY thing all the Kickstarter money did was pay her bills and living-expenses (via supplmental income) while she cut down on her regular paying work so that she could free up the time to actually play/record the games, write the script and make the video I'm frankly perplexed that she ever somehow thought a paltry sum like $6,000 was going to cover it. She's currently operating out of San Fransisco, one of the most expensive places to live - even modestly - in the United States; so when you factor all that in... trust me, the expenses for this kind of production are much more substantial than most would imagine.
Well, it came out. Here's a link. I'll chime back in later with what I actually thought of it.
UPDATE II: The newest episode of "OverBytes" is a thorough "review" of the show. All audiences can watch it right now.
UPDATE I: At the suggestion of user "Nixou," I'm re-posting (with corrections) my response to one of the more consistent issues people seem to have re: the cost of producing a show like this (aka "how does THIS cost $150,000??) as follows:
Here's the thing: I (and I'm speaking strictly of my self-produced/funded stuff like TGO and American Bob here, not the Escapist gigs) and others working on the YouTube/Blip series side of this medium are generally A.) Making this stuff FOR the amateur/indie circuit and B.) using primarily materials we already have or can be "donated" either by ourselves or aquaintances. In my specific case, I'm not outputting OR shooting in HD, the shows themselves are not of "broadcast caliber" and I don't pay professional wages to the people who help out. If I did, the INCREDIBLY low-ball $6,000 pricetag she originally set (don't forget: the donations were so HUGE because people kept donating as a "screw you" to her detractors) would MAYBE cover 2 - 3 average-scale TGO episodes, tops.
I've noticed that people in general have a skewed view of what independent video/film production actually costs because a lot of guys on the indie/fanfilm scene (no, I won't be naming names) like to brag about how low their production budget is - the problem being that A LOT of the time these are guys who have "day jobs" in the professional film/video business and thus access to equipment and facilities that they would otherwise be paying substantial sums to rent or lease; or they don't include what they would normally charge a client for their services in their own productions, OR they have friends in similar circumstances who are "donating" their time/services and not listing what that would cost on a real job. For example: If "Game OverThinker" had the EXACT same schedule and final-quality but I was paying real industry-standard fees and wages for locations, facilities and crew; $10,000 would be a low-ball estimate for every episode.
Having watched the video itself: She's shooting and outputting in HD/broadcast-quality (this has clearly been designed for classroom/seminar presentation moreso than the web video) and most the MASSIVE amount of game footage looks to have been captured from either original sources (I'm assuming MAME or download-service copies for the retro stuff) - which requires both expensive equipment and the expense of the systems and games themselves. Also, I don't know if she does her own graphics and animation, but her transitions all look like original work; and even if she did do them herself the "going rate" for that kind of work can get pretty damn high especially if you plan to buy or license it in perpuity.
ALSO: I don't know what else she does for a regular living, but I DO know the relative man-hours of putting a project like this together and they are substantial - thusly, if the ONLY thing all the Kickstarter money did was pay her bills and living-expenses (via supplmental income) while she cut down on her regular paying work so that she could free up the time to actually play/record the games, write the script and make the video I'm frankly perplexed that she ever somehow thought a paltry sum like $6,000 was going to cover it. She's currently operating out of San Fransisco, one of the most expensive places to live - even modestly - in the United States; so when you factor all that in... trust me, the expenses for this kind of production are much more substantial than most would imagine.
D&D Arcade Games Coming to XBLA/PSN
Well, whaddaya know? Capcom decided to do something decent for retro-gaming; broken clocks and all that: Their two classic (and somewhat rare) "Dungeons & Dragons" beat-em-ups - "Tower of Doom" and Shadow over Mystara" are coming to XBLA/PSN. Supposedly, this will be "officially unveiled" at PAXEast. It's being called a port, which I hopefully assume means it will be the original games with the original graphics - not another "HD remake" disaster like "Turtles In Time Re-Shelled".
Good show, Capcom... sure would be nice to have a WiiU* port with off-TV play, though. Just sayin.
*Yes, peanut gallery, that would be your cue to remind me that I am biased Nintendo fanboy and that it would be stupid to put these on WiiU because nobody cares about the WiiU which is a good thing because now the combined forces of nostalgia, filthy casuals and Japan can stop ruining gaming. Don't let me down, kids.
Good show, Capcom... sure would be nice to have a WiiU* port with off-TV play, though. Just sayin.
*Yes, peanut gallery, that would be your cue to remind me that I am biased Nintendo fanboy and that it would be stupid to put these on WiiU because nobody cares about the WiiU which is a good thing because now the combined forces of nostalgia, filthy casuals and Japan can stop ruining gaming. Don't let me down, kids.
Sterling on Cage
Not that I ever thought I'd have performed the definitive "takedown" of David Cage; but if I or anyone else HAD harbored any pretense toward doing so we must now concede that Jim Sterling has now definitively taken the crown on that one:
OVERBYTES on Tropes vs. Women
Now available for viewing by all, an overall appraisal on the first episode of "Tropes vs. Women in Video Games" and it's attendant controversies.
P.S. People who continue to insist on harping about production costs are directed to THIS post.
P.S. People who continue to insist on harping about production costs are directed to THIS post.
Chủ Nhật, 20 tháng 10, 2013
SUPPLEMENTAL: "I'm Sorry (But EA Should Be Sorrier)"
So, then.
In the making of this series, March has basically been a gigantic non-starter. A blizzard scuttled at least two weeks of shooting, then another storm and subsequent ceaseless wind/rain pushed it further - serves me right, I guess. So, since I obviously won't be getting any work done on this front with PAXEast going on this weekend; I sat down and flipped on the camera early this morning (like 3:00am or so) to do a quickie "hey, sorry, here's what's up" vlog that wound up being a little rambling (unscripted) and eventually turned into a minor rant about EA, SimCity and the state of the industry. Decided to give it a semi-edit and upload, but don't worry - this sort of "tired-looking man talking to camera" motif won't become the norm around here.
In the making of this series, March has basically been a gigantic non-starter. A blizzard scuttled at least two weeks of shooting, then another storm and subsequent ceaseless wind/rain pushed it further - serves me right, I guess. So, since I obviously won't be getting any work done on this front with PAXEast going on this weekend; I sat down and flipped on the camera early this morning (like 3:00am or so) to do a quickie "hey, sorry, here's what's up" vlog that wound up being a little rambling (unscripted) and eventually turned into a minor rant about EA, SimCity and the state of the industry. Decided to give it a semi-edit and upload, but don't worry - this sort of "tired-looking man talking to camera" motif won't become the norm around here.
MGS5 Trailer
Hey, remember that "Phantom Pain" thing that everyone immediately knew was "Metal Gear Solid 5" but they wouldn't come out and say was "Metal Gear Solid 5?"
Well, it's "Metal Gear Solid 5."
Well, it's "Metal Gear Solid 5."
Off To PAXEast
I'm officially en-route to the weekend at PAXEast folks, so if you're there feel free to say hi and if not follow my Twitter @the_moviebob in case I say or see something interesting while there. If you're at the show, check me out at the Escapist Movie Night panel on Saturday 3/23 at 9:00pm in the Merman Theater.
The Book
If you were at Escapist Movie Night at PAXEast this past weekend (or you caught an earlier reveal during the Desert Bus charity event) you already know about this, but for everyone else it would seem the cat is out of the bag...
So! I'm writing a book. Or, rather, I've written a book and - barring any unforseen disaster - it will be coming out soon. It's a book about video games, and is being developed with (and will be sold exclusively online through) fangamer. If I had to describe it as anything it would be a book of game criticism; though not of a kind I've found anywhere else.
Further details (all of which are, it goes without saying, wholly subject to change) after the jump...
At this time the book itself doesn't have a title I can officially announce or cover-art, but the main text of the thing has been written. My "big idea" was to take the longform "scene-by-scene" (or shot-by-shot) analysis often applied to book-length criticism of movies or plays to gaming by, essentially, novelizing a "Let's Play."
The approach: I would play all the way through a classic game - every level, every enemy, every item, the whole experience - and analyze everything about it as I went: The mechanics, the layouts, the art-design of the sprites, the aesthetics of the backgrounds, the music, the known history of the production, cultural references and context, etc. In addition, since it's my position that the effect our moods outside of gaming effect the interactivity of the medium and vice-versa, the "narrative" of playing the game would be intercut with the "narrative" of what was going on in my life during the play-through.
I chose "Super Mario Bros. 3" to be the subject, mainly because it's my favorite game but also because it's the best possible candidate: A classic game, part of the most famous series in the entire medium, lengthy, linear and enduringly popular enough that a sizable portion of a prospective readership would be familiar with it. It ultimately took on a greater significance, though, as the initial play-through itself wound up coinciding with my preparations for moving out of the home I'd grown up in - in other words, playing this game in the house I'd first fallen in love with it for the last time.
So... yeah, this is "labor of love" stuff. But I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't proud of the idea that - to my knowledge, at least - this kind of in-depth analysis hasn't been done at this scale for a single game. For good measure, it also includes a history of the franchise and my own personal history with it.
At this time, all I can say about release dates is that we're angling to have it available within the next few months (my goal is to have some copies ready to sell in-person at SGC - fingers crossed) but I'll be updating here as more information re: dates, cost, title, etc is made ready for public reveal. I'm nervous but excited about the whole process... I just hope enough of you folks A.) give it a shot and B.) like what you find.
Stay tuned for more details.
So! I'm writing a book. Or, rather, I've written a book and - barring any unforseen disaster - it will be coming out soon. It's a book about video games, and is being developed with (and will be sold exclusively online through) fangamer. If I had to describe it as anything it would be a book of game criticism; though not of a kind I've found anywhere else.
Further details (all of which are, it goes without saying, wholly subject to change) after the jump...
At this time the book itself doesn't have a title I can officially announce or cover-art, but the main text of the thing has been written. My "big idea" was to take the longform "scene-by-scene" (or shot-by-shot) analysis often applied to book-length criticism of movies or plays to gaming by, essentially, novelizing a "Let's Play."
The approach: I would play all the way through a classic game - every level, every enemy, every item, the whole experience - and analyze everything about it as I went: The mechanics, the layouts, the art-design of the sprites, the aesthetics of the backgrounds, the music, the known history of the production, cultural references and context, etc. In addition, since it's my position that the effect our moods outside of gaming effect the interactivity of the medium and vice-versa, the "narrative" of playing the game would be intercut with the "narrative" of what was going on in my life during the play-through.
I chose "Super Mario Bros. 3" to be the subject, mainly because it's my favorite game but also because it's the best possible candidate: A classic game, part of the most famous series in the entire medium, lengthy, linear and enduringly popular enough that a sizable portion of a prospective readership would be familiar with it. It ultimately took on a greater significance, though, as the initial play-through itself wound up coinciding with my preparations for moving out of the home I'd grown up in - in other words, playing this game in the house I'd first fallen in love with it for the last time.
So... yeah, this is "labor of love" stuff. But I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't proud of the idea that - to my knowledge, at least - this kind of in-depth analysis hasn't been done at this scale for a single game. For good measure, it also includes a history of the franchise and my own personal history with it.
At this time, all I can say about release dates is that we're angling to have it available within the next few months (my goal is to have some copies ready to sell in-person at SGC - fingers crossed) but I'll be updating here as more information re: dates, cost, title, etc is made ready for public reveal. I'm nervous but excited about the whole process... I just hope enough of you folks A.) give it a shot and B.) like what you find.
Stay tuned for more details.
Thứ Bảy, 19 tháng 10, 2013
Everything About This Is Awesome
People thought "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon" was an April Fools joke, but it turned out to be a real thing - an "expansion" (though it'll be sold as a standalone item - $14.99US for about an 8 hour campaign - that does not require a copy of FC3 to play) that takes the puuuuuurty game engine that FC3 used to render hyper-realistic jungle environments to instead render a neon-infused scifi/action game with an aesthetic somewhere between mid-80s B-movie and NES-era action game (think Power Blade, Strider, etc) blown up into a 3D FPS.
Yeah. I like this. Let's have more expansions on the line of this (and more smaller, non-budget-buster-pricing titles too) now that "zombie mode" has more or less played itself out.
Yeah. I like this. Let's have more expansions on the line of this (and more smaller, non-budget-buster-pricing titles too) now that "zombie mode" has more or less played itself out.
EPISODE 83: "The Next Crash"
Finally, here's the new episode. Ivan takes over the hosting duties for this one, and he's got some thoughts about the likelihood of an impending Second Games Industry Crash.
UPDATE: ABOUT THE COMMENTS SECTION:Okay. I have no idea what happened to the comments here. For some reason, the Intense Debate comment threads sometimes get randomly dropped from this particular blog. What I THINK is happening is that somehow people are accessing and using the old Blogger comment-system (which you still shouldn't be able to do, but if it wasn't buggy as hell it wouldn't be Blogger...) and that cause the ID thread to disappear. I'm sorry about this and I know it sucks for anyone who was in the midst of conversation via ID. I will be re-posting this episode in a new ID-enabled thread for anyone who wishes to continue with it.
UPDATE: ABOUT THE COMMENTS SECTION:Okay. I have no idea what happened to the comments here. For some reason, the Intense Debate comment threads sometimes get randomly dropped from this particular blog. What I THINK is happening is that somehow people are accessing and using the old Blogger comment-system (which you still shouldn't be able to do, but if it wasn't buggy as hell it wouldn't be Blogger...) and that cause the ID thread to disappear. I'm sorry about this and I know it sucks for anyone who was in the midst of conversation via ID. I will be re-posting this episode in a new ID-enabled thread for anyone who wishes to continue with it.
EPISODE 83: "The Next Crash"
UPDATE: Re-posted because of an Intense Debate error in the previous posting caused comment threads to disappear. With apologies for the inconvenience, anyone looking to continue an interupted conversation is welcome to do so here.
Infinity
Just this moment finished "Bioshock Infinite." Yes, it's as good as you've heard. Play. Play now.
At this point I've only got one immediate "clever" observation, but in the interest of not spoiling ANYTHING even vaguely or by accident I'll put it after the jump:
"Oh, you've got just ONE big-idea theoretical-scifi concept built into your narrative to justify the video-gamey parts of your video-game? That's really cute." - Bioshock Infinite, talking to the Assassin's Creed series.
At this point I've only got one immediate "clever" observation, but in the interest of not spoiling ANYTHING even vaguely or by accident I'll put it after the jump:
"Oh, you've got just ONE big-idea theoretical-scifi concept built into your narrative to justify the video-gamey parts of your video-game? That's really cute." - Bioshock Infinite, talking to the Assassin's Creed series.
Canned "Gritty FPS Reboot" of Mega Man SHOCKINGLY Only Looks About 1/3 as Shitty as You'd Expect
Polygon has a great piece up looking at a previously-unknown project - ultimately canceled by Capcom - wherein a bunch of ex-"Metroid Prime" developers (a game series which The Internet has decided, in absence of any factual evidence, that I "hate") attempt to reboot Mega Man (okay, technically "Mega Man X") into a gritty first-person shooter. And yes, there's video...
...Yeah. The story itself is a pretty fascinating look at Capcom wasting presumably good sums of money on a game they never seemed all that sure about and the devs sound sincere, but the Proof of Concept vids look about like you'd expect. I especially like how the "big get" of Adi Granov redesigning the character literally looks like a fanboy-photoshop of Granov's Iron Man armor tinted blue with a Mega Man helmet stuck on it. Still, one supposes I should be thankful that should this have ever actually happened they opted to use a few colors beyond rust and mud.
...Yeah. The story itself is a pretty fascinating look at Capcom wasting presumably good sums of money on a game they never seemed all that sure about and the devs sound sincere, but the Proof of Concept vids look about like you'd expect. I especially like how the "big get" of Adi Granov redesigning the character literally looks like a fanboy-photoshop of Granov's Iron Man armor tinted blue with a Mega Man helmet stuck on it. Still, one supposes I should be thankful that should this have ever actually happened they opted to use a few colors beyond rust and mud.
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