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Worth Reading: 03/02/2012

An island full of musical frogs, a soldier examining the reality of war in the video game world, and more in this week's edition of Worth Reading.

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It's hard to imagine anyone predicting where fighting games would go way in the early 90s.
It's hard to imagine anyone predicting where fighting games would go way in the early 90s.

It’s only a few days until one of my favorite events of the year arrives: the Game Developers Conference. Once a year, the whole industry convenes in my city to talk about the craft of making video games, and if you’re ever able to attend, make sure you do.

Since next week will be so hectic, there probably won’t be a Worth Reading next Friday. I know, I know--this feature just started and it’s already taking a break, but I’ll make it up to you. Somehow.

Mostly, I’ve been consumed by the aftermath of my reporting on the fighting game community from earlier this week, when I watched parts of Capcom’s Cross Assault reality show, and witnessed a heated conversation about whether sexual harassment is a problem. Since then, I’ve been talking with members of the community about my story, and working towards opening a dialogue that will hopefully result in another piece soon.

Until then, let’s get this weekend started, shall we?

Hey, You Should Play This:

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Hey, it’s not a platformer! The thing is, explaining Proteus is...difficult. You’re on an island, and there’s music. The more you explore the island, the more music there is. There’s frogs, and those frogs make music. It’s not a game about mechanics, it’s an experience rooted in exploration. The more you search, the more you’ll discover. Perhaps Johann Sebastian Joust designer Doug Wilson puts it best: “Proteus is like: an indie Wind Waker, with dashes of Boards of Canada, James Turrell, Carl Sagan.” Proteus just launched its Minecraft-esque paid beta, and right now, it’ll only cost you $7.50 to get in. Recommended. You can watch an old trailer for Proteus over here. Ribbit.

Also, You Should Read This:

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I knew the response from the fighting game community would be very emotional. It’s understandable, as the community experiences enormous scrutiny, one they feel they may not deserve, especially since the comments of one man do not represent the views of all. I can help shine a line on what’s happening, but I’m not a member of that community, and it’s up to members of that community to help change the tone. Tom “Inkblot” Cannon has been a commanding voice since the conversation began, and his latest editorial is welcomed for its thoughtful introspection.

“So, it’s time to stand up. If we continue to let the worst elements in the scene speak for us or excuse their bad behavior, we deserve whatever criticism we get. It’s everyone’s responsibility: the players, the content producers, the tournament organizers, and the fans. We need to be just as serious about the way we treat each other and how we reach out to others online as we are about the game. This isn’t about killing the hype or white-washing the scene. We can be just as loud, excited and hype without belittling entire classes of people. ”It’s ok, we’re all friends”, and “I’m just joking” aren’t valid excuses.”
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Many video games have one operating rule: be fun. If every game was a realistic simulation of the situation it’s portraying, many games would probably lose much of that. An anonymous writer going by the pseudonym of “W” is both a player of video games and a private military contractor who’s spent this entire adult life in the military. More than anyone, W knows how much games like Call of Duty and Battlefield 3 do not represent the reality of war, even if we’re all fully aware of that the fact, too. W knows war on a level most of us will never, ever understand, and listening to W ruminate on the psychology of a soldier, a psychology that also defines him, makes for fascinating reading.

“When I spoke about it to my friend years later, he recalled how pissed he was at losing the insurgent, and how bad he felt afterwards about it. He’d had his professional pride tarnished. I asked him if he ever thought about the woman and her kid and he just looked at me blankly.

He didn’t even remember they were there.

This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed in videogames. How would you feel if you accidentally killed an innocent child in a game? If the words “MISSION FAILED” appeared, but then disappeared after a few seconds, leaving you to continue as normal with no repercussions. Any normal person would feel guilty, but that’s my point. Combat troops are not normal people.”
Patrick Klepek on Google+

115 Comments

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PeasantAbuse

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Edited By PeasantAbuse

@Xeirus said:

@Forderz said:

@PeasantAbuse said:

So I guess Patrick thinks everyone that's ever been in the military is a crazy piece of shit, good to know.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

I forget who said that, but just because Patrick thinks its an interesting article doesn't mean he shares the author's opinion.

hah, wtf makes you think Patrick has that opinion? Ridiculous over reaction...

That's what I do.

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theinnkeeper

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Edited By theinnkeeper

@YukoAsho said:

@theinnkeeper said:

@YukoAsho said:

@theinnkeeper said:

Josh "Nerd Josh" Jodoin won Cross Assault last night pretty convincingly. Final Round XV's last day is today with top 8 starting at 11:00 eastern time. You can watch at Team Spooky. Schedule is here.

Oh man, I saw the SCV finals. Hell, all of SCV was incredibly intense, but the finals... Lord, OmegaDR's Nightmare is a nightmare indeed!

SCV was amazing. Just finished watching the UMvC3 finals. How hype was that? Japan bringing the new Raccoon tech and taking the Marvel crown from the US. Getting ready to watch Street Fighter top 8. link

I wonder if Patrick'll mention it, since it doesn't involve any controversies of any sort....

Doubtful.

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yukoasho

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Edited By yukoasho

Let's see the media mention this. This is who we are.

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

@YukoAsho said:

Let's see the media mention this. This is who we are.

We're unavailable videos?

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yukoasho

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Edited By yukoasho

@Hailinel said:

@YukoAsho said:

Let's see the media mention this. This is who we are.

We're unavailable videos?

Funny that.... Lemmie link it instead.

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

@YukoAsho said:

@Hailinel said:

@YukoAsho said:

Let's see the media mention this. This is who we are.

We're unavailable videos?

Funny that.... Lemmie link it instead.

Oh, that. I lost count of the number of times people have posted that video on these forums in the past few days.

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deactivated-58f9a027d9bbc

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@Hailinel said:

@YukoAsho said:

@Hailinel said:

@YukoAsho said:

Let's see the media mention this. This is who we are.

We're unavailable videos?

Funny that.... Lemmie link it instead.

Oh, that. I lost count of the number of times people have posted that video on these forums in the past few days.

one sacrifice his personal time to unite and put together a community event, yes, noble.

but how does that relevant to that whole sexual harassment thing?

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yukoasho

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Edited By yukoasho

@sate2801 said:

@Hailinel said:

@YukoAsho said:

@Hailinel said:

@YukoAsho said:

Let's see the media mention this. This is who we are.

We're unavailable videos?

Funny that.... Lemmie link it instead.

Oh, that. I lost count of the number of times people have posted that video on these forums in the past few days.

one sacrifice his personal time to unite and put together a community event, yes, noble.

but how does that relevant to that whole sexual harassment thing?

That's sort of the point. Media ignores a growing scene completely until a sexual harassment issue, and ignores it again after the controversy starts dying down. Obviously the controversy was deserved, but only talking about the bad makes you look like sensationalist ambulance-chasers.

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sandweed

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Edited By sandweed

@cikame said:

If your army was full of people thinking about the consequences of every action they take instead of pulling the trigger, i'm not sure it would be a good army. The bad guys don't follow rules of engagement.

If you go hunting for monsters you need to be careful so you don't become one yourself.

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Argus

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Edited By Argus

“Proteus is like: an indie Wind Waker, with dashes of Boards of Canada, James Turrell, Carl Sagan.” I desperately love three of those things. SOLD.

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theinnkeeper

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Edited By theinnkeeper

@YukoAsho said:

@sate2801 said:

@Hailinel said:

@YukoAsho said:

@Hailinel said:

@YukoAsho said:

Let's see the media mention this. This is who we are.

We're unavailable videos?

Funny that.... Lemmie link it instead.

Oh, that. I lost count of the number of times people have posted that video on these forums in the past few days.

one sacrifice his personal time to unite and put together a community event, yes, noble.

but how does that relevant to that whole sexual harassment thing?

That's sort of the point. Media ignores a growing scene completely until a sexual harassment issue, and ignores it again after the controversy starts dying down. Obviously the controversy was deserved, but only talking about the bad makes you look like sensationalist ambulance-chasers.

It shows that there's more to this community then one man's thoughts and actions. Miranda has also released a statement criticizing the media outlets who covered this. Still waiting for Patrick to post an article on that.

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yukoasho

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Edited By yukoasho

Well, Final Round's been over for a while now. No talk about Miranda's statement (which even Kotaku, the trashiest gaming blog out there, had the decency to write an article about), no talk about the positive at Final Round. It really just seems like Patrick was using the FGC for pagehits.

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fred2265

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Edited By fred2265

Re war games, I think the corporate media inure us to the harsh realities of war much more so than any game ever.

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serverfull

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Edited By serverfull

This is becoming my favorite trend on this site! Worth Reading is always worthwhile (see what I did there).

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warley

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Edited By warley

Might check out Proteus.