Worth Reading: 06/06/2014

I normally like TotalBiscuit a lot and he's the inspiration for my own YouTube work but his warpath about 60fps or nothing is what gets PC gamers the stupid "PC gaming master race" reputation. It's very easy for him to say that all games should be 60fps when he runs SLI Titans (a fact he will remind you about in basically every video where he talks about graphics options.) I've played games either on console or on PCs that can't maintain 60fps in the highest fidelity mode for years and I have no problem with it. I'm not everyone of course but neither is TB. I'd rather a game maintain 30fps steady than have it unlocked but leaping all over the place. Consistency is key for me and a lot of people I know, not just always having the theoretical maximum possible. Would I prefer it if everything was 60fps? Sure. Does everything have to be 60fps to be enjoyed? No, that's ridiculous. If developers instead chose to lower graphical fidelity in order to always maintain 60fps, then he (along with a lot of reviewers) would be whining that games don't look good enough and "What's the point of next-gen hardware?" but because they choose to focus on fidelity, now the frame rate isn't good enough. He has the money to basically throw power at the problem until it does away, most of us don't and I think it's pretty arrogant to say game developers who put fidelity first are ruining games for others. But then again, we're all talking about it and TB can probably afford another Titan from the ad revenue so joke's on us I guess. :)

@likeassur:

It helps to dissuade the notion that feminism is snarling at the jaw toward any media that doesn't depict women as glorious demi-beings. (Strawman, I know, but perhaps I hit at the truth, regardless.)

I'm reminded once again of why I hate kids. I couldn't even get halfway through that React video.

Joke or not, I love you.

I know the point of kids reacting is for them to be kids, but holy shit that black girl made me cringe

So Mario Kart is basically the American dream except with the blueshells people are actually temporarily embarrassed millionaires.

I'm sad to say it, but I'm getting less and less excited by the arrival of each Worth Reading as the weeks go on. The content seems to be getting more politically-charged, and while I usually enjoy reading pieces regarding the importance of political correctness in gaming, I just don't find the majority of them as interesting as I did more casual reads. It might be that most of them are simply not well-written; it seems like many of these politically-charged pieces focus on trivialities to make a point that is loose at best. At this point my favorite Friday reads come from the GB forums' Community Spotlight, where the community's articles are engrossing--probably because their topics of choice are close to heart, and not intended to broadcast some little-evidenced political message.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not advocating a total retreat from the kind of journalism that seeks to make games more equal and open to all--but I want to see better articles if they are to be featured. I don't deny the fact that games can be sexist and racist, but very little of what the political articles I've read on Worth Reading really seem to do more to me that rant on some topic, ignoring what they want in favor of some journalistic agenda. I do believe that Patrick is a fantastic journalist, and I'm glad that he doesn't shy away from the "deeper" articles, but I think there just isn't enough well-written critical content out there to be featured on Worth Reading, at least from the sampling I've seen on it. I'd much prefer him to discuss these themes on his own--like the kind of work we saw with the PAX Depression Quest panel--than feature rants on them on Worth Reading.

I've been coming to Worth Reading since it started, and I'll probably stick around for Patrick's introductions and the occasional interesting piece--the Blue Shell piece was a lot of fun to read--but it seems like the article has become saturated with awful political pieces, and for that reason, I'm disappointed.

@cinnase7en: I think calling him a piece of shit is a bit over the top but I get where you are coming from, I stopped following him a while ago for that reason.

Jon Bois' article on killing the NBA is one of the greatest things I've ever read. I laughed, I cried, and I felt moments of true despair. That was fantastic.

@video_game_king: I would say both composition and grammar were pretty substandard.

Reading way too into mechanics that are primarily used as throwaway jokes and trying to use them as an example of societal change is something that would impress no one outside of Tumblr.

No healthy relationship anywhere in the world works as an "open relationship" as the author is describing. It doesn't matter if you're straight, gay, or some other designation. Denying reality is unhealthy and not to be encouraged.

That more specific enough for you?

Since when were jokes incapable of being serious? Or communicating more serious messages? And since when was author intent the end-all, be-all?

This feels more like a dodge than an answer. Why don't relationships work that way? What makes them unhealthy? The simple fact of being more open than other relationships?

Also not a fan of this tactic. Really not a fan of this tactic.

TotalBiscuit is kind of a dolt.

So, does everyone hate watchdogs because it's not the best thing in the world? That's the only explanation I can think of. I played it, and I really like it. Sure it's a bit linear, and it sticks to a lot of the tropes of other sandbox games, but it's fun as hell. I'm seriously not getting why there's this big backlash against it.

It's the usual backlash against the hype that made the game look way better than it actually is.

I think this line of thinking is total arrogant bullshit.

You don't want to go into the options? Fine. Don't.

Why the hell would you assume no one else would? Why would you defend not having an option? What benefit do you accrue from that logic? The idea that you can talk for all of console gamers as though they're some sort of hive mind in pure agreement with each other is far more arrogant than anything TB is saying -- which is just advocating for a better experience for consumers who prefer a smoother experience to a prettier one.

So you don't see how an option that downgrades the visual quality could impact sales negatively even though it would cost more money to implement? The narrative of your game would immediately turn into ''why is there an option to make the game look worst?'' and then ''why can't you do 60 fps and great visuals?'' and then ''so this game is garbage huh?'' and then ''or is it this console that's crappy?''. All great bullet points in a marketing push...

There was a brief period of time in the 90's I wanted to go to E3. Now I look at expos like this one and not want to be anywhere near them. I love games and I'm a nerd, but this is where the game industry seems to ooze so much of its dorkiness in the front of the public it makes me wince. Remember Mr. Caffeine? Just shoot me.

I hope 2014 gives us some good games in the second half because so far it's been pretty bleak on the new systems. Guess these things aren't really going to hit a stride until next year.

Because it's probably not as easy as simply adding a "make game run at 60 FPS" switch in the options menu.

I like racing sims. I like mario kart. I will ALWAYS choose something like mario kart when playing with friends than a sim title. Playing skill based racing games means I'll win. I will win every time. EVERY TIME. And no one else will see me past the first lap, I'll be gone. And as the laps go by everyone spreads out more and more, and the only times you see anyone is when they've gone off the track..

Mario Kart is all about racing, not winning. Kart games are 70% bumper cars and 30% racing. iRacing and forza/gt etc are not games you play for shits and giggles. You play those for the same reason you play ArmA, you want authenticity. Rubberbanding and powerups have no place there. Most racing is a solitary thing. Kart Racers were made to combat that very thing. Passing eachother, that's fun. Seeing the dude in front's tail lights slooowly but surely getting further and further away from you... while you're running steady smooth laps... That's a nail biting 25 minutes, but yeah... That's not "fun". This works equally well as an analogy in reverse for how the "fuck the poor!" tactic basically spoils the fun for one and all as well.

I would also like to say.. If you're playing mario kart to win it is very likely you're just too fricken competitive to have fun. That happens.

The Cynical Brit is mad, like...really mad.