Are Quick Looks and the Bombcast too long?

If I feel I've seen enough of a quick look I just stop watching it. As for the bombcasts there can never be enough.

no

Too long? Quick looks are designed to show off the game to you, so if you find it getting too long...you can exit it, and take from it whatever you want. Also you could always skip parts of the bombcast that dont interest you.

In short, no.

There'll always be someone who doesn't like something. You can skip the videos you don't like and listen to the Bombcast in small segments. No need to listen to it in one sitting. Either way, learn to deal with it. I don't understand this position of "I don't like this, so fuck everyone else who does, I want it my way".

@Video_Game_King said:

The Bombcast certainly is. I can deal with Quick Look length because I'm being visually stimulated, something that isn't there with a podcast. I either have to sit there and watch the podcast or wander around the web, half-listening to it and forgetting why I did it in the first place.

Exactly my case. Whenever I've tried listening to the podcast (and I admit to not managing to go through an episode to its end) I realized it's been a long time since I stopped paying attention to what was said.

I can agree that some of the quick looks can at times get a bit stale, but those moments lead to some pretty great tagents. The fact that the content feel so raw makes it feel unique in that special GB way.

Not to me, no.

@whatisdelicious: Personally, I've found that getting people to do anything that's outside their comfort zones and that requires a bit of effort (like getting into a new community/website) is nigh impossible. I sometimes link my friends GB vids for things they might be interested in but overall none of them have an interest spending a lot of time here.

And that's fine, I've gotten over it since I'm the same way. For instance, one of my friends plays a lot of League of Legends and has suggested that I join him a couple of times, but I already have a full schedule of things to do in my free time (one of them being watching GB videos) so putting forth the effort of learning an entirely new game, even if I were to enjoy it eventually seems a bit daunting. There's no problem, I'd rather have GB be something I could invest a lot of time into because I already do. There's like a million things out there that I'm not currently doing that I bet I would probably LOVE, but there's not enough time so you just have to compromise.

Actually that's one of the things I really like about GiantBomb and Quicklooks, it has given me glimpses of things I had no idea existed all within a familiar format. There's a lot of smaller games that I would never have known about, played and enjoyed without seeing the quicklook for it. Basically it's been a great way to be introduced to new things.

Edit: As for your other question; pancakes, chicken and pasta.

The Bombcast should be untouched the the flith of editing!! But Quick Looks could be reduced to a 40 min. videos, I think.

I'm in my late twenties, married and I have a three year old. also some weeks I work 12 hour days(IT). despite that I love the long quick looks and bombcasts. I usually listen on my runs which last about an hour usually four times a week. i watch the quick looks at work, on my phone and using my Google TV when it's just me and the kid. despite all that I still love the long shows, if I'm not interested in one then I just don't watch it. besides I find them better than reading previews .

@PixelPrinny said:

While I realize you're trying to approach this in a civilized and adult matter, the fact remains that -- as one person pointed out -- the brunt of your complaint could be summed up as, "I sure wish they could tailor their products to my specific schedule". Granted, people are entitled to their opinions and criticism can lead to improvement, but when the crux of your argument is, "I just don't have the time to devote to your product", it comes off with a fairly strong air of self-entitlement.

Your example of the Dark Souls quicklook is absolutely terrible, as that is the kind of game that is perfect for an extended showing. On top of that, there is nothing to stop you from watching 15 minutes and going, "Yep, that's all I needed to see." and close it. Your argument as to why it was "too long' was incredibly short-sighted and selfish -- "I've already played Demon's Souls and I don't wanna sit through this video". Putting aside the fact that not everyone shares your experience with Demon's Souls, are you saying that you just don't have the ability to press the stop button on a video? And let's not getting too hyperbolic here; your friends were appalled by video lengths?

[...]

Of course you can sum it up like that, just as I can sum up a lot of the other arguments people have presented as, "I don't have any time-consuming responsibilities and therefore I want a 24-hour live feed of the Giant Bomb offices, even when nobody's there. You don't want to see what happens at the offices when nobody's there? Fine, don't watch it. But some people do." That doesn't mean that's a good way to sum up that argument.

And I don't really get why the Dark Souls Quick Look example is terrible. Demon's Souls was a 30-minute Quick Look and gave me everything I needed to know about that game, and was consistently funny and entertaining to boot. A lot of the Dark Souls Quick Look was every bit as brilliant and hilarious, but a lot of it was filler. I wasn't saying that I didn't want to watch it because I'd already seen Demon's Souls -- quite the opposite, really -- I was saying that I was watching it for entertainment value alone because I'd already played Demon's Souls. But if I was someone who hadn't played Demon's Souls already, and was just sort of curious about Dark Souls, a game known to be impenetrable and intimidating, I don't think I would've sat through an hour and a half long video to find out if it's for me.

"Appalled" isn't reserved for extreme situations like A Clockwork Orange. Like I said in the first post, my roommates both thought that videos should only be like 5 minutes long, 15 at the most. I think that's a little excessive. 15-20 minutes for most games seems fine to me. But wait! Did I (or they) realize that we can just stop a video halfway through? Thanks for letting us know. Because that's always a good sign, when you're saying that it's not too long because you can just stop it halfway through. I guess next time I'm at the theater watching a movie that's too long for its own good, I'll just walk out halfway through.

Quick Looks, yes; Bombcast, no

@JoeyRavn said:

There'll always be someone who doesn't like something. You can skip the videos you don't like and listen to the Bombcast in small segments. No need to listen to it in one sitting. Either way, learn to deal with it. I don't understand this position of "I don't like this, so fuck everyone else who does, I want it my way".

Weird. I didn't think I said that, but maybe... Wait, let me go back and read my original post again.

Yeah, I totally didn't say any of that.

Nerds have a lot of time, dude.

My only thing about the bombcast, its not its length, but exactly what they're spending time on. The past 3, or 4 weeks- at least a 1/4th or more of the bombcast was spent on dark souls. I've played the game, and its not this great saint its made out to be. Spend more time on everything else. More about rage, forza, and other holiday games that don't have embargos on them. Haven't said the first thing about the console crysis, ico/shadow of the collosus collection. They haven't even really mentioned max payne 3 at all.

THATS my problem with it. Its not that its too long, but the pacing is sometimes very bad. I mean, I get bored playing dark souls easily. I REALLY get bored listening about it. Its the little things like that. I keep coming back, but....I can't feel the need to rush out and buy a subscription. This is the only good gaming podcast I listen to. Used to listen to epileptic gaming, and the 1up stuff, but their either canceled, or the quality control has went wayyy too low for me to handle.

@RockmanBionics: Yeah, I've done that too. I have a friend who is super obsessed with Diablo III. I linked him the Quick Look of the beta and even he was like, "Really? An hour and a half?" and didn't watch it. Same thing about League of Legends, too. I played it for about a week with a buddy, but didn't have time to really get into it so I stopped. Fun, but a big time commitment.

I think there's a happy medium that Giant Bomb can hit.

.....Get out!

The longer the Quick Look or Bombcast the better, for me.

@whatisdelicious: I'd say that your friend either isn't really super obsessed with diablo 3 or he's already seen so much of it that he wouldn't get much out of watching that long a video. I was obsessed with Dark Souls before getting it and I watched that quicklook several times. I linked it, as well as the Diablo 3 one, to the friend I mentioned and he watched all of those too. Different people I guess.

As for your other question: Pizza, yogurt and sausage to name a few.

No, neither of them are not too long.

Quick looks often are too long. They rarely entertain for their duration and feel stretched out. Many of them I stop watching ten minutes in or don't watch at all anymore.

I'm married, in my late twenties and live a hectic busy life.

I like the lengths of both. If I have the time to listen/watch for the duration I do. If I don't, oh well.

I like the option for both. Shortening them means I only have one option. Short.

I don't get it, why do you need to watch/listen every quick look or bombcast to completion?

It's not like it's a movie that has build up and a conclusion, when you've seen enough then turn it off, you wouldnt miss anything, instead you just want to rob people of content for some arbitrary reason.

I don't mind the lengths of quick looks or the bombcast...I'd almost kinda wish they were longer. In our flat we don't have a tv licence, cause we're cheap students and 3/4 of us are studying computers art, so we usually hook our laptops up to the tv and have quick looks on a loop, just as background noise. Bombcast I usually listen to whilst I'm playing something like Fifa...which I tend to play for more than an hour or so, throughout the week.

Quick Looks are best kept to around 30 mins. But Bombcasts, longer the better IMO. I have 2 train journeys to uni, which takes around 5 hours total a day. So having a new long ass Bombcast the better.

I am also extremely busy, but I can and will take 40 minutes out of my day to watch QLs, and since I walk everywhere that's when I listen to the bombcast.

....short version: no.

If you want short byte sized content then go to a crappy paid by advertiser site. I love the fact I get lots of content and that it is entertaining too. They cram more personality in 3 hours than IGN or gsmespot could in three years of 5min segments.

@thechronodarkness: I completely disagree, Dark Souls is the kind of game that invokes discussion. I'd much rather hear about Vinny and Brad's experience with it then listen about any other recent game. Minus Batman next week, I hope they spend a fair chuck of time on it.

Just dont listen/watch to the end.

I don't see the problem.

I wont hate on your displeasure with the length. I have dropped my fair share of podcasts if they got to overblown. However, I do not share your feelings. I anxiously await and devour the bombcast on wednesday mornings at work and never feel like they drag. Vinnie, Jeff, Brad and Ryan are hosts I really cant get enough of.

I'm dropping quick looks pretty frequently nowadays, there was a long stretch of dead air in the Ace Combat one which kind of woke me up.

I like lengthy podcasts though, they're easy to hop in and out of.

A long Bombcast is never a bad thing. However, some Quick Looks are WAY too long for uninteresting games. The most recent Ace Combat QL strikes me as an example of one that is long and boring.

neither are long enough, especially the bombcast.

I've got a lot of driving between work and college, so I welcome all the content I can shove onto my ipod.

@whatisdelicious said:

@PixelPrinny said:

While I realize you're trying to approach this in a civilized and adult matter, the fact remains that -- as one person pointed out -- the brunt of your complaint could be summed up as, "I sure wish they could tailor their products to my specific schedule". Granted, people are entitled to their opinions and criticism can lead to improvement, but when the crux of your argument is, "I just don't have the time to devote to your product", it comes off with a fairly strong air of self-entitlement.

Your example of the Dark Souls quicklook is absolutely terrible, as that is the kind of game that is perfect for an extended showing. On top of that, there is nothing to stop you from watching 15 minutes and going, "Yep, that's all I needed to see." and close it. Your argument as to why it was "too long' was incredibly short-sighted and selfish -- "I've already played Demon's Souls and I don't wanna sit through this video". Putting aside the fact that not everyone shares your experience with Demon's Souls, are you saying that you just don't have the ability to press the stop button on a video? And let's not getting too hyperbolic here; your friends were appalled by video lengths?

[...]

Of course you can sum it up like that, just as I can sum up a lot of the other arguments people have presented as, "I don't have any time-consuming responsibilities and therefore I want a 24-hour live feed of the Giant Bomb offices, even when nobody's there. You don't want to see what happens at the offices when nobody's there? Fine, don't watch it. But some people do." That doesn't mean that's a good way to sum up that argument.

And I don't really get why the Dark Souls Quick Look example is terrible. Demon's Souls was a 30-minute Quick Look and gave me everything I needed to know about that game, and was consistently funny and entertaining to boot. A lot of the Dark Souls Quick Look was every bit as brilliant and hilarious, but a lot of it was filler. I wasn't saying that I didn't want to watch it because I'd already seen Demon's Souls -- quite the opposite, really -- I was saying that I was watching it for entertainment value alone because I'd already played Demon's Souls. But if I was someone who hadn't played Demon's Souls already, and was just sort of curious about Dark Souls, a game known to be impenetrable and intimidating, I don't think I would've sat through an hour and a half long video to find out if it's for me.

"Appalled" isn't reserved for extreme situations like A Clockwork Orange. Like I said in the first post, my roommates both thought that videos should only be like 5 minutes long, 15 at the most. I think that's a little excessive. 15-20 minutes for most games seems fine to me. But wait! Did I (or they) realize that we can just stop a video halfway through? Thanks for letting us know. Because that's always a good sign, when you're saying that it's not too long because you can just stop it halfway through. I guess next time I'm at the theater watching a movie that's too long for its own good, I'll just walk out halfway through.

Wow, you're kind of a dick.

The argument most people are making here can't be summed up by "I want 24 hour live coverage all the time and if you don't like it don't watch it." The closest you get to summing up the argument is "If you don't like it don't watch it," which is actually a pretty decent argument when it comes to entertainment, depending on the context.

I just started my first full-time, 8-5 job. It's been tough to keep up with the Giant Bomb content coming out this week because at least while I'm in training I can't really do much other than catch up on twitter on my breaks, and even when I finish training I likely won't be able to watch videos or listen to a podcast while I'm at work. So I understand where you're coming from with not having hours per day to devote to just watching/listening to Giant Bomb content throughout the week. And there's times I agree quick looks go on too long.

But, you know what? If I don't have the time, I don't have the time. I might miss more than just the anime-looking video game quick looks from now on. I might have to save some stuff for the weekend. I'll probably miss most if not all of the live content when it's actually being streamed. That's life.

I love the Giant Bomb guys and I've been following most of them since Let's Gamespot. But Giant Bomb is not a priority in my life and if I can't watch as much of their doofy shit as I used to, while that sucks, it's not really a huge problem, and the problem definitely it's Giant Bomb's fault for making a ton of content I want to watch.

Oh, by the way:

appalling [əˈpɔːlɪŋ] adj

causing extreme dismay, horror, or revulsion

Sounds like a personal problem.

Nope, the problem is on your side... no one is forcing you to do anything.

The more content the better i say. I would rather have them make too much and then I decide when to turn it off, than not enough content.

I disagree and I work a lot. I have no problem with the length of the bombcast or anything else. I think you are just complaining because you dont have the time for it, not because it really matters (because it doesn't).

If they want to do shorter videos because its too much for them, I would not have a problem and if they want to do short bombcasts that's up to them. I'll eat up any content they provide, big or small, and not whine cus I don't have the time to watch it in one sitting. If they had a TV channel, I'd watch it 24/7 (even while I'm at work).

So in surmation, I disagree.

I just look at the time of QL. If it's 20 min, then the game sucks, if it's longer than they liked it. I now just stick to video previews that show more of the game than GB can in 40 mins in 1/10 the time.

Bombcasts can be as long as they want.

I rarely listen to the whole thing in one sitting either, but I am fine with 3-4 listening sessions spread across the week. Especially for long train rides this is useful. Quick Looks are never too long.

The bombcast should be as long as humanly possible.

Some quick looks where they have little enthusiasm could be shortened. I'm a massive ace combat fan but I could that assault horizon QL could of easily been half of its actual length. Didn't find anything wrong with the Dark Souls quick look though.

But at the end of the day you can shorten a long video manually but a short video will always be short.

No. 
 
 
In fact, I wish the Bombcast was longer.

I don't see why things should be shortened, I understand that you want to be able to consume all of the content, but why should video's be shortened because some people don't have enough time? The people who don't have enough time don't get to see everything, plain and simple, and the people that have time and do want all that content, it's there for them. Basically what I'm trying to say is that having too much for some people is better than not enough for others.

One complaint I would like to make against the bombcast though id how they haven't been flowing lately. what'ya been playing takes almost the entire podcast, then they have 15 minutes for news, releases and emails. I know this might be more of a problem because there are so many games coming out this time of year and sure I love them talking about games, but I'd also like to get their opinions on the news and answer some emails without rushing through and being short on time.

I'm having a hard time understanding your point of view, and I need you to answer something. Would you rather watch a 20-minute Quick Look in one sitting or a 40-minute Quick Look in two sittings? Let's assume the first one is heavily edited to show all the core aspects of a game, but the latter is unedited as usual and has twice as much gameplay and tired jokes. Also, and this is a serious question: do you feel you need to watch a Quick Look in its entirety from beginning to the very end in order to know what a game is like?
 
I just...I guess I'm with PixelPrinny on this one. Your movie analogy is completely flawed, because the beauty of this site's design and the design of your mp3 player is that – to maintain the movie angle – if you get bored with a movie, you can freeze it, walk out, grab a bagel, return to the theater, and resume watching the movie exactly where you left off. You can also skip any part of the movie or indeed walk out for good if you don't like it at all. I fail to see why the content would have to change.

@whatisdelicious: Hey i totally understand if you don't have the extra time. If thats the casse just watch the FAPS on Gamesradar (exact same thing as quick looks but edited for time) and listen the Sarcastic Gamer PlayStation Podcast (most episodes are 40 minutes long, the guys are entertaining, and they cover non Sony news). Giant Bomb is a bit of a time commitment, and if you don't have the time, its understandable for you to go elsewhere.

NO.  i like bombcast long because i can listen over the span of multiple days.

I don't have the time to view all of Giant Bomb's content.

By the way... I consider that a good thing. They're literally making so much good content that I can't keep up. Instead of dwelling on the fact that I don't have the time for it, I take pleasure in the fact that there's always going to be something for me to watch whenever I can.

I guess I don't see what the problem is.

no

I pay good money so these guys can keep up doing what they're doing. Shorter podcasts and quicklooks would sadden me; I just don't see anything good coming out of it.

@yoshimitz707 said:

I wish every bombcast was 24 hours long so I would never be bored.

This...but maybe more like 23 hours.