What are we at Giant Bomb for?

After reading @bananasfoster post about the Giant Bomb crew's opinions on Adventure games today, I wanted to start a debate on a subject that came up on the latest podcast (03/29/16).

Jeff mentioned that he did not want to engage on air or social media his personal views on certain aspects on pop culture, specifically recent movie releases. There was a general consensus amongst the staff that attempts from the community to entice opinions on topics like these were useless, and that they had no desire to engage.

The problem is though, for me at least - it's what I'm here for.

I've been a premium member of Giant Bomb for 4+ years, and listener of the podcast for longer. One of the main things that Drew! me to the podcast in the first place was the interesting take the various voices had on things in the Zeitgeist. Honestly, I find the beginning and end parts of the Bombcast the most interesting and fun parts. Of course, I like hearing what the guys think of the latest releases, what they're playing etc, but I think that's what Quick Looks are for. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I love hearing them discuss things outside of games, things in the news, controversies and the like.

Obviously, they're free to discuss what whatever they want, and if I don't like it, I take my complaining ass elsewhere, right. I don't know, there was just something about the tone, a sense of 'eye rolling' that rubbed me the wrong way.

Just wanted to know what the rest of Duders thought..

Thanks.

Ryan was more willing to engage with those sorts of things, and I do miss that. Screened too, had a take on movies and pop culture that was very Giant-Bomb-esque, and I really enjoyed that site from beginning to premature end.

Unfortunately, gaming "culture" has become so damn politicized by the vocal minorities on both sides, that engaging those topics often devolves into drama that has nothing to do with games as a medium or hobby.

I think you took the wrong impression of what they were saying with that discussion. They were simply saying they will talk about whatever the hell they want to talk about and that's it. They aren't going to force a discussion about a topic that's popular just for the simple fact that it's popular or in the current widespread discussion in media and society.

They'll share opinions on things they want to and continue to not care about the ones they don't care about. Giant Bomb does what it wants always has and that's why I love 'em.

I agree with Jeff.

It always felt like they were a bit more open to throw out their opinions on things outside of just video games back in the day. I can understand how things can change since jumping to CBSi and obviously growing older. You got different set of rules in place with the company, they're probably more concerned with getting content out for the site and plus it's the internet. It's sorta a lose-lose situation when you throw out opinions on the net especially ones that may ostracize some people.

I definitely don't want them "covering" movies and TV shows the way a lot of other gaming sites do. But if they want to talk about Heat being awesome for 20 minutes, that's exactly what I'm here for.

I am here for games, and talk about games. Its what the site was built upon really, and I still think they do have a lot of talk outside of that though. And Jeff has said he wants to start a music podcast this year, so I am all for stuff like that, but it should probably be put in a different format than jam it all into the bombcast.

They curate what they discuss, rather than discussing what the audience wants on demand.

Given how much wrestling talk there is, and how often other stuff comes up its clear that they're not just going to talk video games, but they also don't want to have to do "hot takes" on whatever is popular or zeitgeisty.

If a staff member is into something they might bring it up and it might get discussed. If not, then it won't.

As an audience member I'm fine with this. I don't want forced discussion of something nobody is interested in (like Batman V Superman).

GB is like hanging out with a bunch of friends (I know they're not REALLY my friends, but that's the attitude they cultivate.) When you hang out with your friends nobody is like "Guys, Battfleck is trending on twitter right now, we HAVE to talk about it!" The conversation flows naturally.

That's how it should be.

I do miss the energy drink talk from the beginning of the Bombcast though. That was very enjoyable.

Creeper Cam

The guys typically never do what hordes of internet people tell them they should do. That's just how they roll. I mean, none of them finished The Witcher 3 because people told them to finish The Witcher 3 and annoyed the shit out of them about it.

But yeah, I'm here for the video games. The energy drinks and other nonsense is just bonus stuff.

Exactly this. I come here because I appreciate the personalities of the site, and want to hear them talk about things they actually have opinions on and are excited about. Honestly, it's encouraging and refreshing to know that they DON'T want to weigh in on things just because those things are trending.

When it comes down to it, this is the holy bible of the site, in my opinion:

I love the Bomb Squard because they're the Bomb Squad.

What Jeff said is precisely why I keep coming back to Giant Bomb, they have strong personalities and don't need to comment on current controversies to remain interesting.

I want GB's take about new games, or the nature of video game coverage.

I don't need to know what they think about every Marvel release, or butt art in pre-release games.

I'm here because I work here.

dank memes and because i work here also im alex dont listen to this imposter @alex

@alex: Wait you still work there?! Congrats! Hey do you happen to get any benefits when you hit 5 years, 10 years? Like some kind of tchotchkes marking the important milestone?

@jinoru: Do you think they're going to show it?

I know I don't come here for their (dumb) opinions on Superman, that's for sure!

I really like that they only discuss things they legitimately care about, but the whole Superman discussion on the latest Bombcast really bothered me because it was clear none of them cared about the character. If you don't want to discuss Superman, don't discuss Superman. It's really not that hard, especially when they were just rehashing stuff they had already said on a Demo Derby (which was also painful to listen to btw).

I'm here for mailbags, Naked Cartoon Pussy, Vinny's Dad Jokes, the latest on Amiibos, the latest on Sonic, Fast Cars that go zoom, and @zombiepie playing Final Fantasy games.

@alex: Oh look, a staffer.

As a premium subscriber I request, nay DEMAND, that you start providing only the hottest takes on the dankest memes from now on. Your professional output consists mostly of frippery, japery, tomfoolery and, yes, hijinx. You are a known quipper, sir. Our subscription money pays for your fine ermine garments and fancy New York haircuts, and in exchange we want what we paid for, which is soul-scorchingly hot takes on memes so dank that even Werner Herzog could not handle them, but would have to look away in horror.

The difference in simple terms is probably that they talk about what they want to talk about, not necessarily whats the hot topic at the moment? Maybe that's not entirely true, but I feel like there is definitely a difference between what GB wants to talk about, and what I see on Twitter. At least when it comes to non-news stuff. Although they didn't discuss the Overwatch butt-stuff today, but I bet the Beastcast might.

All he's saying is they'll talk about what they want to talk about. They won't be "coerced" into talking about subjects they're not interested in or comfortable sharing. For example, I could see politics being a touchy subject. They certainly won't go for what's "hot" at the moment just for the sake of the attention it brings.

I'm here because it's fun. The guys are who they are, they do what they like, they say what they feel.

I did not hear what the OP heard. Jeff said he doesn't feel like being expected to weigh in on things he doesn't care about, not that he doesn't want to weigh in on non-video-game stuff. It just so happens that Jeff is quite vocal about not enjoying movies most of the time, so expecting him to weigh in on most movies is a fruitless endeavor not because he doesn't feel like that's what he's here to do, but because he doesn't see most movies.

The problem with expectations like those expressed in the OP is that some expect he and the staff to weigh in on basically everything, including shit they don't care about. They don't do that, and they shouldn't. Who wants a totally uninformed opinion? Like Jeff says, the internet is already almost exclusively composed of "the hottest of takes", and he and the staff don't feel like being a part of that problem. I think it's perfectly reasonable and even admirable to 'restrain' themselves from talking about shit they don't care or really know anything about, given the internet's obsession with being zeitgeisty for the very sake of it. They'll talk about things they want to talk about, and not talk about things they don't. In other words, they'll do the very thing I am at Giant Bomb for: they will be themselves.

@fatalbanana: This. No need to talk about stuff they don't care about.

Love. I am here for love.

I like hearing them chat about whatever when I'm driving to work and that's neat. @fatalbanana pretty much summed up what they were trying to say above.

The other game sites tend to post a lot of junk these days outside of games, and I suppose if you visit exactly one site on the internet then that has some value. Jeff understands you can opinions of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 elsewhere, however. So unless Dan goes rogue and posts a reaction video, that sort of stuff has no place on this video game website.

And I'm glad this is a thing.

Love.

what are your feelings on being free for a limited time in SFV?

anyway i guess i came here originally for irreverent game discussion, and i feel it's still a good canvas for them to paint on, but at this point i'm wholeheartedly here for Alex, Austin, Brad, Dan, Drew, Jason, Jeff, Rorie, Vinnie (sic), and also for the whole extended GB/GS family to some extent. Maybe there are limits, but I'm so invested in them as people I could probably hear them talk about or watch or interact with anything. And hopefully they will show it.

bit creepy, no?

@ripelivejam: I love it when they show it...

i'm only here for the biffmcblumpkin posts

They won't let me leave.

I am an ethnographer from the future and I have travelled back in time so I can watch the world burn. All we know is that it all started with the hiring of Dan Ryckert. His antics quickly get out of control and somehow he starts to amass a large following because of this. This following turns to a cult, then a religion, then a revolution, then a black and red new world order is formed, and that eventually leads to a neverending world war. Right now, there are no primary sources for this information, all we have are bedtime stories and folk-lore to go on.

I'm just here so I won't get fined.

At this point, I come here because I think these guys are pretty funny and occasionally offer insight into video games. Also... there's kind of nowhere else for me to go. I dunno if you guys know this, but there aren't a ton of great video game websites out there and I'm too set in my ways to rely upon the "Youtube Kidz". I think Jeff's comments were in part directed towards Gamespot's newfound impetus towards covering a way broader spectrum of "nerd culture" in addition to games... which turns out mostly means clickbait-y articles about superhero movies and comic books. I'm okay with Giant Bomb not covering that.

@ajamafalous: word

I don't know. I stumbled in here in 2008 and got lost. I've been desperately trying to find my way home ever since.

Don't look at me, I'm just here for speedy race cars.

I just want to be entertained and they mostly do that well.

I'm here for the Powerbombcast

because I love them and want to support them.

I miss the early days when they would do the energy drink taste tests and try out weird Swedish candies. Now it's all taco bell, wrestling, and Destiny.

@milkman said:

Did not expect this here. I thought this was DotA 2 territory.

I don't want 'the zeitgeist' to be something they aim to talk about, unless it's videogames.

The idea of forced discussions on the hot topics of the day outside of videogames sounds terrible and would probably be really uncomfortable to listen to at this point.

I come here for the freewheeling video game talk and tangents into whatever they feel like talking about at the time. If that's the merits of Terminator films, that's cool. But so is talk on the Sausalito machine.

Trying to keep up with the non gaming controversies of the day sounds bad because it's almost all transitory bullshit. I guess the gaming stuff is too but at least it's interesting and in focus.

Agree with Jeff. They don't need to cover stuff they're not interested in. In fact, I'd much rather prefer they don't talk about something when they don't know anything about it.

And as for why I come to GB : the humor. The humor and nothing else. At this point, basically none of the staff's taste in games lines up with mine; it's been that way for the past few years now. Hell, I've almost exclusively played Destiny and Monster Hunter for the past 3-4 years.

I think this sort of thing happens on GB but usually in its own compartment. Powerbombcast for wrestling, Alt+F1 for racing, and so on.

I think instead of injecting movie talk into the Bombcast or whatever, you need to push more for a movie podcast or something similar. Austin's Star Wars piece is a good example, because it doesn't force its way in, people who dont want it can just not read it.

I'm here since I like their dynamic personalities and input on games and everything else in life. Hearing that they don't want to cover some things is fine since it means they'll cover something else and it'll likely be just as funny.

Saying that I miss Ryan is an understatement, it still feels like I lost someone dear to me even if we never met, but he did in particular cover things in such a way that I was always excited even if I almost never agreed with him. This isn't a feeling I get often anymore, but I'm still happy with the Bombcast.

Now the Beastcast is generally more uplifting to me, it has that that Vinny thing and the dynamic they have created there is incredible as well. It's as if lighting struck the same spot twice and I now have two amazing podcasts to listen to every week.

Vinny