Worth Reading 04/05/2013

It's kinda strange just how much I want that PKMN Snap trailer to be real.

There were some hot scoops here, keep up the good work tricky

It has not been released commercially. One of the specific reasons to be a backer was to get it pre-release. The software isn't final, and it is not yet released to the public. They are effectively reviewing a beta release. Tons of people play games in beta (even alpha) states. Would it be fair of a journalist to review a game in that state, when it is clearly not final?

I personally doubt the Ouya will be very good anyway, but I actually wonder about the Verge's motivations for reviewing it right now. I think the same article giving giving their impressions is fine, but putting a score on it seems straight-up wrong. It is factually an unfinished product and they know that.

They didn't have one because it's been sent to the press. They have one because one of the staff backed the project.

Reviewing Ouya? Who even reviews consoles? I mean, really?

I love this editorial, glad to see it back, i rarely go elsewhere for Gaming stuff and it lets me see the best stuff im missing, thanks Patrick.

Great write up

I NEVER FELT MORE PROUD OF MYSELF!

Couple of good bits on Bioshock Infinite from Robert Florence, second one with his take on this violence thing

http://effingarcade.tumblr.com/post/46952849768/on-bioshock-infinite

http://effingarcade.tumblr.com/post/47224149008/the-gaming-cringe

It's a small thing, but "transgender" is generally used as an adjective on its own. "Transgendered" is like "slowed" or "prettied"--it takes on a new meaning when you add the "-ed".

I'm not sure I buy the concepts of the youtube reaction to The Damsel In Distress video. I can understand that, technically, both Peach and Zelda are important to their respective video game worlds, but I've always seen a big difference in what is 'plot' and what is 'story' or 'setting.'

To be honest, I've not played many in either the Mario or the Zelda series, but I've always felt that just because you tell us that this character is important, that doesn't actually make them important. For some reason Bad Dudes popped into my mind, so I I'm going to run with it: technically the president (who gets kidnapped at the start of the game) is the most important character in that story, but he's not the most important part of the plot. Sure, it's great that a woman is an important part of the game world, but I think it's mostly worthless if you don't allow her to then be an important part of the minute-to-minute gameplay and plot.

Also, I'm not really buying that the evidence of Smash Brothers and Mario Kart (games with Peach as a playable character) selling the most proves that people like Peach as a character. By the same logic Fortune Street should have sold well, but has only sold less than half a million.

She has a line in the video about 'only by looking at her in a critical view does she seem insignificant,' which is a justification of why she doesn't deem Peach and Zelda as damsels in distress (or at least that this isn't a negative aspect). Whilst I can agree with her point about Zelda and Mario specifically, I think that line alludes that she may be too invested into these games to look at them critically.

I think it can be said that Anita appears to not be too invested into the games that she is critiquing, regardless of whether or not she actually is, and because of this a lot of people get offended by what she says about them. However, I think that's the only way you can actually get a fair and honest reaction to something; either have someone look at it without an affiliation with it, or have someone who's able to push all of their interests and feelings out of the way.

Just going off my own experiences, I don't just have people who are fans of the genre I write in critique my work, I get everyone I can, even sometimes people who are actively against the genre I write in. It allows you to receive feedback of the actual heart and craft of the writing, rather than the wrapping of the genre around it. I take that feedback and try to make my story better, and it usually does get better. And then I still have people saying that the only reason I got a better mark than them is because the lecturer doesn't like the genre that they wrote in.

TL:DR Nicely made video with well-done voiceover and editing, but I think she may have a conflict of interest.

That Blaze article was actually very well written and surprisingly level-headed. And he took a jab at Kotaku, which I always appreciate.

#dealwithit

@biggiedubs: While I agree that not being invested is a good thing as it prevents conflict of interest, I also think that having an intimate knowledge of these characters through various games and growing up with them allows you to maybe understand their role/context within these games better than someone who is outside looking in. I guess there's a balance there.

Yeah, everything I have seen of Glenn Beck has amazed me in its stupdity and shallowness so I was expecting to be entertainingly outraged by the article, but it ended up being reasonably well balanced and prepared to understand the game in the spirit it was made. The only weird bit was when it asked 'Was this game made by Atheists or Marxists?'

I don't think Chris Hecker is using the term "fair use" in the right context...

Doom 4

If Bioshock Infinite didn't already exist, I would say make it something like Bioshock Infinite. But then what if there was a Doom 4 already like Bioshock Infinite in another universe?! And we were waiting for a new Bioshock?! Or Doom is already a Bioshock but in another universe in the Bioshock universe?!?! Mind blown!

I actually really enjoyed that Blaze article. Not because I'm a conservative myself, but mostly because it wasn't the usual "oh God, my party is gonna slam on video games AGAIN" and was actually pretty well balanced. The quote that got me in the article was this one:

"In other words, the game is less a dedicated attack on conservatism than an attack on the most dysfunctional elements of American politics generally."

I haven't played Infinite yet, though hopefully will soon.

EDIT: Good to see Creepy Watson still being creepy. And those dramatic readings of YouTube Reactions were awesome!

@bishop113: Isn't it a Polygon article?

Good to see you still on the grind, Kleptok. The recent interviews were great and it's good to see Worth Reading return as well.

Pretty sure he just looks at Reddit.

Which is, to be fair, a nightmareish place. I don't think there's much physical danger connected with visiting it though, sad as it may be.

Probably the same people who review phones considering that is basically what is inside that box.

Yea and he addresses that in the article. It's not like he is claiming its a finished product. Also they are taking pre-order's for the unit so I think people have a right to know how it functions if they are asking for money in advance.

So they should renege on their promise to send backers finalized hardware early while they finish working on the software side because one of those backers might be a bad journalist? Anyone receiving their Ouya now knows that while the hardware is finalized, the software side of things still has two months to go, and everything listed under "bad stuff" on that Verge review is software related.

I'm not saying that things will get significantly better between now and the retail release. They might, they might not, but whether or not they do is immaterial in this case. Anyone putting out a scored review on an as-of-yet unreleased and known to be unfinished product is a poor excuse for a journalist.

Yeah, I guess there is too. Maybe I'm projecting a bit with the qualms I have with the criticism I've received with my own writing, but I think that I'd rather have an outsider give feedback than someone with a vested interest. I think for every one bit of good criticism from someone interested in that topic / thing there's two or three lame excuses for why it's great. Maybe I've been hanging around with apologists too much though.

Patrick, during your time here, I've grown to really respect your work. I respect your willingness to highlight niche games that a lot of people disregard. I respect your willingness to expose yourself to many different viewpoints on many different issues. These "Worth Reading" articles have been a highlight of the site since you got here, and I want them to continue.

That said, I find it frustrating that you always seem to land on the side of feminism and never seem to want to expose yourself to the blatant misandry that these people spout. The article you posted about the "wage gap" is clearly biased against men, and even though I attempted to post a comment on the blog itself to point this out, the moderator of the blog rejected my comment despite it being entirely reasonably worded.

I really would be remiss if I didn't ask you to at least try to see things in this light. You've shown willingness to try new things before, and I think this is something that you should try. Form your own opinion. I hope you read this and consider it. Thanks.

@patrickklepek

Glad to see the return of these! They always make for a weekend of intriguing browsing.

Please keep your eyes peeled for any new info on Memories of a Broken Dimension. Game looks too batshit insane to ignore.

Also, with regards to Unprofessional Fridays, #boned and water during a meal, beer for getting DRUH-HUNK.

@biggiedubs: I still like that video though, mainly because it comes off as a lady trying to find the positive things in life over Anita's insistence in negative things to make a point.

That second to last link is a really good commentary on modern game design.

I'm not understanding the pay and wage issue as it is presented. We don't have enough information. If there are, let's say, 100 men working somewhere averaging 50k a year, and 4 women working there making 40k a year, it's easy to look at that and cry foul. And then you realize that women are newer in this industry, and have joined up later on, so the men have on average 5 years with the industry, of raises and promotions, and the women average 1 year, and now it isn't imbalanced at all.

That graph leaves out some of the most important information necessary for speculation.

I'm skeptical of Valve's alternate reality plans for the same reason I'm skeptical of 3D. Visual gimmicks don't make a game automatically better, they can't save bad character design, bad writing, or bad gameplay, and I kind of wish we could get to a pinnacle with those things before edging into alternate reality devices that some may have difficulty seeing at all, or playing without serious headaches.

@mamba219: I don't think it's misandrist. Most feminists are against sexism against men too. The issue is that the guys in charge (i.e. marketing, certainly not all men) insist all men should act like [X] and all women should act like [Y], and no variation is allowed. This hurts men, women, and people who identify somewhere in-between. If men want to play Nintendogs and baby-raising games, and women want to play Gears of War, nobody should be insulting them for it.

@patrickklepek If you haven't read it yet, RPS posted this today, basically a response to the responses to their articles about women in the games industry, very much worth reading!!

@patrickklepek

• BioShock Infinite is a wonderful game, but what about its sometimes excessive violence?

Robert Florence (the Scottish guy who started the whole Tomb Raider/Lauren Wainwright "journalist" PR debacle) did a good counterpoint to this of how Bioshock makes the violence make sense, and that we shouldn't only hold up artistic games and be embarrassed about violence since there are violent but important works in other mediums (The Godfather in film, Preacher in comics) and also last year's Spec Ops: The Line.

The Gaming Cringe (Robert Florence)

We should be celebrating Bioshock Infinite for telling an incredibly daring story and dealing with incredibly mature themes within our favourite form, and doing it honestly. Instead, some of us are cringing. “They’re telling this story in big-budget violent FPS form? Couldn’t they have done it in interactive fictiony arthouse form, where only a few of us might see it?” It’s a cringe. A wide-spread cringe. I recognise it because I’ve been there. Are we really going to get all “Ugh. It still acts like a videogame!” about it? Please tell me we’re not going down that path.

So I tried SoundSelf. Humming got old in like 8 seconds or so, so I tried to mess with the thing by spazzing out on a guitar. Also, blowing into the mic seemed to work pretty well. I also plan to plug my DS into the thing and see how it reacts to Korg DS10.

So the question is this: am I just intrinsically incapable of appreciating "Le Arte," or did Robin Arnott dress up a screen saver and is trying to pass it off as some kind of pseudo spiritual experience?

Yeah, you're right. As much as I like Anita's stuff, I do sometimes get the feeling that's she frantically grabbing things to talk negatively about, instead of looking at things in two-sided argument kind of way. Which, to her credit, to the response video touched on a bit at the start.

And it is well made, too. Nicely edited, got a decent 'radio' voice, wasn't a crazy person. All important things.

That one isn't worth reading because the guy would rather get too confrontational than go for a much better, level-headed solution. This is a far better link, much calmer, far more reasonable, and actually acknowledges points that no one, not even Patrick, is willing to bring up.

Ironically, Sarkeesian and her supporters seem to want to discredit her critics as well while there are many other critics trying to engage her arguments anyway, but they are ignored and thrown into the "lol sexist" group. Seriously, how can you explain her inability to properly accept criticism by virtue of completely disabling the ratings and comments section of her video? To me, that's an act of cowardice, not an attempt at responsible moderation.

@biggiedubs said:

You're almost exactly echoing my sentiments about this. A character is not strong or important because they are repeatedly referred to in the fiction as strong and important. If Zelda's power was as comparable to Link's (from magic if not from physical strength) as the video suggested, then a fleshed-out story would involve her participating actively in the campaign against Gannon. Upon capture she might - as Link has so often before - find a secret route to exit, or simply use her versatile spells to engender a more creative means of escape.

The point is that due to game mechanics and the needs of the story-telling combined with Nintendo's franchising power, Mario and Link can never fail, no matter what impenetrable difficulty is placed in their way. As long as Peach and Zelda continue to spend the majority of game-time in a passively captive state with no way to exert their own active influence on the course of the narrative, they will remain impotent characters at best and MacGuffins at worst.

Another point to make here is that the reason these games sell so well is almost entirely due to the audience's attachment to the characters, and their desire to see well-known characters interact in ways that would otherwise be impossible due to licensing. It's a long jump from that to conclude that people are buying these games to play as Peach or Zelda. Sales figures are one thing, but I'd be interested to know how many casual players main a female character considering only 8.5% of that roster is female (there are almost as many asexual characters). My most enthusiastic guess is around 10%.

I believe we can reasonably assume that Sarkeesian is at the very least intimate with the classic games she critiques, though I don't know enough to speculate on her current interest in the market.

@medacris: I've never seen a feminist complain about male discrimination. I've never seen a feminist stand up for men who are victims of domestic abuse. I've never seen a feminist rail against the radically anti-male laws in family courts. I've never seen a feminist call for equal employment in sectors such as waste management, coal mining, construction, etc. - only nice, safe office jobs. To say these people want equality is ludicrous - if they did, they'd act like it, instead of complaining about Princess Peach being a damsel in distress. They just want to ensure their feelings are never, ever hurt, and that they're never, ever made uncomfortable by anything.

This video is from one of Anita's Kickstarter Backers. He has shown some worry about how Anita is refusing to seriously answer her critics and how this is harming her reputation greatly that a lot of people here don't seem to understand.

Agreed. I think Walker handled it the wrong way. By responding with confrontation, people with reasonable, level-headed objections get pigeon-holed. For example, one of his articles used highly questionable statistics to argue about the gender-wage gap and people who called him out for using bad statistics got labelled as misogynists.

To the Doom 4 question:

Have the game play like Amnesia. You're sneaking around deciphering what happened and then like 8 hours in you get the BFG. And in a massive cathartic release you go through the map just murdering everything that scared you.

Fun thought experiment: imagine you’ve been put in charge of Doom 4 and you have to somehow make the concept interesting again

It's simple. Just embrace survival horror.

Anita does have a vested interest in finding the negatives, whether real or not, in these games. She's not objective.

You bite your traitorous tongue!

King of video games indeed!

I speak only the truth.

I hate it when people compare male to female salaries so blatantly and then comment as if they have successfully isolated the variable of discrimination.

This was awesome.

The Blaze article was actually impressively thorough and well-thought-out. Didn't expect that. What if they reviewed games?

The excessive violence article was spot-on for me. I would have no problem with Bioshock 1-level violence, but brutal neck-sawing "finishing moves" really take me out of 1919 or whenever. Imagine a Civil War game with decapitating uppercuts. FATALITY! "Wowee! The Civil War was just like Mortal Kombat!" Actually, that might also be my game of the year.

As for Doom 4, what I would do is make hell mysterious and interesting. There are so many versions of the same exact hell. Are demons and lava really as bad as it gets? If hell is an alien dimension, shouldn't it abide by different physical rules? I would make it more like Event Horizon. Have it get into your head gradually. What if there were fewer, but much tougher enemies? What if they were unique and looked like horrible hallucinations because they're being formed by your psyche, Ghostbusters-style. How about a room flooding with blood while a demon with super-long arms swipes at you from around corners. Redefine demons and hell. That's how you make Doom interesting again.

Well said!

When World of Warcraft came out my friends and I all made characters and started playing together. I was the only one who made a male character and was instantly (playfully) ridiculed as being gay.

My first reaction was raucous laughter, the idea that I was sexually interested in men because I represent myself as a man where conversely representing yourself as a woman apparently indicates heterosexuality was the damn funniest thing I ever heard.

Objectively, it looks an awful lot like insecurity or defensiveness when you look at the phenomenon of men choosing to play women in games, then justifying it as a matter of sexual attraction. Of course that's a broad statement and there are a million reasons why men play women and vice-versa that don't qualify, but I've definitely heard that explanation more often than any other and it's pretty baffling to me.

Touche. . .

nice writin', Tex

Watson the original "Slender man"